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CANOPUS
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The French LE FRANKLIN, Rear Ad. Planquet, taken by Rear Ad. NELSON in Aboukir Bay on 1 August 1798.
Broken up in 1887. |
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- 1799 Capt. Bartholomew JAMES of CORSO brought the prize back to England from Gibraltar.
- 1800 Plymouth for repair.
- 1803 Capt. John CONN (act.), fitting out at Plymouth.
- 1805 Capt. Francis William AUSTEN, off Cadiz as flagship of Rear Ad. LOUIS.
CANOPUS accompanied Lord Nelson in the pursuit across the Atlantic of the combined Franco-Spanish fleet and remained under his orders until 15 August.
During the Battle of Trafalgar CANOPUS was occupied procuring supplies of water and provisions, having been detached to Tetuan and Gibraltar with SPENCER, QUEEN, TIGRE and ZEALOUS.
On the day Villeneuve quitted Cadiz Rear Ad. LOUIS' squadron received orders to escort a convoy past Cartagena. - In December Vice Ad. Sir John DUCKWORTH, with the squadron off Cadiz (CANOPUS, SUPERB, SPENCER, AGAMEMNON, DONEGAL and ACASTA) went in chase of a French squadron under Rear Ad. Willaumez which had sailed from Brest.
On 25 and 26 December he lost them off Cape Verde so sailed to Barbados were he was joined by NORTHUMBERLAND, ATLAS, KINGFISHER and EPERVIER.
On 5 February 1806 MAGICIENNE joined with the news that the French were off the town of San Domingo, five ships-of-the-line, two frigates and a corvette.
Action was joined on the morning of the 6th. when SUPERB, NORTHUMBERLAND and SPENCER in close order engaged ALEXANDRE, IMPERIAL and DIOMEDE.
CANOPUS, leading the lee column, fired a broadside fired a broadside into ALEXANDRE, bringing down her already tottering masts, then stood towards IMPERIAL and DIOMEDE.
The former stood towards the land closely followed by CANOPUS which continued firing until the French ship took the ground with such force that her masts went over the side.
Only the French frigates escaped. - For his conduct Capt. AUSTEN received a gold medal, a parliamentary vote of thanks and a vase valued at 100 pounds from the patriotic fund at Lloyds.
He left CANOPUS on 22 June 1806 - 1806 Capt. Thomas George SHORTLAND, 06/1806, flag of Rear Ad. LOUIS.
After undergoing repairs at Plymouth CANOPUS and her squadron sailed for the coast of France to intercept a French squadron in which Jerome Buonaparte was a captain. - On 27 September 1806 they fell in with the French frigate PRESIDENT (44) Capt. Gallier Labrosse, south of the Scillies and captured her after a chase of 17 hours.
PRESIDENT had sailed from Brest with REGULUS, SYBILLE and SURVEILLANTE but had separated from them on 20 August. - In December CANOPUS was with Sir John DUCKWORTH's squadron off the Dardanelles.
CANOPUS with ENDYMION and another frigate were stationed opposite the Grande Seignior's palace and THUNDERER and STANDARD were anchored to command the entrance to the Dardanelles. - She led the van of the squadron when they forced the passage of the Dardanelles on 19 February and 3 March 1807.
Capt. Kent of the marines, 4 seamen and and 1 marine were killed; John NICHOLS, master's mate, George WRAY, midshipman, George MOORE, pilot, 15 seamen and 8 marines were wounded. She received hits from several immense blocks of granite, one of which weighed 546 lbs.
Capt. Kent fell on 27 February while leading an unsuccessful attack on a Turkish stronghold on the island of Prota.
He was a survivor of the wreck of VENERABLE in 1804. - After retreating from the Sea of Marmora Sir John DUCKWORTH took CANOPUS and two other ships to to Egypt and arrived a few days after the fall of Alexandria.
CANOPUS was the first line-of-battle ship ever to enter the harbour there.
When an attack on Rosetta failed, a larger force was collected which included a naval brigade.
After three weeks before Rosetta this expedition to was forced to retreat and 6 men belonging to CANOPUS were taken prisoner.
Sir Thomas LOUIS died on board his flagship and was buried at Malta. - Capt. SHORTLAND left CANOPUS in September 1807 to join QUEEN.
- 1808 Capt. Charles INGLIS, flag of Rear Ad. MARTIN in Mediterranean.
Following orders from Lord COLLINGWOOD on 23 October 1809, CANOPUS with RENOWN, TIGRE, SULTAN, LEVIATHAN and CUMBERLAND fell in with an enemy squadron off the entrance to the Rhone and, on the 25th., chased them on shore.
The ROBUST (84) and the LEON, 74, went aground off Frontignan where they were set on fire by their crews, and the BOREE (74) and a frigate at the entrance to the port of Cette. - 1811 Ditto, flag of Rear Ad. BOYLES in the Mediterranean.
- 1812 Plymouth, for repair.
- 1813 Plymouth.
- 1833 Hon. Capt. Josceline PERCY, who was appointed to her at Plymouth on 25 November.
He was 49 years old and had not commanded a ship since 1815.
In 1834 he was in the Mediterranean with the fleet under Vice Ad. Sir Josias ROWLEY in CALEDONIA, Capt. Thomas BROWN.
They sailed via Gibraltar and Malta and in September the fleet was at Vourla Bay in Turkey; it consisted of five ships of the line with captains whose commissions, like PERCY's were all dated between 1802 and 1807.
(EDINBURGH (74) THUNDERER (84), TALAVERA (74)) CANOPUS was the fastest sailor, she carried a glass star above the truck which, glistening in the sunshine, could be seen long before the rest of the fleet came in sight. - In 1835 a young relative of Capt. PERCY, one Drummond, a guardsman, came out as a passenger in TYNE.
He was collected at Malta and taken to Vourla Bay in CHILDERS.
Drummond was indirectly responsible for abolishing the punishment of mast-heading midshipmen.
(See TYNE)
- In January 1837 CANOPUS was ordered home to remain ordinary until 1863 when she became a Receiving Hulk at Devonport.
- Sold and broken up in 1887.
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