HMSMonmouth was a 66-gunthird-rateship of the line of theRoyal Navy,[1] and was likely named forJames, Duke of Monmouth.[5] She served from 1667 to 1767, winning ten battle honours over a century of active service. She was rebuilt a total of three times during her career—each time effectively becoming a completely new ship.
 The Capture ofFoudroyant by HMSMonmouth, 28 February 1758. Painting byF. Swaine, 1725-1782.National Maritime Museum, London. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg) Great Britain | |
| Name | HMSMonmouth |
| Builder | Phineas Pett II, Chatham dockyard |
| Launched | 1667 |
| Honours and awards | |
| Fate | Broken up, 1767 |
| General characteristics as built[1] | |
| Class and type | 66-gunthird-rateship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 856bm |
| Length | 118 ft 9 in (36.20 m) (keel) |
| Beam | 36 ft 10 in (11.23 m) |
| Depth of hold | 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | 66 guns of various weights of shot |
| General characteristics after 1700 rebuild[2] | |
| Class and type | 66-gun third-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 944bm |
| Length | 147 ft 9 in (45.03 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 38 ft (12 m) |
| Depth of hold | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | 66 guns of various weights of shot |
| General characteristics after 1718 rebuild[3] | |
| Class and type | 1706 Establishment 70-gun third-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1174bm |
| Length | 150 ft (46 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 41 ft (12 m) |
| Depth of hold | 17 ft 4 in (5.28 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament | |
| General characteristics after 1742 rebuild[4] | |
| Class and type | 1733 proposals 70-gun third-rate ship of the line |
| Tons burthen | 1225bm |
| Length | 151 ft (46 m) (gundeck) |
| Beam | 43 ft 5 in (13.23 m) |
| Depth of hold | 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament |
|
She was built atChatham Dockyard in 1667 by Phineas Pett II—seeing action whilst still in the Thames, during theRaid on the Medway, and fought at theBattle of Solebay in 1672, shortly followed by theBattle of Texel in 1673. She fought at theBattle of Barfleur in 1692.Monmouth underwent her first rebuild atWoolwich Dockyard in 1700, remaining a 66-gun ship.[2] She fought at theBattle of Vigo Bay in 1702 under AdmiralJohn Baker who was also captain at theCapture of Gibraltar and theBattle of Málaga in 1704.[6]
In 1707, she had belonged toAdmiral SirCloudesley Shovell's fleet. She saw action during the unsuccessfulBattle of Toulon and was present during thegreat naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly when Shovell and four of his ships (Association,Firebrand,Romney andEagle) were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000[7] sailors.Monmouth suffered little to no damage and finally managed to reachPortsmouth.
Her second rebuild was carried out atPortsmouth Dockyard, where she was increased to a 70-gun ship built according to the1706 Establishment, and relaunched on 3 June 1718.[3] On 7 September 1739Monmouth was ordered to be taken to pieces and rebuilt for what was to be the final time atDeptford according to the1733 proposals of the1719 Establishment. She was relaunched on 6 September 1742.[4]
In 1747, she fought atFinisterre and Ushant. On 2 March 1747Monmouth, Captain Henry Harrison, brought into Plymouth a French privateer of 20 carriage guns and eightswivel guns. The privateer was theComte de Maurepas and capturing her required a chase of three days.[8] At about the same timeMonmouth captured the privateerQueen of Hungary.[9]
On 28 February 1758Monmouthcaptured the larger French shipFoudroyant, as part of theBattle of Cartagena.[10] After Monmouth's commander, Captain Arthur Gardiner (formerlyByng's flag captain),[11] was severely wounded by a strike ofgrape shot on theforehead and taken below deck, the four ship's lieutenants (Robert Carkett, David Winzar, Stephen Hammick and Lt Campbell) continued the battle. Second Lt Stephen Hammick was the commander of the lower gundeck and a poem was composed by theColley Cibber which ran: "Whilst gallant Hammick points his guns with care, not one random shot he fires in the air....etc."[12]
The battle was concluded after the arrival ofHMSSwiftsure, who delivered the final volley. The captain of theFoudroyant, M. le Marquis de Quesne, after surrendering his ship to Lt Carkett on the Monmouth, preferred to hand his sword to Carkett, for whom he had the greatest admiration. The total losses on the Monmouth were 29 killed and 81 wounded. The dead, including Captain Gardiner, were buried at sea nearCape de Gata on the afternoon of Saturday 4 March. The ship was then taken toGibraltar for repair.[13]
In a small twist of fate, the Foudroyant was later to be commanded by Nelson - who was a cousin of Lt Hammick.
Monmouth was also present atBelle Île in 1761.
After a hundred years of service, she was finally broken up in 1767; a newspaper of the time gave her epitaph as
There was no ship she ever chased that she did not overtake: there was no enemy she ever fought that she did not capture.[14]
Notes
edit- ^abLavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 161.
- ^abLavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 167.
- ^abLavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 168.
- ^abLavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 171.
- ^Society for Nautical Research (1958)."HMS Monmouth".The Mariner's Mirror.44–45.
- ^J. D. Davies, ‘Baker, John (1660–1716)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008accessed 11 June 2013
- ^Sobel, Dava,Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Fourth Estate Ltd., London 1998, p. 6,ISBN 1-85702-571-7
- ^"No. 8724".The London Gazette. 1 March 1747. p. 12.
- ^"No. 8894".The London Gazette. 17 October 1749. p. 6.
- ^Capture ofFoudroyant, NMM.
- ^Famous Fighters of the Fleet, E Fraser, 1904
- ^On the Capture of the Foudroyant,Colley Cibber
- ^Famous Fighters of the Fleet, E. Fraser 1904
- ^Clayton, Tim, Tars: The Men who Made Britain Rule the Waves, Hodder & Stoughton, Great Britain 2007, p. 309,ISBN 978-0-340-89802-4
References
edit- Lavery, Brian (1983)The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press.ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
- The capture of theFoudroyant by HMSMonmouth. National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 1 December 2007.
External links
edit
Media related toHMS Monmouth (ship, 1667) at Wikimedia Commons
