HMS ''Penelope'' was a fifth-rate

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 ...

, launched in 1798 and wrecked in 1815.

Career

Under Sir

Henry Blackwood Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet, GCH, KCB (28 December 1770 – 17 December 1832), whose memorial is in Killyleagh Parish Church, was a British sailor. Early life Blackwood was the fourth son of Sir John Blackwood, 2nd Baronet, ...

, she took part in the battle of 30 March 1800 against the ''Guillaume Tell'', off the coast of Valletta, Malta. The British squadron off Malta comprised the 80-gun , the elderly 74-gun and 64-gun and the 36-gun ''Penelope''. The squadron was supported by the brig .Chatterton 1967, pp. 107–108 The ''Guillaume Tell'' had put to sea in the evening of 30 March under the command of French Admiral

Denis Decrès Denis Decrès (18 June 1761 – 7 December 1820) was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire. Early career Decrès was born in Châteauvillain, Haute-Marne on 18 June 1761 and joined the Navy at the age of 18, ...

. She was sighted by crew aboard ''Penelope'' slightly before midnight, heading northeast. Blackwood ordered an immediate pursuit and sent word via ''Minorca'' to the rest of the fleet. A first broadside was fired at about 1am, but ''Guillaume Tell'' continued on her course without returning fire. By dawn, ''Penelope'' had again drawn within range of the larger French vessel, and Blackwood ordered a continued raking fire which brought down ''Guillaume Tell''s main and mizzen topmasts. ''Penelope''s sister ships ''Lion'' and ''Foudroyant'' hove into view shortly afterward, and engaged ''Guillaume Tell'' at close range, disabling her rigging and causing damage to her hull. Both British ships were badly damaged by the time ''Guillaume Tell'' struck her colours, and it was ''Penelope'' that took the French ship in tow and led her as a prize to Syracuse. ''Penelope'' lost two killed and two wounded in the battle. Blackwood was later commended for his gallantry and perseverance in initially engaging the French ship despite her larger size and firepower. , , ''Penelope'', , and the brig shared in the proceeds of the French

polacca A polacca (or ''polacre'') is a type of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the Italian language. The polacca was frequently seen in the Mediterranean. It had two or th ...

''Vengeance'', captured entering

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

, Malta on 6 April. Because ''Penelope'' served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (2 March to 8 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

authorised in 1850 for all surviving claimants. From 1803, ''Penelope'' served in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

under

William Robert Broughton William Robert Broughton (22 March 176214 March 1821) was a British naval officer in the late 18th century. As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he commanded HMS ''Chatham'' as part of the Vancouver Expedition, a voyage of exploration through th ...

. ''Penelope'' shared with and in the proceeds of the ''Jonge Obyna'', Smidt, master, on 13 June 1805. Guillaume Tell PU5634

Fate

On 30 April 1815, ''Penelope'', under James Galloway, ran aground near the Cap des Rosiers,

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

. She broke apart during the night, killing at least 40 of her crew. Many survivors subsequently froze to death. In all, 216 men drowned or froze to death. Sixty-six men and two women reached Douglastown two days later. The subsequent

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

placed the master at the bottom of the list of seniority for failing to pay attention to the situation of the ship. Galloway and his First Lieutenant were reprimanded for the breakdown of discipline on board and on shore during the disaster; neither was employed again. One seaman received 500 lashes for insubordination, desertion, and being drunk. Some 48 men took the opportunity to desert.Hepper (1994), pp.153-4.

References

;Notes ;Citations ;References * * *

External links

*
Wreck of HMS ''Penelope'' at Pointe-à-la-Frégate, 1841
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penelope (1798) Fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy 1798 ships Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence Maritime incidents in 1815 Ships built in Hampshire