Author Topic: HMS Tartar (1801 - 1811)  (Read 2704 times)

Offline Dave Smith

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Re: HMS Tartar (1801 - 1811)
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2021, 05:01:02 PM »
Thanks Stuart. I found the article on John Perkins very interesting, particularly the fact that he was coloured. I know that it was difficult enough for anyone in the Royal Navy ( a very snooty lot!!) to rise up through the ranks to a commission. My uncle George, from Gillingham,  started as a cabin boy in the 20's & was commissioned on HMS Kent when she was on the " China Station" in the late 30's. ( he became a Lt. Cmdr. when WW2 started & was i/c all Naval boats in the Medway). We were guests on board when she came home( tender from Gillingham pier) & was moored in the Medway. My mother,who knew of these things, said he was definitely an exception; so being coloured would have been more than exceptional in those days.

Offline stuartwaters

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Re: HMS Tartar (1801 - 1811)
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2021, 01:02:58 PM »
Thanks for that Stuart.  The section on Jack Punch led me to his entry in Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perkins_(Royal_Navy_officer) ) which I've forwarded to my wife who is a history teacher*.  You'll probably be aware that black history and slavery are very much "flavours of the month" so the story is highly relevant.
*ie her school email.  I do talk to her directly! ;D


Hi Martin and thank you for that. A more informative, short biography of John Perkins is to be found here:


https://morethannelson.com/officer/john-perkins/
"I did not say the French would not come, I said they will not come by sea" - Admiral Sir John Jervis, 1st Earl St Vincent.

Offline MartinR

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Re: HMS Tartar (1801 - 1811)
« Reply #2 on: February 13, 2021, 12:13:57 PM »
Thanks for that Stuart.  The section on Jack Punch led me to his entry in Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Perkins_(Royal_Navy_officer) ) which I've forwarded to my wife who is a history teacher*.  You'll probably be aware that black history and slavery are very much "flavours of the month" so the story is highly relevant.
*ie her school email.  I do talk to her directly! ;D

Offline stuartwaters

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HMS Tartar (1801 - 1811)
« Reply #1 on: February 13, 2021, 10:58:30 AM »

HMS Tartar was a Fifth Rate, 18pdr-armed, 32-gun Frigate of the Narcissus Class, built under Navy Board contract by Thomas and Josiah Brindley at the Quarry House shipyard in Frindsbury.


The Narcissus Class was a group of three ships designed by Sir John Henslow, Co-Surveyor of the Navy, of which two were built in Kent shipyards. Originally ordered as a group of five, to be built in two batches, two of the second batch were cancelled before contracts for their construction were signed. HMS Tartar was a member of the first batch of two ships, the other was HMS Narcissus, ordered from the Royal Dockyard at Deptford.


The Quarry House shipyard, on the west bank of the River Medway, was the largest commercially owned shipyard on the river. It stood approximately on the current site of the Canal Tavern and was one of a number of established shipyards on both sides of the River Medway from Gillingham to the bridge at Rochester. The most famous vessels built there were HMS Bellerophon, a 74-gun Third Rate ship of the line and HMS Shannon, a 38-gun, 18pdr-armed Frigate. The French Emperor Napoleon Buonaparte surrendered aboard HMS Bellerophon after his defeat at the hands of the Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815; a defeat which finally ended over a century of on-off war against France. HMS Shannon became famous during the 1812 War against the United States, when after a string of defeats in single ship actions against the US Navy's very large frigates, HMS Shannon defeated USS Chesapeake in an action off Boston lasting only 11 minutes. HMS Bellerophon had been built under the shipyard's previous owner, Mr Edward Greaves.


The contract for the construction of HMS Tartar was signed on the 28th January 1800 and HMS Tartar was to be the largest vessel yet built for the Royal Navy by the Brindley brothers. The Navy Board only awarded construction contracts to builders they knew and trusted to be able to build vessels to the required build quality, on time and on budget. The Brindley brothers had previously built the lead vessel of a class of Gun Brigs, HMS Conquest, and a 6pdr-armed 16-gun ship-rigged Sloop of War, HMS Hazard. The brothers knew that if their performance on this contract was satisfactory, more lucrative contracts for larger vessels may well follow, which they did. The first keel section of HMS Tartar was laid at the Quarry House yard during August of 1800. The construction project was overseen by men sent into the shipyard by the Navy Board, whose job was to make sure that the builders didn't cut any corners to save themselves money to increase their profits and to make sure that the workmanship was of the highest quality. Because the shipyard was only half a mile upstream from the Royal Dockyard, her lower hull was sheathed in copper before her launch.


The new ship was launched with all due ceremony into the River Medway on the 27th June 1801 and was immediately taken downsteam and secured to a mooring buoy off the Royal Dockyard. The sheer hulk was brought alongside and was used to lift the masts and heavy guns into the ship. The guns themselves were loaded through the gunports and secured to the carriages which had been assembled on the gundeck in readiness. Once the masts were in place and secured with standing rigging, the upper masts and yards were lifted onto the deck by the sheer hulk, fitted in situ with all their required standing and running rigging and were then hauled up the masts and secured in place. The sails were then brought on board and lifted from the lighters which brought them out and were secured to the yards. More lighters brought the many tons of stores and gunpowder out to the ship. While all this was going on, the Admiralty and the Navy Board had been busy appointing the commissioned and warrant officers respectively into the ship and they would have supervised all the various loading and fitting out operations.


In July of 1801, Captain James Walker was appointed to command HMS Tartar and to commission her for the Channel Fleet. On being appointed, his first task was to oversee the manning and fitting out of his new command. Captain Walker was an experienced combat commander. A Scot, he had been born in 1764. In common with the vast bulk of his fellow officers, he had entered the Royal Navy as Midshipman in Ordinary in his early teens and passed his Examination for Lieutenant on the 8th May 1783 at the age of 19. In the early summer of 1794 he had been First Lieutenant in the old 12pdr-armed 32-gun Frigate HMS Niger and as such, had participated in Lord Howe's Atlantic Campaign of May 1794 which had culminated in the Battle of the Glorious First of June. Along with all First Lieutenants who had participated in that battle, he was awarded his own command soon afterwards. He had received his first command appointment on 6th July when he had been appointed as Master and Commander in the 18pdr carronade-armed fireship HMS Alecto of 14 guns. He had been appointed Acting Captain in the 64-gun Third Rate ship of the line HMS Monmouth when that ship's captain, Captain Lord William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk had resigned from the Royal Navy in protest in May of 1797, over the Government's refusal to negotiate in the early stages of the Great Mutiny at the Nore. He was still in the role of Acting Captain when HMS Monmouth and her crew had fought in Admiral Sir Adam Duncan's bloody victory over the Dutch in the Battle of Camperdown on the 11th October of that year. He was finally Posted, or promoted to Captain six days after the Battle of Camperdown. His appointment prior to HMS Tartar had been in the old 50-gun, Fourth Rate ship of the line HMS Isis, which he had commanded during Nelson's victory over the Danes in the Battle of Copenhagen on the 2nd April 1801.


Captain Walker would have been assisted in commissioning and preparing HMS Tartar for sea by the three Lieutenants appointed by the Admiralty and the Warrant Officers including the Standing Officers appointed by the Navy Board. The Lieutenants were ranked in order of seniority, based on the dates on which they had passed their Examinations. The Standing Officers were the men who would remain with the ship whether or not she was in commission and who were the ship's main artificers. They were:


The Carpenter - He was a fully qualified shipwright, usually appointed from amongst the men who had built the ship. He answered to the First Lieutenant and was responsible for the repair and maintenance of the hull, frames and decks. In a
32-gun Fifth Rate Frigate, he would be assisted by a single Carpenters Mate and would have a dedicated Carpenters Crew of five men.


The Boatswain - He was an experienced seaman who had worked his way up through the ranks. He also answered to the First Lieutenant and was responsible for the maintenance, operation and repair of the ship's boats as well as her masts and rigging. He was assisted in this when the ship was in commission by a single Boatswains Mate. Amongst the duties of the Boatswains Mate was the administering of any floggings ordered by the Captain.


The Gunner - He was another man who had worked his way up through the ranks of seamen. He also answered to the First Lieutenant and was responsible for the repair, maintenance and operation of the ship's main guns. Also amongst his responsibilities was the training of gun crews and training Midshipmen-in-Ordinary in the arts of gunnery. In action, he was responsible for the distribution of gunpowder and shot and would be stationed in the magazine. He was assisted when the ship was in commission by a single Gunners Mate and eight Quarter-Gunners, each of whom was a Petty Officer responsible for four gun crews.


The Purser - He reported directly to the Captain and was thus entitled to a berth in the Wardroom with the commissioned officers. He was responsible for the purchase and distribution of the ship's provisions and stores.


The Cook - The least senior of the Standing Officers, he was usually a disabled former seaman. His job title is self-explanatory. He was also in overall charge of the ship's complement of servants.


In addition to the Standing Officers, the other senior Warrant Officers appointed by the Navy Board, who would only be in the ship when she was in commission were:


The Sailing Master - He was responsible for the day-to-day sailing and navigation of the ship. If not employed by the Royal Navy, he was qualified to command a merchant vessel. He answered directly to the Captain and in addition to directing the sailing and navigation of the ship, he was also responsible for training Midshipmen-in-Ordinary in the arts of sailing and navigation and the sowage of the stores in the hold to ensure the ship had the optimum trim. As a Warrant Officer reporting directly to the Captain, he was entitled to a berth in the Wardroom with the commissioned sea-officers. In a 32-gun Fifth Rate Frigate like HMS Tartar, he was assisted by two Masters Mates. In addition to the Masters Mates, there were also three Quartermasters with three Quartermasters Mates responsible for the actual steering of the ship.


The Surgeon - Another man who reported directly to the Captain and entitled to a berth in the Wardroom, he was responsible for the day to day healthcare of the whole crew from the Captain downwards. Although not a doctor as such, a ship's surgeon had to serve and pass a seven-year apprenticeship which was overseen by the Royal College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Physicians before he would be allowed to practice unsupervised. He was assisted by an Assistant Surgeon, who was himself a part-qualified Surgeon.


The rest of the Warrant Officers and senior Petty Officers were appointed by the Captain on the recommendation of the First Lieutenant having first applied for the posts and presented their credentials. Included amongst these were:


The Master at Arms - Responsible to the First Lieutenant, he was in effect, the ship's policeman, responsible for the day-to-day enforcement of discipline amongst the crew. In a 32-gun Fifth Rate Frigate like HMS Tartar, he was assisted by two Ship's Corporals.


The Armourer - Answerable to the Gunner, he was a fully qualified blacksmith and was responsible for the maintenance and repair of the ships stocks of small arms and bladed weapons. He could also manufacture new bladed weapons as required. On a 32-gun Fifth Rate frigate, he was assisted by a single Armourers Mate.


The Sailmaker - Answerable to the Boatswain, he was responsible for the repair and maintenance of the ships sails, the storage of spare sails as well as the ships stocks of flags. He was assisted by a single Sailmakers Mate with a dedicated crew of one man.


The Caulker - Answerable to the Carpenter he was responsible for making sure the ship's hull and decks remained watertight. He was assisted by seamen as directed by the First Lieutenant.


The Chaplain - An ordained Church of England priest, he was responsible for the spiritual well-being of the crew. He was answerable to the Captain. In action, the Chaplain would assist the Surgeons crew with the care of wounded men. In deference to his ordained status, he was entitled to a berth in the Wardroom.


The Schoolmaster - Answerable to the First Lieutenant, he was responsible for teaching the Midshipmen in Ordinary the theory and mathematics behind navigation. With the Captains agreement, he also taught the ship's Boys the basic '3rs'.


The Clerk - Answerable to the Purser, he was responsible for all the record keeping aboard the ship and making sure that the ships books were sent to the Admiralty.


The ship had a complement of six Midshipmen. These young men were in effect, commanders in training and their job was to assist the ships Lieutenants in their day to day duties. Only the most senior of the ship's Midshipmen had a specific job, in charge of signals. The Midshipmen were appointed into the ship by the local Commander-in-Chief. In addition to the Midshipmen, there were Midshipmen-in-Ordinary, also known as Quarterdeck Boys. These young men, at the beginning of their careers as officers in the Royal Navy, were officers in training and they wore the uniform and performed the role of a Midshipman. They were usually related to the Captain, one of his friends or somebody the Captain either owed a favour to or was doing a favour for. They were on the ship's books as Captains Servants and were paid at the same rate as an Able Seaman. In a ship like HMS Tartar with a crew of 254, the Captain would be entitled to have up to eight servants or four per rounded hundred of her Company. Unless the Captain was particularly extravagant, he wouldn't require anything like this number of servants, so the remaining positions on the ship's books were taken up with the Midshipmen-in-Ordinary.


In any case, the Captain would come aboard with his own staff of his Clerk or secretary, his Steward and his Coxswain. The Captains Coxswain was a Petty Officer and his role was to act as the Captain's personal bodyguard and to act as his eyes and ears on the Lower Deck. The Coxswain would usually choose a Coxswains Mate from amongst the Able Seamen in the ship. These men would follow the Captain from appointment to appointment.


In addition to these men, HMS Tartar's crew would have been made up of Petty Officers in charge of specific areas of the ship or specific tasks to be carried out by the seamen. The seamen themselves would have been rated according to their experience at sea, Able Seamen with years of sea-going experience and able to carry out any task without supervision, Ordinary Seamen with some experience and who would require a degree of supervision and Landsmen with none. Landsmen were the unskilled labourers in the ship and were regarded by everyone else as being the lowest form of life aboard, until they had proved themselves. The ship's complement of boys would be rated in the same way and were employed in a number of roles. They were usually to be found as servants, for the Wardroom and for those Warrant Officers entitled to have servants. In action, they would be employed as Powder Monkeys, carrying gunpowder cartridges from the magazine to the Gun Captains. When weighing anchor, they worked in the Cable Tier, securing the great anchor cable to the bridle wrapped around the capstan with small pieces of rope known as a 'Nip', in order that the Capstan Crew could haul in many tons and many fathoms of heavy, waterlogged anchor cable. This is the origin of the term used to describe a small child - a 'Nipper'.


In addition to the seamen and in common with all Rated ships, HMS Tartar carried a complement of Marines. In a 32-gun Fifth Rate frigate, there was a Lieutenant of Marines in command, assisted by a Sergeant, a Corporal, a Drummer and 30 Marine Privates. These men would have come aboard as a pre-existing unit and were accomodated in a screened-off portion of the lower deck known as the Marine Barracks.


