HMSNewcastle was a 50-gunfourth rate of theRoyal Navy which saw service in theNapoleonic Wars and theWar of 1812.

Newcastle
History
United Kingdom
Name	HMSNewcastle
Ordered	6 May 1813
Builder	Wigram, Wells & Green,Blackwall
Laid down	June 1813
Launched	10 November 1813
Completed	By 23 March 1814
Fate	Broken up in June 1850
General characteristics
Class and type	50-gunfourth rate
Tons burthen	1,556bm
Length	176 ft 5 in (53.8 m) (gundeck) 149 ft5+3⁄4 in (45.6 m) (keel)
Beam	44 ft 8 in (13.6 m)
Depth of hold	15 ft1+1⁄2 in (4.6 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Crew	450
Armament	Upper deck: 30 × 24-pounder guns Spar deck: 24 × 42-poundercarronades Fc: 4 × 24-pounder guns

A new type of warship, a largespar-deckedfrigate,Newcastle and her near sisterHMS Leander were a response to the threat the heavy American spar-decked frigates posed during the War of 1812.Newcastle proved a successful ship and operated in squadrons that chased the American frigates, but ultimately failed to catch them before the war ended. She spent some time as the flagship on theNorth American Station before returning to Britain in 1822 and being laid up. She was later converted to alazarette. She spent the rest of her career in this role, until she was sold in 1850 for breaking up.

HMSNewcastle was ordered from theBlackwall-based firm ofWigram, Wells & Green on 6 May 1813.^[1] She was laid down in June 1813 and built ofpitch pine to a design by émigré designerJean-Louis Barrallier. Built of softwood to get her into service as quickly as possible,Leander was launched on 10 November 1813, less than five months after laying down.^[2][3] She was moved toWoolwich Dockyard and completed there by 23 March 1814.^[1] The construction of fourth rates, a type that had fallen out of favour prior to theFrench Revolutionary Wars, was a response to the Americanspar-decked frigates, likeUSS Constitution andUSS President.^[1] Ordered alongsideNewcastle was the similar 50-gunHMS Leander.^[a]

Newcastle was a spar-deck frigate, designed to carry thirty 24-pounders on her main deck, and twenty-four 42-poundercarronades on her spar deck (two fewer carronades than her half-sister), with four 24-pounders on herforecastle.^[1] In 1815, after the War of 1812 and Napoleonic Wars,Newcastle andLeander were fitted with accommodation for aflag officer with apoop deck built over thequarterdeck, and were mostly used asflagships on foreign stations, replacing older 50-gun ships that had previously filled this role.^[1][3] Both ships were re-rated as 60-gun fourth rates in February 1817.^[1][4]

Newcastle was commissioned under her first commander, CaptainGeorge Collier, in November 1813, but Collier was moved to command of theLeander a month later, and was replaced as commander byCaptain Lord George Stuart.^[1]

On 23 May 1814Newcastle ran downDiligence, Grant, master, which was sailing from Southampton to Guernsey with 40 passengers. The passengers were all saved but the mate onDiligence drowned.Diligence was towed back to Southampton andNewcastle had to put back to Portsmouth for repairs.^[5]

Newcastle,Leander, andAcasta shared the proceeds of the capture on 28 December 1814 of the notorious American privateerPrince de Neufchatel.^[6] Her most famous captain,John Ordronaux, who was also one of her three owners and who had inflicted massive casualties on the boats ofEndymion, was apparently not her captain at the time; her commander was Nicholas Millin.^[7] At the time of her capture,Prince de Neufchatel was armed with 18 guns and had a crew of 129 men. She was eight days out of Boston.^[8][b]

On 4 January 1815,Acasta,Leander andNewcastle recapturedJohn.^[c]

Leander, underSir George Collier, had been watchingConstitution, then in harbour at Boston. When Collier had to interrupt his surveillance in order to takeLeander to Halifax to resupply, he leftAcasta andNewcastle off the port. Whilst Collier was away,Constitution and two other heavy frigates left Boston. On his return, Collier prepared to pursue, but had orders to sendAcasta into Halifax for a refit. Captain Kerr ofAcasta pleaded to be allowed to join the chase; Collier relented and allowedAcasta to remain. The British squadron eventually sightedConstitution in heavy weather offPorto Praya on 11 March 1815. She was proceeding with two prizes, the sloopsLevant andCyane. Due to the weather and some confusion,Constitution eluded the British.

Fire fromNewcastle ledLevant's crew to run her ashore, whereAcasta then captured her.^[10][d] Collier eventually leftAcasta andNewcastle windward ofBarbados while he searched forConstitution. However, she had returned to port, thus avoiding an engagement.

Newcastle was paid off at Portsmouth in January 1822. Between April and June 1824 she underwent fitting there as alazaretto. She then moved to Liverpool in September 1827. The Navy sold her on 12 June 1850 to John Brown for £2,500.^[1]

•   Media related toHMS Newcastle (ship, 1813) at Wikimedia Commons

• 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 Publishing.ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Gardiner, Robert (2006).Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars. London: Chatham Publishing.ISBN 1-86176-292-5.
• Toll, Ian W. (2007).Six Frigates: How Piracy, War and British Supremacy at Sea gave Birth to the World's Most Powerful Navy. London: Penguin Books.ISBN 9780718146580.
• Gossett, William Patrick (1986).The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. Mansell.ISBN 0-7201-1816-6.
• Winfield, Rif (2008).British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing.ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.