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KANGAROO
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Built in 1795, Rotherhithe. Armed with sixteen 32-pounder carronades and two long 6-pounders.
Sold in 1802. |
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- 1796 Hon. Courtney BOYLE, 11/1796.
- 1798 Edward BRACE, 01/1798, Irish station.
During a severe gale in the autumn of 1798 he beat out of Cork harbour to reach the cruisers off the coast with the news of the approach of a French squadron of 10 ships under Commodore Bompart. This had left Brest on 16 September with 3,000 troops intended for a landing on the Irish Coast. It was sighted by British ships the following day and shadowed by ETHALION, AMELIA, and later ANSON, until 1 October. They were lost in the heavy weather but on 12 October the enemy was discovered by Sir John WARREN steering for Lough Swilly and defeated by him in a battle the following day in which four ships were captured by the British squadron. A fifth was captured by MELAMAMPUS on the 14th. - On morning of the 15th. MERMAID, Capt. NEWMAN, REVOLUTIONNAIRE, Capt. TWYSDEN, and KANGAROO, which were on their way towards Black Cod Bay, fell in with two of Bompart's fleeing ships. They chased them all day, but in the evening the two enemy ships hauled from each other and set different courses. REVOLUTIONNAIRE went after one and MERMAID, followed at a great distance astern by KANGAROO, pursued the other. Capt. NEWMAN lost sight of the enemy in the thick weather and the darkness of the night but, after he hauled to the wind, he was soon joined by KANGAROO
The following morning the enemy was once more in sight and in the afternoon KANGAROO managed to close with and engage her. Unfortunately her fore-top-mast was shot away by the enemy's stern chasers and she had to break off. MERMAID then engaged the enemy for nearly three hours until she too was so badly damaged that she had to haul off. - On the 17th. KANGAROO, having repaired her damage, joined company with ANSON, which had lost her mizzen mast and her main-lower and top-sail-yards, apart from other damage, and had several of her reduced complement wounded. Her Capt. DURHAM ordered Capt. BRACE to remain with him. The following day they discovered a large frigate to leeward without her fore and main-top-masts. It was the same ship which had escaped from MERMAID. ANSON engaged and, a little more than an hour later, KANGAROO came up under a press of sail and fired a broadside. Shortly after the enemy's mizzen mast fell and she surrendered to a boat from KANGAROO. She was the LOIRE, of twenty-eight long 18-pounders, twelve long French 8's, and six brass 24-pounders carronades.
- On the 12th. she had 664 men on board including troops. 48 were killed and 75 wounded between then and her capture. KENT lost 2 men killed and 14 wounded in the action and KANGAROO had no losses. Capt. BRACE took LOIRE in tow and took her into Plymouth.
- 1799 re-fitting at Plymouth. In July she recaptured the TRITON which had been taken by a French privateer while bringing wine from Oporto. TRITON arrived safely in Plymouth on 23 July.
- On 27 August KANGAROO arrived in Plymouth with Mr Dunstenville, agent victualler for Cove of Cork, as a passenger.
- On 10 September she sailed on a cruise under Capt. BARTHOLOMEW.
- 1800 Cork. In February 1800 KANGAROO had a successful cruise to the south-west of Ireland.
- On the 22nd Capt. BRACE recaptured an American ship, MINERVA, loaded with tobacco. He then took the French privateer brig TELEGRAPHE armed with fourteen guns of various calibre. The only casualty was the first Lieutenant, Mr Thomas TOULERTON, who was badly injured in the face when the chase gun he was laying was thrown off by the violent motion of the sea. TELEGRAPHE was sent into Cork under Lieut. TOMPSON.
The West Indiaman CHANCE from Martinique was retaken on the 24th., Captain Hearnes of the 43rd. regiment and Captain Bruce of the 1st. West India regiment were found on board. The following day he fought an action lasting nearly two hours with a French privateer brig, but since he had 44 officers and men away in prizes, 16 others unable to fight and 78 prisoners in the hold, he was unable to close with her when she made off. The prisoners said that she was the GRAND DECIDE of eighteen 12-pounders and 150 men.
Boatswain, Mr William ALLEN, seamen Thomas MARKS. William JOHNSON, Henry PITTS and George MOORE, and marine William MILLIARD, were wounded. - Capt. BRACE was promoted to Post Captain in April 1800 and commanded NEPTUNE the following year.
- On 22 December 1800 KANGAROO arrived at King Road bringing Admiral Sir Robert KINGSMILL with his suite from Cork to Bristol.
- 1801 George Christopher PULLING.
- On 31 March he brought into Portsmouth from the Downs a large convoy which included several outward bound East Indiamen and on 30 April she and POMONE sailed with a convoy for the Mediterranean. This included the WILLIAM & ANNE, SOVEREIGN and SEA NYMPH transports with troops for Minorca and Egypt. When KANGAROO was off Barcelona on 1 June she received news from the MINORQUIN privateer that a Spanish convoy of 12 sail and 5 armed vessels had passed to windward three days before. After consulting with Lord COCHRANE in SPEEDY they went in pursuit and, on the 9th., found the convoy at anchor under the battery at Oropesa which consisted of 12 guns in a large square tower.
The two brigs moved in at once, anchored within half gun-shot of the enemy and opened fire on a 20-gun xebec and three gunboats which were later reinforced by a 12-gun felucca and two more gunboats. By the late afternoon the xebec and two gunboats had been sunk and when KANGAROO cut her cables and ran in towards the tower the gunboats in the offing fled. The tower was silenced in the evening and the boats of both brigs under Lieut. Thomas FULLERTON of KANGAROO and Lieut. WARBURTON of SPEEDY, went in to cut out the vessels still afloat. They brought out three brigs laden with wine, rice and bread. When Lord COCHRANE went ashore in the hope of bringing off more he found that the remainder had either sunk or been driven ashore. Mr Thomas TAYLOR, midshipman, was killed. Lieuts. FOULERTON and T. Brown THOMPSON were wounded as were seven seaman and one marine. (seamen William BEATY, James NIGHTINGALE, James REYNOLDS, Thomas THOMPSON, John BARRY, William WILLIAMS, Thomas FITZGIBBONS and marine Thomas BALDWIN) SPEEDY had no casualties. Other officers involved were Mr Thomas TONGEAU, acting master, Mr John RICHARDS, purser, and Capt. Edward DRUMMOND of the 60th. regiment who was a passenger on board. Unfortunately both sloops had used up all their ammunition so they were unable to destroy the tower battery. KANGAROO and SPEEDY took their prizes to Minorca.
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