On the 18th July 1801, HMS Tartar was declared complete and in all respects, ready for sea at Chatham. On completion, HMS Tartar was a ship of 894 tons. She was 142ft long at the gundeck and 118ft 3.5in long at the keel. She was 37ft 8.5in wide across her beams and drew 9ft of water at her bows and 13ft 3in at the rudder. She was armed with 26 x 18pdr long guns on her gundeck, 2 x 9pdr long guns with 2 x 32pdr carronades on her forecastle and 2 x 9pdr long guns with 8 x 32pdr carronades on the quarterdeck. In addition to her main guns, she was also fitted with a dozen half-pounder swivel guns fitted to her quarterdeck and forecastle bulwarks and handrails and in her fighting tops.


Narcissus Class Plans


Orlop Plan:





Berth or Lower Deck Plan:





Upper or Gundeck Plan:





Quarterdeck and Forecastle Plans:





Framing Plan:



 
Inboard Profile and Plan:





Sheer Plan and Lines:





Plan of the Stern:





On being declared complete, HMS Tartar immediately departed Chatham bound for Sheerness arriving the following day. She left Sheerness on the 25th July bound for the Downs, from where she was to escort a convoy to Portsmouth. After arriving at Spithead, she was immediately put to work in patrolling the English Channel, the Western Approaches and in enforcing the ongoing blockade of French Channel and Atlantic ports. HMS Tartar's first patrol was to be off Le Havre and appears to have been quite successful. On the 1st September 1801, the American Schooner Sophia from Baltimore bound to Le Havre arrived at Spithead with a prize crew from HMS Tartar. The following day, the Hamburg registered ship Leander came into Spithead again with a prize crew from HMS Tartar. On the 11th September, the Danish ship Neptunus from Tram in Norway arrived at Spithead having been taken by HMS Tartar off Le Havre. On the 13th September, another American ship called Sophia, from New York bound to Le Havre with a cargo of chocolate and baled goods arrived off Spithead with a prize crew from HMS Tartar, but was forced by a gale to run on to Ramsgate. On the 18th September, the galliot Johnanna and Elizabeth came into the Spithead anchorage with a prize crew from HMS Tartar. On the 28th September, HMS Tartar herself arrived at Spithead.


On the 5th October 1801, HMS Tartar departed Spithead bound for Cork with orders to pick up the Jamaica Convoy and proceed to the West Indies, where Captain Walker was to place himself under the orders of the Commander in Chief at Jamaica, Rear-Admiral John Thomas Duckworth, who flew his command flag in HMS Leviathan (74). While HMS Tartar was on the Jamaica Station, the Peace of Amiens (March 1802 - May 1803) came and went and in June of 1802, Captain Walker swapped ships with Captain Charles Inglis of HMS Vanguard (74).


Captain Charles Inglis was inexperienced compared to Captain Walker and HMS Vanguard had been his first appointment after being Posted or promoted to Captain. His only command appointment prior to HMS Vanguard had been as Master and Commander in the 6pdr-armed ship rigged Sloop of War HMS Peterel of 16 guns. Captain Inglis was in command for a year until he was replaced by Captain John Perkins.


Captain John Perkins was known as Jack Punch and he is thought to have been the first Royal Navy officer to come from a mixed race background. Not much is known of his early life, although his life is probably worth a book in it's own right. He is thought to have been born in Kingston, Jamaica in about 1745. It is thought that his father was a white man prominent in society who decided to acknowledge his mixed race son and paid for his education. His mother was more than likely a slave girl. This in itself was unusual for the time as children fathered by wealthy Europeans normally lived their lives in slavery with their mothers. He is first known to have entered the Royal Navy as Cabin Servant to Commander Samuel Uvedale aboard the Bomb Vessel HMS Grenado in June of 1759. He followed Commander Uvedale to the 9pdr-armed 28-gun Frigate HMS Boreas in February of the following year. After the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, he scratched out a living as a Pilot, but in 1771 was dismissed following a Court Martial after HMS Achilles (60) ran aground while being piloted by him. He was re-employed as a Pilot by the Royal Navy on the outbreak of the American War of Independence in 1775 in HMS Antelope (50), the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief on the Jamaica Station, Rear-Admiral Clark Gayton. By 1778, he was in command of the Hired Armed Schooner Punch and he was spectacularly successful in hunting down and catching blockade-runners and his term in command of that vessel is thought to have been the origin of his nickname. The run-of-the-mill appearance of the Punch and his mixed-race background meant that he and his vessel were able to slip in and out of ports all over the Caribbean unnoticed and he was regularly sent on covert intelligence gathering missions. He gave a remarkable display of his skill, local knowledge and seamanship when the Punch escaped from a French squadron of six ships of the line and two Frigates off Hispaniola. He was eventually rewarded for his service when he was given a commission as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and was appointed Lieutenant-in-Command of another armed schooner, HMS Endeavour by the now Commander in Chief at Jamaica, Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Parker in 1782. Later, on 11th July 1782, Perkins was appointed as Master and Commander in HMS Endeavour by Vice-Admiral Sir George Rodney when he took over the Jamaica Station, meaning that he was entitled to have another officer assist him in command. Unfortunately at the end of the war in 1783, despite Rodney's protests, he was laid off and went onto half-pay based on his substantive rank of Lieutenant. Unemployed, he is thought to have resorted to piracy in the years between the wars, but during the Spanish Armaments Crisis of 1790 he was employed by the then-Commander in Chief at Jamaica, Rear-Admiral Phillip Affleck as a spy to gather intelligence on Spanish colonies and trading posts in the West Indies. In 1792, he was caught supplying arms to rebelling slaves at San Domingo and was imprisoned awaiting execution. He was rescued under threat of marines and seamen from the brig-sloop HMS Pelican taking and blowing up a fort on the island, forcing the French to release him. On the outbreak of the French Revolutionary War in 1793, he was re-employed again by the Royal Navy, as Lieutenant in Command of the captured armed Schooner Marie Antoinette of ten guns. Made Master and Commander again under the orders of Vice-Admiral Sir Hyde Parker on 21st June 1797, he was appointed in command of the brig-sloop HMS Drake of 14 guns. He was finally Posted, or Promoted to Captain on the 6th September 1800, securing his future in the Royal Navy and was appointed to command the Post-Ship HMS Arab of 22 guns.


In July of 1803, HMS Tartar was part of a squadron commanded by Commodore John Loring, which had a pair of French seventy-fours, Le Duquesne and Le Duguay Trouin, with the large 40-gun Frigate Guerriere under blockade in the port of Cap Francais on French-held Haiti. The Commodore flew his command Broad Pennant in HMS Bellerophon and the other ships in the squadron were HMS Vanguard, HMS Theseus, HMS Elephant (all of 74 guns) with the Frigate HMS Aeolus (18pdr, 32) in addition to HMS Tartar. On the afternoon of the 24th July, a squall blew up and the French ships took the opportunity to attempt to evade the blockade and escape back to Europe. After rounding the point, the three French ships headed out to sea and at 21:00, as night was falling, they separated, with Duguay Trouin and Guerriere heading eastward pursued by HMS Elephant and Duquesne continuing westward, pursued by HMS Bellerophon and the two Frigates. At midnight, the other two British seventy-fours joined the chase after the Duquesne. At 07:00 the following day, the Commodore detached HMS Theseus to investigate heavy fire to the east of the squadron's position. By noon, HMS Vanguard having overtaken HMS Bellerophon and together with the two Frigates were gaining fast on the Duquesne and at 15:30, after a few shots from the bow chase guns of the British ships and and stern chase guns on the French seventy-four, the Duquesne struck her colours in surrender. The French had not suffered any casualties while the loss on the British side was one seaman killed and one wounded aboard HMS Vanguard. Duquesne was taken into the Royal Navy under her French name. In 1804, she ran aground on the Morat Cays off Jamaica. On being refloated, the was sent to the UK for repairs and for the refit to convert the ship for British service, but on arrival, she was found to be beyond economical repair and was broken up in 1805.


The Duguay Trouin and the Guerriere managed to outsail their pursuers and eventually made it back to France.


Between the 20th November and 2nd December 1803, HMS Tartar and the squadron captured the following prizes during the blockade and subsequent capture of Cap Francais on San Domingo:


La Clorinde - Frigate, 44 guns, 18pdr-armed. Taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Clorinde
La Surveillante - Ditto. Taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Surveillante
Le Vertu - Frigate, 40 guns, 18pdr-armed. Taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Virtu


By January of 1804, the slaves on Haiti were in open revolt and their leader, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, had declared independence from France. Rear-Admiral Duckworth sent Captain Perkins in HMS Tartar to Haiti to observe what was going on there. HMS Tartar was carrying a passenger, Mr Edward Corbet, there to act as the Governor of Jamaica's official observer. Captain Perkins wrote to Rear-Admiral Duckworth with his observations:


I assure you that it is horrid to view the streets in different places with the Blood of these unfortunate people, whose bodies are now left exposed to view by the river and sea side. In hauling the seine the evening we came to our anchor several bodies got entangled in it, in fact such scenes of cruelty and devastation have been committed as is impossible to imagine or my pen describe.



Captain Perkins had long suffered with Asthma and as he grew older, it got worse to the point where he was unable to continue in command of HMS Tartar. On the 1st May 1804, he resigned his command and retired to his estate on Jamaica which ironically, was tended by slaves. Captain John Perkins was one of the most charismatic and successful commanders in the history of the Royal Navy, capturing literally hundreds of enemy vessels and his share of the prize money earned from these captures meant that he was able to retire as a wealthy man. He lived out the rest of his life at his estate in Jamaica having never visited the country he served for most of his life and died unmarried in 1812, probably as a result of his Asthma.


Captain John 'Jack Punch' Perkins:





Captain John Perkins' replacement in HMS Tartar was Captain Keith Maxwell, whose previous appointment had been as Master and Commander in the Sloop of War HMS Hound. Captain Maxwell had passed his Examination for Lieutenant on the 28th March 1794 and had first been appointed as Master and Commander in HMS Hound on the 18th April 1801.


At daybreak on the 31st July 1804, HMS Tartar was patrolling to leeward of the island of Saona, off the south-eastern tip of the island of Hispaniola, when her masthead lookouts sighted a small vessel to which she immediately gave chase. Captain Maxwell was careful to have his ship steer as close to the island as possible to force the stranger to attempt the passage between Saona and Hispaniola. At about 07:00, the stranger was made out to be a schooner, full of men, using sweeps, or large oars in her attempt to navigate the narrow and intricate channel between the islands.


The letters of Rear-Admiral Duckworth and Captain Maxwell tell the story:


Letter from Rear-Admiral Sir John Duckworth to Mr William Marsden, Secretary to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty


Port Royal
26th August 1804


YOU will herewith receive, for the Information of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, the Copies of Two Letters, reciting the Capture of the Hirondelle and Vautour French Privateers by His Majesty's Ships Tartar and Fortunee; the former of which, I trust, their Lordships will think with me does high Honor to the Officers and Crews of the Tartar's Boats, for their undaunted Spirit and Perseverance.


I am, &c.


J. T. DUCKWORTH . .



Letter from Captain Maxwell to his Commander in Chief:


His Majesty's Ship Tartar,
off St. Domingo,
August l, 1804.


I HAVE the Honor to acquaint you, that, Yesterday Morning at Dawn, standing into Leeward of Saona, a small Sail was discovered from the MastHeads, to which I immediately gave Chase, keeping, as close to Leeward-of the Island as possible, in order to prevent her Escape that Way, knowing the Channel between that Island (Saona) and St. Domingo to be very narrow and intricate even for small Vessels. About Seven the Chase was made out to be a Schooner full of Men, using her Sweeps and
every Means possible to get off; from which Circumstance supposing her to be a Privateer, and perceiving her Intention of attempting to escape through the beforementiontd Channel, I made all possible Sail, and at Eight o'Clock got her within Reach of the Guns, which, from the short Tacks I was obliged to make, was prevented from using to that Advantage and Effect I could have wished without losing Ground, therefore, though several Shot went over, and through her Sails, she still persevered in beating to Windward until she had advanced near the Centre of the Channel, where, finding it impossible to proceed further, she came to an Anchor under a Reef of Rocks, at which Time, (Ten in the Forenoon,) having beat the Ship up into Six Fathoms Water, but deeming it imprudent to proceed further, and finding it would be almost impossible to destroy the Vessel with the great Guns, not being able to anchor, or to bring the Broadsides to bear to Advantage, from the short Tacks we were obliged to make, with without Hazard to the Ship ; yet, judging it of Importance to take or destroy the Vessel by some Means or other, I immediately hoisted Three Boats out, and sent them manned and armed under the Direction of Lieutenant Mullah, (Second Lieutenant,) assisted by Lieutenant Lockyer (Third), with several Midshipmen, all Volunteers on the Occasion.


The Instant the Boat put off from the Ship, the Schooner hoisted French Colours, fired a Gun, and warped her Broadside towards them ; as the Boats advanced, the Privateer commenced, firing Grape from her great Guns, and on their nearer Approach opened a Fire of Musketry; yet notwithstanding, and a strong Sea Breeze against the Boats, Lieutenant Mullah, in. the most intrepid and gallant Manner possible, pulled up in the Face of several Discharges of Grape, and a heavy Fire of Musketry from Fifty Men drawn up round the Deck, boarded and carried her.


It is impossible to speak too highly, or sufficiently to express my Sense of the Bravery and intrepid Conduct of Lieutenants Mullah and Lockyer, as well as the Petty Officers, Seamen, and Marines employed under them ; considering the
Disadvantage under which they were obliged to attack, and the Preparation the Enemy had made for Defence, being nearly Noon' Day ; nor can I too much commend the Spirit and Alacrity with which they volunteered their Services on the Occasion, as well as the Whole of the Ship's Company.


I am happy to add, that only Two Men were wounded, one Seaman and one Marine (badly)


The French lost Nine killed and Six wounded, beside Three missing, supposed to have been drowned in attempting to swim on Shore; the Wounded I sent to St. Domingo by a Flag of Truce this Morning. The Remainder I keep on board, there being no English Prisoners to exchange in lieu.


The Privateer proves to be the Hirondelle, Captain La Place, with Ten Four-Pounders and Fifty Men, and Two Days out from St. Domingo. She had run most of the last War, and all the present, frequently chaced, but from her fast sailing always
escaped.


I am, &c.


KEITH MAXWELL . 



In December of 1804, the Lloyds Patriotic Fund awarded Lieutenants Mullah and Lockyer each a sword in recognition of their bravery in leading a boat attack in the face of a storm of grapeshot and musket fire. The wounded seaman and Marine were also awarded £20 each.


In March of 1805, Captain Maxwell was replaced in command of HMS Tartar by Captain Edward Hawker, whose previous appointment had been in command of HMS Theseus. Captain Maxwell was appointed to command HMS Arab.


On the 9th June 1806, HMS Tartar in company with the 18pdr carronade-armed schooner HMS Bacchus of ten guns chased and captured the French brig-corvette L'Observateur of 14 x 4pdr guns and 4 x ex-British 12pdr carronades. L'Observateur was taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Observateur.


By October of 1807, HMS Tartar had returned to the UK and had entered the Royal Dockyard at Deptford for repairs. The repairs were completed at a cost of £18,011 the following April and the ship commissioned for the North Sea under Captain George Bettesworth. HMS Tartar was Mr Bettesworth's first appointment after being Posted, his previous appointment having been as Master and Commander in HMS Crocodile of 22 guns. The ship was ordered to Leith, from where she was to conduct patrols in the North Sea. By now, Britain was also at war with Denmark-Norway, following the Bombardment of Copenhagen. Although the Danes had surrendered their fleet to the British and several warships under construction in Copenhagen shipyards had been destroyed, they were in the process of building a fleet of very heavily armed gunboats.


On the 10th May 1808, HMS Tartar departed the Leith Roads bound for Bergen in Norway. Captain Bettesworth had received orders to intercept the Dutch Frigate Guelderland of 36 guns, known to be in Bergen in company with a convoy of three or four ships. HMS Tartar arrived off the coast of Norway on the 12th, but was unable to close with the land for another three days because of a very thick fog. On the 15th May, HMS Tartar's lookouts sighted the islands to the west of Bergen and the ship hoisted Dutch colours. The ship was met and boarded by a number of Norwegians who came out in two boats and informed Captain Bettesworth that the Dutch Frigate and her convoy had set sail for the East Indies some eight days before.


With Britain now at war with Denmark and thus Norway, with the enemy Frigate now gone, Captain Bettesworth decided that he would enter the harbour at Bergen and seize any shipping in it. Amongst the shipping known to be in the harbour at Bergen there were known to be three Danish privateers. Once the ship had dropped anchor off Bergen, Captain Bettesworth, together with the First Lieutenant Mr Herbert Caiger, the Third Lieutenant Mr Thomas Sykes and the Sailing Master Mr John Jervis White took the ship's boats into the harbour. Their intention was to take a large Indiaman laying in the harbour but as they approached it, they were intercepted by the Guardboat which opened fire on the largest of HMS Tartar's boat, the Launch commanded by Mr Sykes. Mr Sykes and his men returned the fire, wounding all of the Guardboat's crew and then captured the boat. Finding the shipping in the harbour to be protected by a large chain, Captain Bettesworth ordered all the boats except the Launch to return to the ship. HMS Tartar now got under way with the intention of bombarding the town and ships in the harbour. Although the tide was in their favour, the wind was very light, the passage intricate and lined with a rocky shore and very soon, HMS Tartar became becalmed. All the fuss raised during the boat attack had aroused the Dane's attention and HMS Tartar came under attack from an armed schooner and no less than five Danish gunboats, each armed with a pair of 24pdr long guns. A Frigate like HMS Tartar was never intended to endure a bombardment from guns of this size and power and very soon, the damage began to tell. In amongst the first shots fired by the Danes was the one which killed Captain Bettesworth, so command devolved to Mr Caiger. After enduring the bombardment from the Danish gunboats for about half an hour, enough of a breeze sprang up to enable HMS Tartar to bring her broadside to bear on the enemy and drive them off, sinking one of them. Eventually, HMS Tartar worked her way to the safety of the open sea and on the 20th May, arrived back in Leith. The attack in Bergen had cost HMS Tartar at least ten holes in her hull with damage to her masts and rigging. In addition to Captain Bettesworth, Mr Midshipman Henry Fitzburgh was also killed and two men were severely wounded with more slightly wounded.


HMS Tartar takes on the Danish gunboats in the Battle of Alvoen, fought off Bergen:





News had already reached the UK about the death of Captain Bettesworth because her new commander, Captain Joseph Baker was waiting for her on arrival off Leith.


Once Captain Baker had assumed command, HMS Tartar was sent to the Baltic Sea to join the fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir James Saumarez who few his command flag in the First Rate ship of the line HMS Victory. HMS Tartar was to remain in the Baltic until October of 1808 and the following month, captured the Danish privateer Naargske Gutten of 7 guns and 36 men in the North Sea.


On the 15th of May HMS Tartar chased a Danish sloop-privateer of four guns and 24 men ashore near Felixberg. The crew of the privateer landed with their muskets and being joined by some of the country people, posted themselves behind the dunes near the beach. Captain Baker immediately sent HMS Tartar's boats, under the orders of Lieutenants Sykes and Frederick Augustus Hargood Parker, to board the vessel and bring off or destroy her. The British boarded the privateer without loss and by turning her guns on the beach, soon dislodged the enemy. The Danes however, before they abandoned their vessel, had placed a lighted candle in a 12-pounder cartridge in the magazine, near where there lay several hundred-weight of gunpowder. Fortunately one of HMS Tartar's men discovered the light, grasped the candle in his hand just as it had burnt within half an inch of the powder. Another minute and all on board and alongside of the vessel would have been blown up.


The Danish by this time had built large numbers of heavily armed gunboats, which were capable of operating under oars as well as under sail. They had perfected the tactic of overwhelming the larger and more heavily armed British ships with weight of numbers and the superior manoevrability afforded them when operating under oars. The British were forced to change their tactics for escorting convoys, which were the obvious prey for marauding Danish gunboats. This was the reason why, on the 21st July 1810, HMS Tartar was part of the escort for a convoy of 200 vessels. She was one of three ships covering the rear of the convoy, to prevent the Danish gunboats from sneaking up behind the convoy and picking off vessels before the escort could intervene. The other vessels were the 32pdr carronade-armed ship rigged Sloop of War HMS Rose (16) and the 32pdr carronade-armed brig rigged Sloop of War HMS Primrose. The rest of the convoy was escorted by the Sloops of War HMS Lynx (ship-rigged, 6pdr-armed, 16 guns), HMS Clio (brig-rigged, 32pdr carronade-armed, 18 guns), HMS Rosario (brig-rigged, 18pdr carronade-armed, 10 guns), the ex-Danish HMS Gluckstadt (brig-rigged, 24pdr carronade-armed, 18 guns) with the Gun Brig HMS Sentinel (18pdr carronade-armed, 12 guns).


HMS Tartar was engaged in patrolling and escorting convoys for the rest of the year and into the summer of 1811. In May of 1809, the British had captured the island of Anholt, in the Kattegat, that stretch of water between the eastern coast of Denmark and Sweden. They had garrisoned it with a force of 350 Royal Marines under the command of Marine Captain Robert Torrens and a further 31 members of the Royal Marines Artillery. The whole force was under the command of Royal Navy Captain James Wilkes Maurice, who had been installed as Governor of the island. The Danes had been considering mounting an operation to retake the island, but conditions were not favourable until the ice around the island broke up in the spring of 1811. On the 23rd March, a flotilla of 12 gunboats each carrying a pair of 24pdr long guns, four brass howitzers and 60 or 70 men departed for Anholt. This force of gunboats was accompanied by a similar number of transport vessels carrying a total of 1,000 troops and a naval brigade of a further 200 Danish seamen.


In darkness and thick fog, the Danish landed their troops on the island in the early morning of the 27th May, on the western side of the island about four miles from the British headquarters at Fort York. When Captain Maurice was warned about the Danish force, he immediately took his Marines to attack them. When the two forces encountered each other, he ordred a retreat to avoid being outflanked by the enemy. As his Marines retreated, they were pursued by the Danish troops until an artillery battery opened fire and stopped the Danish advance. As the day dawned, Captain Maurice found that the Danish vessels had taken up a position to the south of the island, within point blank range of the fortifications thrown up by the British on the south side of the island. Maurice signalled two British ships for assistance, HMS Tartar and the Sloop of War HMS Sheldrake (brig-rigged, 24pdr carronade-armed, 16 guns), which had arrived off the northern side of the island from the UK overnight. HMS Sheldrake remained where she was, but HMS Tartar worked her way around to the south of the island. With their minds concentrated on completing their landings and beginning their advnce against the British, the Danes hadn't noticed the presence of the British Frigate until she was on top of them. In the meantime and attempt by the Danish to advance had been checked with heavy losses amongst their troops caused by fire from the batteries built by the British. A small armed schooner, the Anholt, attached to the command of Captain Maurice and commanded by Lieutenant Henry Baker, anchored close to the shore on the flank of one body of Danish troops. The Danes had, on sighting the approach of HMS Tartar, abandoned their gunboats and the arrival of the Anholt forced that part of the Danish force to surrender to the British. The rest of the Danish force retreated to the western part of the island and re-embarked in the transports. Neither HMS Tartar or HMS Sheldrake were in a position to be able to prevent the Danish troops from embarking on the transports, but they were able to each pursue a division of the retreating Danish vessels. HMS Sheldrake captured Danish gunboat No. 9 and Lugger No. 1. HMS Tartar pursued and captured some of the Danish transport vessels.


A map showing the location of the island of Anholt in the Kattegat:





HMS Tartar and HMS Ethalion (18pdr, 38) captured the Danish vessels St. Helena (4 June), St. Johannes (5 June), St. Alexa (26 June), and the packet Abo (4 July). On 17 June they captured Commerce. A month later, on 27 July 1811, HMS Tartar and HMS Ethalion were in sight when HMS Fisgard (18pdr, 38) captured the St Ivan. In June and July the two Frigates also captured the Danish galiots Nos. 7 and 9, St. Peter, St. Simeon, and the sloop Expressen.


On the 18th August 1811, HMS Tartar ran aground on the island of Hiiumaa off the coast of modern day Estonia and was bilged. Her hull leaking badly, although her crew managed to refloat her, it was obvious to Captain Baker and his men that the ship wasn't going to be saved. Captain Baker decided to run the ship ashore on the Kahar Islet and burn the ship to avoid her being captured by the Danish.
"I did not say the French would not come, I said they will not come by sea" - Admiral Sir John Jervis, 1st Earl St Vincent.