HMS Doris (1795)

HMS ''Doris'' was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 August 1795. which saw service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. ''Doris'' was built by Cleveley, of Gravesend.

Service

She entered service in November 1795, operating as part of the Channel Fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. Her first captain was the Hon. Charles Jones, who in 1797 became Lord Ranelagh.

In June 1796, ''Doris'' and captured the French corvette ''Légère'', of twenty-two 9-pounder guns and 168 men. ''Légère'' had left Brest on 4 June in company with three frigates. During her cruise she had captured six prizes. However, on 23 June she encountered the two British frigates at . After a 10-hour chase the British frigates finally caught up with her; a few shots were exchanged and then ''Légère'' struck. The Navy took into her service as HMS ''Legere''.

In January 1797 ''Doris'' shared with and in the capture of the French privateer ''Eclair''. ''Unicorn'' was the actual captor. ''Eclair'' was armed with 18 guns and had a crew of 120 men.

On 15 July, ''Doris'' took the privateer ''Duguay Trouin''. ''Duguay Trouin'' had been armed with twenty 6-pounders and two 12-pounders but had thrown them overboard during the chase. She had a crew of 127 men and was out four days from Nantes, but had not taken any prizes. On her previous cruise she had taken the ''Sandwich Packet'' of Falmouth. shared in the capture.

On 19 July 1797, ''Doris'' and ''Galatea'' recaptured the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Senora de Patrocinio e Santa Anna''. At some point they also recaptured the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Senora de Conceiçao e Navigantes''.

In 1798 ''Doris'' was engaged in the hunt for Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart's French squadron that culminated in the Battle of Tory Island, although ''Doris'' was not present during the action. In 1800 and 1801, ''Doris'' under the command of John Holliday participated in the capture of six French merchant brigs and prizes.

In December 1800 ''Doris'' recaptured ''Countess of Bute'', which the French privateer ''Brave'' had captured as ''Countess of Bute'' had been sailing from Newfoundland to Naples.

On 21 July 1801, the boats of ''Doris'', , and succeeded in boarding and cutting out the French naval corvette ''Chevrette'', which was armed with 20 guns and had 350 men on board (crew plus troops placed on board in expectation of the attack). Also, ''Chevrette'' had anchored under the batteries of Cameret Bay. The hired armed cutter ''Telemachus'' placed herself in the Goulet de Brest and thereby prevented the French from bringing reinforcements by boat to ''Chevrette''.

The action was a sanguinary one. The British had 11 men killed, 57 wounded, and one missing. Also killed was Lieutenant Burke (who was a relative of Walter Burke- purser of HMS Victory), who was wounded in the fight, and died after boarding the French ship.
''Chevrette'' lost 92 officers and men, including her first captain, and 62 seamen and troops were wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "21 JULY BOAT SERVICE 1801" to surviving claimants from the action.

In 1803 following the Peace of Amiens, ''Doris'', under the command of Captain Richard Harrison Pearson, captured the French naval lugger ''Affronteur'', off Ushant. ''Affronteur'' was armed with fourteen 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 92 men under the command of ''Lieutenant de Vaisseau'' M. Morce André Dutoya. Capturing ''Affronteur'' required an engagement during which ''Doris'' suffered one man wounded, while ''Affronteur'' lost Dutoya and eight men killed, and 14 men wounded, one of whom died shortly thereafter. ''Affronteur'' became the hired armed vessel ''Caroline''.

On 2 and 4 June 1803 ''Doris'' captured ''Prudence'' and ''Neptune''. ''Neptune'' had been sailing from Marseilles to Havre when ''Doris'' captured her. ''Neptune''s cargo consisted of soap, brimstone, liquorice, brandy, rape and sweet oil, galls, and cotton wool.

Fate

In 1805, while under the command of Captain Patrick Campbell, ''Doris'' was lost on a rock off Quiberon Bay.Byrn (2009) She had arrived there on 11 January to bring news of a French squadron that was preparing to set sail, but when she arrived the British fleet was no longer in the bay. On the morning of the 12th, as ''Doris'' set sail, the weather worsened. Campbell returned to the bay to take shelter, at which time ''Doris'' hit the Diamond Rock in Benequet Passage. She took on water but the crew was able to get her nearly clear of water, in part by stretching a sail over the hole in her side and then pumping the accumulated water out. However, that afternoon the schooner arrived with news that the Rochefort Squadron had sailed. Campbell felt it imperative that he get the news to the blockading squadron. As he set sail, it now being 15 January, the holes in the hull opened and despite her crew's efforts to save her she began to sink rapidly. Campbell anchored her eight miles north-east of Le Croisic and evacuated the crew to ''Felix'' and a passing American merchant schooner. He then set the ship on fire to prevent her use by the enemy. He later took passage to Britain aboard .p. 192, Grocott The subsequent court martial reprimanded the pilot, Jean Le Gall, for his lack of skill.

Notes, citations, and references

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External links

Ships of the Old Navy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doris
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Maritime incidents in 1805
Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
1795 ships