|
CERBERUS
|
(32) |
|
Built in 1794, Buckler's Hard.
Sold in 1814. |
|
|
- 1795 Capt. J. DREW, 01/1795.
- 1798 Capt. J. M'NAMARA (2), 01/1798. Plymouth.
On 28 September 1799 she captured the French letter of marque ECHANGE, six days out of Bordeaux with bale goods and wine for San Domingo. She carried 10 guns and 40 men. - 1801 West Indies.
- 1802 Capt. W. SELBY, fitting out at Chatham.
On the afternoon of 25 January 1804 CERBERUS weighed from Guernsey Roads and, after passing through the Little Russel, shaped course for Cape la Hogue to look into Cherbourg before dark. As she approached the Cape she was able to cut off an enemy convoy of 4 armed vessels which had been steering to the eastward. The enemy anchored and the strength of the tide prevented CERBERUS from reaching them. Capt. M'NAMARA therefore hauled the wind to the southward until after dark when he sighted the enemy coming round the Cape close in shore. When a squall drove them off the land CERBERUS captured the gunvessel CHAMEAU and drove another on to the rocks.
The prize was 300 tons, quite new, carrying four long 6-pounders and two swivels. She was commanded by Ensign Francis Gabiare with a crew of 37 and carrying 21 fully armed troops. - At daylight on 2 April 1805 CERBERUS gave chase to a strange sail and 6 hours later captured the privateer brig BONHEUR (14) which had sailed from Cherbourg 13 days earlier under the command of Francis Folliott with 36 men. She had only made one capture.
- As CERBERUS was standing towards Jamaica with a convoy under his charge at dawn on 15 May 1806 he discovered a suspicious vessel hovering about the fleet.
He gave chase and after 6 hours came up with and captured her. She was the AIMABLE THERESA with two brass howitzers and 18 men and a cargo of wine and merchandise. She was 3 days out from Santiago de Cuba. - In December 1806 CIRCE and CERBERUS reconnoitred the ports of Guadeloupe and the Saints but finding nothing of any consequence save a 16-gun-brig at the Saints. He left Capt. PIGOT to watch her and, on the 2 January, as he was beating to windward between Martinique and Dominique, he saw a privateer schooner with a schooner and a sloop in company standing for St. Pierre's. He gave chase and cut them off from the port so they anchored close to the shore under a battery near the Pearl Rock.
That night Lieuts. COOTE and BLIGH volunteered to cut them out and, assisted by Mr HALL, master's mate; Mr SAYER, Mr CARLWIS and Mr SELBY, midshipmen; Mr COLLINS, boatswain and Messrs HOROPKA and RATCOVE, Russian young gentlemen acting as midshipmen. Under a tremendous fire of cannon and musketry from the shore two ships, a schooner and a sloop, were boarded and brought out.
The privateer escaped in the darkness using her sweeps.
The losses were considerable. Lieut. COOTE was deprived of his eyesight by a wound in the head and George SAYER was wounded by a musket-ball in the leg. Two men, William TORBUCT, OS, and William Townsend, marine, were killed and eight more wounded, one Peter PIPON, OS, dying later. - Capt. SELBY, commanding the blockading squadron off Point a Petre, Guadeloupe, found that the enemy privateers and their prizes were taking shelter under the batteries on the island of Marie Galante. He therefore ordered Capt. PIGOT with 200 seamen and marines from CERBERUS, CIRCE and CAMILLA to capture the island. A little after daylight on 2 March 1808 he landed about 2 miles from Grand Bourg and soon after the garrison surrendered.
- On 29 March CERBERUS, LILY, PELICAN, EXPRESS, SWINGER and MOSAMBIQUE weighed from Marie Galante and the following day the boats with seamen and marines from each vessel under the command of Capt. SHERRIFF landed on the island of DESEADA. The squadron had to fire on a battery of 9-pounders commanding the entrance to the harbour. They were soon silenced and the French surrendered
- Later in 1808 Out of commission at Deptford.
Capt. SELBY removed to the OWEN GLENDOWER in February 1809 and died at the Cape of Good Hope on 28 March 1811 - 1809 Capt Henry WHITBY, 03/1809, Baltic.
On 25 July the boats of PRINCESS CAROLINA, MINOTAUR, CERBERUS and PROMETHEUS, under the command of Capt. FORREST of PROMETHEUS attacked a flotilla of four enemy gunboats and a brig in the neighbourhood of Aspo. Three gunboats, carrying two long 18-pounders, and the brig were captured. CERBERUS's boats were commanded by Lieut. SIMPSON and five seamen and two marines were wounded. - 1810 Ditto, Mediterranean.
On 28 June 1810 a convoy from Trieste was chased into the harbour at Grao by AMPHION and, since it was considered that the place was only lightly protected, an attack was launched by the boats of AMPHION and CERBERUS.
After a hand-to-hand struggle with French soldiers the town was captured and 38 privates of the 81st. regiment, with their lieutenant and sergeant, were made prisoner. They found 25 vessels laden with stores. At this moment the boats from ACTIVE arrived. More French troops from the interior attacked but were repulsed and a lieutenant and 22 men of the 5th. regiment surrendered.
The prizes and prisoners were brought off on the evening of the 29th. CERBERUS's officers employed were: Lieut. James DICKENSON; Lieut. J. Brattle, RM ; John JOHNSON, gunner; John MILLER, George FARENDEN, Joseph STONEY, George FOWLER, William SHERWOOD, Charles MACKEY and Lewis ROLLIER, midshipmen. - Capt. WHITBY discovered four enemy vessels at anchor under Pestichi on 4 February and sent the barges of CERBERUS and ACTIVE under Lieut. HAYE of the latter to bring them out. Three trabaccolos were captured and sent to Lissa and one was burnt. CERBERUS watered at Lissa and then returned to the Italian coast with ACTIVE.
On the 12th. several vessels were discovered at Ortano and the boats of the two ships under Lieut. DICKINSON, 1st. of CERBERUS, were sent in. They came under fire from great guns and musketry from an armed trabaccolo and soldiers on the beach and the hills. ACTIVE'S marines and small-arms men from CERBERUS under James RENNIE, master's mate were landed to secure the hills while the prizes were brought out. - On 13 March 1811 a Franco-Italian squadron of 5 frigates, a corvette, a brig, two schooners and a xebec, formed into two divisions, bore down on a British line of four frigates, AMPHION, ACTIVE, CERBERUS and VOLAGE north of the island of Lissa.
The enemy was unsuccessful in breaking the compact British line and the French commodore attempted to round the van ship to leeward but was so warmly received that he ran ashore on the rocks.
The remainder of the starboard division engaged AMPHION while the other division engaged the other three British ships.
The CORONA and the BELLONA were taken and the FAVORITE burnt.
FLORA struck but then escaped.
The rest of the enemy vessels escaped.
CERBERUS lost 13 killed and Lieut. George CRUMPSTONE and 43 others wounded. - Later in the year Capt. Robert CLEPHANE, Mediterranean.
- 1812 Capt. Thomas GARTH, Mediterranean.
In January 1813 the first lieutenant, Mr Edward DELAFOSSE, commanded her boats at the capture of an armed trabaccolo, deeply laden with corn and flour, bound for Corfu.
In the following March he cut out a similar vessel from under a battery near Brindisi and a few days later dismantled a tower and destroyed a battery and several vessels in a creek between Bari and St. Vito.
On 11 April 1813 the boats of CERBERUS and APOLLO took possession of Devil's Island, near the north entrance of Corfu, where they captured two vessels laden with grain.
Lieut. DELAFOSSE was wounded in another boat affair at the island of Melera on 14 April. - Three boats from CERBERUS under Lieut. John William MONTAGU, with APOLLO's barge and gig, went in to bring off an enemy vessel that had been chased on shore south of Brindisi.
They also brought off a gun from a martello tower. - On 30 May CERBERUS's barge and pinnace with APPOLLO's barge and gig intercepted a convoy protected by 8 gunboats off the island of Fano.
Although they were aided by 3 more gunboats from Fano and covered by French troops on the cliffs, two gunboats and four of the convoy were taken.
Mr SUETT, master's mate, was shot through the heart, one seaman was killed and one marine wounded. - 1814 Gulf of Venice.
|
|
|
