HMS ''Ramillies'' was a 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 ...

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 ...

, launched on 12 July 1785 at

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French Revolutionary Wars

On 4 April 1796, ''Ramilies'' ran down and sank 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 ...

''Spider'' while maneuvering. In 1801, ''Ramilies'' was part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve squadron at the Battle of Copenhagen, and so did not take an active part in the battle.

Expedition to occupy the Danish West Indies (1807)

In 1807 ''Ramillies'' was in the West Indies as part of a squadron under the command of Rear-Admiral

Alexander Cochrane Admiral of the Blue Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admiral. He had previously captai ...

, who sailed in ''HMS Belleisle''. The squadron, which included ''HMS Prince George'', ''HMS Northumberland'', ''HMS Canada'' and ''HMS Cerberus'', captured the ''Telemaco'', ''Carvalho'' and ''Master'' on 17 April 1807. Following the concern in Britain that neutral

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

was entering an alliance with

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, in December ''Ramillies'' participated in Cochrane's expedition that captured the Danish islands of St Thomas on 22 December and Santa Cruz on 25 December. The Danes did not resist and the invasion was bloodless.

War of 1812

In August 1812, Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy took command of ''Ramillies'' and was sent to North America at the outbreak of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. Hardy led the fleet in ''Ramillies'' that escorted and transported the army commanded by

John Coape Sherbrooke General Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, (29 April 1764 – 14 February 1830) was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean (including Sicily), and Spa ...

which captured significant portions of eastern coastal

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

(then part of Massachusetts), including Fort Sullivan, Eastport, Machias, Bangor, and Castine. On 4 December 1813 ''Ramilies'' and ''Loire'' recaptured the

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

, J.Bowman, master, which the United States Navy had captured in the South Pacific. Her captors sent ''Policy'' into Halifax, Nova Scotia. However, on 10 August 1814, a landing party from ''Ramillies'' was defeated at Stonington, Connecticut. The party was to have burned Stonington Borough and the shipping, but was repulsed. During the

Battle of North Point The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although the Americans retreated, they were able to do so in good order having inf ...

, a composite battalion of Royal Marines were landed from HMS , HMS ''Ramillies'', HMS ''Albion'', and HMS ''Royal Oak'', under the command of Brevet Major John Robyns. The two fatalities were from HMS Ramillies. From Baltimore ''Ramillies'' sailed to New Orleans where her boats participated in the battle of Lake Borgne in December 1814. At the end of January 1815, the prisoners of war from the

Battle of Lake Borgne The Battle of Lake Borgne was a coastal engagement between the Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy in the American South theatre of the War of 1812. It occurred on December 14, 1814 on Lake Borgne. The British victory allowed them to disembark their tro ...

were transported to the Caribbean in HMS Ramillies. In 1847 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 ...

issued a clasp (or bar) marked "14 Dec. Boat Service 1814" to survivors of the boat service who claimed the clasp to the Naval General Service Medal.

Post-war

In June 1815 ''Ramillies'' was under the command of Captain Charles Ogle. In November, Captain Thomas Boys replaced Ogle, while Rear-Admiral Sir William Hope raised his flag in her at

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

.Winfield (2008), pp.60-1. In June 1818 ''Ramillies'' was at Sheerness, being fitted as a

guardship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usua ...

. Captain Aiskew Hollis took command in September as ''Ramillies'' took up a post as guardship at

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 ...

. While at Portsmouth she employed a HMS ''Viper'' as a tender. On 30 November 1820 and 6 February 1821, ''Viper'' made some captures, presumably of smugglers, that resulted in a payment of prize money not only to the officers and crew of ''Viper'', but also of ''Ramillies''. In August 1821, ''Ramillies'' came under the command of Captain Edward Brace and served in the Downs on the Coastal Blockade. She then underwent repairs between May 1822 and June 1823, and was fitted for a guardship at Portsmouth again. In May 1823 Captain William M'Cullock took command. In November 1825 Captain Hugh Pigot replaced M'Cullock. The

ordered ''Ramillies'' to the Reserve for Harbour Service in 1830, and ''Ramillies'' was on harbour service from 1831. In June 1831 ''Ramillies'' was at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century ...

, being fitted as a

lazaretto A lazaretto or lazaret (from it, lazzaretto a diminutive form of the Italian word for beggar cf. lazzaro) is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings ...

, a hospital for quarantine. She then moved to Sheerness to serve in that capacity. ''Ramillies'' was eventually broken up at Sheerness in February 1850.

Footnotes

Notes Citations

References

* * Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramillies (1785) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Culloden-class ships of the line 1785 ships Ships built in Rotherhithe War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom