HMS ''Boyne'' was a 98-gun

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 ...

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

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 ...

launched on 27 July 1790 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 ...

. She was the flagship of Vice Admiral John Jervis in 1794. She caught fire and blew up in 1795.

Invasion of Guadeloupe

In 1793, ''Boyne'' set sail on 24 November for 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 ...

, carrying Lieutenant-general Sir Charles Grey and Vice-admiral Sir John Jervis for an invasion of Guadeloupe. On the way,

Yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

ravaged the crew. Still, the British managed to get the French to surrender at

Fort St. Charles Fort Saint Charles (1732) on Lake of the Woods was the second post built by La Vérendrye during his expansion of trade and exploration west of Lake Superior. It was located on Magnuson's Island on the Northwest Angle of Minnesota, 3.5 miles ea ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

on 21 April of the following year. The capture of Fort St. Charles, the batteries, and the town of

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Bastè, ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefecture'' (capital city) of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located ...

cost the British army two men killed, four wounded, and five missing; the navy had no casualties.

Fate

''Boyne'' caught fire and blew up on 1 May 1795 at

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 ...

. She was lying at anchor while the

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of the vessel were practising firing exercises. It is supposed that the funnel of the wardroom stove, which passed through the decks, set fire to papers in the Admiral's cabin. The fire was only discovered when flames burst through the poop, by which time it was too late to do anything. The fire spread rapidly and she was aflame from one end to the other within half an hour. As soon as the fleet noticed the fire, other vessels sent boats to render assistance. As a result, the death toll on ''Boyne'' was only eleven men. At the same time, the signal was made for the vessels most at danger from the fire to get

under way Underway, or under way, is a nautical term describing the state of a vessel. "Way" arises when there is sufficient water flow past the rudder of a vessel that it can be steered. A vessel is said to be underway if it meets the following criteria: ...

. Although the tide and wind were not favourable, all the vessels in any danger were able to escape to St Helens. Because the guns were always left loaded, the cannons began to ' cook off', firing shots at potential rescuers making their way to the ship, resulting in the deaths of two seamen and the injury of another aboard , anchored nearby. Later in the day, the fire burnt the cables and ''Boyne'' drifted eastward till she grounded on the east end of the Spit, opposite

Southsea Castle Southsea Castle, historically also known as Chaderton Castle, South Castle and Portsea Castle, is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII on Portsea Island, Hampshire, in 1544. It formed part of the King's Device programme to p ...

. There she blew up soon after.

Post-script

The wreck presented something of a hazard to a navigation and as a result it was blown up on 30 August 1838 in a clearance attempt, and yet again a final attempt on 24 June 1840. Today the Boyne buoy marks the site of the explosion. A few metal artefacts from the ship remain atop a mound of shingle.

Citations

References

* *Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyne (1790) Boyne-class ships of the line (1790) Ship fires Maritime incidents in 1795 1790 ships Ships sunk by non-combat internal explosions