HMS Anson (1781)

HMS ''Anson'' was a ship of the Royal Navy, launched at Plymouth on 4 September 1781. Originally a 64-gun third rate ship of the line, she fought at the Battle of the Saintes.

The ship proved too weak to stand in the line of battle, so in 1784 she was razéed to produce a frigate of 44 guns (fifth rate). Stronger than the average frigate of the time, the razee frigate ''Anson'' subsequently had a successful career during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, mostly operating against privateers, but also in small actions against enemy frigates.

''Anson'' was wrecked on 29 December 1807. Trapped by a lee shore off Loe Bar, Cornwall, England, she hit the rocks and between 60 and 190 men were killed. The subsequent treatment of the recovered bodies of drowned seamen caused controversy, and led to the Burial of Drowned Persons Act 1808.

Design and construction

The ship was ordered on 24 April 1773 as an ''Intrepid''-class ship of the line of 64 guns. The lead ship of the class, , had entered service in 1771 and proved satisfactory in sea trials, so the Royal Navy increased their order from four to fifteen ships. ''Anson'' was part of the expanded order, named after George Anson, 1st Baron Anson, the victorious admiral of the First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747).

''Anson'' was launched on 4 September 1781 by Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire. She was completed and entered service on 15 October 1781.

The ''Intrepid''-class design had been originally approved in 1765, so by the time ''Anson'' was launched it was over 15 years old. During that period, the design of ships-of-the-line had evolved, with the standard size and layout now being the seventy-four. ''Anson'' was therefore rather small and less solidly built than most of her contemporaries.

Battle of the Saintes

''Anson'' fought at the battle of Les Saintes on 12 April 1782 under the flag of Admiral Sir George Rodney against Admiral de Grasse. She was in the rear division, which was under the command of Rear-Admiral Francis Samuel Drake. In this engagement, Captain William Blair was one of the two Royal Navy post captains killed. Captain Blair was struck at waist level by a French cannonball and horrifically sliced in two.

In all ''Anson'' lost three men killed (including Blair), and 13 men wounded.

Conversion to a frigate

Experience with 64-gun ships throughout the navy, at the Battle of the Saintes and elsewhere, had shown that they were now too poorly armed and weakly built to stand in the line of battle against larger ships-of-the-line. Rather than dispose of the ships entirely, the Royal Navy subjected some ships to a razée – removing the uppermost deck (and its armament) to produce a large frigate. The subsequent razee frigate was more heavily armed and built than a typical purpose-built frigate, though was not as fast and easy to handle in strong winds.

''Anson'' was chosen for this process and in 1794 the ship was razéed. The original forecastle and quarterdeck were removed, and the former upper deck (now weather or spar-deck) was partially removed and restructured to provide a new forecastle and quarterdeck. The result was a frigate of 44 guns, with a primary gun deck armament of twenty-six 24-pounder cannon (most frigates of the time were too lightly built to handle such heavy guns, so were armed with 18-pounders). The new quarterdeck and forecastle also allowed the armaments stationed there to be substantially strengthened from the original design, including adding carronades. ''Anson'' was thus heavily armed for a frigate, and retained the stronger construction (and ability to absorb damage) of a ship-of-the-line.

French Revolutionary Wars

At the action of 16 July 1797, ''Anson'' and drove the French corvette ''Calliope'' on shore, where ''Sylph'' proceeded to fire on her. When checked a week later, ''Calliope'' was wrecked; her crew were camped on shore trying to salvage what stores they could. ''Pomone'' confirmed that the flute ''Freedom'' and a brig that had also been driven ashore too were wrecked.

, ''Anson'', , , and shared in the proceeds of the capture on 10 September 1797 of ''Tordenskiold''.

On 29 December 1797 ''Anson'' recaptured , which the French had captured three years earlier in December 1794 and taken into service under her existing name. ''Daphné'' was under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Latreyte and transiting between Lorient and Bordeaux on her way to Guadeloupe when ''Anson'' captured her at the mouth of the Gironde. ''Anson'' fired several shots before ''Daphne'' struck. She was armed with 30 guns and had 276 men aboard, including 30 passengers. Two of the passengers were Civil Commissioners Jaiquelin and La Carze, who succeeded in throwing their dispatches for Guadeloupe overboard. ''Daphne'' had five men killed and several wounded.

