HMS ''Excellent'' was a

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

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 ...

, launched at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

on 27 November 1787. She was the captaincy of

John Gell John Gell may refer to: *Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet (1592–1671), Parliamentarian in the English Civil War *Sir John Gell, 2nd Baronet (1612–1689), lead mining magnate and MP for Derbyshire * John Eyre Gell (died 1739), known as John Eyre before ...

before he was appointed an admiral. Cape St Vincent, 1797 RCIN 735050

''Excellent'' was at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels,

East Indiamen East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

, and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands. ''Excellent'' took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797. On 9 October 1799, ''Excellent'' chased the 18-gun . ''Aréthuse'' attempted to flee but part of her rigging broke during the night, and ''Excellent'' caught her. After a brief fight, ''Aréthuse'' struck her colours. She was recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS ''Raven''. On 9 April 1802, the 8th

West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

revolted in

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

. They killed three officers, imprisoned the others and took over Fort Shirley. On the following day, , which was anchored in Prince Rupert's Bay, sent a party of marines ashore to restore order. The mutineers fired upon the ''Magnificent'' with no effect. ''Excellent'', the frigate , and the sloop assisted ''Magnificent'', also supplying marines. On 12 April, Governor Cochrane entered Fort Shirley with the

Royal Scots Regiment The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

and the

68th Regiment of Foot The 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1758. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 106th Regiment of Foot (Bombay Light Infantry), 106th Bombay Light Infantry to ...

. The rebels were drawn up on the Upper Battery of Fort Shirley with three of their officers as prisoners and presented arms to the other troops. They obeyed Cochrane's command to ground their arms but refused his order to step forward. The mutineers picked up their arms and fired a volley. Shots were returned, followed by a bayonet charge that broke their ranks and a close range fire fight ensued. Those mutineers who tried to escape over the precipice to the sea were exposed to grape-shot and canister fire from ''Magnificent''.

Fate

In 1820, ''Excellent'' was reduced to a 58-gun ship. From 1830 she was serving as a training ship. She was broken up in 1835.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Excellent (1787) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Arrogant-class ships of the line 1787 ships Ships built in Harwich