HMS Latona (1781)

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For other ships with the same name, see HMS Latona.

HMS Latona - Detail from a 1781 painting of Sir Hyde Parker by George Romney
History
Great Britain
NameHMS Latona
Ordered22 March 1779
BuilderEdward Greaves's yard at Limehouse
Laid downOctober 1779
Launched13 March 1781
CommissionedMarch 1781
Honours and
awards		Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Curacoa 1 Jany. 1807"[1]
Fate1813 hulked. 1816 sold.
General characteristics
Tons burthen944 20⁄94 (bm)
Length141 ft 3 in (43.05 m)
Beam38 ft 11+3⁄4 in (11.881 m)
Depth of hold13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
PropulsionSail
Complement270 (raised to 280 on 25 April 1780)
Armament

HMS Latona was a 36-gun,

Algeciras Bay
.

Late in 1792, when the British began re-arming in anticipation of another war with France, Latona underwent a refit and was recommissioned for the

ship-of-the-line HMS Bellerophon and firing on two French 74s
before towing her to safety.

Latona operated with a British squadron in the

laid up in ordinary, shortly after the Treaty of Amiens. Hostilities resumed in May 1803, but Latona was not brought back into service until the end of 1804. In April 1806, she was sent to the West Indies and was part of a small squadron of four frigates that captured Curaçao, on 1 January 1807. Sailing into the harbour second, behind HMS Arethusa, she helped the British frigate capture the 36-gun Kenau Hasselar
before putting men ashore to storm the town and its defences.

When the 40-gun

Major-General Frederick Maitland, the French squadron was forced to flee. Latona, the ship-of-the-line HMS Pompee and the frigate HMS Castor went after the 74-gun D'Hautpoul
which struck two days later, when more British ships appeared on the horizon. Latona was converted to a troopship in May 1810 then
receiving ship at Leith, then in December, she was recommissioned as a warship and used as the flagship of Admiral Sir William Johnstone Hope
. She was sold in 1816.

Design

Latona was a 36-gun frigate designed by the senior surveyor

John Williams and ordered on 22 March 1779. Her keel, of 116 feet 10 inches (35.6 m) was laid down at Limehouse in November 1782 by the shipwright company, Greaves and Purnell. When finished, she was 141 feet 3 inches (43.1 m) along the gun deck, had a beam of 38 feet 11+3⁄4 inches (11.9 m) and a depth in the hold of 13 feet 6 inches (4.1 m). She was 94420⁄94 tons burthen and drew between 10 ft 1+1⁄2 in (3.086 m) and 13 ft 11+1⁄2 in (4.255 m).[2]

The frigate was initially designed to carry a main battery of twenty-eight 18-pounder (8.2 kg) guns, with a secondary armament of ten 6-pounder (2.7 kg) guns on the upperworks. On 30 September the armament was increased by the addition of ten 18-pounder carronades, although only eight were fitted, and fourteen 1⁄2-pounder (0.23 kg) swivel guns. Then on 25 April 1780, it was decided to upgrade the six-pound long guns with 9 pounders (4.1 kg).[2]

In this era it was common for each surveyor to produce independent designs for new ship types, and this design was a counterpoint to Edward Hunt's HMS Minerva; together the two draughts represent the prototype of the thirty-eight gun, 18-pounder armed frigate.[2]

Latona was

Admiralty £22,470.3.5d.[2]

Admiralty drawing of Latona, 1781

Early service

Latona was

general chase.[4] The Dutch admiral, Johan Zoutman, chose to keep his convoy under his lee. After a bloody battle with casualties high on both sides, the Dutch returned to Texel, whence they came.[5]

Relief of Gibraltar by Earl Howe, 11 October 1782, by Richard Paton

After November 1781, Latona was in the English Channel under Lord Hugh Conway, and on 25 April 1782 she captured a privateer, Bernardin.[2] Latona was part of