On 7 September 1798, after a 24-hour long chase, ''Anson'' and captured ''Flore''. Captain Stopford, of ''Phaeton'', in his letter described ''Flore'' as a frigate of 36 guns and 255 men. She was eight days out of Boulogne on a cruise. She had also served the Royal Navy in the American Revolutionary War.

''Anson'' was unable to take part in the Battle of Tory Island on 12 October 1798, because she had sustained damage during poor weather and was unable to keep up with the rest of the British squadron. In the aftermath of the original engagement, on 18 October she joined the brig HMS ''Kangaroo'' and fought a separate action, capturing the damaged French frigate ''Loire''. ''Anson'' was then under the command of Captain Philip Charles Durham, who struggled to manoeuvre his ship after having lost her mizzen mast, main lower and topsail yards during the earlier pursuit.

''Anson'' sailed from Plymouth on 26 January 1799, and on 2 February, in company with ''Ethalion'', captured the French privateer cutter ''Boulonaise''. ''Boulonaise'', of Dunkirk.

On 9 September 1799 Captain Durham hosted a fête for King George III. During the course of the evening, the king was found on the lower deck surrounded by the ship's company and talking to an old sailor.

On 10 April 1800, when north-west of the Canary Islands, ''Anson'' detained ''Catherine & Anna'' bound for Hamburg, Holy Roman Empire, from Batavia with a cargo of coffee.

On 27 April ''Anson'' captured the letter of marque brig ''Vainquer''. ''Vainquer'' was pierced for 16 guns but only mounted four. When captured she had been on her way from Bordeaux to San Domingo with a cargo of merchandise.

Two days later, at daybreak, ''Anson'' encountered four French privateers: ''Brave'' (36 guns), ''Guepe'' (18), ''Hardi'' (18), and ''Duide'' (16). As soon as the French vessels realized that ''Anson'' was a British frigate they scattered. As ''Anson'' passed ''Brave'' going in the opposite direction ''Anson'' fired a broadside into her; Durham believed that the broadside did considerable damage, but he was unable to follow up as ''Brave'' had the wind in her favour and so outsailed ''Anson''. Durham then set off after one of the other French vessels, which he was able to capture. She was ''Hardi'', of 18 guns and 194 men. Durham described her as "a very fine new Ship just of the Stocks." The Royal Navy took ''Hardi'' into service, first as HMS ''Hardi'', before shortly thereafter renaming her . Lastly, Durham reported sending into port for adjudication a very valuable ship that had been sailing from Batavia to Hamburg with the Governor of Batavia as passenger. (This may have been ''Catherine & Anna''.)

On 27 June ''Anson'' and came across some 40 or 50 Spanish merchant vessels on the Straits of Gibraltar. They were protected by some 25 gunboats. Two row boats came out from Gibraltar to assist ''Anson'' and the British were able to capture eight Spanish merchantmen, though the Spanish recaptured one.

These included:
*The mistico ''Jesus & Aminas'', from Algeziras to Gibraltar and Barcelona, carrying 125 bags of sumac, ten chests of liquorice, and 250 bundles of wooden hoops.
*The felucca ''Virgen de Boyar'', from Malaga to Cadiz, carrying five pipes of red wine and 300 bundles of "boss".
*The "lland" ''Virgen del Socous'', from Malaga to Cadiz, carrying 61 casks of pitch and 60 casks and 13 chests of tar.
*The tartan ''Nostra Signora del Rosario'', from Barcelona to Vera Cruz, carrying paper, brandy, oil, and cotton.
*The lland ''Saint Francisco de Paulo'', carrying wine.
*The mistico ''San Antonio'', alias ''El Vigilante'', coming to Gibraltar, carrying 60 quarter-casks of wine and 313 quintals of barilla.
*The mistico ''San Joseph y Aminas'', carrying 250 deal boards 4' long, 600 deal boards 4'10" long, 20 water jars, and 30 "alcarasses", with the assistance of the privateer ''Felicity''.
*The lland ''Saint Francisco de Paulo'', carrying wine, was cut out from the prizes in sight of ''Anson'' and ''Constance''.

