HMS Indefatigable: Француз революциясы және Наполеон соғыстары кезеңіндегі британ фрегаты

Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Indefatigable was one of the 64 gun third rate ships of the line designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1761 for the Royal Navy. She was built as a ship of the line, but most of her active service took place after her conversion to a 44 gun razee frigate. She had a long career under several distinguished commanders, serving throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. She took some 27 prizes, alone or in company, and the Admiralty authorised the issue of four clasps to the Naval General Service Medal in 1847 to any surviving members of her crews from the respective actions. and was never commissioned in that role.

In 1794, she was razéed; her upper gun deck was cut away to convert her into a large and heavily armed frigate. The original intention was to retain her twenty six 24 pounder guns on her gundeck, and to mount eight 12 pounder guns on her quarterdeck and a further four on her forecastle, which would have rated her as a 38 gun vessel. However, it was at this time that the carronade was becoming more popular in the Navy, and her intended armament was altered on 5 December 1794 with the addition of four 42 pounder carronades to go on her quarterdeck and two on her forecastle. Indefatigable was thereafter rated as a 44 gun fifth rate frigate, along with and , which were converted at about the same time.

Indefatigable was first commissioned in December 1794 under Captain Sir Edward Pellew. He commanded her until early 1799. On 9 March 1795, Indefatigable, , and captured numerous French prizes: Temeraire, Minerve, Gentille, Regeneration, and a brig and sloop of unknown names. In October, the Dutch East Indiaman Zeelilee was wrecked in the Isles of Scilly with the loss of 25 of her 70 crew. Indefatigable rescued the survivors. On 20 March 1796, Indefatigable and her squadron chased three French corvettes, of which the Volage of 26 guns ran ashore under a battery at the mouth of the Loire. Between 11 and 21 March Indefatigables squadron captured the vessels Favorite Sultana, Friends, Providence, Four Marys, Aimable Justine, and Nouvelle Union. They also destroyed two unnamed brigs and a chasse maree. On 13 April 1796, Indefatigable was in pursuit of a French frigate. Pellew signalled to Révolutionnaire to cut her off from the shore. Révolutionnaire then captured the French frigate Unité after having fired two broadsides into her. Unité had nine men killed and 11 wounded; Révolutionnaire had no casualties. The Royal Navy took the frigate into service as HMS Unite. On the morning of 20 April 1796, Indefatigable sighted the French 44 gun frigate French frigate Virginie off the Lizard. Indefatigable, Amazon, and Concorde chased Virginie, with Indefatigable catching her just after midnight on 21 April after a chase of 15 hours and 168 mile (270 km). Apparently, Duke of York also shared in some or all of the prize money. In 1847, the Admiralty authorised the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Indefatigable 20 Apl. 1796". Each was under the command of an ensign de vaisseau and both vessels had left Brest two days earlier for a six week cruise, but had not yet taken any prizes. In September 1796, Indefatigable, Phoebe, Révolutionnaire, and Amazon captured five Spanish ships. On 1 October, Indefatigable, Amazon, Révolutionnaire, Phoebe, and Jason shared in the capture of the Vrow Delenea Maria. The next day, Pellew and Indefatigable captured the privateer schooner Ariel of Boston off Corunna. Earlier, Pellew had recaptured the brig Queen of Naples, which had been sailing from Lisbon to Cork. From her, he learned that there were two privateers around Corunna, one of which had captured a brig from Lisbon with a cargo of bale goods two days earlier. On 7 January, Indefatigable and Amazon captured the Emanuel. The battle ended with Droits de l'Homme being driven onto shore in a gale. Amazon also ran onto the shore; still, almost her entire crew survived both the battle and the grounding and were captured. Despite being embayed and having damaged masts and rigging, Indefatigable was able to repair the damage and beat off the lee shore, showing excellent seamanship. She had only 19 officers and men wounded, with most of those not being serious. On 11 May, Indefatigable in company with Phoebe, , , and Duke of York captured Nouvelle Eugénie. She was a razee privateer of 16 guns and carried a crew of 120 men. She was four days out of Nantes on a 30 day cruise, but had taken no prizes. The Royal Navy took her into service as
On 21 July, the Duke of York returned, having chased a French privateer lugger into the hands of Lieutenant Bray, who commanded the Revenue Cutter Hind. Hind also recaptured a sloop that the privateer had captured. The lugger was armed with two guns and carried a crew of 25 men. On 14 October, Indefatigable arrived at Teneriffe. There at midnight she captured the French brig corvette French corvette Ranger. Ranger was armed with 14 guns and carried a crew of 70 men. She had been carrying dispatches to the West Indies, which she was able to destroy before capture. The next day, Pellew captured a Spanish schooner carrying a cargo of fish. Indefatigable was short of water, so he put the crew of Ranger on board the schooner (though not Rangers officers) and sent them ashore at Santa Cruz. Five days later, in the evening of the 16th, Pellew's squadron captured the French privateer Inconcevable. On 28 January, Indefatigable and Cambrian captured the privateer Heureuse Nouvelle. She was armed with 22 guns and had a crew of 130 men. She was 36 days out of Brest and, during that time, had captured only one ship, a large American vessel named the Providence which had a cargo of cotton and sugar. Pellew sent Cambrian in pursuit. Duke of York also shared in the capture. At daylight on 4 August, Indefatigable sighted the privateer Heureux together with a prize and gave chase. Indefatigable captured the French corvette Vaillante while cruising in the Bay of Biscay on 8 August, after a chase of 24 hours, which was under the command of Lieutenant de Vaisseau La Porte. The corvette fired a few shots before she struck. She was armed with twenty two 9 pounder guns and had a crew of 175 men. She had left Rochefort on 1 August, and the Île de Ré on the 4th, where she had picked up 25 banished priests, 27 convicts, and a Madame Rovere and family, all of whom she was taking to Cayenne. She was only 18 months old, coppered, and a fast sailer. The British took her into service as On 15 November 1798, Indefatigable captured Mercurius. On 14 January 1799, Indefatigable recaptured Argo, Rich, master, which had been sailing from Gothenburg for Boston when a French privateer had captured her. After her recapture Argo arrived at Falmouth. More captures or recaptures of merchantmen followed. Indefatigable, , and recaptured the Providence on 10 January 1799, the Pomona on 5 February, and the Wohlfarden on 9 February.

From March 1799 until the end of 1800 Indefatigable was under the command of Captain Henry Curzon. On 31 May she captured the brig Vénus. Indefatigable was apparently also in company with Fisgard and Diamond. On 9 October 1799 Indefatigable, Diamond, Cambrian, , Nymphe and shared in the capture of the Spanish brig Nostra Senora de la Solidad. Then on 7 November Nymphe, Indefatigable and Diamond shared in the recapture of the ship Brailsford. Then on 6 January 1800 Indefatigable shared with , , and Stag in the capture of the French brig Ursule. On 11 February Indefatigable captured the Vidette. On 12 June 1800, Indefatigable captured the French privateer brig Vengeur. She was armed with six long 4 pounders and ten 18 pounder carronades, and carried a crew of 102 men. She was two days out of Bordeaux and sailing for the coast of Brazil. Vengeur was sailing in company with three letters of marque – a ship, a brig and a schooner – that were bound for Guadeloupe. On 11 June Vengeur had captured the Jersey privateer lugger Snake. Indefatigable shared the prize money with Sirius. On 3 July Indefatigable recaptured the brig Cultivator, from the French. Eleven days later, Indefatigable and Sirius captured the French ship Favori. Indefatigable then was with Sir John Borlase Warren's squadron at Ferrol. She apparently did not participate in the attack on a fort at the bay of Playa de Dominos (Doniños) on 25 August 1800. On 22 October Indefatigable, took the French 28 gun frigate French corvette Vénus off the Portuguese coast. Indefatigable and Fisgard shared the prize money with Boadicea, Diamond, , and the hired armed schooner Hired armed schooner Earl St Vincent. In January 1801 Indefatigable was under Captain Matthew Scott. Indefatigable was part of the squadron that shared by agreement in the prize money from the Temeraire, which had captured on 30 May. Similarly, the same vessels shared by agreement in Dashers capture of Bien Aimé on 23 July 1801. Indefatigable was then paid off later that year. Indefatigable was laid up in ordinary at Plymouth in March to April 1802, as a result of the peace of October 1801.

Following the resumption of hostilities, Indefatigable was fitted out for sea between July and September 1803. She was recommissioned under Captain Graham Moore, younger brother of Sir John Moore of Rifle Brigade and Corunna fame. On 9 August 1804 Indefatigable was in sight when recaptured the West Indiaman William Heathcote off Bayonne.

Indefatigable, with Moore as commodore, and frigates , , and intercepted four Spanish frigates off Cadiz under the command of Rear Admiral Don Joseph Bustamente, Knight of the Order of St. James, on 5 October 1804. The Royal Navy took Medea into service as and Clara as
The value of the treasure was very large and, if it had been treated as Prize of War, then Moore and his fellow captains would have become extremely wealthy. As it was, the money and ships were declared to be "Droits of Admiralty" on the grounds that war had not been declared. Hence the captains and crew shared a relatively small ex gratia payment of £160,000 for the bullion, plus the proceeds of the sale of the hull and cargo.

Indefatigable was finally paid off in 1815. She was broken up at Sheerness in August 1816.

Indefatigable is the namesake of Indefatigable Island, the alternative English name of Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Archipelago.

Vessels captured or destroyed for which Indefatigables crew received full or partial credit Date Ship Nationality Type Fate Ref.9 March 1795Temeraire FrenchMerchant shipCaptured9 March 1795Minerve FrenchMerchant shipCaptured9 March 1795Gentille FrenchMerchant shipCaptured9 March 1795Regeneration FrenchMerchant shipCaptured9 March 1795Not recorded FrenchMerchant brigCaptured9 March 1795Not recorded FrenchMerchant sloopCaptured11–21 March 1795Favorite Sultana FrenchMerchant shipCaptured11–21 March 1795Friends FrenchMerchant brigCaptured11–21 March 1795Not recorded FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed11–21 March 1795Not recorded FrenchChasse mareeDestroyed11–21 March 1795Providence FrenchChasse mareeCaptured11–21 March 1795Not recorded FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed11–21 March 1795Four Marys FrenchMerchant brigCaptured11–21 March 1795Aimable Justine FrenchMerchant brigCaptured11–21 March 1795Nouvelle Union FrenchMerchant brigCaptured13 April 1796Unité French32 gun frigateCaptured21 April 1796French frigate Virginie French44 gun frigateCaptured12 June 1796Trois Couleurs French10 gun brigCaptured12 June 1796Blonde French16 gun brigCapturedSeptember 1796Not recorded SpanishMerchant shipCapturedSeptember 1796Not recorded SpanishMerchant shipCapturedSeptember 1796Not recorded SpanishMerchant shipCapturedSeptember 1796Not recorded SpanishMerchant shipCapturedSeptember 1796Not recorded SpanishMerchant shipCaptured1 October 1796Vrow Delenea Maria DutchMerchant shipCaptured2 October 1796Queen of Naples BritishMerchant brigRecaptured2 October 1796Ariel French12 gun privateer schoonerCaptured2 October 1796Revanche FrenchNot recordedCapturedJanuary 1797Sangossee FrenchPacketCaptured13 January 1797French ship Droits de l'Homme French74 gun ship of the lineDestroyed30 April 1797Basque French8 gun privateer brigantineCaptured11 May 1797Nouvelle Eugénie French16 gun privateer razeeCaptured14 October 1797French corvette Ranger French14 gun brig corvetteCaptured15 October 1797Not recorded