HMS ''Galatea'' was a 20-gun ''Sphinx''-class

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

post-ship Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the second half of the 18th century and the Napoleonic Wars to describe a ship of the sixth rate (see rating system of the Royal Navy) that was smaller than a frigate (in practice, carr ...

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 designed by John Williams and built by

Adam Hayes Adam Hayes (1710–1785) was an 18th century shipbuilder to the Royal Navy. A great number of his models survive. He was responsible for the selection of the ship the "Earl of Pembroke" and was the wright who converted it into HMS Endeavour ...

in Deptford Dockyard being launched on 21 March 1776. She served during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

History

In 1776, the ship was sent to North America under the command of Captain Thomas Jordan with a crew of 200. She took part in the capture of 30 American ships. On 1 January, 1778 she captured merchant schooner Jolly Robin. On 3 January captured the Dutch schooner St. Ann with a cargo from Virginia to Curacao. On 6 January, 1778 captured the merchant sloop Speedwell off Charles Town, South Carolina at (). On 8 January, 1778 she captured schooner Favorite at (). On 21 January, 1778 she captured the Continental Congress owned, Continental Navy Officered trading brigantine Chance off Charles Town, South Carolina () . During the operation one of her boats was stove in and her longboat sank. On 28 January, 1778 she captured brig "Katy" off Charles Town, South Carolina (). On 2 February she captured French ship Rosiere D'Artois off Charles Town (). On 15 May, 1778 she captured American sloop Black Joke at (). An American naval squadron led by

Samuel Elbert Samuel Elbert (1740November 1, 1788) was an American merchant, soldier, and politician from Savannah, Georgia. Elbert fought in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, commanding the victorious American colonial forces in a naval bat ...

attacked the ship near

St. Simons Island St. Simons Island (or simply St. Simons) is a barrier island and census-designated place (CDP) located on St. Simons Island in Glynn County, Georgia, United States. The names of the community and the island are interchangeable, known simply as ...

in what became known as the Frederica naval action. Although the Americans captured her other three escort ships, ''Galatea''s crew ran her aground and managed to escape without being captured. On 28 April 1779 the American cutter "Revenge", captained by Gustavus Conyngham, was captured and the crew were held aboard the Galatea. By his own report he was kept in irons until he reached prison, and was given no more than a “cold plank as my bed, a stone for a pillow”. Additionally, he was not fed properly, causing him to lose fifty pounds while imprisoned on the ship en route to his English prison.

Fate

She was broken up at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

in April 1783.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galatea (1776), HMS Sphinx-class post ships 1776 ships Ships built in Deptford