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The Russian ship ''Vsevolod'' (also ''Vsewolod''; ) was a 74-gun
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 in 1796. She served in the North Sea and the Baltic until the British 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 ...
s and destroyed her in 1808 during the
Anglo-Russian War (1807–1812) During the Napoleonic Wars, the Anglo-Russian War (2 September 1807 – 18 July 1812) was the phase of hostilities between Great Britain and Russia after the latter signed the Treaty of Tilsit that ended its war with France. Anglo-Russian hostil ...
.


Service

On 3 July 1798 ''Vsevolod'' was at Arkhangel’sk, serving as flagship for Vice-Adm. Thate, who commanded the 2nd Division of the Imperial Russian Navy. She then arrived at the
Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...
on 8 August and operated in the North Sea and off the Texel for almost three years. She returned to
Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...
on 21 July 1800. She then carried supplies to Revel'. She then served in the Baltic before undergoing repairs in 1804. In September 1805 she transported troops to Pomerania.


Anglo-Russian War and loss

In early 1808 Russia initiated the
Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic ...
in response to Sweden's refusal to bow to Russian pressure to join the anti-British alliance. Russia captured Finland and made it a Grand Duchy under the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. The British decided to take counter-measures and in May sent a fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir
James Saumarez Admiral of the Red James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (or Sausmarez), GCB (11 March 1757 – 9 October 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, known for his victory at the Second Battle of Algeciras. Early life Saumarez was b ...
to the Baltic. On 9 July, the Russian fleet, under Admiral Peter Khanykov, came out from Kronstadt. The Swedes massed a fleet under Swedish Admiral
Rudolf Cederström Olof Rudolf Cederström (8 February 1764 – 1 June 1833) was a Swedish naval commander. Cederström enlisted in the Swedish admiralty in 1779 and as captain, he conducted a raid against Rogervik. He distinguished himself in 1790 at the naval Bat ...
, consisting of 11 line-of-battle ships and 5 frigates at Örö and Jungfrusund to oppose them. On 16 August, Saumarez then sent ''Centaur'', Captain William Henry Webley, and ''Implacable'', Captain
Thomas Byam Martin Admiral of the Fleet Sir Thomas Byam Martin, (25 July 1773 – 25 October 1854) was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of fifth-rate HMS ''Fisgard'' he took part in a duel with the French ship ''Immortalité'' and captured her at the Batt ...
, to join the Swedish fleet. They chased two Russian frigates on 19 July and joined the Swedes the following day. On 22 August, the Russian fleet, consisting of nine ships of the line, five large frigates and six smaller ones, moved from
Hanko Hanko may refer to People *August Hanko (military personnel), August Hanko, German First World War flying ace Places *Hanko, Finland, town and municipality *Hanko Peninsula, Finland *Hankø, an island in the Oslo Fjord in Norway *The asteroid ...
to threaten the Swedes. The Swedes, with the two British ships, grouped at Örö, and three days later sailed to meet the Russians. The Russians and the Anglo-Swedish force were fairly evenly matched, but the Russians retreated and the Allied ships followed them. ''Centaur'' and ''Implacable'' were better vessels than the Swedish ships and slowly pulled ahead, with ''Implacable'' catching up with ''Vsevolod'', which was straggling. On ''Vsevolod'', under Captain Rudno (or Rudnew or Roodneff) exchanged fire with ''Implacable'', with the Russian suffering heavy casualties before running aground. During this exchange three nearby Russian ships failed to render assistance. ''Vsevolod'' hauled down her colors, but Hood recalled ''Implacable'' because the Russian fleet was approaching. During the fight ''Implacable'' lost six men killed and twenty-six wounded, including two who did not recover and three who had limbs amputated.; ''Vsevolod'' lost some 48 dead and 80 wounded. The Russian frigate ''Poluks'' then towed ''Vsevolod'' towards Rager Vik (Ragerswik or Rogerswick or Russian: Baltiyskiy) where the Russian fleet was sheltering. However, ''Vsevolod'' grounded some six miles from the port. On ''Centaur'' came up and was able to drive off the boats that were attempting to get the disabled ship into harbor. Seamen from ''Centaur'' were able to lash her mizzen to the Russian bowsprit before ''Centaur'' opened fire. Both vessels grounded, and both sides attempted to board the other vessel. However, ''Implacable'' came up and fired into ''Vsevolod'' for about 10 minutes, forcing the Russian to
strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
again. ''Implacable'' hauled ''Centaur'' off. The battle had cost ''Centaur'' three killed and 27 wounded. ''Vsevolod'', which had received about 100 men as reinforcements after her initial battle with ''Implacable'', lost another 124 men killed and wounded in the battle with ''Centaur''; 56 Russians swam ashore and so escaped being taken prisoner. Their prize was so firmly aground that Sir Samuel Hood, in ''Centaur'', ordered ''Vsevolod'' burnt. On the British removed their prisoners, including the wounded, and then set fire to ''Vsevolod'', which blew up some hours later. The cutter ''Baltic'' would later land the prisoners.


Aftermath

Vice-Admiral Saumerez with his entire squadron joined the Anglo-Swedish squadron the next day. They then blockaded Khanykov's squadron at (Baltiyskiy). for some months. After the British and the Swedes abandoned the blockade, the Russian fleet was able to return to Kronstadt. The Russian government court-martialed Admiral Khanykov for what the British Admiralty would have labeled as "failure to do his utmost". The
court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
ordered Khanykov demoted to the rank of Ordinary
Seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...
for one day and dismissed from the service. What saved Khanykov from a more severe sentence was his earlier distinguished service. His Swedish Majesty
Gustaf IV Adolf Gustav IV Adolf or Gustav IV Adolph (1 November 1778 – 7 February 1837) was King of Sweden from 1792 until he was deposed in a coup in 1809. He was also the last Swedish monarch to be the ruler of Finland. The occupation of Finland in 1808–09 ...
conferred upon Captain Martin of ''Implacable'' the Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on February 23, 1748, together with the Or ...
. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Implacable 26 Augt. 1808" and "Centaur 26 Augt. 1808" to all surviving claimants from the action. Hood took ''Vsevolod''s flag as a trophy and it ended up hanging in the main hall of the Hood family home "St. Audries".


Citations


References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vsevolod (1796) Ships of the Imperial Russian Navy 1796 ships Ships built in Russia Maritime incidents in 1808 Captured ships Shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea Shipwrecks of Russia