HMS Serapis 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 ...

ship of the Roebuck class designed by Sir

Thomas Slade Sir Thomas Slade (1703/4–1771) was an English naval architect, most famous for designing HMS ''Victory'', Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Early life He was the son of Arthur Slade (1682–1746) and his wife Hannah ...

for use in the shallow coastal waters around North America. She was ordered for 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 ...

in 1780, during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and was 886 tons (bm) as built. When fully armed, she would have a battery of 20 x

long gun A long gun is a category of firearms with long barrels. In small arms, a ''long gun'' or longarm is generally designed to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, which can be fired being held with a single ...

s on the lower deck and 22 x guns on the upper deck, but much of her service was as a

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

or storeship, carrying only the 12 pound guns on her upper deck. Her first commission was brief, lasting from December 1782 to April 1783, and she did not serve again until the

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, when she was fitted as a storeship and sent to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. Following a spell in the Mediterranean, ''Serpais'' returned home with sick and injured on 24 May 1797, where she was immediately caught up in the fleet mutiny at 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 ...

. Unwilling paticipants, the crew slipped the anchor and drifted away undercover of darkness on 5 June. In March 1804, ''Serapis'' was part of the invasion force that captured the Dutch colony of Surinam. In 1807, ''Serapis'' was in the Mediterranean. She sailed for the

Cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

in April 1808 but by 1809, she was back in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

, and took part in the

Walcheren expedition The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham ...

between 30 July and 16 August that year. ''Serapis'' made further trips to the Mediterranean and West Indies, serving as a convalescent ship in Jamaica and a prison hospital in

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. She was sold in July 1826.

Construction and armament

HMS ''Serapis'' was a

warship of the

to operate in the shallow coastal waters of North America.Winfield p.176 A resurrection of Slade's 1769 pattern for , launched in 1774. ''Serapis'' was one of nineteen Roebuck-class ships, and the second one of that name; the first having been captured in 1781. 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, Traf ...

ordered ''Serapis'' on 13 July 1780 and work began in the May following, when her keel was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at the yard of James Martin Hillhouse in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

.Winfield p. 181 Launched on 7 November 1782, her dimensions were: along the gun deck, at the keel, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a depth in the hold of . This made her 886 tons (bm). She would have a complement of 300 men when fully manned. The two-deck ship was intended to carry a battery 20 x

s on the lower deck, 22 x guns on the upper deck and two the

quarter deck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

but much of her time was spent as a transport or store ship; her lower guns removed and only her upper guns in situ.

Service

''Serapis'' was first commissioned under Captain Charles Everitt and completed in December 1782. She paid off in April 1783, shortly after the new government of

Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rocking ...

had begun negotiations to terminate the war in America, and would not see service again until the

. In August 1794, work began at

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

, converting ''Serapis'' for use as a storeship and in December, she was recommissioned under

Master and Commander ''Master and Commander'' is a 1969 nautical historical novel by the English author Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1969 in the US and 1970 in the UK. The book proved to be the start of the 20-novel Aubrey–Maturin series, set largely in t ...

, Charles Duncan. The fitting had cost £6,210. She was sent to the

in the August following, returning to home waters two months later. In September 1796, she travelled to the Mediterranean. Carrying prisoners of war and the sick and injured from the Mediterranean fleet, ''Serapis'' returned home from Lisbon on 24 May 1797, where she was immediately caught up in the fleet mutiny at the

.Gill p. 125 The ship was forced to hove to under the guns of and a delegate of mutineers were sent aboard. The crew of the ''Serapis'' were moderates who did not want to join and only had minor complaints about the time taken to receive their wages. Nevertheless, only the sick were allowed to leave; ferried to the naval hospital at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

in small boats, At 23:00, on the night of 5 June, as support for the mutiny was waning, ''Serapis'' slipped her anchor and made for Sheerness undercover of darkness. She came under fire but had timed her escape to when the tide had brought most of the fleet stern on, making broadsides impossible.Gill p. 210 ''Serapis'' was out of danger by just after midnight on 6 June, having just one man injured. Duncan, and the captains and crews of other escaped ships, received a letter of thanks from the committee assembled to thwart the mutiny. Following a spell at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

in 1798, ''Serapis'' was serving on the

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

and

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stations by October. After further service in the Mediterranean between June and October 1800, she returned to Woolwich to be converted to a

floating battery A floating battery is a kind of armed watercraft, often improvised or experimental, which carries heavy armament but has few other qualities as a warship. History Use of timber rafts loaded with cannon by Danish defenders of Copenhagen a ...

at a cost of £1,269. Between January 1802 and June 1803, the ship resided at Deptford, where she was refitted as a storeship once more. From May, she was under Commander Henry Waring, who, following the ship's refit, took her to the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

. In March 1804, ''Serapis'' was part of the invasion force that captured the Dutch colony of Surinam. Under the command of Commodore Samuel Hood's, flying his flag in , the expedition also included , ''Pandour'', the 28-gun

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

, the 12-gun

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

, the 12-gun corvette , and the 8-gun ''Drake'', together with 2,000 troops under

Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Sir Charles Green. Later, the crew of ''Serapis'' would receive a share of £32,000 from the spoils. Despite being only lightly armed, her heavy build and height gave her an advantage over similarly armed vessels, and in October, ''Serapis'' recaptured a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

and a fully-rigged ship. ''Serapis'' was under Commander Christopher Sterling from August 1804 until December, when Commander John Lawrence was appointed for service in the North Sea. Returning to England in May 1805. In 1807, ''Serapis'' was in the Mediterranean under Master William Lloyd who then sailed her to the

in April 1808. By 1809, she was back in the

, and took part in the

between 30 July and 16 August that year. She was kept at Woolwich between August 1810 and July 1811 before being sent back to the Mediterranean.Winfield p. 182 Thomas Stokes took over as master in 1813, then Lloyd again in September 1814 while serving on Jamaica station. She sailed to Portsmouth in September 1818 to converted for use as a convalescent ship, before returning to Jamaica in the February following. She was recommissioned in December under Lieutenant G. Jackson then Lieutenant C. Elliot in January 1826, when she was serving as a prison hospital in

. On 17 July 1826, ''Serapis'' was sold for £500 at Jamaica.

Citations

References

* * * *{{cite book , first1=Rif , last1=Winfield , title=

British Warships in the Age of Sail ''British Warships in the Age of Sail'' is a series of four books by maritime historian Rif Winfield comprising a historical reference work providing details of all recorded ships that served or were intended to serve in the (British) Royal Navy ...

1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates , origyear= , publisher=Seaforth Publishing , location=Barnsley , year=2007 , language= , isbn=978-1-84415-700-6 , page= , pages= , at= Ships of the Royal Navy 1782 ships Troop ships of the Royal Navy