HMS Avon (1805)

HMS ''Avon'' was a Royal Navy built at Falmouth and launched in 1805. In the War of 1812 she fought a desperate action with that resulted in ''Avon'' sinking on 27 August 1814.

Service

''Avon'' entered service at Spithead under the command of Commander Francis J. Snell and sailed for the Mediterranean on 18 April 1805. On 7 May she captured ''Frisken''. By 9 May ''Avon'' was off Lisbon, where the schooner reported to Snell her capture of the Spanish privateer lugger ''Travella'', of three guns and 40 men, off the Bayona Islands ( Baiona), and the recapture of the British brig ''Stork''. Then on 20 January 1806, ''Avon'' was present when recaptured ''Maid of the Mill''.

In March 1806 ''Avon'' came briefly under the command of Commander James Stewart and was employed in convoying and cruising. In May Commander Mauritius Adolphus Newton De Stark took command and sailed ''Avon'' in the Channel. He was then given the task of escorting to the Baltic the Russian vessel ''Neva'', which was returning from a voyage of discovery. Hostilities had just begun between Napoleon and Russia and the British government deemed an escort a prudent precaution. For his services the Tsar presented de Stark with a breakfast service of plate and a purse of 100 guineas.

''Avon'' sailed for North America on 28 August. She was carrying Mr Erskine, HM Minister to the United States. On the way to the United States, ''Avon'' encountered the French 74-gun ''Regulus'', which gave chase for eight hours, firing constantly, before de Stark was able to lose her in a squall. ''Avon'' arrived at Annapolis Royal on 30 October. On his return voyage he met up with a Royal Navy 74-gun ship with orders to go to Bermuda and then to take to Britain despatches from French Admiral Willaumez that ''Avon'' had taken from an American vessel she had examined on her way out of the Chesapeake. ''Avon'' arrived at Spithead on 7 January 1807.

In January 1807 Commander Thomas Thrush took command and sailed ''Avon'' to Jamaica on 16 April. (He had been appointed to her in September 1806 but had had to await her return.) During her time on the Jamaica station lightning struck ''Avon'', damaging her badly, but fortunately causing no deaths. Thrush also had the opportunity to take ''Avon'' to Cartagena to pick up a freight of dollars; his commission on the transport when he delivered it to Britain was £2,056. On 1 May 1809 he was promoted to post-captain and removed to .

In June 1809 Commander Henry Fraser took command. On 15 March 1810, the 28-gun ''Rainbow'', under James Woolbridge, and ''Avon'' encountered the French frigate ''Néréide'', under the command of Jean-François Lemaresquier. Lemaresquier fled to separate the two British ships, but stopped to engage ''Rainbow'' after ''Avon'' had fallen back. He soon had reduced ''Rainbow'' to a battered state, but ''Avon'' resolutely came in support and put a 30-minute fight against the much stronger ''Néréide'' before herself retreating. Damage on ''Néréide'' prevented her from giving chase. Lemaresquier therefore continued on his course, reaching Brest on 30 March.Troude (1867), vol. 4, pp.99-100. By 1812 ''Avon'' was back at Portsmouth.

Commander George Sartorious took command on 22 July 1813 and ''Avon'' served on the Cork Station. She underwent repairs at Portsmouth in November. Sartorious left her in June 1814 on his promotion to post-captain, and Commander the Honourable James Arbuthnot recommissioned her in July.

Sinking by USS ''Wasp''

On 1 September 1814, , , and ''Avon'' recaptured ''Atlantic''.

That evening ''Avon'' encountered the United States Navy ship-rigged sloop of war in the English Channel. ''Wasp'' spotted ''Avon''s sail on the horizon and gave chase. By 9:30pm, ''Wasp'' had ''Avon'' under her lee bow and opened fire. ''Avon'' returned fire until 10pm, at which time her guns, according to the crew of ''Wasp'', fell silent. ''Wasp'' then ceased fire and called for ''Avon'' to surrender, but ''Avon'' answered with another cannonade. ''Wasp'' returned fire. Some broadsides later, ''Avon''s guns fell silent once more and ''Wasp'' again called for surrender. ''Avon'', by now a battered hulk, had no choice but to concede.

Just as ''Wasp'' began to lower the boat for the prize crew to go aboard ''Avon'', ''Wasp''s lookout sighted another British brig sailing toward ''Wasp'' and ''Avon''. ''Wasp''s crew manned their battle stations immediately in hope of taking the newcomer, the 18-gun ''Castilian'', as well. Just then, two more British ships appeared on the horizon. ''Wasp'' therefore sailed away, abandoning ''Avon''.

Although the Americans didn't know it at the time, ''Avon'' sank at 1am, soon after ''Wasp'' left her. She had lost ten men killed and 29 wounded in the action. ''Castillian'' rescued the survivors from ''Avon''.

Notes

Citations

References

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* Colledge, J. J. ''Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy From the Fifteenth Century to the Present.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. .
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External links

Michael Phillips - ''Ships of the Old Navy'' - HMS ''Avon''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avon (1805)
Cruizer-class brig-sloops
War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom
1805 ships
Ships built in England
Maritime incidents in 1814