HMS Hecate (1809)
HMS Hecate was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop, built by John King at Upnor and launched in 1809.[1] After serving in the British Navy, essentially entirely in the East Indies, she served in the Chilean Navy as Galvarino from 1818 until she was broken up in 1828.
Service
Hecate was commissioned in 1809 under Cmdr. William Buchanan. Cmdr. Edward Hoare replaced him in October and sailed for the East Indies on 31 October.[1]
In 1810, Lieutenant George Rennie became acting commander and Hecate was detailed for service with the squadron under Admiral Albemarle Bertie engaged in the Invasion of Ile de France.
In 1811 she was under Cmdr. Thomas Graham until July, when Cmdr. Henry John Peachey assumed command.[1] From 3 August she was part of the fleet involved in the invasion of Java, which ended with the surrender of Dutch and French forces on 16 September. For this service all of her crew who had had survived to 1847 and chose to were entitled to claim the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "JAVA".
Peachey was promoted to Post-captain on 7 August 1812 and removed to Malacca. Cmdr. William Case followed Peachey. His successor, from 4 February 1814, was Cmdr. John Allen. On 20 November 1815 command passed to John Reynolds.[1]
Hecate arrived in Portsmouth on 17 August 1816, from Trincomalee, which she had left on 20 March. She had sailed via the Cape of Good Hope and Saint Helena.
Fate
On 30 October 1817 the Admiralty sold Hecate to Mr. Parkin for ₤860.[1] She was resold to the Chilean Revolutionary government, arriving in Chile on 9 November 1818 under the command of Capt. Guise.[2] She served the new Chilean Navy as Galvarino, first under Capt. Spry (until Admiral Thomas Cochrane dismissed him) and then under Capt. Winter. On 2 October 1819 she was at the second attack on Callao where a lieutenant onboard was killed by Spanish fire. In 1821, while under the command of Capt. I Esmond, her crew mutinied and refused to go to sea until they had received their back pay and prize money.[3]
She was broken up 1828.
References
- Cochrane, Thomas, Earl of Dundonald (1859) Narrative of services in the liberation of Chili, Peru and Brazil, from Spanish and Portuguese domination. (London, J. Ridgway).
- Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy
- Vale, Brian (2008) Cochrane in the Pacific: fortune and freedom in Spanish America. (London: I. B. Tauris). ISBN 9781845114466
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1861762461.
[{Category:1800s ships]]
