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NAIAD
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Built in 1797, Limehouse.
Hulk in 1847. |
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- Capt. PIERREPONT, 04/1797.
During a gale on 11 February 1799 NAIAD broke from her moorings in the Hamoaze and tailed on to the West Mud. She got off with the high tide with little damage. - On 5 March NAIAD captured the French privateer HEREUX HAZARD (20).
off the Loire.
The enemy vessel had sailed the previous day for a three month cruise. - On 16 October 1799 NAIAD, with TRITON and ALCMENE under her orders, gave chase to two Spanish frigates off Ferrol.
When ETHALION joined the following morning Capt. PIERREPONT ordered her to engage the headmost vessel while he attacked her consort.
NAIAD captured the SANTA BRIGIDA of 36 guns commanded by Don Antonio Pillon with a crew of 300 men and the first lieutenant, Mr J. H. MARSHALL, was given charge of her.
ETHALION took the THETIS also of 36 guns commanded by Don Juan de Mendoza.
They had both left Vera Cruz on 21 August bound for any Spanish port they could reach.
SANTA BRIGIDA had on board 1,400,000 dollars and THETIS 1,411,526 dollars The prize money from the dollars on board was paid on 14 January 1800 and amounted to 40,730 for captains and 182 for seamen and marines.
The hulls, stores and rigging of the two ships was still to be accounted for. - Capt. Hon. J. MURRAY, 12/1799, took over from Capt. PIERPOINT who was ill.
NAIAD spent the following year cruising out of Plymouth. - Capt. W. H. RICKETS was appointed to NAIAD in December 1800.
At the beginning of May NAIAD recaptured, some 500 miles west of Cape Finisterre, the Post Office packet PHOENIX, Capt. THOMPSON, which had sailed from Falmouth on 15 April for New York and had been taken by a large French 40-gun privateer on the 21st.
Fortunately Capt. THOMPSON had been able to sink his mails before being boarded. She was also boarded by the CONCARDE and the CORNEILLE, two large French frigates taking troops and stores from Nantes to Egypt.
PHOENIX arrived safely in Plymouth on 11 May. - On the night of 16 May 1801 the boats of NAIAD and PHAETON under the direction of NAIAD's first lieutenant, Mr MARSHAL, entered the port of Marin some 10 miles up the estuary of the River Pontevedra in north west Spain.
There they captured the Spanish corvette LA ALCUDIA and destroyed the armed packet EL RAPOSO.
Both were under the protection of a battery of five 24-pounders.
ALCUDIA, commanded by Don Jean Antonio Barbuto, was moored stem and stern close to the fort.
Her sails had previously been taken ashore so the boats had to tow her out but soon after a strong south-west wind set in and it was necessary to set her on fire.
Only four men from the two British ships were wounded. - NAIAD returned to Plymouth on 25 May and sailed again on 6 June with bullocks and vegetables for the Channel fleet.
- Now commanded by Capt. WILKINSON she was back in Plymouth for two days at the end of August.
At the end of October, while off Rochefort, she was nearly wrecked near the Ile de Re by a violent gale.
For two days she was on shore under the guns of a French battery.
They were mystified when the French made no attempt to fire on them but on the second day the French commander sent boats with spare cables and anchors and informed Capt. WILKINSON that the preliminaries of peace had been signed between England and France. She returned to Plymouth on 1 November. - Throughout most of 1802 NAIAD was in ordinary but on 9 September orders came down for her to be commissioned in place of FISGARD which was to be paid off.
Capt. James WALLIS and the crew of FISGARD were to move to NAIAD as soon as she was ready.
On the 12 November NAIAD moved from the Hamoaze out into the Sound to await orders.
On 18 December Capt. WALLIS was ordered to be ready to supply men to BELLEISLE, then fitting out for foreign service, if enough volunteers did not come forward.
In the event they were not required. - On 28 May a fine new brig arrived in Plymouth which had been cut out under fire from French batteries by the boats of NAIAD and HAZARD from among the Penmark Rocks off Brest.
A chasse-maree from the same place was also cut out and sunk. - On 29 May the French national corvette IMATIENT of 20 guns and 80 men was captured in the Bay of Biscay. She was commanded by Lieut. Hypolite Arnous and was bound for Rochefort from Senegal.
Her bow anchors and some of her guns were thrown overboard during the chase.
Two days later she captured the French merchant ship CHASSEUR taking sugar, cotton and coffee from San Domingo to L'Orient.
A handsome, newly coppered ship, she was commanded by a Lieut. Lamer. - More prizes arrived at Plymouth between 2 and 4 June.
A fine French brig from the Straits and a Dutch sloop from the same place with a valuable cargo of drugs and medicines; also a French corvette from Goree laden with gum and ivory.
All were taken by NAIAD and DORIS. - The NAPOLEON, a French brig from Guadeloupe bound for Nantes with sugar and coffee, was sent back to Plymouth from the Channel fleet on 27 June. She arrived on 2 July.
- When Capt. WALLIS learned that a French national schooner was lying at anchor with the rocks at the Saints, Capt. WALLIS sent in his boats on the night of 4 July to bring her out.
Those taking part included Mr William DEAN, First Lieutenant; Mr John LOUIS, Third Lieutenant; Lieut IRWIN of the Marines; Messrs GORDON, GLENNY and STEWART, Midshipmen.
In spite of the strong tides and the many rocks and shoals they brought her out without loss.
The lieutenant in command, Citizen Martres Preville, had fled on shore with his officers and men as soon as NAIAD's boats were sighted, leaving only one man and two boys on board. - The prize was the PROVIDENCE of nearly 200 tons. She had only two guns mounted but was laden with 36, 24 and 18 pounder cannon she was taking to Brest from a foundry near Nantes.
Her cargo also included some choice timber.
NAIAD returned to Plymouth from her cruise on 7 September and went in for a refit.
This was completed on 2 October when she went from Barnpool out into the Sound to await orders.
On the 5th. Rear Ad. DACRES went into the Sound and paid NAIAD six months wages.
As soon as she was paid she hoisted the Blue Peter at the fore as a signal for sailing.
The following morning she sailed down Channel. - During the following fifteen weeks she was cruising off Ferrol and Corunna with Sir Edward PELLEW's squadron and experienced very bad weather with severe gales.
In spite of the weather blowing them off station on several occasions they succeeded in preventing the French squadrons from Ferrol and Corunna linking up together.
NAIAD left the squadron on 8 January 1804 when they were close in to Ferrol, to carry dispatches to Ad. CORNWALLIS off Ushant. She left the Admiral on Tuesday the 10th. and arrived back in Plymouth on the 14th. - Her next station was with the squadron off Brest and she brought back dispatches for the Admiralty on 10 May. She sailed for a cruise off the coast of Spain on 24 September 1804
- Capt. Thomas DUNDAS.
At daylight on Tuesday 27 November 1804 while NAIAD was off Brest, Capt. DUNDAS saw some small vessels open musket fire on boats belonging to AIGLE and wound two seamen.
He gave chase and captured two of them, Gun-boats Nos.
361 and 369.
They each mounted one long brass 4 pounder and one short 12-pounder and had on board a lieutenant from the 63rd. infantry regiment, 36 privates and six seamen.
They had sailed with fourteen others from Dandiorne to Brest.
Capt. DUNDAS ordered Capt. HAWKINS of the sloop DISPATCH to take them in to Plymouth. - NAIAD returned to Plymouth on 7 January 1805 from a cruise off the coast of Spain.
On going up to the harbour she nearly ran ashore but managed to wear and reach her moorings. She brought with her a large Spanish ship with 200,000 dollars on board plus a valuable cargo of dry goods.
NAIAD sailed again the next day on a cruise to the westward.
On 17 February a neutral ship flying Pappenburgh colours arrived in the Sound; she had been sent in by NAIAD suspected of carrying Spanish property. - On 23 February 1809 NAIAD was at anchor to the north-west of the Chassiron lighthouse with DEFIANCE, DONEGAL and EMERALD, the squadron being under the command of Rear Ad. Robert STOPFORD in CAESAR.
When several rockets were seen to the north-west in the evening the admiral got them under sail and stood towards them.
At daylight the next morning they were seen to be eight sail-of-the-line and two frigates flying French colours and standing into the Pertuis d'Antioche.
NAIAD was immediately detached to warn Ad. Lord GAMBIER of the arrival of the French squadron from Brest but, before she had gone a few miles to the N. W., she sighted three French frigates standing in for the Sable d'Olonne.
On receiving a signal from NAIAD Ad. STOPFORD left AMETHYST and EMERALD to watch the enemy and went in chase of them with the rest of his squadron now strengthened by AMELIA and DOTTEREL.
The French anchored under the protection of batteries but they were soon driven ashore by the fire of the British ships.
On 2 March one of them was abandoned by her crew, the other two were afloat at high water but on their beam ends at low water, a westerly swell was expected to destroy them.
The admiral returned to blockade the main French force at the Ile d'Aix until 7 March when Ad. Lord GAMBIER arrived to take command. - 1810 Capt. Henry HILL.
On 26 and 27 March 1810 a court martial was held on board the SALVADOR DEL MUNDO in the Hamoaze for the trial of eight petty officers and seamen from NAIAD.
They were charged with making mutinous assemblies to try and induce the ship's company to request a draft from the ship and not sail under Capt. HILL because of his tyrannical treatment of the crew.
Thomas PASSMORE, seaman; John CAMPBELL and Henry PAGE, captains of the forecastle were sentenced to death by hanging.
Robert CUDDEFORD, carpenter's crew, was sentenced to 150 lashes; Thomas DORMAN, seaman, to 100; William MOULTON, captain of the foretop, and Joseph NASH, captain of the main-top, to 50 lashes each around the fleet.
In June the men sentenced to death were pardoned.
Their reprieve was read to them by Capt. WOLLEY with a suitable admonition.
The greater part, if not the whole, of the remainder were also pardoned.
The following year Capt. HILL left the NAIAD being too senior to command a frigate, he was not employed again. - 1811 Capt. Philip CARTERET, 07/1811, Downs station.
(Mr John Potenger GREENLAW, first lieutenant) On 20 September NAIAD was at anchor of Boulogne and, at about noon, Napoleon Buonaparte was seen inspecting the French flotilla moored inshore under the protection of shore batteries.
His barge then sailed along the coast about 3 miles to inspect Wimereux and Ambleteuse.
Capt. CARTERET expected that some sort of demonstration was to be expected to impress Napoleon, so he was not surprised to seven praams weigh and stand towards NAIAD.
The praams approached within gunshot and successively discharged their broadsides then waited until they were joined by ten brigs and a sloop and for the next two hours they occasionally fired at NAIAD causing little damage.
At slack water NAIAD weighed and stood off but when it became calm both sides anchored. - The following morning the French weighed and stood out to resume the same sort of cannonade as the previous day but this time NAIAD was able to get well to windward, followed by the French, and joined REDPOLE, RINALDO, CASTILIAN and VIPER who had come up during the night.
When the French tacked inshore, the British squadron bore up together under all sail and, as soon as they were within pistol-shot, They opened fire on both sides at the flotilla and the batteries. - NAIAD ran on board one of the praams, VILLE DE LYON, and the master, Mr GRANT, lashed her alongside.
The small-arms men and the boarders soon overpowered the very obstinate resistance wounding her captain,M. Barbaud, and killing or wounding 30 or 40 out of the 112 seamen and soldiers on board. She mounted twelve long 24-pounders.
