HMS ''St Albans'' 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 12 September 1764 by Perry, Wells & Green at their

Blackwall Yard Blackwall Yard is a small body of water that used to be a shipyard on the River Thames in Blackwall, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987. History East India Company Blackwall was a sh ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She sailed with a complement of 525 men and 64 guns with a draught of 1,380 tons and a gun deck of 159 ft 6ins x 42 ft. This type of ship was the second biggest class of ships-of-the-line on the navy list with 39 ships in 1793, and 41 in 1812. The 64 was essentially a cut price 74-gun ship; it had neither the gun power nor the sailing qualities of the latter. but more could be produced for the money. It was not a popular class with naval officers. She served in the

American War of Independence 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 ...

from 1777 and was part of the fleet that captured

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindia ...

and won victories at

Battle of St. Kitts The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle fought on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet u ...

and The Saintes. She was converted to a floating battery in 1813 and was broken up in 1814.

Career

Captain Richard Onslow took command of ''St Albans'' on 31 October 1776. He took a convoy to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in April 1777 and joined Lord Howe in time for the repulse of d'Estaing on 22 July 1777 at

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...

. She captured 2 prizes in December, 1777, at least 2 in February, sloops Defiance and Shore, 2 in March, and 1 by her tender in April, 1778. Onslow sailed for the West Indies on 4 November 1778 with Commodore Hotham, and took part in the capture of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

and its defence against d'Estaing that December at the Cul-de-Sac. In August 1779, he brought a convoy from

St Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

.Sir Richard Onslow at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> On 10 December 1780, ''St Albans'', in company with ''Vestal'', , ''Portland'' and ''Solebay'' captured the ''Comtess de Buzancois''. Captain Charles Inglis took command of ''St Albans'' in November 1780. On 13 March 1781 he sailed in with Vice-Admiral

George Darby Vice Admiral George Darby (c.1720 – 1790) was a Royal Navy officer. He commanded HMS ''Norwich'' at the capture of Martinique in 1762 during the Seven Years' War. He went on to command the Channel Fleet during the American Revolutionary ...

's fleet to the

relief of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had end ...

.Winfield 2007, p.90 He was with Admiral Robert Digby's squadron later that year, before being sent 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 ...

to join

Sir Samuel Hood Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood (12 December 1724 – 27 January 1816) was an admiral in the Royal Navy. As a junior officer he saw action during the War of the Austrian Succession. While in temporary command of , he drove a French ship ashore in ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. ''St Albans'' was with Hood during the

Battle of Saint Kitts The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle fought on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet u ...

, when Hood attempted to relieve the island and repulsed several attacks by the

Comte de Grasse ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

on 25 and 26 January 1782. Inglis was again in action with the French on 9 April, when Hood's fleet clashed with de Grasse's in the Dominica Channel, and fought 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 ...

on 12 April, where the main British fleet under Inglis's old captain, now Admiral Sir George Rodney, decisively defeated de Grasse.Schomberg 1802, p.399 ''St Albans'' had six men wounded during this engagement. ''St Albans'' sailed to North America in late July 1782 with Rodney's successor, Admiral Hugh Pigot. She was back in the West Indies by November, where Inglis was given command of a squadron of four ships cruising independently there. The squadron, consisting of ''St Albans'', the 64-gun , the 74-gun and the sloop , was sent from Gros Islet Bay on 12 February to investigate reports of a French squadron, consisting of ''Triton'', ''Amphion'' and several frigates, having sailed from

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

. On 15 February 1783 the 74-gun ''Magnificent'', under Captain

Robert Linzee Admiral Robert Linzee (1739 – 4 October 1804) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Linzee entered the navy and was promoted to lieutenant during ...

. was on a cruise in company with ''Prudent'' and ''St Albans''. ''Magnificent'' sighted a strange sail and gave chase. She was close enough to identify the mysterious ship as a frigate by 18:00, and by 20:00 as darkness fell the quarry opened fire on her pursuer with her stern guns. ''Magnificent'' overhauled the French ship by 21:15, and after fifteen minutes forced her to strike her colours. ''Magnificent'' took possession of , of 36 guns and 300 men under the command of M. le Chevalier du Clesmaur. Shortly after surrendering, ''Concorde''s maintopsail caught fire, forcing the crew to cut away the mainmast to extinguish it. ''Prudent'' and ''St Albans'' came up two hours later and ''Magnificent'' towed ''Concorde'' to St. John's,

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

. On 26 November 1794 she rescued the crew of which had developed leaks and was foundering. ''St Albans'' and shared in the capture on 8 November of the brig ''Molly''. In April 1810 she served on the China station under Captain

Francis Austen Admiral of the Fleet Sir Francis William Austen, (23 April 1774 – 10 August 1865) was a Royal Navy officer and an elder brother of the novelist Jane Austen. As commanding officer of the sloop HMS ''Peterel'', he captured some 40 ships, was ...

From November 1810 she was in Chatham for re-fitting under Captain

Edward Brace Vice Admiral Sir Edward Brace (''bap.'' 2 June 1770 – 26 December 1843) was a senior officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Most of his career was spent as a successful independent captain, ...

. From December 1810 she was at Spithead then on Cadiz station until December 1812 under Brace and captains

Charles Grant Charles or Charlie Grant may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Charles Jameson Grant (), American editorial cartoonist * Charles L. Grant (1942–2006), American novelist * Charles Grant (actor) (born 1957), American actor * Charles Grant (dancer ...

& John Devonshire. She was taken out of commission and docked in Chatham for refit December 1812 - October 1813

Fate

By September 1813, ''St Albans'' was converted to be used as a floating battery. She was broken up in June 1814.

Citations and references

Citations References * *Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:St Albans (1764) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy St Albans-class ships of the line 1764 ships Ships built by the Blackwall Yard Floating batteries of the Royal Navy