HMS Astraea (1810)

HMS ''Astraea'' (frequently spelled HMS ''Astrea'') was a Royal Navy 36-gun fifth rate frigate, launched- in 1810 at Northam. She participated in the Battle of Tamatave and in an inconclusive single-ship action with the French frigate . ''Astrea'' was broken up in 1851.

Indian Ocean

''Astraea''s first deployment was to the Cape of Good Hope under Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg. Shortly after his arrival, Schomberg was ordered to join the squadron of Captain Philip Beaver on the newly captured Mauritius. When Beaver sailed for the Seychelles in March 1811, the command of the naval forces on the island devolved to Schomberg.

On 6 May 1811, a French squadron of frigates under the command of Commodore François Roquebert in '' Renommée'' approached Grand Port, not realizing that Isle de France (now Mauritius) had fallen to the British. A squadron under James Hillyar chased them off. They also escaped an encounter with squadron under Captain Schomberg.

Schomberg took command of Hillyar's squadron and pursued the French to Tamatave on Madagascar. Between 7 and 9 May the frigates and , under James Hillyar, and the brig-sloop , sighted the French 40-gun frigates ''Renommée'', and ''Néréide'' off the Isle de France, whilst ''Astraea'' was lying in Port Louis.

On 14 May ''Astraea'', ''Phoebe'', ''Galatea'', and ''Racehorse'' sailed from Port Louis for Tamatave, Madagascar and arrived on 20 May. The British squadron sighted the French squadron and made chase. A severe engagement, the Battle of Tamatave, ensued. During the battle, ''Renommée'' and ''Clorinde'' badly battered ''Galatea'', with the result that she lost 16 men killed and 46 wounded – the largest number of casualties of any vessel in the squadron. ''Astraea'' too was heavily engaged and the British captured ''Renommée''. Roquebert had sacrificed his flagship and ultimately his life to allow the frigates ''Clorinde'' and the badly damaged ''Néréide'' to escape. ''Astrea'' lost two men killed and 16 men wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the award of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Off Tamatave 20 May 1811" to all surviving claimants from the action.

Five days later, Schomberg's squadron rediscovered ''Néréide'' at Tamatave. The British persuaded the town's commander to surrender the town and ''Néréide'' without any further fight. The British took ''Néréide'' as . The battle was the last action of the Mauritius campaign.

On 19 September she and ''Racehorse'' captured the French slaver brig ''Eclair''.

After Beaver died in April 1813, Schomberg moved to Beaver's flagship, . Captain John Eveleigh then took command of ''Astraea''.

''Astrea'' vs. ''Etoile''

In early 1814 ''Astrea'' was in company with , which was under the command of Captain George Charles Mackenzie, who was Eveleigh's senior. The two frigates sailed for the Cape Verde Islands; they reached Maio early on 23 January 1814.James (1837), Vol. 6, p. 261-264.

Off the Cape Verde Islands they encountered two frigates and two merchant ships, one a brigantine and the other a schooner, all at anchor. The French frigates did not respond to the Portuguese and Spanish flags that the British set and instead set sail as the British frigates approached; the British frigates then pursued them. ''Astrea'' had problems with her sails so ''Creole'' pulled ahead. She exchanged some shots and eventually four broadsides with the rearmost French frigate, which would turn out to be ''Sultane''. ''Astraea'' then sailed between ''Creole'' and her opponent, coming alongside the French frigate. Two broadsides from ''Astrea'' then temporarily silenced the French frigate as fires aboard ''Creole'' took her out of the action for a while. She re-engaged ''Sultane'', but then disengaged and sailed towards Santiago.

''Astraea'' went ahead in pursuit of the first French frigate, which turned out to be the ''Etoile''. ''Astraea'' exchanged a broadside and then crossed ''Etoile''s bow and raked her. At this moment a shot took away ''Astraea''s wheel and killed both quartermasters, causing ''Astraea'' to lose direction and momentum. Now the situation reversed, with French guns nearly touching ''Astraea''s taffrail. She received broadsides that tore away her lower rigging, scarred her deck and destroyed one of her carronades. However, she suffered no damage forward. ''Astrea'' was able to get starboard to starboard with her opponent. The two vessels exchanged broadsides at close range for two hours until ''Etoile'' sailed off. During the engagement a pistol shot hit Eveleigh below the heart, mortally wounding him. ''Sultane'' came up and also exchanged a broadside with ''Astrea''. ''Astrea'', much damaged, broke off the engagement as the two French frigates too sailed away. ''Creole'' had suffered ten men dead and 26 wounded; ''Astrea'' lost nine men dead and 37 wounded.

That evening the two British ships anchored in Porto Praya ''Gestruydis la Preciosa'', and her cargo of slaves. At this time ''Astrea'' was under the command of Captain Benjamin Askley.

Fate

Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, ''Astraea'' spent seven years in ordinary. In 1823 the Navy converted her into hospital ship, in which state she remained until she was broken up in 1851.

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Ships of the Old Navy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astraea (1810)
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Ships built in Southampton
1810 ships
Apollo-class frigates