Two were killed on NAIAD and 14 wounded. - NAIAD captured the French privateer lugger MILAN, of 16 guns and 50 men off Treport on the 6 August, and a little later a similar vessel, the REQUIN of Boulogne, with only two guns mounted, the others still in the hold.
- In April the following year three seamen were drowned, and Capt. CARTERET was taken unconscious from the sea, after his gig upset off Cowes.
- Capt. CARTERET moved to POMONE towards the end of 1812 when NAIAD was paid off. She then remained in ordinary at Portsmouth until 1823.
- 1823 Capt. Robert Cavendish SPENCER, 04/1823.
He found it difficult to get a crew to commission the ship due to a prejudice (apparently unfounded) against his first lieutenant, Michael QUINN. She eventually sailed with five sixths of her complement after the captain had used his political influence on behalf of a commander with men to spare (the commander was promoted). - After cruising in the Channel she sailed from Spithead for Lisbon in September.
In January 1824 NAIAD and CAMELION (10) were sent to Algiers where the Dey had forcibly entered the house of the British consul and taken away two of his servants.
When he arrived Capt. SPENCER found two captured Spanish vessels in the harbour, their crews destined for slavery.
He reminded the Dey that the treaty signed after the attack on Algiers by Lord Exmouth in 1816 forbade the enslavement of Christians and made their release part of his demands. - When the Dey proved obstinate Capt. SPENCER embarked the Consul and his family and sailed with CAMELION on 31 January.
0ff the port they gave chase to the corvette, TRIPOLI (18) which had captured the Spanish vessels and, when she refused to come to after shots were fired across her bow, she was reduced to a wreck by NAIAD's broadsides before being boarded by CAMELION.
Before being abandoned the Algerine commander was taken off and 17 Spanish captives rescued from slavery.
NAIAD then made for Malta where Capt. SPENCER reported to the C. in C., Sir Harry NEALE and the two of them returned to Algiers two days later.
The Dey still refused British demands so a blockade of the Barbary coast was instituted. - On the night of 23 May 1824 the boats of NAIAD under Lieut. Michael QUIN destroyed an Algerine 16-gun-brig of war moored alongside the walls of the fortress of Bona. She was moored head and stern, in addition to a chain cable fast on shore. She was covered by at least 40 pieces of cannon, including those landed from the ship, none further off than short canister range.
The guns were worked by 400 Turkish soldiers assisted by the greater part of brig's crew. - Because the brig was floating so high in the water boarding proved difficult but, once this accomplished, the British force did not leave until she was ablaze from stem to stern.
Eventually she blew up and burnt to the water's edge before vanishing completely below the surface.
In spite of the tremendous fire of cannon and small arms only a few men were hurt and none killed. - The officers and midshipmen employed in the boats were: Lieuts. Michael QUIN, Thomas DILKE and George EVANS; Messrs. Searls OLDHAM, Thomas LAVINGTON, David MOSEBERRY, John ROBB, Chas.
SCHREIBER, George DAVIES, John SEALY, Chas.
HOTHAM, Fred.
GREY, Chas RYDER and Edmund SEPPINGS.
The marines were led by Lieut. W. S. Knapman RM - While enforcing the blockade NAIAD captured the MUNI bound for Algiers from Livorno and assisted in cutting out a grain ship from under the guns of Bona.
When the C. in C. assembled his squadron in the Bay of Algiers and they took up positions to bombard the town, the Dey decided to bow to the inevitable.
The squadron was dispersed while Capt. SPENCER concluded the treaty. - NAIAD was employed in the archipelgo where Capt. SPENCER, as senior officer in the Ionian Islands, took part in the negotiations between Greeks and Turks in Morea before being ordered home on 2 August 1826. She paid off at Portsmouth in the autumn.
- NAIAD remained out of commission at Portsmouth until she was employed as a storeship at Valparaiso under a succession of masters, William BROWNE, 10/1846; Samuel STRONG, 1
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