Cape St Vincent, on 8 October, Latona was dispatched to report on the condition of the Franco-Spanish fleet in the bay of Algeciras. It was known that this force of about 48 ships-of-the-line was poised to attack Gibraltar and, even if no attack was forthcoming, would pose a significant obstacle to Howe's relief mission.[6] She returned two days later with news that an attack had already taken place and had been beaten off.[7] The convoy entered the straits, and successfully delivered the vital supplies, food, and ammunition to the besieged, between 16 and 18 October. The large combined French and Spanish fleet, which had been blown off station, appeared on 19 October but was lured away by Howe's fleet the following day.[8] The faster British ships, never intending to give battle, were easily able to withdraw after a short engagement.[9]

Latona

paid off in April 1783 but was recommissioned the following month under Thomas Boston and, in November, she sailed for the Leeward Islands. Command passed successively to Charles Sandys in May 1784 then Lieutenant Velters Cornewall Berkeley in March 1786. The latter held the position until the ship paid off once again, in October.[2] Latona was laid up for some time before, in November 1788, work began at Woolwich to make her ready for sea once more. £15,978.0.0d was spent on extensive repairs and a refit. She was recommissioned in May 1790 by Albemarle Bertie but by the end of the year, she had been removed from service.[2]

Late in 1792, anticipating that it would soon be forced to enter the

war in Europe, Britain began military preparations.[10] In December, Latona was recommissioned under Edward Thornbrough and following a £12,644.0.0d refit, began service in The Channel in January 1793. She captured a French privateer, Amerique, in March and two more in May; Franklin and Ambitieux of ten guns apiece.[2]

French Revolutionary Wars

In July 1793, Latona was attached to Richard Howe's

Channel fleet.[11] Howe's 22 ships-of-the-line and accompanying frigates were returning from a cruise in the Bay of Biscay on 18 November, when Latona signalled the presence of enemy ships in Cancale Bay. They turned out to be a French squadron of six ships-of-the-line, two frigates and two smaller craft out of Brest.[12] Mistaking the British for a convoy they were expecting, the French ships began to sail towards their foe but soon realised their error and fled. Using his frigates to keep the enemy in sight, Howe set off in pursuit, but only Latona got close enough to engage. Coming up on the rearmost ships in the afternoon, she was eventually driven off when two French ships-of-the-line joined the action. In an attempt to catch up, some off the British ships were carrying too much sail; causing their topmasts to break. The chase was therefore abandoned. Although the French squadron was seen again on 19 November, bad weather prevented Howe staying in touch and the French were soon lost from sight.[13] A few days later, on 27 November, Latona was in a squadron under the command of Captain Thomas Pasley of the 74-gun HMS Bellerophon, which captured the 28-gun privateer, Blonde off Ushant.[14][a]

HMS Defence at the Battle of the Glorious 1st June 1794 by Nicholas Pocock

Still with the Channel fleet in May 1794, Latona and her compatriots were waiting for a large grain convoy bound for France from the United States.[19] Howe's fleet arrived off Ushant on 5 May and the frigates Latona and Phaeton were tasked with circumnavigating the island and looking in the Brest roads for the French fleet. When they returned to report the French were still in port, Howe set off to try and intercept the convoy before it could gain the protection of the Brest fleet. After almost two weeks spent searching the shipping lanes and finding nothing, the British fleet returned and on 19 May, Phaeton and Latona were again dispatched to monitor the roads.[20]

After finding the anchorage empty, the two frigates stopped an American vessel and learnt from the crew that the French fleet had sailed three days earlier. On the same day (19 May), the frigate HMS Venus joined Howes' fleet with news that a British squadron, under George Montagu, desperately needed reinforcements.[21] The next day, after Latona and Phaeton's return, Howes' fleet set off to rendezvous with Montagu and on the morning of 21 May, encountered a former Dutch convoy, taken by the French two days previous. Howe's ships managed to recapture about half, but unable to spare the men, Howe had his prizes burned. Realising now that the French fleet was nearby and that Montagu was safe, Howe abandoned his previous plan and set off in pursuit.[22]

The British found their quarry on 28 May, some 400 nautical miles (700 km) west of Ushant, and engaged in a running battle, culminating on 1 June 1794.[23] And, although seven French ships were captured or sunk without the British losing any, the vital grain convoy arrived in France without significant loss.[24] The killed and wounded among the British fleet amounted to 2,048. Casualties from the six French prizes alone were upwards of 1,200 and it is estimated that among the French fleet, 7,000 men were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.[24] Latona did not lose any of her crew despite being actively involved in the battle when, at 08:45 she came to the assistance of Bellerophon, firing on two French 74s before towing her to safety.[25]

There was a change of command and duty for Latona in September, when under Arthur Legge, she was part of a royal escort for Princess Caroline of Brunswick.[2]

Then a few days later, on 3 December, Latona captured the French brig Intrepide 40

galliot belonging to Bremen, which had been sailing from Faro to Liverpool with a cargo of fruit.[26]

Newfoundland, where the Admiral was to serve as the newly appointed governor. In November Frank Sotheron became Latona's captain and on 29 November was off Portugal when she captured the French Bordeaux-based privateer schooner Aigle about 107 leagues (520 km) north by west from Lisbon. Aigle had sailed from near Bayonne, on 6 November, but had captured nothing. She was pierced for 14 guns but carried only 12 small carriage guns, and had a crew of 62 men under the command of Francis Harimendy.[26]
Latona returned to England in February 1798 but was brought back to the West Indies in April and remained on that station for much of the remaining year. Sometime in late 1778 she fired a broadside into American merchantman "Aurora", her captain later claim the broadside wasn't ordered.[27] In December, she was back home once more.[2]

War of the Second Coalition

Surrender of the Dutch squadron on 30 August in the Vlieter, by Robert Dodd.

Between 8 March 1799 and 12 May, Latona captured many small Dutch vessels.

laid up in ordinary. Among them were 13 warships carrying a total of 510 guns, and of these, four small frigates and a 44-gun vessel were added to the Royal Navy.[29] Two days later, a British squadron under Vice-Admiral Andrew Mitchell entered the Vlieter roads where a Dutch squadron under Vice-Admiral Samuel Story was anchored. Latona and two other frigates grounded in the narrow channel, but all managed to get off and join their compatriots in line opposite the Dutch, who accepted an offer to surrender and handed over their ships.[31]

Latona was operating on the Lisbon station towards the end of the year, where she captured two privateers: the 12-gun Aigle on 29 November, and the 14-gun Intrepide on 3 December.

St Petersburg from August to October. She then sailed back to England and paid off.[33]

Napoleonic Wars

Having been laid up in ordinary since October 1802, Latona required substantial repair before returning to service. The work was undertaken at Deptford between April and October 1804; after which she was taken into the Channel, by Thomas Le Marchant Gosselin, who had taken command in August.[33] Latona captured the Spanish ketch Amphion, armed with 12 guns and 70 men, at sea on 22 October 1805.

In April 1806, Latona was under Captain

James Dacres, to ascertain the willingness of the population of Curaçao to enter into an alliance.[34][33] Latona with the razee HMS Anson and the frigate HMS Arethusa, left Port Royal on 29 November with orders to enlist the 38-gun HMS Fisgard, then somewhere at sea. The three vessels, under the command of Charles Brisbane in Arethusa, arrived in Aruba on 22 December, having been held back by unfavourable winds and tides, and were joined the following day by Fisgard.[35]

The capture of Curaçao, depicted by Thomas Whitcombe

The expedition left on 24 December and arrived off Curaçao on 1 January 1807. The island was heavily defended by a chain of fortifications along the high ground, that also overlooked the harbour. Fort Amsterdam, had 60 guns guarding the entrance, and inside, the guns of a second large fort, Fort Republick, covered the entire anchorage. With such a small force at his disposal, Brisbane thought a peaceful solution unlikely and, in order that he might begin negotiations from a position of strength, sailed his ships straight into the harbour.[35]

Arethusa led under a

flag of truce, which the Dutch ignored, Latona second, followed by Anson and Fisgard, the latter grounding after a shift of wind. At 06:15, the British still coming under heavy fire, the flag of truce was taken down and an action started on the ships in the harbour. Arethusa fired three broadsides into the 36-gun frigate, Kenau Hasselar, before Brisbane led a boarding party. Shortly after, Latona drew alongside and the Dutch ship was taken. In the meantime, men from Anson boarded and captured the 22-gun Suriname.[36] Two schooners were also seized in the battle.[37]

Sailors from all four British frigates went ashore at 07:30, storming Fort Amsterdam, which was successfully overcome in about ten minutes, before taking the town and its citadel. After which, at 09:30, they returned to their ships and, after half an hour, had pounded Fort Republik into submission. By noon, the whole island had capitulated.

