HMS ''Orpheus'' was a 32–gun

fifth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

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 launched in 1780, and served for more than a quarter of a century, before she was wrecked in 1807.

American War of Independence

On 14 April 1781, ''Orpheus'' and captured the off the Delaware. The Royal Navy briefly took her into service as HMS ''Confederate''. In March 1782, ''Orpheus'' captured the American letter of marque ''Navarro''. The Royal Navy took her into service as .

French Revolutionary Wars

1792 Orpheus sailed to the leeward Island under the command of Captain Henry Newcombe, 1793 sailed to the East Indies. On 5 May 1794, ''Orpheus'' captured the French frigate ''Duguay Trouin'', the former

East Indiaman 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 ...

''Princess Royal'', which the French had captured on 27 September 1793. On 22 June 1796 ''Orpheus'' was in the Straits of Banca, where she captured the Dutch brig ''Harlingen''. The British took ''Harlingen'' into service as . In August 1797 ''Orpheus'' was reported as being in Madras and Captain William Hill was appointed commander.

Napoleonic Wars

On 16 April 1806, ''Orpheus'', Captain Thomas Briggs, was in company with the revenue cutter . They shared in the proceeds of the capture of two merchant vessels, ''Vrou Fingina'' and ''Vyf Gesusters''.

Fate

''Orpheus'', under the command of Captain Thomas Briggs, arrived off Jamaica from England in the evening of 22 January 1807. Being short of water, Briggs decided to try to sail her into Port Royal, rather than wait for a pilot. Around midnight ''Orpheus'' grounded on a reef that was not accurately marked on her charts. Efforts to lighten her failed and she took on water. When the water reached her main deck, the crew took to the boats, abandoning her.Hepper (1994), p. 116.

Notes, citations and references

Notes Citations References * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Orpheus (1780) Frigates of the Royal Navy 1780 ships Ships built in Deptford Maritime incidents in 1807 Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea