HMS ''Camilla'' was a

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 ...

20-gun ''Sphinx''-class

post ship Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the second half of the 18th century and the Napoleonic Wars to describe a ship of the sixth rate (see rating system of the Royal Navy) that was smaller than a frigate (in practice, carr ...

. ''Camilla'' was built in

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

to a design by John Williams and was launched in 1776. She served in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, the

French Revolutionary Wars 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 France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

, and the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, before being sold in 1831.

American Revolution

''Camilla'' was commissioned in May 1776 and sailed for North America in August. There she captured the privateer schooner ''Independence'', John Gill, Master, of six carriage guns, eight swivels, and 50 men. She was on a cruise from Boston. ''Camilla'' also captured ''Admiral Montague'', sailing from Hispaniola to Rhode Island with a cargo of molasses and coffee, ''Chance'' sailing to Georgia with coffee, and ''Polly'', sailing to Surinam in ballast. On 23 January 1777, north of Charlestown, South Carolina, ''Camilla'', under Captain Charles Phipps, captured the American sloop ''Fanny'', which was heading to that port from Cap-Français, Hispaniola, with a cargo of molasses. Then in February Captain John Linzee took command of ''Camilla''. On 20 February 1777, ''Camilla'' and , Captain George Keith Elphinstone, captured the 170-ton snow, ''Adventure''. They captured her northeast of Antigua, British West Indies, as she was going from Newburyport, Massachusetts to St. Eustatius, Netherlands West Indies, with a cargo of fish, staves, spermacaeti candles and pine planks. ''Camilla'' fired eleven shots before ''Adventure'' would stop. ''Perseus'' and ''Camilla'' shared the prize money. Eight days latter, ''Camilla'' captured ''Ranger'', William Davies, Master, which was sailing in ballast from St. Lucia. ''Fanny'', ''Adventure'', and ''Ranger'' were all condemned and sold at Antigua. April 1777 was a busy month for ''Camilla''. On 6 April she captured the brig ''Willing Maid'', bound from St. Thomas, Danish West Indies, to

Ocracoke Inlet Ocracoke Inlet ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

, North Carolina, with a cargo of sugar, rum, and salt. However, the brig sprang a leak and sank. On 11 April 1777, ''Camilla'' was patrolling with 44-gun frigate near the mouth of the Delaware River, just north of the

Cape Henlopen Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. Off the coast on the bay side are t ...

lighthouse, when they came upon the American merchantman ''Morris''. Gunfire from the two British vessels drove ''Morris'' ashore, where she suddenly blew up with such force that it shattered the windows on the British vessels. Reports indicate that ''Morris'' was carrying 35 tons of gunpowder and that the captain and six crewmen still on the vessel were laying a train of gunpowder to blow her up, when things went wrong. It is not clear whether the powder train burnt too quickly or a shot from ''Camilla'' or ''Roebuck'' set it off. What is clear is that the vessel disintegrated and all aboard her died in the explosion. Much of her cargo of arms was, however, salvageable, and Americans onshore were able to get it. On 15 and 20 April ''Camilla'' took two more prizes that were carrying rum, molasses and sugar, and molasses, respectively, but there are no details available. On 21 April, she captured ''Perfect'', Etienne Codnet, Master, bound from Cape Nichola, Hispaniola, with a cargo of molasses. Then on 25 and 26 April she took two more unknown vessels, both carrying rum and rice. She also captured ''Fonbonne'', W. De Gallet, master, and W. Galley, owner, which was sailing from Cap-Français to Miquelon with a cargo of wine and molasses. In July 1777, boats from ''Camilla'' and captured and burnt the Continental schooner ''Mosquito''. ''Camilla'' captured several merchantmen in late 1777 or early 1778. On 15 November she captured the sloop ''Admiral Montague'', sailing from Hispaniola to

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

with a cargo of molasses and coffee. That same day, she captured ''Chance'', Thomas Bell, master, which was sailing to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

with a cargo of flour and rum. Lastly, on 14 March 1778, ''Camilla'' captured ''Polly'', William Thompson, master, which was sailing to Surinam in ballast. When

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

fell to the British in 1777, several American vessels found themselves trapped between the city and the British fleet further down the Delaware River. The Americans launched some three

fire ship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

s towards the British, but gunfire from ''Roebuck'', ''Camilla'', and other British vessels caused the Americans to set their ships on fire too soon, and to abandon them. British boats were able to pull the fire ships on shore where they could do no harm. In February 1778 Captain John Collins took command of ''Camilla''. She then participated in two operations, one at Newhaven on 5 July and another at Penobscot from 21 July to 14 August. On 29 May 1779, ''Camilla'' was part of Admiral

George Collier Vice Admiral Sir George Collier (11 May 1732 – 6 April 1795) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the fourth-rate shi ...

's small flotilla that sailed up the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

and captured Stony Point, two months later the site of the American victory in the Battle of Stony Point. Amongst other services, she exchanged fire with

Fort Lafayette Fort Lafayette was an island coastal fortification in the Narrows of New York Harbor, built offshore from Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now Bay Ridge in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The fort was built on a natural island ...

. That summer, the British Fleet moved north. ''Camilla'' was one of the vessels that participated in

Tryon's raid Tryon's Raid occurred in July 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, in which 2700 men, led by British Major General William Tryon, raided the Connecticut ports of New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. They destroyed military and public st ...

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

in July.

''Camilla'' then participated in the battle on 13–14 August, when Collier's squadron destroyed the American

Penobscot Expedition The Penobscot Expedition was a 44-ship American naval armada during the Revolutionary War assembled by the Provincial Congress of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The flotilla of 19 warships and 25 support vessels sailed from Boston on July 1 ...

. She was amongst the vessels that shared the prize money for the capture of the American privateer ''Hunter''. During the autumn ''Camilla'' captured the brig ''Chance'', John M'Kay Master, off

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

. The brig was sailing from St. Eustatius to

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

with a cargo of salt. Around this time she also recaptured the ''Mackerel'' and ''Marquis of Rockingham''. On 12 October she captured the brig ''Revenge''. In December ''Camilla'' sailed from New York to Charleston, South Carolina, with Vice Admiral

Mariot Arbuthnot Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot (1711 – 31 January 1794) was a British admiral, who commanded the Royal Navy's North American station during the American War for Independence. Early life A native of Weymouth, Dorset in England, Arbuthnot was the so ...

's squadron. Thus, spring 1780, found ''Camilla'', Captain Charles Phipps, participating at the

Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The Britis ...

. The city capitulated on 11 May. ''Camilla'' shared in the prize money resulting from the naval captures. On 30 September, ''Camilla'' participated in the capture of the brigs ''Wasp'', ''Potomack'', and ''Portsmouth Hero'', and the schooners ''Providence'', ''Fanny'' and ''Betsey''. Then on 1 November she took the schooner ''Henrico''. On 19 April 1781, ''Camilla'' took the sloop ''Ann''. ''Camilla'' then sailed to join the Downs squadron. Captain J. Wainwright assumed command in November 1782. She was paid off in March 1783.

Between the wars

Commander

John Hutt John Hutt (24 July 1795 – 9 April 1880) was Governor of Western Australia from 1839 to 1846. Life Born in London on 24 July 1795, John Hutt was the fourth of 13 children of Richard Hutt of Appley Towers, Ryde, Isle of Wight. He was educate ...

of received promotion to

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain ...

and then in March 1783 recommissioned ''Camilla''. He sailed her for Jamaica on 11 May 1783. While she was on the

Jamaica station Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...

a mutiny occurred aboard ''Camilla''. Five men received 800 lashes. ''Camilla'' sailed back to Britain in 1784, but in December sailed for Jamaica again. In September 1790, ''Camilla'' was reported to have brought the Duke of Sudermania from Finland to the Swedish Royal Court at

Drottningholm Palace The Drottningholm Palace ( sv, Drottningholms slott) is the private residence of the Swedish royal family. Drottningholm is near the capital Stockholm. Built on the island Lovön (in Ekerö Municipality of Stockholm County), it is one of Sweden ...

French Revolutionary Wars

In March 1794 commissioned ''Camilla'' for the Downs station. After receiving promotion to post-captain on 31 October 1795, Richard Dacres was appointed to command ''Camilla'', which formed part of Richard Strachan's squadron in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. On 10 June 1795 two vessels came into Yarmouth. Both had been detained by ''Camilla'', and both had been sailing from Copenhagen. The two were ''Catherine and Eliza'', Sass, master, and ''Three Brothers'', Peters, master. On 15 February 1796 ''Camilla'' ran down and sank the merchant vessel ''Unity'', of Hull, off the

Goodwin Sands Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Upper Chalk platform belonging to the same geologi ...

. ''Unity'' was on a voyage from South Shields to Lisbon. ''Camilla'' shared with , , , and in the proceeds of the capture on 10 April 1796 of ''Smuka Piga''. Then ''Camilla'', , ''Diamond'', , ''Syren'', ''Magicienne'', and ''Childers'' shared in the capture on 29 April of ''Mary''. On 24 December , , ''Camilla'' and the hired armed cutter ''Grand Falconer'', shared in the capture of ''Esperance''. On 20 February 1797, ''Camilla'' captured ''Heros''. In March Captain Stephen Poyntz replaced Dacres. The next month, on 19 April, ''Diamond'', ''Minerva'', , ''Grand Falconer'', and ''Camilla'' captured the American ship ''Favourite'', which was carrying a cargo of flour. Then on 20 May, ''Camilla'' captured ''Jeanie''. When Robert Larkan took command of ''Camilla'' in September 1797, he brought with him Richard Spencer, who would go on to be knighted, and become

Government Resident A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of indir ...

Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a ...

. On 6 November, ''Camilla'' took ''Marianne''. On 4 May 1799, after a three-week voyage from Philadelphia, ''Camilla'' arrived at Cap-Français, Haiti, with the British General, Thomas Maitland on board. The British government had empowered him to pledge its support to General

Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (; also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda; 20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803) was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louverture ...

. In January 1800 ''Camilla'' managed to take three prizes. On 6 January she took ''Jeune Aimie''. Then six days later she captured ''Speculation'', with the hired armed cutter ''Fly'' in sight. During the evening of 29 January 1800, off

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, ''Camilla'' captured the French privateer lugger ''Vigoureaux'' (or ''Vigoreaux''). ''Vigoureaux'' was armed with three guns, had a crew of 26 men and was 19 days out of Cherbourg, not having taken anything. was in sight. Then on 15 March ''Camilla'' left Portsmouth as escort to a convoy for Newfoundland. Later that year ''Camilla'' lost her mainmast in a storm while accompanying a convoy from Newfoundland to Britain. Though the storm scattered the convoy, ''Camilla'' arrived in Portsmouth, having found and escorted six vessels to Weymouth and Poole. In December 1801 Captain E. Brace replaced Larkan, only to be superseded in 1802 by Captain

Henry Hill Henry Hill Jr. (June 11, 1943 – June 12, 2012) was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testi ...

. Hill sailed ''Camilla'' from Portsmouth for Newfoundland on 29 July; she returned to Portsmouth on 29 November.

Napoleonic Wars

Captain C. Woolaston briefly replaced Hill. Then in April 1803 Captain Brydges Watkinson Taylor took command of ''Camilla''. In May he sailed for Newfoundland. On 15 August 1805, ''Camilla'' captured the French navy's brig-corvette , of 16 guns and 98 men. ''Camilla'' chased ''Faune'' for nine hours before capturing her at . The

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

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 ...

had seen three sail and joined the chase, helping ''Camilla'' to capture ''Faune''. The Royal Navy took ''Faune'' into service as HMS ''Fawn''. ''Goliath'', with in company, then sailed off to capture the French ship-corvette ''Torche'' on the next day. In December 1805, Taylor moved to , a new frigate, and Captain Clotworthy Upton replaced him. In March 1806 Captain J. Tower replaced Upton. Between May 1807 and 1808 ''Camilla'' was in the Leeward Islands under the command of Captain John Bowen, who had taken command in July 1806. On 2 March 1808, a party of about 200 marines and sailors from , , and ''Camilla'', all under the command of Captain Pigot of ''Circe'', landed near Grand Bourg on the island of

Marie-Galante Marie-Galante ( gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Mawigalant) is one of the islands that form Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. Marie-Galante has a land area of . It had 11,528 inhabitants at the start of 2013, but by the start of 2018 ...

. The militia on the island quickly surrendered, together with their 13 guns, plus small arms and gunpowder. Neither side suffered any casualties. In 1825 the crews of , ''Cerberus'', ''Circe'', and ''Camilla'' shared in the prize money arising out of the island's surrender. Between 30 July and August 1809 ''Camilla'' was one of the many vessels participating in the debacle of the

Walcheren Campaign 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 Chath ...

. On 3 November, ''Camilla'', under temporary captain William Henry Dillon, encountered the ''Drie Gebroeders''. She was sailing from Norway under a Danish master and with a cargo of timber. On her deck were a number of wooden trucks for gun-carriages, which were obviously war material. The master stated that he was taking his cargo to Britain so Dillon let him proceed. After two hours, the merchant vessel was plainly heading toward the Dutch coast so Dillon caught up with the vessel and seized it. The master claimed that he was sailing toward Holland only to avoid "the Lemon and Oar", a dangerous reef in the North Sea. Dillon knew that the master's explanation was inconsistent with the vessel's position and so sent the vessel to Britain as a prize.

Final years

''Camilla'' was laid up

in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...

at Sheerness in December 1809, and then used as a floating breakwater. From 1814 to 1825 she served as a

receiving ship A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Hulk may be used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, an abandoned wreck or shell, or to refer to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipmen ...

until she was "laid aground for the protection of the waters". The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" offered "''Lying at Sheerness'', Camilla, of 433 tons", for sale on 13 April 1831. She sold on that day.

Notes

Citations

References

*Allen, Gardner Weld (1913) ''A naval history of the American Revolution''. (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin). * *Colledge, J. J. ''Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy From the Fifteenth Century to the Present.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1987. . *Dillon, William Henry & Michael Arthur Lewis (1956) ''A Narrative of My Professional Adventures''. (London: Navy Records Society, 1953–1956). *Hahn, Harold M. (1988) ''Ships of the American Revolution and their models''. (Annapolis, Md : Naval Institute) * *Shomette, Donald (2007) ''Shipwrecks, sea raiders, and maritime disasters along the Delmarva coast, 1632–2004''. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins) *

External links

Ships of the Old Navy - ''Camilla''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camilla (1776) 1776 ships Sphinx-class post ships Ships built in Chatham Post ships of the Royal Navy