HMS ''Elephant'' was a 74-gun

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the

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 ...

. She was built by George Parsons in

Bursledon Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages i ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, and launched on 24 August 1786. In late November 1790 the ship narrowly avoided destruction when lightning struck her whilst she was in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

harbour. The main topmast exploded but did not plunge through the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

as it was still held by the toprope. In 1801 Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson chose ''Elephant'' as his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

during the Battle of Copenhagen due to its suitability for the shallow waters there. It was on this ship that he is said to have put his telescope to his blind eye and claimed not to be able to see a signal ordering him to withdraw. In mid-1803, the squadron under Captain

Henry William Bayntun Admiral Sir Henry William Bayntun GCB (1766 – 16 December 1840) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy, whose distinguished career in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars was a catalogue of the highest and lowest points of the Navy duri ...

, consisting of , , , ''Elephant'', and captured ''Poisson Volant'' and . The Royal Navy took both into service. The ship participated in the

Blockade of Saint-Domingue The Blockade of Saint-Domingue was a naval campaign fought during the first months of the Napoleonic Wars in which a series of British Royal Navy squadrons blockaded the French-held ports of Cap Français and Môle-Saint-Nicolas on the northern ...

in the same year. The British patrolled off Cap-François. On 24 July the squadron, made up of ''Bellerophon'', ''Elephant'', , and HMS ''Vanguard'', came across two French 74-gun ships, ''Duquesne'' and ''Duguay-Trouin'', and the frigate ''Guerrière'', attempting to escape from Cap-François. The squadron gave chase, and on 25 July overhauled and captured ''Duquesne'' after a few shots were fired, while ''Duguay-Trouin'' and ''Guerrière'' managed to evade their pursuers and escape to France. One man was killed aboard ''Bellerophon'' during the pursuit. ''Elephant'' remained blockading Cap-François until November, when the French commander of the garrison there, General Rochambeau, was forced to surrender. To prevent Rochambeau escaping, launches from ''Bellerophon'' and ''Elephant'' went into the Caracol Passage where they cut out the French schooner on 22–23 November. The French formally surrendered on 30 November. HMS ''Elephant'', under the command of

Francis Austen Admiral of the Fleet Sir Francis William Austen, (23 April 1774 – 10 August 1865) was a Royal Navy officer and an elder brother of the novelist Jane Austen. As commanding officer of the sloop HMS ''Peterel'', he captured some 40 ships, was ...

, captured the United States privateer ''Swordfish'' in December 1812 during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

Fate

''Elephant'' was reduced to a 58-gun

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

in 1818, and broken up in 1830.

Footnotes

References

* * * * Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .

External links

* Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Arrogant-class ships of the line 1786 ships Ships built on the River Hamble War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom {{UK-line-ship-stub