HMS ''Orion'' 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 British
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 Deptford on 1 June 1787 to the design of the , by William Bately.
She took part in all the major actions of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under a series of distinguished captains.
In 1794 she fought at the
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
under Captain
John Thomas Duckworth
Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB (9 February 174831 August 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, as the Governor ...
.
''Orion'' 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.
Later in 1795, Captain
James Saumarez
Admiral of the Red James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (or Sausmarez), GCB (11 March 1757 – 9 October 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, known for his victory at the Second Battle of Algeciras.
Early life
Saumarez was b ...
was appointed in command. Under Saumarez, ''Orion'' took part in the defeat of the French fleet at the
Battle of Groix
The Battle of Groix was a large naval engagement which took place near the island of Groix off the Biscay coast of Brittany on 23 June 1795 ( 5 messidor an III) during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle was fought between elements of the ...
off
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginn ...
on 22 June.
In October 1795 ''Orion'' recaptured the merchantman , Atterbury, master, which had been among a number o vessels that a French frigate squadron had captured in late September.
Nancy Perriam, one of the very few women to serve on a Royal Navy ship during the Coalition Wars, served on the ''Orion'' under Saumarez during this period.
In early 1797 ''Orion'' joined the Mediterranean Fleet and distinguished herself at the
Battle of Cape St. Vincent on 14 February. She then took part in the blockade of
Cadiz from March 1797 to April 1798, when she was sent into the Mediterranean as part of a small squadron under the command of Rear-Admiral
Horatio Nelson
Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
. In August, Nelson finally caught up with the French fleet, resulting in the
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...
, where Captain Saumarez was wounded.
In October 1805, now under Captain
Edward Codrington
Sir Edward Codrington, (27 April 1770 – 28 April 1851) was a British admiral, who took part in the Battle of Trafalgar and the Battle of Navarino.
Early life and career
The youngest of three brothers born to Edward Codrington the elder (1732 ...
, she took part in the
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
where, with , she forced the surrender of the French 74-gun ship .
After Trafalgar, ''Orion'' continued in the blockade of Cadiz. On 25 November, detained the
Ragusan Ragusan may refer to:
* citizen of the Republic of Ragusa
hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world"
, population_estimate ...
ship ''Nemesis'', which was sailing from
Isle de France to
Leghorn, Italy
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
, with a cargo of spice,
indigo dye
Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive blue color. Historically, indigo was a natural dye extracted from the leaves of some plants of the ''Indigofera'' genus, in particular ''Indigofera tinctoria''; dye-bearing ''Indigofera'' pla ...
, and other goods. ''Orion'' shared the prize money with ten other British warships.
Fate
''Orion'' was broken up in 1814.
In popular culture
In the
Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, Order of the British Empire, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during t ...
novel ''
Post Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy.
The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:
* Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...
,'' Capt. Jack Aubrey says he was third lieutenant aboard HMS ''Orion'' at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
[''The Patrick O’Brian Muster Book'' https://books.google.com/books?id=giUBcZjcFLEC&dq=aubrey+%22hms+orion%22+third&pg=PA279]
Citations
References
*Will of henry Plowman Surgeon's First Mate 15 Jan 1802
*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orion (1787)
Ships of the line of the Royal Navy
Canada-class ships of the line
Ships built in Deptford
1787 ships