HMS ''Arrogant'' was an early wood screw frigate 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 ...

, launched in 1848 and sold in 1867. During the period of 1848–1850 she was commanded by Captain

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...

. In 1854 ''Arrogant'' was part of the fleet deployed to the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

on the outbreak of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

, and served in that theatre until 1855. On 15 April 1854 ''Arrogant'' was one of a number of Royal Navy ships that captured the Russian brig ''Patrioten.'' Three of the ship's company,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

John Bythesea Rear-Admiral John Bythesea (15 June 1827 – 18 May 1906) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to ...

, Captain of the Mast

George Ingouville George Henry Ingouville, (7 October 1826 – 13 January 1869) was a sailor in the Royal Navy and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

and stoker William Johnstone won

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

es. Bythesea and Johnstone won theirs after they went ashore in one of the ship's boats on 9 August 1854, intercepted Russian soldiers carrying mailbags, and then forced the soldiers back to the ship along with the mailbags. Ingouville won his VC after heroically saving Arrogant's second cutter under heavy enemy fire off Viborg on 13 July 1855. Later in the

, four vessels of the

—''Arrogant'', ''Cossack'', ''Magicienne'', and ''Ruby''—silenced the Russian batteries at a fort on

Gogland Gogland or Hogland (russian: Гогланд, transliteration from original sv, Hogland; fi, Suursaari) is an island in the Gulf of Finland in the eastern Baltic Sea, about 180 km west from Saint Petersburg and 35 km from the coas ...

on 21 July 1855, while the Anglo-French fleet went on to attack Sveaborg before returning home. ''Arrogant'' was taken out of active service and fitted for Coast Guard duties in 1857. She was decommissioned in 1862 and was sold to be broken up in March 1867.

References

*Lyon, David & Winfield, Rif: '' The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889'' Chatham Publishing, 2004. .

External links

* 1848 ships Crimean War naval ships of the United Kingdom Frigates of the Royal Navy Victorian-era frigates of the United Kingdom Ships built in Portsmouth {{UK-line-ship-stub