On 29 June ''Anson'' and ''Constance'' captured two privateer misticos: ''Gibraltar'' and ''Severo'' (or ''Severino''). ''Gibraltar'' was armed with four guns and had a crew of 50 men. ''Severo'' was armed with two guns and ten swivel guns, and had a crew of 26 men.

On 30 June ''Anson'' cut off two Spanish gun boats that had been annoying the convoy she was escorting. The two proved to be ''Gibraltar'' and ''Salvador''. They each mounted two 18–pounder guns in their bow, and each had eight guns of different dimensions on their sides. They were each manned by 60 men and probably sustained heavy casualties in resisting ''Anson''.

In 1801 Captain W. E. Cacraft assumed command and ''Anson'' joined the Channel station, cruising from Portsmouth. In 1802 she was in the Mediterranean, and in November she sailed from Malta for Egypt. She went in for repairs in 1805 at Portsmouth.

Napoleonic Wars

In December 1805 Captain Charles Lydiard was appointed to command ''Anson''. She was driven ashore at Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, on 15 January 1806, but was refloated, repaired, and returned to service. Under Lydiard's command, ''Anson'' sailed to the West Indies in early 1806.

Action of 23 August 1806

On 23 August while sailing in company with Captain Charles Brisbane's when they came across the 38-gun Spanish frigate ''Pomona'' off Havana, guarded by a shore battery and twelve gunboats. ''Pomona'' was trying to enter the harbour, whereupon Lydiard and Brisbane bore up and engaged her. The gunboats came out to defend her, whereupon the two British frigates anchored between the shore battery and gunboats on one side, and ''Pomona'' on the other. A hard-fought action began, which lasted for 35 minutes until ''Pomona'' struck her colours. Three of the gunboats were blown up, six were sunk, and the remaining three were badly damaged. The shore battery was obliged to stop firing after an explosion in one part of it. There were no casualties aboard ''Anson'', but ''Arethusa'' lost two killed and 32 wounded, with Brisbane among the latter. The captured ''Pomona'' was subsequently taken into the Navy as .

''Anson'' and ''Foudroyant''

''Anson'' remained cruising off Havana, and on 15 September sighted the French 84-gun ''Foudroyant''. ''Foudroyant'', carrying the flag of Vice-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez, had been dismasted in a storm and was carrying a jury-rig. Despite the superiority of his opponent and the nearness of the shore Lydiard attempted to close on the French vessel and opened fire. ''Anson'' came under fire from the fortifications at Morro Castle, while several Spanish ships, including the 74-gun ''San Lorenzo'', came out of Havana to assist the French. After being unable to manoeuvre into a favourable position and coming under heavy fire, Lydiard hauled away and made his escape. ''Anson'' had two killed and 13 wounded during the engagement, while its sails and rigging had been badly damaged. ''Foudroyant'' meanwhile had 27 killed or wounded.

Capture of Curaçao

''Anson'' was then assigned to Charles Brisbane's squadron and joined Brisbane's and James Athol Wood's .

The ships were despatched in November 1806 by Vice-Admiral James Richard Dacres to reconnoitre Curaçao. They were joined in December by and Brisbane decided to launch an attack. The British ships approached early in the morning of 1 January 1807 and anchored in the harbour. They were attacked by the Dutch, at which Brisbane boarded and captured the 36-gun frigate ''Halstaar'', while Lydiard attacked and secured the 20-gun corvette ''Suriname''. Both Lydiard and Brisbane then led their forces on shore, and stormed Fort Amsterdam, which was defended by 270 Dutch troops. The fort was carried after ten minutes of fighting, after which two smaller forts, a citadel and the entire town were also taken. More troops were landed while the ships sailed round the harbour to attack Fort République. By 10 am the fort had surrendered, and by noon the entire island had capitulated.

''Anson'' had seven men wounded. In all, the British lost three killed and 14 wounded. On the ships alone, the Dutch lost six men killed, including Commandant Cornelius J. Evertz, who commanded the Dutch naval force in Curaçao, and seven wounded, of whom one died later. With the colony, the British captured the frigate ''Kenau Hasselar'', the sloop ''Suriname'' (a former Royal Naval sloop), and two naval schooners.

''Anson'' was sent back to Britain carrying the despatches and captured colours. The dramatic success of the small British force carrying the heavily defended island was rewarded handsomely. Brisbane was knighted, and the captains received swords, medals and vases.

In 1847 the Admiralty authorised the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Curacoa 1 Jany. 1807" to any surviving claimants from the action; 65 medals were issued.

Wreck

After a period refitting in Britain ''Anson'' was assigned to the Channel Fleet and ordered to support the blockade of Brest by patrolling off Black Rocks. She sailed from Falmouth on 24 December, and reached Ile de Bas on 28 December 1807. With a severe storm developing from the south west, Lydiard decided to return to port. He made for the Lizard, but in the poor weather, came up on the wrong side and became trapped on a lee shore off Mount's Bay near Penzance, in Cornwall with breakers ahead and insufficient room to sail out to the open seas. ''Anson'' rolled heavily in rough seas, having retained the spars from her days as a 64-gun ship after she had been razeed. Lydiard's only option was to anchor off Loe Bar. The storm caused the first anchor cable to snap at 4 am on the morning of 29 December. ''Anson''s smaller anchor cable broke at 7 am and she was soon being driven onto the shore. With no anchors, Lydiard, in the hope of saving as many lives as possible, attempted to beach her on what he thought was a suitable beach. It was only upon impact that he discovered that it was a sandbar that covered rocks dividing Loe Pool from the open sea. The wind and waves caused the ship to roll broadside on and her mainmast snapped. a sheet anchor was let out, which righted the ship only before it snapped at 8 am.

As hundreds of spectators watched from nearby settlements the pounding surf prevented boats from being launched from the ship or the shore, and a number of the crew were swept away. Some managed to clamber along the fallen main-mast to the shore. Captain Lydiard remained aboard to oversee the evacuation. About 2 pm the ship began to break up, which allowed a few more men to emerge from the wreck, with one being saved. By 3 pm no trace of the ship remained.

Survivors were taken to Helston, two miles away and later sent on to Falmouth.Adkins. Page 227.

Estimates of the number of lives lost vary from sixty to 190. Captain Lydiard and ''Anson''s first-lieutenant was among the casualties; Lydiard's body was recovered on 1 January 1808 and taken to Falmouth for burial with full military honours.Ships of the Old Navy, ''Anson''. Most of the other victims were buried in pits dug on unconsecrated ground on the cliffs with no burial rites. The death toll is uncertain as some of the survivors had been press ganged and took the opportunity to desert.

Post script

The loss of ''Anson'' caused controversy at the time, because of the treatment of the dead sailors washed ashore. In those days it was customary to bury drowned seamen unceremoniously, without shroud or coffin in unconsecrated ground, with bodies remaining unburied for long periods of time. This controversy led to a local solicitor, Thomas Grylls, drafting a new law to provide drowned seamen more decent treatment. John Hearle Tremayne, Member of Parliament for Cornwall, introduced the bill which was enacted as the Burial of Drowned Persons Act 1808. A monument to the drowned sailors, and to passing of the Grylls Act, stands at the eastern end of Loe Bar, on the cliff above the beach, about 1.5 miles from Porthleven Harbour

Henry Trengrouse, a Cornish resident of the area, witnessed ''Anson''s wreck. Distressed by the loss of life caused by the difficulties in attaching lines to the wreck, he developed a rocket apparatus to shoot lines across the surf to shipwrecks enabling the rescue of survivors in cradles. This was an early form of the breeches buoy. An example of his life-saving apparatus is on display at Helston Folk Museum, as is a cannon salvaged from ''Anson''.
A carved figure from the stern of HMS ''Anson'' was sold at auction for £19,975 and is currently displayed on the Holland America cruise liner MS ''Noordam'' outside the Level 10 Observation Lounge.

Two of her cannon now guard the entrance of Porthleven Harbour; they were recovered in 1961 from the sands at Loe Bar, the site of the wreck.

Notes

Citations

References

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* . In French.
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* Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .
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* Phillips, Michael
''Anson'' (44) (1781)
Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 3 November 2008.
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External links

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Ships of the line of the Royal Navy
Intrepid-class ships of the line
Shipwrecks in the English Channel
Cornish shipwrecks
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Maritime incidents in 1806
Maritime incidents in 1807
1807 in the United Kingdom
Ships built in Plymouth, Devon
1781 ships