Patriotic Fund gave each of the four captains a gold medal and a gift; Wood received a vase valued at £105.0.0d. Several promotions were given to the lesser officers and in 1849, the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Curacoa 1 Jany. 1807" to surviving claimants.[38][36][39] [c]

Latona was part of the squadron under Admiral Sir

Santa Cruz on 25 December 1807. The Danes did not resist and the invasion was bloodless.[41]

Under the command of Hugh Pigot, Latona was at the action of 10 February 1809, where she was involved in the capture of the French 40-gun frigate Junon.[42] On 7 February, Junon escaped from a British blockade of the Îles des Saintes. She was seen and chased by two small brigs, one of which soon fell behind but the other, HMS Superieure of 14-guns, kept her in sight and was joined on the 9th by Latona; the crew of which had been alerted by the sound of gunfire. The next day, Junon was still some way ahead of her pursuers when two more British ships, the 38-gun HMS Horatio and the 18-gun HMS Driver, appeared and caused her to alter her course.[43] Seeing Latona steering to cut her off, Junon turned back towards Horatio, passing her on the opposite tack and exchanging fire. A short engagement followed in which both frigates were greatly damaged but Junon, less so in the sails and rigging, was able to leave Horatio behind. She was then attacked by Superiere until Latona caught up and opened fire. Junon's main and mizzen mast fell and she struck.[44]

In April 1809, a

Major-General Frederick Maitland and Captain Philip Beaver in Acasta, invaded and captured the islands.[45] Latona was among the naval vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture of the islands.[d] The French squadron was obliged to quit its position, after the British established a battery on the mountain overlooking the anchorage.[47][48] Despite leaving under cover of darkness, Troude's ships were noticed by the 18-gun HMS Hazard, which immediately alerted the rest of the blockading force.[48] At 22:00, two hours later, two British vessels, HMS Pompee of 74 guns and the 18-gun Recruit, came close enough to open fire on D'Hautpoul, the rearmost French ship. Soon after, HMS Neptune joined the attack but none of the shots, all fired from distance, did any damage and the French began to draw away.[49] Only Recruit stayed in touch, harrying her quarry throughout the night and following day until Pompee rejoined the action on the evening of the 15th and caused the three French 74s to scatter. Pompee continued her pursuit of D'Hautpoul and was joined by Latona and the 32-gun HMS Castor the next day. On 17 April, further British ships appeared and at 17:15 D'Hautpoul struck. The other two French 74s managed to escape to Cherbourg, having been chased by Recruit and Neptune when the squadron dispersed on 15 April.[49]

D'Hautpoul was taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Abercromby. The French had had 80–90 men killed or wounded during the action, the British had 10 killed and 35 wounded. The majority of the British casualties occurred on Pompee.[49] The two French storeships, Furieuse and Félicité, left the Îles des Saintes on 15 April, the day after Troude's line-of-battle ships. They made it to Gaudeloupe unmolested but when they left on 14 June, they were pursued by Latona and the 16-gun sloop, HMS Cherub. Félicité succumbed to Latona after a four-day chase; Furieuse managed to out-sail Cherub but was eventually taken by Bonne Citoyenne on 6 July.[49][50]

Later service and fate

In May 1810, work began at

receiving ship for service at Leith. In December 1813, Latona was recommissioned as a warship by Andrew Smith, as the flagship of Admiral Sir William Johnstone Hope; an appointment she held until she was sold in May 1816 for £2,550.0.0d[51]

Notes

  1. ^ At the time of her capture Blonde was armed with 28 guns and had a crew of 210 men under the command of Citizen Gueria.[15] A subsequent prize-money notice listed the vessels that shared in the proceeds as Bellerophon, Vanguard, Phoenix, Latona, and Phaeton.[16] Some sources, such as; Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours by Jean-Michel Roche, the British Warships in the Age of Sail series by Rif Winfield and La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 À 1792 by Alain Demerliac, attribute the capture of Blonde to Latona and Phaeton alone.[17][18][2]
  2. d; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 5d.[28]
  3. London Gazette reported a disputed claim for prize money from a fifth vessel, Morne Fortunee. Neither the original reports nor the accounts of William James and William Laird Clowes acknowledge this ship as being at the capture of Curaçao.[37][40] By 1849, when the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal, Morne Fortunee was listed together with the four frigates.[39]
    65 medals were given out.
  4. ^ The prize agent for a number of the vessels involved, Henry Abbott, went bankrupt. In May 1835 there was a final payment of a dividend from his estate. A first-class share was worth 10s 2+3⁄4d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth 1d. Seventh-class (landsmen) and eighth-class (boys) shares were fractions of a penny, too small to pay.[46]

Citations

  1. ^ "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 241.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Winfield (2007) p. 207
  3. ^ Clowes (Vol.III) p. 505
  4. ^ Clowes (Vol.III) p. 506
  5. ^ Clowes (Vol.III) p. 508
  6. ^ a b Clowes (Vol.III) p. 540
  7. ^ Clowes (Vol.III) p. 541
  8. ^ Clowes (Vol.III) pp. 541 - 542
  9. ^ Clowes (Vol.III) p. 542
  10. ^ Fremont-Barnes p. 27
  11. ^ James (Vol.V) p. 57
  12. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) p. 201
  13. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) p. 202
  14. ^ Fonds Marine p. 56
  15. ^ "No. 13601". The London Gazette. 7 December 1793. p. 1100.
  16. ^ "No. 13704". The London Gazette. 16 September 1794. p. 946.
  17. ^ Roche p. 77
  18. ^ Demerliac p. 40
  19. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) p. 215
  20. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) p. 216
  21. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) p. 217
  22. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) p. 218
  23. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) pp. 222 - 227
  24. ^ a b Clowes (Vol.IV) p. 228
  25. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) pp. 229 - 230
  26. ^ a b "No. 14077". The London Gazette. 26 December 1797. p. 1231.
  27. ^ "Naval Documents related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France Volume 2 Part 1 of 3 Naval Operations November 1798 to March 1799" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  28. ^ a b "No. 16580". The London Gazette. 3 March 1812. p. 432.
  29. ^ a b Clowes (Vol.IV) p. 409
  30. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) pp. 408 - 409
  31. ^ Clowes (Vol.IV) pp. 409 - 410
  32. ^ Winfield (2007) pp.207 - 208
  33. ^ a b c Winfield (2007) p. 208
  34. ^ Clowes (Vol.V) p. 236
  35. ^ a b Clowes (Vol.V) p. 237
  36. ^ a b c d Clowes (Vol.V) p. 238
  37. ^ a b c "No. 16003". The London Gazette. 22 February 1807. pp. 241–243.
  38. ^ Long p. 48
  39. ^ a b "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 241.
  40. ^ "No. 16206". The London Gazette. 3 December 1808. p. 1648.
  41. ^ "No. 17112". The London Gazette. 20 February 1816. p. 337.
  42. ^ James (Vol.V) pp. 150–152
  43. ^ Clowes (Vol.V) pp. 431 - 432
  44. ^ Clowes (Vol.V) p. 432
  45. ^ "No. 16262". The London Gazette. 30 May 1809. pp. 779–782.
  46. ^ "No. 19255". The London Gazette. 3 April 1835. p. 643.
  47. ^ "No. 16262". The London Gazette. 30 May 1809. p. 779.
  48. ^ a b Clowes (Vol.V) p. 435
  49. ^ a b c d Clowes (Vol.V) p. 436
  50. ^ "No. 16293". The London Gazette. 29 August 1809. p. 1384.
  51. ^ a b Winfield (2008) p. 139

References
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