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ALLIGATOR
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(28) |
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Built in 1821, Cochin.
Hospital ship in 1846. |
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- 1822 Woolwich.
- 1822 Capt. Thomas ALEXANDER, 05/1822, East Indies.
During 1825 he commanded the naval forces employed in co-operation with the army against the King of Ava. The flotilla consisted of DIANA, SATELLITE, two mortar-boats, six gun-vessels, 30 armed row-boats, all the boats of the squadron and about 60 launches, rafts and canoes. They carried 1160 troops and all the officers and men from ALLIGATOR, ARACHNE and SOPHIA who could be spared. They accompanied the main army of about 2,500 men in an advance up river from Rangoon on 13 February.
Lieut. Samuel THORNTON commanded the ALLIGATOR's cutter and Lieut. William SMITH the light division of boats.
The officers and young gentlemen commanding boats were: Lieuts. SMITH, KEELE, KELLETT and BAZELY; acting Lieut. HALL; Mr REED, master's mate; and Messrs. DUTHY HAND, PICKEY, LETT, COYDE and MURRAY, midshipmen). The latter had two men mortally wounded as they stormed a stockade a few miles above Thesit and he was praised by the Brig. General for his conduct at the capture of Panlang on the 19th. - On 1 April Lieut. SMITH directed a breaching battery of four brass 12-pounders in operations against Donoobew.
Prome was occupied on 4 April and, between the 7th. and the 12th., the whole of the land force crossed the Irrawaddy.
The army then went into cantonments for the rainy season.
Lieut. THORNTON was sent up the river as far as Patanagoh with a small detachment and accurately surveyed the Irrawaddy for a distance of 90 miles and Lieut. SMITH assisted at the capture of nearly 300 boats laden with arms and military stores on 2 December.
ALLIGATOR and ARACHNE were the only ships remaining at Rangoon and Lieut. Edward BLANCKLEY, who had joined ALLIGATOR in May 1822 was given command of SOPHIE. Later Capt. BRISBANE in BOADICEA arrived at RANGOON and her boats were added to the flotilla.
When operations resumed in November after a short armistice, 50, 000 Burmese surrounded Prome. Before the British could strike back Capt. ALEXANDER died at Prome on the 11th. aged 41 leaving a widow and several children. He was succeeded by Capt. Henry Ducie CHADS. CHAMPION arrived at Rangoon on 14 November.
When Capt. BRISBANE fell ill, Capt. CHADS became senior officer and signed the peace treaty. This was not ratified by the Burmese and hostilities reopened on 19 January 1826 but, after attacks by the British at Melloone and Pagahm-mew, a definitive treaty was signed on 24 February. - After conveying the first instalment of the indemnity money (10,000,000 rupees) paid by the Burmese from Yandaboo to Calcutta, Capt. CHADS returned home and ALLIGATOR paid off at Plymouth on 3 January 1827.
- 1827 Capt. W. P. CANNING, Halifax.
- 1828 Capt. Charles YORKE, 12/1828, Portsmouth.
- 1830 Nore, 1831 Mediterranean.
- 1832 Capt. George Robert LAMBERT, 09/1831, East Indies. Ordered home in the summer of 1835.
- 1836 Portsmouth.
- 1837 Capt. Sir J. J. Gordon BREMER, 07/1837, Australia.
- In 1837 the Chinese government began to take strict measures against foreign merchants over opium imports and Canton had to be abandoned in favour of Hong Kong.
Capt. Charles ELLIOT, the British trade commissioner, in treating with the Chinese displayed a weakness of which they took full advantage. - Early in May 1840 a squadron, including ALLIGATOR, Augustus Leopold KUPER, assembled at Singapore and sailed for the Great Ladrones and at Macao on 20 June Capt. Sir James BREMER, senior naval officer, declared a blockade of Canton.
On the 24th. the fleet left for Chusan. As the fleet entered Chusan on 4 July they found 11 war junks drawn up in line with some 800 men with 6 guns drawn up on a rugged hill. About 600 men with some 30 guns lined the wharfs.
ALLIGATOR and CONWAY took up positions in front and flank of the hill and the Commodore summoned the Chinese to surrender. In the end a short bombardment was needed before the Chinese fled and Chusan was taken. - ALLIGATOR, blockading Amoy, destroyed several war junks when a large fleet threatened her but the captain had to abandon an attempt to force the passage between Kolangso and Amoy.
- On the night of 21 May 1841 while preparations were made to attack Canton, an attempt was made to destroy ALLIGATOR with fire rafts while she was anchored in a confined position off Howqua Fort at the end of Whampoa Is. The first lieutenant, Mr Peter STEWART and Messrs. WOOLCOMBE and BAKER, master's mates, in the boats towed the rafts clear.
- Capt. Patrick BLAKE (act.) 1842 Capt. Samuel Perkins PRITCHARD, 14/01/1841.
- 1843 Master Com. Joseph N. KING, 11/1843. Troop-ship in the East Indies.
- 1845 Peter WELLINGTON, master, 12/1845. Hospital ship, Hong Kong.
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