HMS Rook (1806)
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Rook |
Ordered | 11 December 1805 |
Builder | Thomas Sutton, Ringmore, Devon |
Laid down | February 1806 |
Launched | 21 May 1806 |
Commissioned | July 1806 |
Honours and awards | Battle of Copenhagen (1807) |
Captured | 18 August 1808 |
Fate | Burnt by her French captors, 18 August 1808 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | Cuckoo-class schooner |
Tons burthen | 75 35⁄94 (bm) |
Length |
|
Beam | 18 ft 3+1⁄2 in (5.6 m) |
Draught |
|
Depth of hold | 8 ft 6+1⁄2 in (2.6 m) |
Sail plan | Full-rigged ship, Schooner |
Complement | 20 officers and men |
Armament | 4 × 12-pounder carronades |
HMS Rook was a
Service
She was commissioned by Lieutenant Joseph Griffiths for the North Sea.[1] With Rook he was present at the surrender of the Danish Fleet after the Battle of Copenhagen (1807) on 7 September.[2][a] Rook also received a share, with many other ships in the British fleet at Copenhagen in August–September 1807, of the prize money for the capture of Odifiord and Benedicta (4 and 12 September).[4]
In 1808 Lieutenant James Lawrence took command of Rook.[1] On 28 June, under orders from Admiral Young, she set sail from Plymouth in England to the West Indies. After refitting and taking on specie, on 13 August she left Port-Royal (Jamaica) for Britain with despatches. A French schooner shadowed her for two days, but Rook somehow evaded the hostile French ship.[5]
On 18 August Rook, still on her way to Britain with despatches, had the misfortune (having dodged one threat) to meet with two French privateers off Cape St. Nicholas (
Fate
The French intended to take Rook into port as a prize. However, the engagement had caused so much damage to her the French instead decided to set her on fire. They then sailed away as she burned and sank.[5]
Postscript
In 1810 James Auchie & Co., London, sued their insurers for six cases of specie, each containing $2000, carried in Rook and consigned to the company. However, as Lawrence had signed the
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b c Winfield (2008), p. 361.
- ^ Allen (1856), p.90.
- ^ "No. 16275". The London Gazette. 11 July 1809. p. 1103.
- ^ "No. 16728". The London Gazette. 11 May 1813. p. 924.
- ^ a b c Grocott (1997), p. 260.
- ^ Gosset (1986), p. 66.
- ^ Lloyd's List №4303.
- ^ James (1837), p.46.
- ^ Hepper (1994), p. 125.
- ^ Taunton, p. 303.
References
- Allen, Joseph (1856) The new navy list : and general record of the services of officers of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. (London: Parker, Furnivall, and Parker, Military Library, Whitehall).
- Gosset, William Patrick (1986). The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. Mansell. ISBN 0-7201-1816-6.
- Grocott, Terence (1997). Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras. London: Chatham. ISBN 1861760302.
- Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. OCLC 622348295.
- James, William (1837). The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. Vol. 5. R. Bentley.
- Taunton, William Pyle, Reports of cases argued and determined in the Court of common pleas, and other courts, from Michaelmas term, 48 Geo. III. 1807, to [Hilary term, 59 Geo. III. 1819] both inclusive. With tables of the cases and principal matters, Great Britain: Court of Common Pleas, p. 303
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.