SpanishMerchant schoonerCaptured25 October 1797Hyène French24 gun privateerCaptured11 January 1798Vengeur French12 gun privateer schoonerCaptured16 January 1798Inconcevable French8 gun privateerCaptured28 January 1798Heureuse Nouvelle French22 gun privateerCaptured30 April 1798Basque French8 gun brigantine privateerCaptured11 July 1798HopeNot recordedNot recordedCaptured4 August 1798Heureux French16 gun privateerCaptured5 August 1798Canada BritishMerchant shipRecaptured, destroyed8 August 1798Vaillante French22 gun corvetteCaptured15 November 1798MercuriusNot recordedMerchant shipCaptured31 December 1798Minerve French16 gun privateerCaptured1 January 1799Asphalon BritishMerchant shipRecaptured10 January 1799Providence BritishMerchant shipRecaptured14 January 1799Argo BritishMerchant shipRecapturedJanuary 1799Ann and Dorothea DanishMerchant schoonerRecaptured5 February 1799Pomona BritishMerchant shipRecaptured9 February 1799WohlfardenNot recordedMerchant shipRecaptured31 May 1799Vénus French12 gun brigCaptured9 October 1799Nostra Senora de la Solidad SpanishMerchant brigCaptured7 November 1799Brailsford BritishMerchant shipRecaptured6 January 1800Ursule FrenchMerchant brigCaptured11 January 1800Vidette FrenchNot recordedCaptured12 June 1800Vengeur French16 gun privateer brigCaptured3 July 1800Cultivator BritishMerchant brigRecaptured14 July 1800Favori FrenchNot recordedCaptured15 July 1800Phoenix FrenchNot recordedCaptured22 October 1800French corvette Vénus French32 gun frigateCaptured30 May 1801Temeraire FrenchNot recordedCaptured23 July 1801Bien Aimé FrenchNot recordedCaptured9 August 1804 William Heathcote BritishWest IndiamanRecaptured5 October 1804Medéa Spanish42 gun frigateCaptured5 October 1804Fama Spanish36 gun frigateCaptured5 October 1804Clara Spanish36 gun frigateCaptured5 October 1804Mercedes Spanish36 gun frigateDestroyed16 July 1806 César French18 gun corvetteCaptured19 October 1806Achille FrenchChasse mareeCaptured19 October 1806Jenny FrenchChasse mareeCaptured19 October 1806Marianne FrenchChasse mareeCaptured5 December 1807Pamelia FrenchMerchant shipCaptured26 December 1807Eliza AmericanMerchant shipCaptured7 January 1808Fanny FrenchGaliotCaptured31 July 1808Diane French14 gun letter of marqueCaptured19 August 1808Adele FrenchNot recordedCaptured1 September 1808Sally AmericanMerchant shipCaptured9 September 1808Peggy AmericanMerchant shipCaptured1 November 1808Bonne Louise FrenchNot recordedCaptured14 January 1809Clarisse French3 gun privateer luggerCaptured20 February 1809Matilda FrenchMerchant schoonerCaptured24 March 1809Neptunus DanishMerchant brigCaptured28 March 1809Nymphe FrenchMerchant shipCaptured11 January 1810Mouche № 26 French1 gun dispatch boatCaptured6 May 1810Camilla FrenchChasse mareeCaptured6 May 1810Bonne Rencontre FrenchChasse mareeCaptured13 June 1810Flora BritishMerchant shipRecaptured20 October 1810Intrigua PortugueseMerchant brigRecaptured15 January 1811Matilda AmericanMerchant shipCaptured31 July 1812Belleville AmericanMerchant shipCaptured31 July 1812Janus AmericanMerchant shipCaptured31 July 1812Aeos AmericanMerchant shipCaptured31 July 1812Ganges AmericanMerchant shipCaptured31 July 1812Leonidas AmericanMerchant shipCaptured17 September 1812DankbarheideNot recordedMerchant shipCaptured29 September 1812Friede PrussianMerchant shipCaptured