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FREIJA
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The Danish FREIJA taken at Copenhagen on 7 September 1807.
Sold in 1816. |
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- Officially renamed FREYA but always referred to as FREIJA.
- 1809 Capt. John HAYES.
As temporary captain of ACHILLE he navigated her himself to and from the Roompot and brought home 700 French soldiers who had been captured at Flushing.
On his arrival he was appointed to FREIJA.
In September she was fitting out for the Leeward Is.
station and at the end of the year she joined Sir Alexander COCHRANE in Barbados. - On 18 December she was with the squadron, under Capt. BALLARD of SCEPTRE which destroyed the French frigates LOIRE and SEINE, both armed en flute, at Anse La Barque, Guadeloupe.
BLONDE and THETIS, whose captains were well acquainted with the place, were to lead in SCEPTRE, with FREIJA, THETIS and CASTOR bringing up near the batteries.
Due to light winds the brunt of the action was taken by BLONDE, THETIS, CYGNET, HAZARD and RINGDOVE, they being a-head of the other ships.
The heavy battery which defended the entrance was demolished and the magazines blown up. - Capt. HAYES was then employed as senior officer of a small squadron sent to blockade the N. W. side of Guadeloupe
- On the evening of Wednesday 17 January 1810 FREIJA captured the French schooner VICTOR off Englishman's Head.
Two hours earlier she had sailed from Mahaut Bay with a cargo of coffee, sugar and cotton and Capt. HAYES was interested to learn from her log that other vessels were in the bay, and that they were defended by two batteries.
The anchorage was difficult to find and Friday was spent in fruitless searching, but at noon on Saturday three vessels were seen at a distance behind the shoals.
Four boats, under Mr David HOPE, the 2nd lieutenant, assisted by Mr Shillibeer of the marines, Mr A. G. COUNTESS, master's mate, and Mr BRAY, the gunner, with 30 marines and 50 seamen, set off from the ship at 8.45 in the evening.
They had great difficulty in finding their way through the shoals and the foremost boat got ashore eight or ten times.
At 11 o'clock they learnt from a fisherman that a troop of regular soldiers had arrived from Point-a-Pê tre together with a company of native infantry. - As they approached the shore within gun-shot a signal gun was fired, followed by a discharge of grape from both batteries and a six-gun-brig, together with musket fire from the bushes.
The boats pulled for the brig then, finding her deserted, made for the shore.
When they grounded some distance off, the people had to wade up to their middles.
As they advanced on the battery the enemy retreated behind a brick breast-work from which they were soon driven and one 24-pounder and twenty barrels of powder were destroyed.
At the second battery three 24-pounders were spiked and the guard house destroyed. - They returned to the brig and found her fast in the mud, but after much exertion she was got off.
Nearby was a large English built ship, under repair, which they could not move.
This prevented them bringing out a fine national schooner behind her, so they burnt both of them.
Lieut. HOPE and two men were wounded in the attack, the latter severely.
The above details were not published in the London Gazette.
After the capture of Guadeloupe FREIJA proved very defective, so she returned home in September 1810 and was soon after put out of commission.
Lieut. HOPE was appointed to MACEDONIAN, Capt. HAYES remained on half pay until he was appointed, pro tem., to MAGNIFICENT in the autumn of 1812. - 1811 armed en flute.
Colin CAMPBELL (2), Spithead for the Mediterranean. - 1812 William Isaac SCOTT, 03/1812, Portsmouth.
- 1815 Herbert HORE, Spithead.
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