HMS ''Donegal'' was a 101-gun screw-driven

first-rate In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying ...

ship of the line 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 ...

, launched on 23 September 1858 at Devonport Dockyard. Upon commissioning she sailed to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

to recruit a crew. She then joined the

Channel Squadron 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 ...

, where she took part in a number of

fleet review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

s. In November 1861 she was one of a number of ships transporting troops to

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 ...

, and in February 1862 she assisted the recovery of equipment and stores from the wreck of her sister HMS ''Conqueror''. On 28 October 1859 William Hall was awarded his

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

aboard the ''Donegal'' whilst she was anchored in Queenstown. She spent several years as a coastguard vessel at Liverpool. She took the last surrender of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

on 6 November 1865 when the CSS ''Shenandoah'' surrendered after travelling 9,000 miles (14,500 km) to do so. The ''Shenandoah'' had originally been in the

Pacific Ocean 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 ...

when news reached her of the end of the Civil War, necessitating such a long voyage. On her next assignment she carried Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Kellett and a replacement crew to relieve HMS ''Ocean'', then on the

China Station The Commander-in-Chief, China was the admiral in command of what was usually known as the China Station, at once both a British Royal Navy naval formation and its admiral in command. It was created in 1865 and deactivated in 1941. From 1831 to 18 ...

under Vice-Admiral

Henry Keppel Admiral of the Fleet The Honourable Sir Henry Keppel (14 June 1809 – 17 January 1904) was a Royal Navy officer. His first command was largely spent off the coast of Spain, which was then in the midst of the First Carlist War. As commanding off ...

. She was then commanded by Captain William Hewett, seconded by

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

. In 1870 she became a tender to HMS ''Duke of Wellington'', which was then 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 ...

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 ...

. ''Donegal'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

on 30 September 1870. On 14 January 1886, ''Donegal'' was hulked and merged into the Torpedo School at Portsmouth, and her name was changed to ''Vernon''. Between 1888 and 1892 she was commanded by Captain

Arthur Knyvet Wilson Admiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson, 3rd Baronet, (4 March 1842 – 25 May 1921) was a Royal Navy officer. He served in the Anglo-Egyptian War and then the Mahdist War being awarded the Victoria Cross during the Battle of El Teb in F ...

. On 23 April 1895 she was moved to Portchester Creek, along with the rest of the hulks making up the school. She remained in this role until the torpedo school moved onshore in 1923, and ''Donegal'' was sold for scrapping on 18 May 1925 to Pounds, of Portsmouth. Some of the timbers and panelling were used to rebuild the ''Prince of Wales'' public house (reopened as ''The Old Ship'' in 2007) in Brighouse in 1926. The-Old-Ship-by-Humphrey-Bolton

Notes

References

*
History of HMS Donegal

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donegal Conqueror-class ships of the line Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1858 ships Victorian-era ships of the line of the United Kingdom