HMS Circe (1804)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Circe |
| Ordered: | 16 March 1804 |
| Builder: | Plymouth Dockyard |
| Laid down: | June 1804 |
| Launched: | 17 November 1804 |
| Commissioned: | November 1804 |
| Fate: | Sold on 20 August 1814 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 32-gun fifth rate Thames-class frigate |
| Tons burthen: | 670 long tons (681 t) |
| Length: |
127 ft (39 m) (overall) 106 ft 10.875 in (32.58503 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 34 ft 4 in (10.46 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m) |
| Complement: | 220 |
| Armament: |
|
HMS Circe was a Royal Navy 32-gun Fifth Rate Thames-class frigate, built by M/Shipwright Joseph Tucker at Plymouth Dockyard, and launched in 1804.[1] She served in the Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars, and participated in an action and a campaign for which in 1847 in the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasps. The action, off the Pearl Rock, near Saint-Pierre, Martinique, was a debacle that cost Circe dearly. However, she also had some success in capturing privateers and a French brig. She was sold in 1814.
Contents
Service
Circe entered service in November 1804 under Captain Jonas Rose, operating off Portugal.[1] On 1 March 1805 she captured the Spanish privateer schooner Fama off Oporto. Fama was armed with 4 brass guns and had a crew of 62 men. She had left Vigo 8 days earlier but had not yet taken any prizes. Next, on 21 June, Circe captured the 10-gun privateer Constance.[1]
In 1806, command passed to Hugh Pigot, who took Circe to the West Indies.[1] On 5 April she took the 18-gun privateer Austerlitz. On 2 January 1807 her boats took the 1-gun privateer Creole.[1]
Next, she participated in the blockade of Guadeloupe. A landing party from Circe joined landing parties from Cerberus and Camilla in capturing Marie Galante.[1]
Then on 31 October 1808 Circe encountered the French brig Palinure near Diamond Rock. A short engagement followed in which Circe captured the Palinure. [1] She had lost seven killed and eight wounded; Circe had lost one man killed and one wounded. Earlier that month Palinure had captured the Cruizer class brig-slooop Carnation.
On 12 December 1808, under Captain Francis Augustus Collier, she joined Stork and Epervier, in attacking the French 16-gun schooner Cygne and two other schooners off Saint-Pierre, Martinique.[1] The French repelled the boats from Circe and the others, causing many casualties. One schooner was destroyed.
On 13 December Amaranthe joined Circe and Stork. Fire from Amaranthe compelled the crew of Cygne to abandon her and Amaranthe's boats boarded and destroyed the French vessel. For her part Amaranthe lost one man killed and five wounded due to fire from batteries on the shore.
Amaranthe's boats, assisted by boats from the schooner Express, boarded the second schooner and set fire to her too. This expedition cost Amaranthe her sailing master, Joshua Jones, who was severely wounded. The other British vessels that contributed boats also had casualties. Including the losses in the earlier fighting before Amaranthe arrived, the British had lost some 12 men killed, 31 wounded, and 26 missing (drowned or prisoners) for little gain. Brenton was promoted to Post-captain soon after the battle, with the promotion being back dated to 13 December, the date of the battle. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the award of the Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "OFF THE PEARL ROCK 13 DECR. 1808".
In February 1809 Circe was part of the squadron that took part in the successful invasion of Martinique.[1] In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the Naval General Service Medal with clasp MARTINIQUE.
In July, Capt. Edward Woolcombe took command and sailed Circe to the Mediterranean on 17 February 1810. She remained there in 1811 before returning to Portsmouth in July 1812.[1]
Circe sailed for the Leeward Islands on 15 November. There she took the American 5-gun privateer Lovely Lass on 14 May 1813.[1]
Fate
In 1814 Circe went into Ordinary at Portsmouth. The Admiralty sold her on 20 August 1814 for ₤1,900.[1]
References
- Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. 2nd edition, Seaforth Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.
