HMS ''Repulse'' was a 64-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

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 on 28 November 1780 at

East Cowes East Cowes is a town and civil parish in the north of the Isle of Wight, on the east bank of the River Medina, next to its west bank neighbour Cowes. The two towns are connected by the Cowes Floating Bridge, a chain ferry operated by the Isle ...

, on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. She saw action on 12 April 1782 at the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

under command of Captain

Thomas Dumaresq Admiral Thomas Dumaresq (1729 – 18 July 1802) was an officer in the British Royal Navy that rose to the rank of Admiral. Dumaresq was notable for his role as Captain of HMS Repulse in the Battle of the Saintes during the American Revolutionary ...

. Her crew were described as "fine

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

lads".

Mutiny at The Nore

At the

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

The Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...

in 1797, Repulse made a 'miraculous' escape from the mutineers reaching shore despite receiving 'as was calculated two hundred shot'. Its

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

, Lieutenant T. Frances Douglas, was presented with a commemorative sword inscribed: ‘PRESENTED by the Committee of Merchants &c OF LONDON to LIEUT.T FRANCIS DOUGLAS for his Spirited and active conduct on board His Majesty’s Ship the REPULSE. Ja.s Alms Esq.r Commander during the MUTINY at the NORE in 1797.

Marine Society The Marine Society is a British charity, the world's first established for seafarers. In 1756, at the beginning of the Seven Years' War against France, Austria, and Saxony (and subsequently the Mughal Empire, Spain, Russia and Sweden) Britain urg ...

Office, May 1o 1798 }

Hugh Inglis Sir Hugh Inglis, 1st Baronet (30 April 1744 – 21 August 1820) was an East Indies merchant and politician. Inglis went to the East Indies in 1762, and returned in 1775. He was chosen as a Director of the British East India Company (EIC) in 1784, ...

Esq.r Chairman’Commander Francis Douglas
douglashistory.co.uk, accessed 15 August 2011

Loss

On 10 March 1800, having been driven off course by heavy weather, ''Repulse'' struck a submerged rock and began taking on water. The crew eventually abandoned the ship somewhere in the vicinity of the

Cap Sizun The Cap Sizun (; br, Ar C'hab) is a headland forming the western extremity of the Cornouaille, in the French département of Finistère in Brittany, corresponding to the former canton of Pont-Croix. The best known sites in this region are th ...

, on the Pointe de Penharn from where the majority of the survivors were taken away as prisoners of war. The first lieutenant took a number of men in ''Repulse's'' large cutter, and headed for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

instead, arriving at

on 16 March.Ships of the Old Navy, ''Repulse''.

Citations

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Michael Phillips
''Repulse'' (64) (1780)
Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 10 August 2007. *JONIN Bruno (1985) "Un grand naufrage à la pointe de Bretagne: le Repulse" Ed. JAEH 1985 {{DEFAULTSORT:Repulse (1780) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Intrepid-class ships of the line Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay 1780 ships Ships built in England Maritime incidents in 1800