HMS ''Phaeton'' was a 38-gun,
fifth rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower.
Rating
The rating system in the Royal N ...
of Britain's
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 ...
. This
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
was most noted for her intrusion into
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
harbour in 1808. John Smallshaw (Smallshaw & Company) built ''Phaeton'' in Liverpool between 1780 and 1782. She participated in numerous engagements during 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 French First Republic, France against Ki ...
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 ...
during which service she captured many prizes.
Francis Beaufort, inventor of the
Beaufort Wind-Scale, was a lieutenant on ''Phaeton'' when he distinguished himself during a successful
cutting out expedition. ''Phaeton'' sailed to the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
in 1805, and returned in 1812. She was finally sold on 26 March 1828.
Early years
''Phaeton'' was commissioned in March 1782. Within a year she had been paid off.
Service in the Channel
![Sir Andrew Snape Douglas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Sir_Andrew_Snape_Douglas.jpg)
In December 1792 ''Phaeton'' was commissioned under
Sir Andrew Snape Douglas. In March 1793 ''Phaeton'' captured the 4-gun privateer lugger ''Aimable Liberté''.
Then on 14 April ''Phaeton'' sighted the French privateer ''Général Dumourier'' (or'' Général Du Mourier''), of twenty-two 6-pounder guns and 196 men, and her Spanish prize, the ''St Jago'', 140 leagues to the west of
Cape Finisterre. ''Phaeton'' was part of
Admiral John Gell's squadron and the entire squadron set off in pursuit, but it was ''Phaeton'' that made the actual capture.
''St Jago'' had been sailing from Lima to Spain when ''General Dumourier'' captured her on 11 April. In trying to fend off ''General Dumourier'', ''St Jago'' fought for five hours, losing 10 men killed and 37 wounded, before she
struck. She also suffered extensive damage to her upper works. ''St Jago''s cargo, which had taken two years to collect, was the richest ever trusted on board a single ship. Early estimates put the value of the cargo as some £1.2 and £1.3 million. The most valuable portion of the cargo was a large number of gold bars that had a thin covering of
pewter
Pewter () is a malleable metal alloy consisting of tin (85–99%), antimony (approximately 5–10%), copper (2%), bismuth, and sometimes silver. Copper and antimony (and in antiquity lead) act as hardeners, but lead may be used in lower grades of ...
and that were listed on the manifest as "fine pewter".
[''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 1, pp,217-8.] ''General Dumourier'' had taken on board 680 cases, each containing 3000 dollars, plus several packages worth two to three thousand pounds.
The ships that conveyed ''St Jago'' to
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
were , , , and ''Phaeton''.
[Annual Register]
Retrieved 6 October 2008 The money came over London Bridge in 21 wagons, escorted by a party of light dragoons, and lodged in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
.
[
On 11 December the High Court of Admiralty decided that the ship should be restored to Spain, less one eighth of the value after expenses for salvage, provided the Spanish released British ships held at Corunna. The agents for the captors appealed and on 4 February 1795 the Lords of the council (the Privy council) put the value of the cargo at £935,000 and awarded it to the captors.][ At the time, all the crew, captains, officers and admirals could expect to share in the prize. Admiral Hood's share was £50,000.
On 28 May ''Phaeton'' took the 20-gun off the Spanish Coast. The Royal Navy took ''Prompte'' into service under her existing name.
Together with , ''Phaeton'' took two privateers in the Channel in June - ''Poisson Volante'', of ten guns, and ''Général Washington''. On 27 November ''Phaeton'' and were among the six vessels of a squadron that captured the 28-gun off ]Ushant
Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of governm ...
.
In February 1794 ''Phaeton'' was paid off, but the next month Captain William Bentinck recommissioned her.
During the battle of the Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
, ''Phaeton'' came to the aid of the dismasted . While doing so, ''Phaeton'' exchanged broadsides with the French ship-of-the-line .[James (1837), Vol 1, 158.] ''Phaeton'' suffered three men killed and five wounded. She was the only one of the support vessels there to suffer casualties. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the survivors to that date of all the vessels at the battle, including ''Phaeton'', the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "1 June 1794".
Captain Robert Stopford
In September, ''Phaeton'' came under the command of Captain Stopford. In May 1795 ''Phaeton'' escorted Princess Caroline of Brunswick
Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (Caroline Amelia Elizabeth; 17 May 1768 – 7 August 1821) was Queen of the United Kingdom and Hanover from 29 January 1820 until her death in 1821, being the estranged wife of King George IV. She was Pr ...
to England. Then began what would become a spectacular string of prize-taking. During Stopford's service in the Channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
, ''Phaeton'' captured some 13 privateers and three vessels of war, and also recovered numerous vessels that the French had taken.
On 10 March 1796, ''Phaeton'' engaged and captured the French corvette ''Bonne Citoyenne'' off Cape Finisterre. She was armed with twenty 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 145 men. She had left Rochefort on 4 March in company with the French frigates , , and , and the brig , all sailing for the Île de France with troops and military supplies. Stopford took her back to England as his prize. The Royal Navy then bought her in as , a sixth-rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...
sloop-of-war.
While cruising in the Channel, on 6 March 1797, ''Phaeton'' took the French privateer ''Actif''. She was armed with 18 guns and had a crew of 120 men. She had sailed from Nantes on 17 February and ten days later had captured the packet ship
Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...
''Princess Elizabeth'', which was her only prize.
On 28 May, ''Phaeton'', , and the hired armed lugger
A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively i ...
detained ''Frederickstadt''.
On 16 September ''Phaeton'' took the 6-gun ''Chasseur''.[ Then two days later she took the privateer ''Brunette''.][ Then with ''Unite'' she took 16-gun ''Indien'' on 24 September off the Roches Bonnes.][ On 9 October ''Unite'' captured ''Découverte'', with the 32-gun frigate and ''Phaeton'' in company.]
''Phaeton'' also recaptured three British vessels. These were ''Adamant'' (24 September), ''Arcade'' (3 October), and ''Recovery'' (20 October).[
Then on 28 December ''Phaeton'' took the 12-gun ''Hazard'' in the Bay of Biscay. The next day, the 44-gun ''Anson'', Captain ]Philip Charles Durham
Admiral Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham, GCB (baptised 29 July 1763 – 2 April 1845) was a Royal Navy officer whose service in the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars was lengthy, dist ...
, with ''Phaeton'', retook the 20-gun , which the French had captured almost exactly three years earlier. Out of a crew of 276, including 30 passengers of various descriptions, ''Daphne'', lost five men killed and several wounded before she surrendered. ''Anson'' had no casualties.
On New Year's Day, 1798, ''Phaeton'' took ''Aventure''. On 19 February she took the 18-gun ''Légère'' in the Channel. On 22 March she participated in damaging the 36-gun frigate ''Charente'' near the Cordouan lighthouse
Cordouan lighthouse () is an active lighthouse located at sea, near the mouth of the Gironde estuary in France. At a height of , it is the tenth-tallest "traditional lighthouse" in the world.
The Tour de Cordouan, the 'Patriarch of Lighthouses ...
. ''Phaeton'' fired on ''Charente'', chasing her first into range of the guns of the 74-gun 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 r ...
, under the command of Captain Sir John Borlase Warren
Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807.
Naval career
Born in Stapleford, Nottinghams ...
, with whom she exchanged broadsides. ''Charente'' grounded, but then so did ''Canada''. ''Phaeton'' and ''Anson'' had to abandon the chase to pull ''Canada'' free. In the meantime, ''Charente'' threw her guns overboard, floated free, and reached the river of Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
, much the worse for wear.
With ''Anson'', ''Phaeton'' took the 18-gun privateer ''Mercure'' on 31 August. ''Mercure'' was pierced for 20 guns and had a crew of 132 men. She was one day out of Bordeaux and had captured nothing.
A week later, ''Anson'' and ''Phaeton'' captured the 32-gun privateer ''Flore'' after a 24-hour-long chase. Stopford, in his letter, described ''Flore'' as a frigate of 36 guns and 255 men. She was eight days out of Boulogne on a cruise. ''Flore'' had also served the Royal Navy 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 ...
.
Then on 8 October ''Phaeton'' took the 16-gun privateer ''Lévrier''. Together with and , on 20 November she took ''Hirondelle''.
On 24 November 1798, ''Phaeton'' captured the French privateer brig ''Resolue'' (or ''Resolu''). ''Resolue'' was armed with 18 guns and carried a crew of 70 men. She had previously captured the English merchant ship ''General Wolfe'', sailing from Poole
Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
to Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
and an American sloop sailing from Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
to Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
. ''Stag'' later recaptured the American.
On 6 December, ''Phaeton'' and ''Stag'' captured the French privateer brig ''Resource''. She was armed with 10 guns and carried a crew of 66 men. She had sailed from La Rochelle two days previously and was sailing for the African coast. shared in the prize money for both ''Resolu'' and ''Resource''.
Mediterranean
In July 1799 Captain Sir James Nicoll Morris took command of ''Phaeton'' and sailed with Lord Elgin
Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the ...
, of the eponymous Elgin Marbles
The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of the architect and s ...
, for Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. Elgin would be Britain's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
until 1803. In May 1800 she participated in the blockade of Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
as part of Lord Keith
Keith may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters
* Keith (surname)
* Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949)
* Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...
's squadron. The Austrian general besieging the city, Baron d'Ott, particularly appreciated her fire in support of the Austrian army.
On 14 April 1800 ''Phaeton'' and captured the ''St. Rosalia''. ''Phaeton'' had to share her share of the proceeds with five vessels due to a prior agreement.
On 3 May, , ''Phaeton'' and captured eight vessels in Anguilla Bay:
*''Stella de Nort'';
*''Santa Maria'';
*''Nostra Senora del Carmine'';
*''Fiat Volantes Deus'';
*''Nostra Signora del Assunta'';
*''Nostra Signora de Sonsove'';
*''San Nicolas''; and
*''San Joseph'' (''San Giuseppe'').
Five days later they captured eleven Genoese vessels.[ They captured the first eight at St Remo:][
*]Polacre
A polacca (or ''polacre'') is a type of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the Italian language. The polacca was frequently seen in the Mediterranean. It had two or th ...
ship ''St. Giovanni'', which was sailing in ballast from St Remo;
*Polacre brig ''Achille'', which was sailing from Marseilles to Genoa with a cargo of corn and wine;
*Polacre barque ''St. Antonio'', which was sailing from Cette to Genoa with a cargo of wine;
*Polacre brig ''Santa'' (''Assunta''), which was sailing from Ard to Port Maurice with a cargo of wine;
*Polacre ship ''Conception'', sailing in ballast to Port Maurice;
*Polacre ship ''Madona del Carmine'', sailing from Cette to Genoa with a cargo of wine;
*Settee
A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, or chesterfield, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people (although it is not uncommon for a single person to use a couch alone). It is commonly found in the form of a bench with up ...
''Signora del Carmine'', which was sailing from Marseilles to Genoa with a cargo of corn;
*Settee ''St. Giuseppe'', which was sailing from Marseilles to Port Maurice with a cargo of corn;
*Settee ''Immaculate Conception'', which was sailing from Cette to Genoa with a cargo of wine;
*Settee ''Amina Purgatorio'', which sailing from Cette to Genoa with a cargo of wine; and
*Settee ''Virgine Rosaria'', which was sailing from Cette to Genoa with a cargo of wine.
On 25 October ''Phaeton'' chased a Spanish polacca
A polacca (or ''polacre'') is a type of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the Italian language. The polacca was frequently seen in the Mediterranean. It had two or th ...
to an anchorage under a battery of five heavy guns at Fuengirola, where she joined a French privateer brig.[ The following night the brig escaped while the polacca tried twice, unsuccessfully, to escape to ]Málaga
Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
. On the night of 27 October, Francis Beaufort led ''Phaeton's'' boats on a cutting out expedition. Unfortunately the launch, with a carronade
A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...
, was unable to keep up and was still out of range when a French privateer schooner, which had come into the anchorage unseen, fired on the other boats. The barge and two cutters immediately made straight for the polacca and succeeded in securing her by 5 am.[ The captured ship was ''San Josef'', alias ''Aglies'', of two 24-pounder iron guns, two brass 18-pounder guns as stern chasers, four brass 12-pounder guns and six 6-pounder guns. She was a ]packet
Packet may refer to:
* A small container or pouch
** Packet (container), a small single use container
** Cigarette packet
** Sugar packet
* Network packet, a formatted unit of data carried by a packet-mode computer network
* Packet radio, a form ...
, carrying provisions between Málaga and Velilla
Velilla is a municipality located in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given po ...
. She had a crew of 49 seamen, though 15 were away, and there were also 22 soldiers on board to act as marines.
The boarding party suffered one man killed and three wounded, including Beaufort who received, but survived, 19 wounds. The Spanish sustained at least 13 wounded.[
Once Morris was sure that his men had secured the prize he sailed ''Phaeton'' in pursuit of a second polacca that had passed earlier, sailing from Ceuta to Málaga. ''Phaeton'' was able to catch her under a battery at Cape Molleno. While ''Phaeton'' was returning to pick up Beaufort, his men and their prize, the French privateer schooner sailed past, too far away for ''Phaeton'' to intercept.][
The British immediately commissioned ''San Josef'' as a British ]sloop-of-war
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...
under the name , the ancient name for Gibraltar. Although it would have been usual to promote Beaufort, the successful and heroic leader of the expedition, to command ''Calpe'', Lord Keith chose instead George Dundas George Dundas may refer to:
* George Dundas (1690–1762), MP for Linlithgowshire 1722–1727 and 1741–1743
* George Dundas (Royal Navy officer) (1778–1834), Royal Navy admiral and member of parliament for Richmond, and for Orkney & Shetland
* ...
who not only was not present at the battle, but was junior to Beaufort. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the survivors to that date of the boarding party the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "27 Oct. Boat Service 1800".
On 16 May 1801, boats from ''Phaeton'' and under the direction of ''Naiad''s first lieutenant, entered the port of Marín, Pontevedra
Marín is a town and municipality in Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra. This town is where the Spanish Navy was settled. It was established as the Escuela Naval Militar de Oficiales (Naval Academy for Officers). It is located on the s ...
, in Galicia in north west Spain. There they captured the Spanish corvette ''Alcudia'' and destroyed the armed packet ''Raposo'', both under the protection of a battery of five 24-pounders. ''Alcudia'', commanded by Don Jean Antonio Barbuto, was moored stem and stern close to the fort. Her sails had previously been taken ashore so the boats had to tow her out but soon after a strong south-west wind set in and it was necessary to set her on fire. Only four men from the two British ships were wounded.
''Phaeton'' then returned to Britain and was paid off in March 1802.
East Indies
In July 1803 Captain George Cockburn
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a British Royal Navy officer. As a captain he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars an ...
recommissioned ''Phaeton'' for service in the Far East. Later in 1804 she and chased the French privateer back to Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ec ...
. Also, ''Phaeton'' recaptured the , which the French privateer Nicholas Surcouf in had captured on 14 August 1804; Captain Fallonard of the brig ''Île de France'' recaptured ''Mornington''. The British recaptured ''Mornington'' again as she continued to sail under the British Ensign until she was burnt in the Bay of Bengal in 1816.
On 2 August 1805, under Captain John Wood, ''Phaeton'' fought the 40-gun , Captain Léonard-Bernard Motard, in the San Bernardino Strait
The San Bernardino Strait ( fil, Kipot ng San Bernardino) is a strait in the Philippines, connecting the Samar Sea with the Philippine Sea. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.
History
During th ...
off San Jacinto, Philippines, together with the 18-gun , Captain Edward Ratsey. After exchanges of fire first with ''Harrier'' and then with ''Phaeton'', ''Sémillante'' took refuge under the guns of a shore battery. Unable to dislodge her, the two British vessels eventually sailed off, each having suffered two men wounded. ''Sémillante'' was reported to have suffered 13 killed and 36 wounded. After resupplying at San Jacinto, ''Sémillante'' intended to sail for Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in March 1805 to fetch specie
Specie may refer to:
* Coins or other metal money in mass circulation
* Bullion coins
* Hard money (policy)
* Commodity money
Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects ...
for the Philippines; the encounter with ''Phaeton'' and ''Harrier'' foiled the plan. Motard returned to the Indian Ocean, operating for the next three years against British shipping from Île de France.[James, Vol. 4, p. 153]
On 18 November 1805 ''Phaeton'' was at Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
. There she took on board 32 officers and crew from the East Indiaman , which the French had captured. The French had released them 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 ...
and a cartel
A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...
had delivered them to St Helena. ''Phaeton'' was already carrying the Marquis of Wellesley and his suite, who was returning to England after having served as Governor General of India. They arrived at Spithead on 13 January 1806.
In October 1806 Captain John Wood took command of ''Phaeton''. Then in July 1808, Captain Fleetwood Pellew succeeded him.
Nagasaki Harbour Incident
After the French had annexed the Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
and Napoleon began to use its resources against Britain, Royal Navy ships started to attack Dutch shipping. In 1808, ''Phaeton'', by now under the command of Pellew, entered Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
's harbour to ambush some Dutch trading ships that were expected to arrive shortly.
''Phaeton'' entered the harbour on 4 October surreptitiously under a Dutch flag. Despite the arrival of the "Dutch" ship being later in the season than normal, the Japanese and Dutch representatives did not suspect anything. So, Dutch representatives from their Nagasaki trading enclave of Dejima
, in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, i ...
rowed out to welcome the visiting ship. But, as they approached, ''Phaeton'' lowered a tender and captured the Dutch representatives, while their Japanese escorts jumped into the sea and fled. Pellew held the Dutch representatives hostage and demanded supplies (water, food, fuel) to be delivered to ''Phaeton'' in exchange for their return. The cannons in the Japanese harbour defenses were old and most could not even fire. Consequently, the meager Japanese forces in Nagasaki were seriously out-gunned and unable to intervene.
At the time, it was the Saga clan's turn to uphold the policy of Sakoku
was the Isolationism, isolationist Foreign policy of Japan, foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countri ...
and to protect Nagasaki, but they had economized by stationing only 100 troops there, instead of the 1,000 officially required for the station. The Nagasaki Magistrate, , immediately ordered troops from the neighbouring areas of Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
island. The Japanese mobilized a force of 8,000 samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
and 40 ships to confront the ''Phaeton'', but they could not arrive for a few days. In the meantime, the Nagasaki Magistrate decided to respond to the ship's demands, and provided supplies.
''Phaeton'' left two days later on 7 October, before the arrival of Japanese reinforcements, and after Pellew had learned that the Dutch trading ships would not be coming that year. He left behind a letter for the Dutch director Hendrik Doeff. The Nagasaki Magistrate, Matsudaira, took responsibility by performing seppuku
, sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...
.
Following the attack of the ''Phaeton'', the Bakufu
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
reinforced coastal defenses, and promulgated a law prohibiting foreigners coming ashore, on pain of death (1825–1842, '' Muninen-uchikowashi-rei''). The Bakufu also requested that official interpreters learn English and Russian, departing from their prior focus on Dutch studies. In 1814, the Dutch interpreter Motoki Shozaemon wrote the first English-Japanese dictionary (6,000 words). Although the incident revealed the vulnerability of the Tokugawa system to foreign interference, the Bakufu did not enter into more fundamental reform of its defenses because of its priority on maintaining the internal balance of power with the country's daimyo.
After Nagasaki
Pellew was confirmed in his rank of post captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), 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) ...
on 14 October 1808, and went on to see action in the Invasion of Île de France
The Invasion of Isle de France was a complicated but successful British amphibious operation in the Indian Ocean, launched in November 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars. During the operation, a substantial military force was landed by the Royal N ...
in 1810 and the reduction of Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
in 1811.
In May, ''Phaeton'' escorted the second division of British troops, commanded by Major-General Frederick Augustus Wetherall
Sir Frederick Augustus Wetherall, GCH (1754–1842) was a British General, of Castle Bear House, Ealing.
He entered the Army in 1775 as an ensign in the 17th Regiment of Foot and fought in North America at the Siege of Boston and the subseq ...
, from Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
to Prince of Wales Island, and then on to Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
.[James (1837) Vol 6, 26.] Once the expedition reached Batavia
Batavia may refer to:
Historical places
* Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands
* Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...
, ''Phaeton'' and three of the other frigates patrolled for French frigates known to be in the area.
On 31 August a landing party from ''Phaeton'' and , together with marines from , captured a fort from the French at Sumenep
Sumenep Regency ( Indonesian: ''Kabupaten Sumenep'', Madurese: ''Kabhupatèn Songennep'', Carakan: ''꧋ꦏꦧꦸꦥꦠꦺꦤ꧀ꦱꦺꦴꦔꦼꦤ꧀ꦤꦼꦥ꧀꧉'', Pèghu: ''كابوڤاتين سَوڠٓنّٓڤ'', Lontara': ᨀᨅᨘᨄ ...
on the island of Madura
Madura Island is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately (administratively 5,379.33 km2 including various smaller islands to the east, southeast and north that are administrati ...
, off Java. The British lost three men killed and 28 wounded.
Pellew sailed ''Phaeton'' home in August 1812, escorting a convoy of East Indiamen
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 ...
. For his services he received a present of 500 guineas and the thanks of the East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
.
Post-war
In 1816, Capt. Frances Stanfell sailed ''Phaeton'' from Sheerness, bound for Saint Helena
Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
and 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 ...
. She arrived at St Helena on 14 April 1816, where she delivered its newly appointed military governor, Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe
Sir Hudson Lowe (28 July 176910 January 1844) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who is best known for his time as Governor of St Helena, where he was the "gaoler" of the Emperor Napoléon.
Early life
The son of John Lowe, ...
, his wife, Susan de Lancey Lowe, and her two daughters by a former marriage. Lowe had been expressly sent to the island to serve as the gaolor of Napoleon Bonaparte, who would die there in exile in 1821.
In April 1818, Capt. W. H. Dillon commissioned ''Phaeton''. In the autumn of 1818 Lieutenant John Geary, who had joined ''Phaeton'' at her re-commissioning, faced a court martial. The charges were that he had concealed two deserters from the band of the 18th Regiment of Foot
18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19.
In mathematics
* Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...
. More formally, the charges were: "Inveigling musicians from one of the Regiments in garrison and with practicing deception towards the officers who were sent on board to search for them." The board found him guilty. He was severely reprimanded and dismissed from ''Phaeton''. Robert Cavendish Spencer
Sir Robert Cavendish Spencer (1791–1830) was an English officer of the Royal Navy. Well connected by birth, he made a naval career, which attracted the sons of the nobility and also of those from naval backgrounds, to serve under him and, despi ...
, late of , a captain on the board, thought enough of Geary to shake his hand and offer him a job in the future. Several years later Spencer made good on his offer.
''Phaeton'' went on to the East Indies. In October 1819 she was paid off and then recommissioned within the month under Captain William Augustus Montagu
Vice-Admiral Sir William Augustus Montagu (4 December 1785 – 6 March 1852) was a senior officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who served in a number of sea battles and was also in command of ...
, for Halifax. She was paid off in September 1822. She was immediately recommissioned under Captain Henry Evelyn Pitfield Sturt. She sailed for Gibraltar and Algeciras and was paid off some three years later.
Fate
''Phaeton'' was sold on 11 July 1827 to a Mr. Freake for £3,430, but the Navy Office cancelled the sale, "Mr. Freake having been declared insane." She was finally sold on 26 March 1828 for £2,500 to Joshua Cristall for breaking up.
In popular media
The Nagasaki Harbour Incident plays a role in the novel ''The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
''The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet'' is an historical fiction novel by British author David Mitchell published by Sceptre in 2010. It is set during the Dutch trading concession with Japan in the late 18th-century, during the period of Jap ...
'' by David Mitchell. However this depiction is highly fictionalised; the ship in the novel is ''HMS Phoebus'', the incident occurs in 1800 and finding no Dutch ships the ''Phoebus'' of the novel bombards Dejima.
The Nagasaki Harbour Incident plays a role in the novel '' Blood of Tyrants'' by Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik (born April 30, 1973) is an American author of speculative fiction. She is known for the ''Temeraire'' series (2006–2016), an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars involving dragons, and her ''Scholomance'' fantasy series (2020 ...
. This depiction is historical fantasy; the Japanese sink HMS ''Phaeton'' with dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
s stationed at Nagasaki at the time.
See also
*Anglo-Japanese relations
The Anglo-Japanese style developed in the United Kingdom through the Victorian period and early Edwardian period from approximately 1851 to the 1910s, when a new appreciation for Japanese design and culture influenced how designers and craftspe ...
Notes, citations, and references
Notes
Citations
References
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External links
General Information - The Perry Expedition
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070315051723/http://www.koreanhistoryproject.org/Ket/C16/E1604.htm ''Korea in the Eye of the Tiger'', Chapter 16 - The End of Asian Isolation
Sailing Ships of the Royal Navy
Ships of the Old Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phaeton (1782)
Minerva-class frigates
1782 ships