HMS ''Royal Oak'' 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 thir ...

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 Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

, launched on 4 March 1809 at Dudman's yard at Deptford Wharf. Her first commanding officer was Captain Pulteney Malcolm.

Napoleonic Wars

In 1812 ''Royal Oak'' was under the command of Captain

Thomas George Shortland Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, who was superseded by Captain Edward Dix in 1813. During this time she was 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 f ...

of Rear-Admiral

Lord Amelius Beauclerk Admiral (Royal Navy), Admiral Lord Amelius Beauclerk (23 May 1771 – 10 December 1846) was a Royal Navy Officer (armed forces), officer. Early life Beauclerk was born on 23 May 1771, the third son of Aubrey Beauclerk, 5th Duke of St Albans ...

, of the

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of ...

War of 1812

''Royal Oak'' shared with other vessels in the proceeds of the capture on 17 December 1813 of the American vessel ''Maria Antoinette''. On 1 June 1814 Rear-Admiral Pulteney Malcolm, who had hoisted his flag aboard ''Royal Oak'', proceeded with troops under Brigadier-General Robert Ross to North America. Malcolm accompanied Sir Alexander Cochrane on the expedition up the Chesapeake and regulated the debarkation and embarkation of the troops employed against Washington and Baltimore. Ross was killed on 12 September 1814 in Baltimore, Maryland, ''Royal Oak'' would carry his body to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for interment on 29 September 1814. In December ''Royal Oak'' was with the fleet under Cochrane preparing for the attack on New Orleans. Before the attack, her boats participated in the Battle of Lake Borgne. On 8 December 1814, two US gunboats fired on , and the sixth-rate frigate while they were passing the chain of small islands that runs parallel to the shore between Mobile and Lake Borgne. Between 12 and 15 December 1814, Captain Lockyer of ''Sophie'' led a flotilla of some 50 boats, barges, gigs and launches to attack the US gunboats. Lockyer drew his flotilla from the fleet that was massing against New Orleans, including the 74-gun Third Rates ''Royal Oak'' and , and a number of other vessels including '' Armide'', ''Seahorse'', and ''Meteor''. Lockyer deployed the boats in three divisions, of which he led one. Captain Montresor of the gun-brig ''Manly'' commanded the second, and Captain Roberts of ''Meteor'' commanded the third. After rowing for 36 hours, the British met the Americans at St. Joseph's Island. On 13 December 1814, the British attacked the one-gun schooner USS ''Sea Horse''. On the morning of the 14th, the British engaged the Americans in a short, violent battle. The British captured the entire American force, including the tender, USS ''Alligator'', and five gunboats. The British lost 17 men killed and 77 wounded; ''Royal Oak'' had only one man wounded. then evacuated the wounded. In 1821 the survivors of the flotilla shared in the distribution of head-money arising from the capture of the American gun-boats and sundry bales of cotton. In 1847 the Admiralty 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. In support of the attack on New Orleans, sixty Royal Marines from ''Royal Oak'' were disembarked. One of these men was killed in action on 8 January 1815,Ship muster for HMS Royal Oak Jan - June 1815. UK National Archives reference ADM 37/5136 as a force of marines, sailors, and soldiers of the

85th Regiment of Foot The 85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881. H ...

commanded by Colonel William Thornton successfully assaulted American positions on the west bank of the Mississippi. The naval contingent was under the command of Commander Rowland Money, of ''Trave'', who was severely wounded in the attack.

Fate

From 1825 ''Royal Oak'' was employed on harbour service, until in 1850 she was broken up.

Notes

References

Citations Bibliography *Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .

External links

Two Royal Navy Records for Dr. William Todd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Oak (1809) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Fame-class ships of the line 1809 ships Ships built in Deptford War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom