HMS ''Stately'' was a 64-gun third-rate

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, launched on 27 December 1784 at Northam.

French Revolutionary Wars

Sir Richard King took command of ''Stately'' at Portsmouth on 24 July 1793, which was reported in ''The Times'' newspaper. In 1798 ''Stately'' was at the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

where she was the venue for the court-martial of Mr. Reid, second mate of the

East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

. While they were both on shore, Reid had struck Captain Richard Colnett, captain of ''King George'' The court-martial sentenced Reid to two years in the Marshalsea prison. Because Colnett had a letter of marque, ''King George'' was a "private man-of-war", and the Navy's Articles of War applied at sea. Had Reid struck Colnett aboard ''King George'', the charge would have been mutiny, for which the penalty would have been death.Parkinson (1966; 2013), p.379. The Admiralty had ''Stately'' converted for use a troopship in 1799. Because ''Stately'' served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 2 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.

Napoleonic Wars

The Navy reverted her to a fully armed warship once war resumed after the end of the Treaty of Amiens.

Battle of Zealand Point

On 22 March 1808, ''Stately'' and ''Nassau'' destroyed the last Danish ship of the line, , commanded by Captain C. W. Jessen, in the Battle of Zealand Point. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Stately 22 March 1808" and "Nassau 22 March 1808" to any still surviving crew members of those vessels that chose to claim them.

Fate

''Stately'' was broken up in 1814.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References *Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Parkinson, C. Northcote (1966; 2013) ''Trade in Eastern Seas 1793–1813''. (Routledge). Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ardent-class ships of the line 1784 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub