HMS ''Drake'' 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 ...
14-gun ship rigged
sloop-of-war with a displacement of 275
tons burthen. Originally named the ''Royal Oak'', she was built in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
in 1775 by John Wharton from Philadelphia. She first sailed between London and Stettin as a tobacco-ship. She was then sold in 1776 and renamed ''Resolution''. Captained by Edward Hawker, the ship traded between London, Boston, and Cork. On 4 March 1777 the British navy purchased her at Plymouth for 3,000
pounds sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...
. She completed
fitting out
Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...
as a warship on 24 May 1777. She became the ship-rigged sloop-of-war ''Drake'' with either 14, 18 or 20 guns. From July 17, 1777, she served in the
American Revolutionary War
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 ...
. Her first mission was protecting the packet-boats between Harwich and Gorée
Description
The ''Drake'' had 3 masts, 5 windows at the stern gallery, a quarter-deck, a figurehead representing a warrior in armour with a sword (probably the King of England Charles II). According to John Paul Jones the Drake was very similar to his former ship: the frigate
USS ''Alfred'' (the ex-merchant ship the
Black Prince
Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...
).
Career
HMS ''Drake'' 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 ...
14-gun
sloop-of-war with a displacement of either 275
tons burthen. Originally named the ''Royal Oak'', she was built in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
in 1775 by John Wharton from Philadelphia. She first sailed between London and Stettin as a tobacco-ship. She was then sold in 1776 and renamed ''Resolution''. Captained by Edward Hawker, the ship traded between London, Boston, and Cork. On 4 March 1777 the British navy purchased her at Plymouth for 3,000
pounds sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...
. She completed
fitting out
Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...
as a warship on 24 May 1777. She became the ship-rigged sloop-of-war ''Drake'' with either 14, 18 or 20 guns. From July 17, 1777, she served in the
American Revolutionary War
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 ...
. Her first mission was protecting the packet-boats between Harwich and Gorée
On 24 April 1778, off
Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,998 at the 2011 Census. It is County Antrim's oldest ...
in northern Ireland, she fought the North Channel naval duel with the 18-gun sloop ''Ranger'' of the
Continental Navy, commanded by Captain
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
. Five of Drake's crew, including her captain, George Burdon, were killed, and after an hour-long engagement, ''Drake'' surrendered to the Americans. Jones was able to evade capture and deliver Drake to
Brest, France
Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French m ...
as his prize on 8 May 1778. This was the first, and most complete, American victory over any Royal Navy vessel in British waters.
At Brest, Jones sold ''Drake'' to his friend Jonathan Williams, who handed her over the next year to Jean Peltier-Dudoyer in Nantes. In July 1779, she left Nantes for Brest, under captain Jean-Baptiste Cotton de Chaucy, having been chartered by the French to escort a 10-vessel convoy between Brest and the
Antillas, assisted by the
frigate ''
Fier-Rodrigue''. The latter was unexpectedly requisitioned by the
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
and the convoy was cancelled. Still under charter to the French, between March 1780 and January 1781 ''Drake'', under Captain J. B. Cotton de Chauncy, made two trips to North America and 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 Greate ...
, transporting
Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau’s troops in
Charles de Ternay's squadron and returning to France with messages for the King.
At the beginning of 1781, Jean Peltier Dudoyer prepared five ships in
Nantes for the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
, to protect the
Dutch Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie) was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) colony in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original colony and its successive states that the colony was inco ...
in southern Africa against an anticipated attack by England. The ''Drake''s captain, Marc Antoine Fauvet, was at
the Cape in November 1781, joining de Pernier’s squadron whose mission was to bring victuals and troops to the fleet of
Pierre André de Suffren
Admiral comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren (17 July 1729 – Paris, 8 December 1788), Château de Saint-Cannat) was a French Navy officer and admiral. Beginning his career during the War of the Austrian Success ...
at
Isle de France (Maurice Island). The Drake returned to the Cape on 20 May 1782. There, on 2 September 1782, she was sold to the French government by Robert Pitot for 849,000
livres and incorporated into the French Navy.
She sailed again to Isle de France in November, left on 1 December 1782, and arrived at
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
in
Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka) on 10 March 1783. In the meantime, peace was declared,news of it reaching the East Indian Fleet on 29 June. Suffren sailed home, but de Pernier stayed in the Indian Ocean with five
ships-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 col ...
and some frigates and sloops-of-war. From December 1784 to February 1786, the ''Drake'', captained by Pierre Arnoult Deshayes, was sent by Governor
Marquis de Bussy from
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
, India, to
Bago, Burma, to assist another royal flûte, the ''Baleine''. She was being detained by the local authorities, and Deshayes was to attempt to persuade them to release her. By the autumn of 1785 she had been released, as it is known that she departed Isle of France on 24 July 1785 and arrived at
Lorient
Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...
, and then at
Rochefort
Rochefort () may refer to:
Places France
* Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department
** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard
* Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department
* Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
, being decommissioned there on 28 March 1786. As for the Drake, her departure from
Bago
Bago may refer to:
Places Myanmar
* Bago, Myanmar, a city and the capital of the Bago Region
* Bago District, a district of the Bago Region
* Bago Region an administrative region
* Bago River, a river
* Bago Yoma or Pegu Range, a mountain rang ...
, which was scheduled for March 1785, was delayed by eleven months, first because of a bill of exchange having not been paid in
Pondicherry
Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...
, and secondly because of war suddenly breaking out between the Burmese and the Siamese. The ''Drake'' finally arrived at Pondicherry in May 1786 and then disappears from the records. She may have been sold or
broken up
Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...
there, having been out of France for 4 long years.
[fr.wikipedia.org Jean Peltier Dudoyer / Jonathan Williams Jr “The Papers of Benjamin Franklin-1.10.1778”/ Henri Cordier: ”Mémoires sur le Pégu” pages 121 to 152/ Secrétariat d’Etat à la Marine-Personnel Colonial ancien-Lettre D: Deshayes, subrécargue des flûtes du Roi La Baleine et Le Drake, chargé d’une expédition de Pondichéry au Pégou (1784-1786) code réf. COL E 125 folios 390 to 397/ Secrétarie d’Etat à la Marine. Correspondance à l’arrivée extrême-orient: ‘’Expédition du Pégu par le Sieur Deshayes, commandant la flûte du Roi le Drake. Années 1784, 1785 et 1786 ‘’, Selon les instructions de Bussy du 18 décembre 1784 (30 Janvier 1787). Code Communication : 202 MIOM 11 Code de référence : COL C1 21 folios 173 to 186.]
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, HMS
Sloops of the Royal Navy
Captured ships
Maritime incidents in 1778