HMS Blossom (1806)
His Majesty's ship Blossom off the Sandwich Islands
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Blossom |
Ordered | 19 November 1805 |
Builder | Robert Guillaume, Northam |
Laid down | February 1806 |
Launched | 10 December 1806 |
Completed | 21 April 1807 |
Reclassified |
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Fate | Broken up in August 1848 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | 18-gun Cormorant-class sloop-of-war |
Tons burthen | 427 bm |
Length |
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Beam | 29 ft 8+3⁄4 in (9.1 m) |
Depth of hold | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Complement | 121 |
Armament |
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HMS Blossom was an 18-gun Cormorant-class sloop-of-war. She was built in 1806 and is best known for the 1825–1828 expedition under Captain Beechey to the Pacific Ocean. She explored as far north as Point Barrow, Alaska, the furthest point into the Arctic any non-Inuit had been at the time. She was finally broken up in 1848.
Napoleonic Wars
On 26 February 1808 Blossom was in company with Eclipse when they captured Sally and Hetty, William Fleming, Master.[2] Blossom was in company with Jamaica when they recaptured the American brig Iris.[3]
In the mid-morning of 23 February 1812, Blossom was five
On 18 August 1812, shortly after the outbreak of war with America, Blossom and Hyacinth were in sight when the letter of marque Sir Alexander Ball captured the American ship Grace Ann Green.[5]
Post-war
Blossom was re-rated as a 24-gun
In 1917 a copper plate was discovered in the Bonin Islands, inscribed with a message claiming the islands as a British possession:
HBM Ship Blossom Capt F. W. Beechey took possession of this Group of Islands in the Name of and on the behalf of His Britannic Majesty George the IV on the 14th June 1827.[6]
In 1827, Captain Beechey discovered a submerged obstacle in
Blossom was paid off in May 1828. Between April and August 1829, she was at Woolwich being fitted as a
Fate
Blossom was hulked as a lazarette at Sheerness in January 1833, and was broken up at Chatham in August 1848.
See also
- European and American voyages of scientific exploration
- Blossom Point, Wrangel Island, named after the ship.
Notes
- ^ The two trees were thereafter known as "Navigation Trees." They grew in Alameda County, California in what is now Roberts Regional Recreation Area until the early 1850s, when they were cut down by loggers.[7]
Sources
- ^ a b c Winfield (2008), pp.261–2.
- ^ "No. 16332". The London Gazette. 9 January 1810. p. 63.
- ^ "No. 16420". The London Gazette. 30 October 1810. p. 1733.
- ^ "No. 16596". The London Gazette. 21 April 1812. p. 756.
- ^ "No. 17106". The London Gazette. 3 February 1816. p. 210.
- JSTOR 20702990.
- ^ "Site of Blossom Rock Navigation Trees – Historical Landmark." California Office of Historic Preservation. 13 November 1984. Accessed 7 September 2017.
References
- Beechey, Frederick William (1832). Narrative of A Voyage To The Pacific And Beering's Strait, To Co-Operate With The Polar Expeditions Performed In His Majesty's Ship Blossom, Under The Command Of Captain F. W. Beechey, R. N. In The Years 1825, 26, 27, 28. Philadelphia: Carey & Lea. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. OCLC 52620555.
- Ships of discovery and exploration, by Lincoln P. Paine
- Earliest Records of the Islands Their Discovery by Captain Beechey, H.M.S. Blossom
- Mid-Victorian RN vessel HMS Blossom