HMS Bacchante (1876)
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HMS ''Bacchante'' was a
ironclad An ironclad is a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by Wrought iron, iron or steel iron armor, armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships ...
screw-propelled
corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...
of the
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 ...
. She is particularly famous for being the ship on which the
Princes A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in some Euro ...
George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
and
Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...
served as
midshipmen A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
. ''Bacchante'' was built at
Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...
and launched on 19 October 1876, the second ship of the three ship ''Bacchante'' class. She was armed with fourteen muzzle-loading rifle guns and two 64-pounder torpedo carriages, and rated at 4070 tons.


Royal crew

The two oldest sons of the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
had entered the navy in 1877, and by 1879 it had been decided by the Royal Family and the Government that the two should undertake a cruise. They were assigned to ''Bacchante'', which was then part of a squadron intended to patrol the sea lanes of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
.
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
was concerned that the ''Bacchante'' might sink, drowning her grandchildren. Confident in their ship, the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
sent ''Bacchante'' through a gale to prove she was sturdy enough to weather storms. The Princes, with their tutor John Neale Dalton, duly came aboard on 17 September 1879. The ''Bacchante'' was to be their home for the next three years. They made a number of cruises to different parts of the Empire with the squadron. Serving aboard the squadron's
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
, at this time was their relation,
Prince Louis of Battenberg Admiral of the Fleet Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven, (24 May 185411 September 1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a British naval officer and German prince related by marriage to the British ...
. The squadron initially consisted of HMS ''Inconstant'', ''Bacchante'', and , the composition altering during the voyages as ships left, or were joined by new ones. ''Bacchante'' visited the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
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 Greater A ...
, followed by later voyages to South America, South Africa, Australia, China and Japan. The Princes made regular diary entries, which were later published as two volumes in 1886 as ''The Cruise of Her Majesty's Ship Bacchante''. Photographs from the trip were later donated by Rev. Dalton, their royal tutor, and are now part of the
Royal Collection Trust The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...
. Of note during this time, the ''Bacchante'' briefly assisted in the
First Boer War The First Boer War ( af, Eerste Vryheidsoorlog, literally "First Freedom War"), 1880–1881, also known as the First Anglo–Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 betwee ...
, before the squadron sailed again for Australia. Shortly after reaching the coast on 12 May, a heavy storm blew up and when it had abated, ''Bacchante'' was missing. After three days searching, news reached the squadron that ''Bacchante'' had had her rudder disabled, but had been able to reach safety at Albany.


Later career

''Bacchante'' eventually returned to England in August 1882 and discharged her young Royal midshipmen. By then she had covered 40,000 miles, mostly under sail, and had rounded the Cape of Good Hope twice. She became the only British vessel in which two grandsons of the reigning monarch served at the same time. ''Bacchante'' was then paid off and underwent a long refit, which saw her being partially rearmed. She was then dispatched to the East Indies to relieve her sister, , as
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
on the station. ''Bacchante'' served during the
Third Anglo-Burmese War The Third Anglo-Burmese War ( my, တတိယ အင်္ဂလိပ် – မြန်မာစစ်, Tatiya Anggalip–Mran cac), also known as the Third Burma War, took place during 7–29 November 1885, with sporadic resistance conti ...
in 1885, transferring three-quarters of her complement to serve on gunboats on the
Irrawaddy River The Irrawaddy River ( Ayeyarwady River; , , from Indic ''revatī'', meaning "abounding in riches") is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Origi ...
or in the suppression of banditry. She returned to Britain in 1888 and was placed in
reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...
. She was sold to the shipbreakers Cohen in 1897, and scrapped.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


External links


Information and photographs of the ''Bacchante'' class

Statistics of HMS ''Bacchante''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacchante Bacchante-class corvettes Ships built in Portsmouth 1876 ships Victorian-era corvettes of the United Kingdom