HMS Drake (1777)
History | |
---|---|
Name | HMS Drake |
Acquired | By purchase, 1777 |
Fate | Captured by USS Ranger, 24 April 1778 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Sloop-of-war |
Tons burthen | 274 61⁄94 bm |
Length |
|
Beam | 26 ft 1 in (8.0 m) |
Depth of hold | 18 ft 3.5 in (5.58 m) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
Complement | 100 |
Armament | 14 x 4-pounder guns |
HMS Drake was a Royal Navy 14-gun ship rigged sloop-of-war[1] with a displacement of 275 tons burthen. Originally named the Royal Oak,[note 1] she was built in New England in 1775 by John Wharton from Philadelphia. She first sailed between London and Stettin as a tobacco-ship. She was then sold in 1776 and renamed Resolution. Captained by Edward Hawker, the ship traded between London, Boston, and Cork. On 4 March 1777 the British navy purchased her at Plymouth for 3,000 pounds sterling. She completed fitting out as a warship on 24 May 1777. She became the ship-rigged sloop-of-war Drake with either 14, 18 or 20 guns. From July 17, 1777, she served in the American Revolutionary War. Her first mission was protecting the packet-boats between Harwich and Gorée [2]
Description
The Drake had 3 masts, 5 windows at the stern gallery, a quarter-deck, a figurehead representing a warrior in armour with a sword (probably the King of England Charles II). According to John Paul Jones the Drake was very similar to his former ship: the frigate
Career
HMS Drake was a Royal Navy 14-gun sloop-of-war with a displacement of either 275 tons burthen. Originally named the Royal Oak, she was built in New England in 1775 by John Wharton from Philadelphia. She first sailed between London and Stettin as a tobacco-ship. She was then sold in 1776 and renamed Resolution. Captained by Edward Hawker, the ship traded between London, Boston, and Cork. On 4 March 1777 the British navy purchased her at Plymouth for 3,000 pounds sterling. She completed fitting out as a warship on 24 May 1777. She became the ship-rigged sloop-of-war Drake with either 14, 18 or 20 guns. From July 17, 1777, she served in the American Revolutionary War. Her first mission was protecting the packet-boats between Harwich and Gorée [4]
On 24 April 1778, off Carrickfergus in northern Ireland, she fought the North Channel naval duel with the 18-gun sloop Ranger of the Continental Navy, commanded by Captain John Paul Jones. Five of Drake's crew, including her captain, George Burdon, were killed, and after an hour-long engagement, Drake surrendered to the Americans. Jones was able to evade capture and deliver Drake to Brest, France as his prize on 8 May 1778. This was the first, and most complete, American victory over any Royal Navy vessel in British waters.[5][6]
At Brest, Jones sold Drake to his friend Jonathan Williams, who handed her over the next year to Jean Peltier-Dudoyer in Nantes. In July 1779, she left Nantes for Brest, under captain Jean-Baptiste Cotton de Chaucy, having been chartered by the French to escort a 10-vessel convoy between Brest and the
At the beginning of 1781, Jean Peltier Dudoyer prepared five ships in
She sailed again to Isle de France in November, left on 1 December 1782, and arrived at
Notes
- King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcesterin 1651.
References
- ^ "NAVAL DOCUMENTS OF The American Revolution" (PDF). history.navy.mil. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ Lloyd’s Registers of Shipping 1775 to 1777/ Lloyd’s lists 1775 to 1777/ Three Decks Warships in the Age of Sail/ Granville Hough’s ships listing.
- ^ ‘’ John Paul Jones’’ by Samuel Eliot Morison 1959 + Various paintings showing the capture of the Drake by the Ranger.
- ^ Lloyd’s Registers of Shipping 1775 to 1777/ Lloyd’s lists 1775 to 1777/ Three Decks Warships in the Age of Sail/ Granville Hough’s ships listing.
- ^ "USS Ranger". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. 2003. Retrieved 9 January 2012
- ^ "He Bought HMS Drake". Seacoast New Hampshire. 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ^ Samuel Eliot Morison/1959 « John Paul Jones »/Archives Départementales de Loire-Atlantique: Notaire Briand-le-Jeune’s papers May 1782.
- ^ fr.wikipedia.org Jean Peltier Dudoyer / Jonathan Williams Jr “The Papers of Benjamin Franklin-1.10.1778”/ Henri Cordier: ”Mémoires sur le Pégu” pages 121 to 152/ Secrétariat d’Etat à la Marine-Personnel Colonial ancien-Lettre D: Deshayes, subrécargue des flûtes du Roi La Baleine et Le Drake, chargé d’une expédition de Pondichéry au Pégou (1784-1786) code réf. COL E 125 folios 390 to 397/ Secrétarie d’Etat à la Marine. Correspondance à l’arrivée extrême-orient: ‘’Expédition du Pégu par le Sieur Deshayes, commandant la flûte du Roi le Drake. Années 1784, 1785 et 1786 ‘’, Selon les instructions de Bussy du 18 décembre 1784 (30 Janvier 1787). Code Communication : 202 MIOM 11 Code de référence : COL C1 21 folios 173 to 186.