HMS Ethalion (1797)
| 300px HMS Ethalion in action with the Spanish frigate Thetis off Cape Finisterre, 16th October 1799, Thomas Whitcombe, 1800 | |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Ethalion |
| Ordered: | 30 April 1795 |
| Builder: | Graham, Harwich |
| Laid down: | October 1795 (named 14 November 1795) |
| Launched: | 14 March 1797 |
| Honours and awards: | Naval General Service Medal with clasp "12th OCTOBER 1798" |
| Fate: | Wrecked on 25 December 1799 |
| General characteristics as built | |
| Class and type: | 38-gun Artois-class Fifth Rate |
| Tons burthen: | 992 (bm) |
| Length: | 146 ft 1 in (44.5 m) (gundeck) 121 ft 7 in (37.1 m) |
| Beam: | 39 ft (11.89 m) (Unladen) 15 ft 0 in (4.57 m) (Laden) |
| Draught: | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft 9 in (4.19 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: | 270 |
| Armament: |
UD: 28 x 18-pounder guns |
HMS Ethalion was a 38-gun Artois-class fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Joseph Graham, of Harwich, built and launched her on 14 March 1797.[1][2] In her brief career before she was wrecked in 1798 on the Welsh coast, she participated in a major battle and in the capture of two privateers and a rich prize.
Service
Ethalion entered service in 1797, operating in the English Channel as part of the Channel Fleet. Soon after commissioning in April under Captain George Countess, Ethalion was engaged in chasing a French squadron under Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart intent on invading Ireland during the Rebellion of 1798. Countess kept the French fleet in sight for several days and was able to signal for assistance. This brought a significant force under John Borlase Warren to the region and the French were defeated at the Battle of Tory Island. Ethalion, with Melampus, took the 40-gun Bellone, which the Royal Navy took into service.[2] In 1847 the Battle of Tory Island earned for any still surviving crew members the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "12th OCTOBER 1798".
On 2 February 1799, Ethalion was operating with Anson when together they captured the 14-gun privateer Boulonnois, from Dunkirk, which had been harassing shipping in the North Sea.[2] On 6 March Ethalion captured the 18-gun privateer Infatigable in the Channel.[2] Later that year Captain James Young took command.
Capture of Thetis
In 1799 Ethalion was operating with four other frigates off Vera Cruz against Spanish shipping and on 16 October captured the 34-gun frigate Thetis, which was carrying 1.4 million Spanish dollars.[2] The 38-gun British frigate Naiad, Captain William Pierrepont, was patrolling off the coast of Spain when she sighted two Spanish 34-gun frigates, Santa-Brigida and Thetis. Pierrepont gave chase and before dawn Ethalion joined the pursuit. At 7.00am the two Spaniards parted company so Pierrepont followed Santa-Brigida, together with Alcemene and Triton which too had joined the chase, while directing Young, in Ethalion, to pursue Thetis. By 11.30am, Ethalion had caught up with Thetis and an engagement ensued. Casualties were relatively minimal on both sides, though Thetis had one man killed, but after an hour Thetis struck her colours. On inspection, it turned out that Thetis was homeward-bound from Vera Cruz (Mexico) with a cargo of specie worth 1,385,292 Spanish dollars (£312,000). Naiad, Alcmene and Triton captured Santa-Brigida the next morning.
The prize money was paid on 14 January 1800. Each of the four British captains received £40,730; each marine and sailor received £182, itself not an inconsiderable sum.
In December Ethalion, by then under Captain John Searle,[2] was engaged in the blockade of the French Atlantic Coast.
Loss
On 25 December she was wrecked on a reef off the Penmarks. Attempts were made to save the stricken ship but the damage was too severe. Danae, Sylph and the hired armed cutter Nimrod assisted in rescuing the crew; Ethalion's First Lieutenant then set the remains on fire. The subsequent court martial honourably acquitted Searle and his officers for the loss. The board ruled that the accident was due to unusual tides against which the skill and zeal of the officers and ship's company were unavailing.[1]
Notes
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- Grocott, Terence (2002 [1997]). Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Era. Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-164-5.
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1861762461.
