HMS ''Pyramus'' was a

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 ...

36-gun

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 ...

launched at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in 1810. During the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

she captured some small privateers. She was hulked in 1832–1833 at

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 ...

. The vessel was sold and broken up in 1879.

Origin

''Pyramus'' was the sole member of her class and was built on the lines of the , which the Royal Navy captured in 1780. She was ordered in 1805 and laid down the next year, but in 1807 the builder failed. The Admiralty transferred the frame to the Portsmouth Dockyard. The Admiralty reordered her and she was launched in 1810. The information that Lord Nelson had captured ''Pyramus'' at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 is incorrect. (Source Dr. Ian A. Cameron, M.D, F.C.F.P., Nova Scotia Medical Bulletin, August 1987, pp. 118–120; Also, the Cambridge Digital Library / University of Cambridge website)

Career

On 26 October 1813, and ''Pyramus'' captured the 225 ton (bm) American letter of marque ''Chesapeake'' off Nantes. Captain Joseph Richardson had sailed her from America to France and she left Nantes on 18 October 1813. On 29 November ''Pyramus'' captured the American vessel , Jedediah Olcott, master, of four guns and 20 men. ''Zephyr'' had been sailing from Lorient to Charlestown.

Fate

''Pyramus'' was laid up in 1829. Between November 1832 and July 1833 she underwent fitting for a convict and receiving ship for

. From 1834 to 1875 she was at Halifax. She served as a hospital ship during the Chorea Epidemic. On 10 November 1879 she was sold for £1,600 for breaking up.

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References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyramus (1810) 1810 ships Brigs of the Royal Navy Hospital ships of the United Kingdom Military medical installations