HMS ''Sandwich'' was a 90-gun

second rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

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 ...

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 14 April 1759 at

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

Design and construction

''Sandwich'' was a 90-gun

second-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a second-rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th-century second rates had fewer guns ...

''Sandwich''-class

. The class, of which ''Sandwich'' was the name ship, was designed by naval architect

Thomas Slade Sir Thomas Slade (1703/4–1771) was an English naval architect, most famous for designing HMS ''Victory'', Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Early life He was the son of Arthur Slade (1682–1746) and his wife Hannah ...

. It was a stretched version of the standard design for a British 90-gun ship, allowing extra

long gun A long gun is a category of firearms with long barrels. In small arms, a ''long gun'' or longarm is generally designed to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, which can be fired being held with a single ...

s to be placed on the gundecks of the ships, meaning that the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

had to hold less guns and the sailing qualities of the ships were improved. The design was approved for use on 12 November 1755. ''Sandwich'' had already been ordered by this point, having been done so on 28 October to

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, ...

, where the ship would be built by shipwright John Lock. ''Sandwich'' was laid down on 14 April 1756 and launched on 15 April 1759 with the following dimensions: along the

upper deck The Upper Deck Company, LLC (colloquially as Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, Ltd. in the UK), founded in 1988, is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards. Its headquarters are in Carlsbad, California, United State ...

, at the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a depth in the

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

of . The ship measured 1,869

tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship bas ...

, with a draught forward of and aft of . ''Sandwich''s fitting out was completed on 28 May, with construction having cost £54,770. The ship held a crew complement of 750, with twenty-eight 32-pounder long guns on the lower deck, twenty-eight 18-pounders on the middle deck, and thirty 12-pounders on the upper deck. Additionally ''Sandwich'' held two 6-pounders on each of the quarterdeck and

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

. The ship would continue with this armament unchanged, apart from the 6-pounders which were switched out with more 12-pounders in an

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 ...

Order on 3 June 1790.

Service

''Sandwich'' was commissioned in April 1759 under the command of Captain Henry Speke, joining the

Western Squadron The Western Squadron was a squadron or formation (military), formation of the Royal Navy based at Plymouth Dockyard. It operated in waters of the English Channel, the Western Approaches, and the North Atlantic. It defended British trade sea lanes ...

. Speke was replaced by Captain Richard Norbury in July, and at the same time ''Sandwich'' became the

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 ...

of Rear-Admiral Francis Geary. The ship subsequently served in an expedition to

Quiberon Bay Quiberon Bay (french: Baie de Quiberon) is an area of sheltered water on the south coast of Brittany. The bay is in the Morbihan département. Geography The bay is roughly triangular in shape, open to the south with the Gulf of Morbihan to t ...

in 1760, before joining the fleet of Admiral

Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands during ...

in the spring. ''Sandwich'' then took part in the

Capture of Belle Île The Capture of Belle Île was a British amphibious expedition to capture the French island of Belle Île off the Brittany coast in 1761, during the Seven Years' War. After an initial British attack was repulsed, a second attempt under General St ...

between 6 April and 8 June 1761, moving to the blockade of

Basque Roads Basque Roads, sometimes referred to as ''Aix Roads'', is a roadstead (a sheltered bay) on the Biscay shore of the Charente-Maritime département of France, bounded by the Île d'Oléron to the west and the Île de Ré to the north. The port of La ...

in the following year. ''Sandwich'' 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 ...

upon the end of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

in 1763. ''Sandwich'' was brought back into service to become the

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 usual ...

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 ...

in 1765. The ship was recommissioned by Captain Richard Edwards in November 1776, but became Portsmouth guardship again in February 1777. Subsequently, the ship was back at sea, fighting in the Battle of Ushant on 27 August 1778 before being again paid off in 1779. The ship received a

refit Refitting or refit of boats and marine vessels includes repairing, fixing, restoring, renewing, mending, and renovating an old vessel. Refitting has become one of the most important activities inside a shipyard. It offers a variety of services for ...

between September and November of the same year at Portsmouth, being recommissioned at the start of that refit by Captain Walter Young to become the flagship of Admiral Sir George Rodney. In this capacity ''Sandwich'' joined the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the t ...

. Tasked with relieving the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants. The American war had end ...

, Rodney's fleet fought the

Action of 8 January 1780 The action of 8 January 1780 was a naval encounter off Cape Finisterre between a British Royal Naval fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney, and a fleet of Spanish merchants sailing in convoy with seven warships of the Caracas Company, under th ...

and Battle of Cape St. Vincent on 16 January before completing the first naval relief on 19 January. ''Sandwich'' subsequently sailed with Rodney to the West Indies, arriving there on 28 March. Gibraltar Relieved By Sir George Rodney

''Sandwich'' fought at the Battle of Martinique on 17 April, and in actions off

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindia ...

on 15 and 17 May. The ship then sailed to New York on 13 September, arriving on 22 September and arriving back in the West Indies on 12 December. On 3 February 1781 ''Sandwich'' took part in the

Capture of Sint Eustatius The Capture of Sint Eustatius took place in February 1781 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War when British army and naval forces under Lieutenant-General Sir John Vaughan and Admiral George Rodney seized the Dutch-owned Caribbean island of Sint ...

, and in August of that year Young was replaced in command by Captain Sylverius Moriarty, who sailed the ship to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. There ''Sandwich'' became the flagship of Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Parker on the

Jamaica Station Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...

. Captain John Cowling replaced Moriarty in around May 1782, and ''Sandwich'' sailed back to England with Parker. There the ship was paid off in August. In October Captain John Frodsham took command, and ''Sandwich'' became the guardship 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 ...

. The ship was paid off again in March 1783, continuing to lie at the Nore. ''Sandwich'' was then recommissioned to become 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 ...

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

in October 1787, with Captain Thomas Tonken in command. The ship was paid off in February 1788, but returned to duty as receiving ship in the Nore in May 1790, still under Tonken. At this time ''Sandwich'' was also flagship to Vice-Admiral John Dalrymple,

Commander-in-Chief, The Nore The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Th ...

. In October the ship moved to serve again as receiving ship at Sheerness before being recommissioned in December 1792 by Captain William Lockyer, who commanded her as guardship at the Nore. In February 1793 Lockyer was replaced by Captain James Mosse, and ''Sandwich'' served in succession as the flagship of three Commanders-in-Chief, The Nore; Dalrymple again from March, Vice-Admiral

Charles Buckner Admiral Charles Buckner (c. 1735–1811) was a Royal Navy officer who became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore. He was the brother of John Buckner, Bishop of Chichester, and grandfather of portraitist Richard Buckner. Early life Charles Buckner was ...

from August 1795, and Vice-Admiral

Skeffington Lutwidge Admiral Skeffington Lutwidge (13 March 1737 – 15/16 August 1814) was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He had a particular connection wi ...

from July 1797. In September of the latter year ''Sandwich'' was paid off again, and recommissioned in November as a

prison ship A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nation ...

with the rating of a

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

. Based in the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald AONB, High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a to ...

, the ship's next commander was Lieutenant Richard Hancock. Hancock was replaced in April 1798 by Captain Billy Douglas, who in turn handed over to Captain Abraham Guyot in April 1801. ''Sandwich'' was paid off in April 1802 with the

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...

, but recommissioned in July 1803 with the start of 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 ...

under the command of Emmanuel Hungerford. ''Sandwich''s final commander was Lieutenant Joseph Coxwell from 1809. The ship was

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...

at Chatham in 1810.

Citations and references

Citations References * * Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandwich (1759) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Sandwich-class ships of the line 1759 ships Floating batteries of the Royal Navy