HMS ''Herald'' was an 18-gun

ship-sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

of the ''Cormorant'' class in 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 in 1806 at

Littlehampton Littlehampton is a town, seaside resort, and pleasure harbour, and the most populous civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on the English Channel on the eastern bank of the mouth of the River Arun. It is south sout ...

. In 1810 she was reclassed as a 20-gun

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 ...

ship (but without being re-armed), and again re-rated as 24 guns in 1817, just before she was broken up.

Adriatic

''Herald'' was commissioned in March 1806 under Captain G. M. Hony. On 18 May 1807 he sailed her to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, where he proceeded to cruise off

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

in the early stages of the Adriatic campaign. ''Herald'' attacked French shipping off the island and later in the year cruised off the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...

before returning to the Adriatic off

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label= Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label=Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a fertil ...

, attacking a number of coastal merchant vessels with success. On 25 October 1807, ''Herald'' was off

when she found an armed ''

trabaccolo The trabàccolo, trabaccalo, trabacalo (in Italian) or trabakul (in Croatian), is a type of Adriatic Sea sailing coaster. The name comes from the word ''trabacca'', which means tent, which in turn recalls the vessel's sails. The ''trabàccolo'' ...

'' anchored under the fortress. Despite resistance, ''Herald's'' boats cut out the vessel, which turned out to be the French privateer ''César'', armed with four 6-pounders. ''César'' was sailing from

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...

with a cargo of rice and flour. All but four of the crew escaped. ''Herald'' suffered four men wounded. In January 1808 Commander George Jackson took command. ''Herald'' operated off the Italian coasts, capturing or destroying numerous French and Italian merchant ships during the year. In August 1810 ''Herald'' was re-rated as a 20-gun

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, carry ...

, though Jackson did not receive his promotion until one year later, in August 1811. In the meantime, on 9 May 1811, boats from ''Herald'' and cut out four coasting vessels from the town of Monastarrachi.

War of 1812

On 4 July 1812, Jackson sailed ''Herald'' for Jamaica. There she captured the American ship ''Venus'' on 17 December. On 1 January 1813, Captain Clement Milward was nominated Acting-Captain of ''Herald''; he was confirmed in the position on 28 May. Captain Milward took command of ''Herald'' off

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. Operating off the American coast 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 ...

, ''Herald'' captured one English, one French and four American vessels during 1813, all of which she sent to Nassau, New Providence. *English vessel ''Lune'', in ballast, taken 3 June; *French vessel ''Vengeance'', carrying wine, silks, &c. taken 27 June; *American vessel ''Adeline Cecilia'', in ballast, taken 13 August 1813; *American vessel ''Jane'', carrying cotton and sugar, taken 13 December 1813; *American vessel ''Eliza and Ann'', carrying sundries, taken 21 December; and *American vessel ''Liberty'', carrying sundries, taken 23 December. On 14 January 1814, ''Herald'' captured the American ship ''Adolphus'', and shared the prize money, by agreement, with and . In 1814, ''Herald'' took part in the Gulf Campaign. From March 1814 onwards, , under orders of Captain Milward of ''Herald'', was sent to patrol off the Mississippi, and would remain here for the rest of the year. Under the rules of prize-money, ''Herald'' shared in the proceeds of the capture of six American vessels in the

Battle of Lake Borgne The Battle of Lake Borgne was a coastal engagement between the Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy in the American South theatre of the War of 1812. It occurred on December 14, 1814 on Lake Borgne. The British victory allowed them to disembark their tro ...

on 14 December 1814. Then, with , , and two bomb vessels, ''Herald'' went up the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

to create a diversion at

Fort St. Philip Fort St. Philip is a historic masonry fort located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, about upriver from its mouth in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, just opposite Fort Jackson on the other side of the river. It formerly served as ...

. In accordance with Cochrane's orders, ''Herald'' moored off Prospect Bluff, and on 5 April 1815 embarked troops of the 5th Battalion of the

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 ...

. She arrived in Jamaica on 10 May. ''Herald'' accompanied a convoy, arriving in Portsmouth on 25 September. Captain Milward left ''Herald'' on 11 October 1815.O'Byrne (1849), p.764.

Fate

On 9 September 1817, ''Herald'' was broken up at Chatham Naval Dockyard.

Notes

Citations

References

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External links

Ships of the Old Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herald (1806) Cormorant-class ship-sloops 1806 ships Ships built in England War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom