HMS Blonde (1760) on:
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HMS ''Blonde'' was a 32-gun
HMS ''Blonde'' was a 32-gun fifth-rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower.
Rating
The rating system in the Royal N ...
warship of the British 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 F ...
captured from the French in 1760. The ship wrecked on Blonde Rock with American prisoners on board. An American privateer captain, Daniel Adams, rescued the American prisoners and let the British go free. The captain's decision created an international stir. Upon returning to Boston, the American privateer was banished for letting go the British crew and he and his family became Loyalist refugees in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
.
Career
On 24 February 1760, during theSeven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754†...
, a British squadron, under Captain John Elliot in , met a French squadron under Captain François Thurot
François Thurot (22 July 1727 at Nuits-Saint-Georges near Dijon in eastern France – 28 February 1760 off the Isle of Man) was a French privateer, merchant naval captain and smuggler who raided British shipping during the Seven Years' War.
E ...
, who was aboard the . In the subsequent Battle of Bishops Court
The Battle of Bishops Court, also known as The Defeat of Thurot, was a naval engagement that took place 28 February 1760, during the Seven Years' War, between three British ships and three French ships. The French force under famed commander Fra ...
, the British captured ''Maréchal de Belleisle'' (after Thurot was killed), , and ''Blonde''. The Royal Navy took the latter two into service. It was named for its figurehead
In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...
, in the form of a "large and shapely female in extreme décolletage
Cleavage is the narrow depression or hollow between the breasts of a woman. The superior portion of cleavage may be accentuated by clothing such as a low-cut neckline that exposes the division, and often the term is used to describe the low neck ...
," whose hair was painted blonde
Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...
.
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
: On 6 April 1778 ''Blonde'' recaptured brigantine "Lord Dungannon" at (). She participated in the Battle off Liverpool, Nova Scotia, 24 April 1778.
On 30 May 1778 she captured Massachusetts privateer brigantine
A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts.
Older ...
''Washington'' south of Cape Sable Island
Cape Sable Island, locally referred to as Cape Island, is a small Canadian island at the southernmost point of the Nova Scotia peninsula. It is sometimes confused with Sable Island. Historically, the Argyle, Nova Scotia region was known as Cape S ...
. In 1779, ''Blonde'', under the command of Andrew Barkley from Halifax Station, captured the ''Resolution'', under the command of Abel Gore, off Halifax, and the crew were imprisoned there. She participated in the Penobscot Expedition
The Penobscot Expedition was a 44-ship American naval armada during the Revolutionary War assembled by the Provincial Congress of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The flotilla of 19 warships and 25 support vessels sailed from Boston on July 1 ...
of 1779, capturing, with HMS Virginia, the privateer "Hampden".
On 25 January 1781, ''Blonde'', , and , as well as some smaller vessels, carried 300 troops from Charleston to the Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...
. The troops, together with 80 marines, temporarily occupied Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States.
With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is the ...
, on 28 January. The object of the expedition was to establish sea communications with Lord Cornwallis and provide a base for the army, which was moving north.
Fate
''Blonde'' was wrecked on Blonde Rock, Nova Scotia on 21 January 1782. The 60 American prisoners on board HMS ''Blonde'' made their way toSeal Island, Nova Scotia
Seal Island (also known as Great Seal Island) is an island on the outermost extreme of Southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada, in the Municipality of the District of Argyle in Yarmouth County. It is approximately long and wide and is surrounded on i ...
. American privateer Noah Stoddard in the Scammell reluctantly allowed the British crew to go free and return to Halifax in HMS ''Observer'', which was involved in the Naval battle off Halifax en route.Thomas Head Raddall. "Adventures of H.M.S. ''Blonde'' in Nova Scotia, 1778–1782". ''Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society''. 1966.
Legacy
* Namesake of Blonde Rock, Nova ScotiaSee also
*References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blonde 1755 ships Fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in 1782 Transport in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia in the American Revolution