Brutus captured by the Mermaid |
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| Career (Great Britain) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Mermaid |
| Ordered: | 27 August 1778 (Woolwich) Reordered 21 March 1782 (Sheerness) |
| Builder: | Sheerness Dockyard |
| Laid down: | September 1778 (Woolwich) 29 July 1782 (Sheerness) |
| Launched: | 29 November 1782 |
| Commissioned: | 30 December 1784 |
| Fate: | Broken up in November 1815 |
| General characteristics as built | |
| Class and type: | 32-gun Active-class fifth-rate frigate |
| Tons burthen: | 692 bm |
| Length: | 126 ft 3 in (38.5 m) |
| Beam: | 35 ft 5 in (10.8 m) |
| Draught: | 13 ft 2 in (4.0 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: | 250 |
| Armament: |
32 guns: |
HMS Mermaid was a 32-gun Active-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy .
Contents |
Mermaid was one of the eight ship Active class, designed by Edward Hunt. She was initially ordered from the shipwright George White, of Woolwich Dockyard Shipwright on 27 August 1778, and laid down in September 1778, but the order moved to John Jenner in April 1779. On 21 March 1782 the order was canceled and moved instead to Thomas Pollard, at Sheerness Dockyard, and the frigate was again laid down, on 29 July 1782. She was launched on 29 November 1782, and commissioned for the ordinary on 30 December 1784. She was commissioned again between June and August 1790 for sea. She had cost £12,854 to build, with another £2,539 paid for her fitting out in 1790. The Woolwich work had cost £1,807.
Mermaid was commissioned in June 1790 during the Spanish Armament under Captain Cuthbert Collingwood. She sailed to the West Indies, but returned in April 1791, and was then paid off. She was again fitted out, this time at Portsmouth for £3,446, between February and May 1793, commissioning in March that year under Captain John Trigge. She was assigned to the Mediterranean, departing Britain on 22 May 1793. On 27 May she and Tartar captured the 20-gun privateer Général Washington, and on 30 May 1793 Mermaid and Castor captured the 16-gun privateer Angélique. Mermaid also captured a 14-gun privateer in June that year. Mermaid then joined Admiral Samuel Hood's fleet at Toulon.
She came under the command of Captain Henry Warre in June 1794, and then sailed to the Leeward Islands on 5 May 1794. Then Mermaid captured the 10-gun Brutus off Grenada on 10 October 1795, followed by the capture of the 18-gun French schooner Républicaine on 14 October 1795. Zebra shared by agreement.[1]
In February 1796 Mermaid briefly came under the command of Captain Charles Davers, but by April Robert Otway had succeeded Danvers. Mermaid fought an action with the 40-gun La Vengeance off Guadeloupe on 8 August 1796. She and Resource captured the 16-gun Général Leveau off San Domingo on 10 December 1796, followed by the privateer Liberté Générale on 7 March 1797.
On 20 April 1797 Mermaid formed part of a squadron under Captain Hugh Pigot, consisting of the 32-gun frigates, HMS Hermione and HMS Quebec, the 14 gun brig HMS Drake and the cutter HMS Penelope. The squadron cut out nine ships at Jean-Rabel without suffering any casualties.[2][3]
She came under the command of James Newman-Newman in 1797, helping to capture the 12-gun privateer Aventure off Belleisle on 31 December 1797.
While patrolling off the Penmarks on 29 June 1798 Mermaid, Pique and Jason came across the French frigate Seine.[4][5] Seine was bound for Lorient.[Note 1] The British squadron manoeuvred to cut her off from land, but Mermaid soon lost contact, leaving Pique, under Captain Milne, and Jason under Captain Charles Stirling, to chase down the Frenchman.[5]
The chase lasted all day, until 11 o'clock at night when Pique was able to range alongside the Seine and fire a broadside. The two exchanged fire for several hours, with the lighter Pique suffering considerable damage to her masts and rigging.[5] Jason then ranged up and Captain Stirling called upon Milne to anchor, but Milne did not hear. Determined to see the Seine captured, Pique pressed on but suddenly ran aground. The Jason too ran aground before she could swing way. Furthermore, the Seine was observed to have grounded and to have lost all her masts in the process.[4] As the tide rose the Seine was able to swing into a position to rake the two British ships. With difficulty the sailors of Jason dragged several guns to the bow in order to exchange fire, while the Pique was able to bring her foremost guns to bear.[4] Under fire from both British ships, the appearance on the scene of the Mermaid convinced the French to surrender. Jason had lost seven killed and 12 wounded, while Pique sustained casualties of one killed, one missing and six wounded.[4] Seine however had 170 killed and 100 wounded.
Mermaid was next involved in the capture of the French frigate Loire in the aftermath of the Battle of Tory Island.
Mermaid was detached to operate off Corunna and together with HMS Sylph, captured the Spanish packet Golondrevia on 24 March 1799. In April 1799 Captain Robert Dudley Oliver, replaced Newman-Newman and commanded Mermaid off France and Italy in the Western Mediterranean.
On 1 June 1800 about 12 leagues southward of Les Hières she captured the brig Cruelle, which was eight hours out of Toulon. She was a brig of six guns, four of which she had thrown overboard during the chase, and had a crew of 43 men under the command of Ensigne de vaisseau Francis Xavier Jeard. She had been a bomb vessel but had left her mortar at Toulon. She was carrying supplies for Malta when Mermaid intercepted her.[6] The British took Cruelle into service under her existing name.
Mermaid then returned to Britain and was paid off and placed in ordinary at Woolwich in August 1802.
Mermaid was fitted out again between June and September 1803, commissioning in August that year under Captain Askew Hollis. She spent the period between 1804 and 1807 at Jamaica. She was at Havanna when war with Spain was declared and successfully brought the British ships in the harbour to safety. She was then on the Halifax Station, finally being paid off again in August 1807. She was refitted at Woolwich between September 1808 and March 1809, recommissioning in February 1809 under Captain Major Henniker. She then sailed on 12 June 1809 with a troop convoy bound for Portugal.
She was recommissioned as an 18-gun troopship in January 1810, and was fitted out as a troopship at Chatham Dockyard between October 1810 and February 1811. She came under the command of Commander William Percy in 1811, and by April 1812 was under Commander David Dunn, serving in the Mediterranean.
Mermaid was broken up at Plymouth in November 1815.