HMS ''Albemarle'' was a 28-gun
sixth rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works a ...
frigate of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
. She had been built as the French merchantman ''Ménagère'', which the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
purchased in 1779. A British squadron captured her in September and she was commissioned into service with the Royal Navy. Amongst her commanders in her short career was
Captain Horatio Nelson, who would later win several famous victories over the French. The Navy sold her in 1784. She subsequently became a merchant vessel again. In 1791 she transported
convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...
s to
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...
as part of
the third fleet. She then sailed to India where she picked up a cargo on behalf of the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
. As she was returning to England a French privateer captured her.
Career
''Ménagère'' was launched in 1776 as a merchant vessel. The French Navy purchased her at
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
in May 1779.
The French government despatched her from Bordeaux for
Cap-François, together with other transport vessels. On 22 and 23 September, a Royal Navy squadron under
William Hotham, captured seven members of the convoy off
San Domingo
Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and t ...
. The actual captor may have been , though supporting evidence is scarce.
The
prize court
A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the t ...
at Barbados condemned ''Ménagère'' on 17 November. At that point the Royal Navy acquired her, the only one out of the seven vessels that the squadron had captured that it wanted to keep.
Captain John Thomas commissioned ''Ménagère'' on 22 November, and brought with him the officers and crew from his previous command, the
sloop . An additional 44 men transferred from Hotham's flagship ; ''Albemarle'' was duly assigned to serve off the
Leeward Islands. Captain Thomas Taylor succeeded Thomas on 12 June 1780. Under Taylor, ''Albemarle'' was part of
Sir George Rodney's fleet during the
Battle of Martinique in April 1780, but did not herself take part in the battle.
''Albemarle'' remained in the Caribbean and was in
Carlisle Bay, Barbados
Carlisle Bay is a small natural harbour located in the southwest region of Barbados. The island nation's capital, Bridgetown, is situated on this bay which has been turned into a marine park. Carlisle Bay's marine park is a popular spot on the ...
, when a hurricane that began on 11 October damaged her. Taylor remained in command while repairs were carried out that allowed her to sail for Britain as a convoy escort. She was paid off in February 1781.
Under Nelson
''Albemarle'' was then fitted and
coppered at
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...
between 3 July and 12 October 1781. The work cost £7,302 4
s 1
d. While ''Albemarle'' was undergoing this fitting, the 22-year-old Captain
Horatio Nelson commissioned her on 15 August 1781 for the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
and the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
.
Nelson was initially enthusiastic about his new command, comparing her to , which was also refitting, and declaring in a letter:
Yesterday I went down to Woolwich with Maurice, and hoisted my Pendant; and I am perfectly satisfied with her, as a twenty-eight gun Frigate. She is in dock, alongside the ''Enterprize'', and in some I think, excels her. She has a bold entrance and a clean run.
Nelson's companion and former commanding officer, Captain
William Locker
William Locker (16 February 1866 – 15 August 1952) was an English footballer and cricketer. He played first-class cricket for Derbyshire between 1894 and 1903 and football for Stoke, Derby County and Notts County. He was one of nineteen spo ...
, was more experienced and privately doubted ''Albemarle''s capabilities. Nelson sailed as a convoy escort to
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
with the ''Enterprize'' and on 31 October 1781. While returning to Britain, the convoy ran into heavy weather, and was forced to seek shelter in Yarmouth Roads. On 26 January one of the merchants collided with the ''Albemarle'', an accident that nearly caused the loss of both ships. On her return ''Albemarle'' again underwent fitting between February and April 1782, this time at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
.
Next, ''Albemarle'' sailed on 7 April 1782 as escort to a convoy to
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. The convoy arrived on 27 May 1782, after which Nelson continued to operate off the North American coast. He narrowly escaped capture when on 14 August a French squadron under
Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil
Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil (18 April 1724 – 14 December 1802) was second in command of the French squadron off America during the American Revolutionary War.
Biography Early life
Louis-Philippe Rigaud de Vaudreuil was ...
chased him off
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
Nelson did however capture a number of
prizes
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements. during his cruise, including the French storeship ''Reine de France''. Nelson then requested and received a transfer to the squadron under Admiral
Samuel Hood, with whom he sailed to
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
. Notable amongst Nelson's services in the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...
in this period was his unsuccessful attack on the French garrison at
Turk's Island on 7 and 8 March 1783.
Sale
Nelson was HMS ''Albemarle''s third and last commander. She was paid off on 3 July 1783 and subsequently sold at Portsmouth for the sum of £370 on 1 June 1784.
Merchant vessel
''Albemarle'' then disappears from readily accessible records for some years. In 1791 she reappears in the supplemental pages to ''
Lloyd's Register
Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...
''. ''Albemarle'', French-built, of 530 tons, appears with Js. Boulton, master, Calvert & Co., owner, and trade, London-Botany Bay. Calvert & Co. then chartered her to the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...
(EIC), who in turn chartered her to the British government to transport
convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as " prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former conv ...
s to Australia.
Under the command of George Bowen, master, she departed Portsmouth on 27 March 1791 as part of
the third fleet. By 9 April ''Albemarle'' had separated from the other vessels of the Portsmouth group. Some convicts then attempted to capture her, but the guards and the ship's company quickly suppressed the uprising. Captain Bowen hanged the two convicts that appeared to be the ringleaders. The remaining recaptured convicts revealed that two sailors had instigated the uprising and Bowen had the two restrained until he could land them at Madeira where a British warship collected them and took them back to England.
On 13 October 1791 ''Albemarle'' arrived in
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. She had embarked 282 male convicts, 32 of whom died during the voyage; two of these were the men executed for the mutiny. An additional six female convicts, of uncertain origin, were found on board upon arrival. ''Albemarle'' left Port Jackson on 3 December 1791, in company with , bound for India.
The EIC had instructed the masters of ''Albemarle'', ''Active'', , and to sail to India after disembarking their convicts. It had also provided them with money with which to purchase cargoes on behalf of the company for carriage back to England.
Fate
''Albemarle'' left Bombay on 23 December 1792, again in company with ''Active''. The French privateer
''Duguay-Trouin'' captured ''Albemarle'' in May 1793 and took her into
Morlaix
Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Leisure and tourism
The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overha ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. A contemporary report in ''
Lloyd's List
''Lloyd's List'' is one of the world's oldest continuously running journals, having provided weekly shipping news in London as early as 1734. It was published daily until 2013 (when the final print issue, number 60,850, was published), and is ...
'' reports ''Albemarle'' as having come from Bombay, and her captor taking her into France. The same issue has a separate report of a privateer having taken ''Active'' and having sent her into
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
. A report from three weeks later has ''Albemarle'' being taken into Morlaix.
''Lloyd's List'', n°2519.
/ref>
Notes, citations, and references
Notes
Citations
References
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albemarle (1779)
Ships built in France
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Ships of the Fishery Protection Squadron of the United Kingdom
Captured ships
Ships of the British East India Company
1770s ships
Ships of the Third Fleet
Mutinies