Action of HMSArrow andAcheron against the French frigatesHortense andIncorruptible: Beginning of the action, 4 February 1805, by Francis Sartorious Jr.,National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Left to right:Acheron,Hortense,Arrow, andIncorruptible
History
Great Britain
Name	HMSArrow
Builder	Hobbs & Hellyer at Redbridge
Commissioned	1796
Decommissioned	1805
Honors & awards	Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Arrow 13 Sept 1799"[1] "Copenhagen"[2] "Arrow 3 Feby. 1805"[1]
Captured	4 February 1805
Fate	Burned 4 February 1805
General characteristics[3]
Tons burthen	38616⁄94 (bm)
Length	128 ft 8 in (39.2 m) (overall); 80 ft 8 in (24.6 m) (keel)
Beam	30 ft (9.1 m)
Depth of hold	7 ft 11 in (2.4 m)
Sail plan	Sloop
Complement	121 (later 140)
Armament	Initially: Upper deck (UD): 24 × 32-poundercarronades QD: 2 × 32-pounder carronades with two more being added later Fc: 2 × 32-pounder carronades Later: UD: 18 × 32-pounder carronades QD: nil Fc: 2 × 6-pounderchase guns Note: All the carronades were experimental 24 cwt carronades

HMS Arrow was asloop-of-war in theRoyal Navy that the Admiralty purchased in 1796. during theFrench Revolutionary Wars she participated in many actions, including one that resulted in her crew qualifying for the Naval General Service Medal. On 3 February 1805 she andAcheron were escorting a convoy from Malta to England when they encountered twoFrench frigates.Arrow andAcheron were able to save the majority of the vessels of the convoy by their resistance before they were compelled tostrike.Arrow sank almost immediately after surrendering, andAcheron was so badly damaged that the French burnt her.

Arrow and her sister shipDart were "Two experimental vessels designed bySamuel Bentham, Esq., at that time inspector-general of his majesty's naval works. They were in shape much sharper than vessels of war in general, and projected or raked forward, at each end like a wherry. Their breadth increased from the water-line upwards; whereby it was considered that they would be stiffer, and less liable to overset than ordinary vessels. The decks were straight fore and aft, and the frames or ribs of less curvature than usual. They were constructed to carry twenty-four 32-poundercarronades upon the main deck, and were afterwards fitted to receive two more carronades of the same nature on each of their two short decks, which we may call the quarterdeck and forecastle. All these carronades were fitted upon the non-recoil principle. It is believed that both the Arrow and Dart subsequently took on board, for their quarterdecks, two additional 32s. They proved to be stiff vessels and swift sailers, but it was found necessary to add some dead wood to their bottoms, in order to make them stay better. Not knowing exactly what characteristic designation to give the Arrow and Dart, we have merely named them: they must be considered, especially when their force is compared with that of the two or three classes next above them, as extraordinary vessels for sloops of war, but as such only they ranked."^[4]

CommanderNathaniel Portlock commissionedArrow in 1796.^[3][5] On 1 June 1797Arrow captured two French merchant vessels,Jeune Albe andSept Freres.^[6] Then on 25 April 1798Arrow capturedJonge Ferdinand.^[7] Then on 1 SeptemberArrow capturedJong Jan Swart.^[8]

Between April and July 1799Arrow sailed in company withWolverine and thehired armedcutterKent. Together, these three vessels captured a number of prizes. On 23 April they capturedBlenie Rosetta.^[9] On 21 May they capturedRosalia.^[10] Eight days later, on 29 May, they tookActive andProvidence. One month after that, on 28 June, they captured five fishing boats. Then on 13 July they capturedAltona.^[9] Three days later they capturedAntony Wilhelm.^[9] Lastly, on 29 July, they captured theNancy.^[a]Arrow also captured thehoyJohanna on 1 May.^[8]

Next,Arrow was among the many British vessels that shared in the capture, on 28 August, of the Dutch hulksDrotchterland andBrooderschap, and the shipsHelder,Venus,Minerva, andHector, in the New Diep.^[b] She also shared in the surrender, on 30 August, in the surrender of the Dutch Fleet at theVlieter Incident.^[12]

On 9 September Vice-Admiral Mitchell detachedArrow andWolverine to attack a ship and a brig belonging to theBatavian Republic and anchored under theVlie at the entrance to theTexel.Arrow had to lighten ship and the following day they crossed over the Flack abreast of Wieringen and saw the enemy in the passage leading from Vlie Island towardsHarlingen. On 12 SeptemberWolverine, commanded byWilliam Bolton,^[13] anchored within 60 yards of the brig and only had to fire one gun before the brig hauled down her colours. She proved to beGier, armed with fourteen 12-pounders. Next,Arrow exchanged broadsides with the shipDraak, of 24 guns (six 50-pound brass howitzers, two 32-pounder guns, and sixteen long 18-pounder guns), which surrendered whenWolverine came up.Draak turned out to be a sheer hulk, so Bolton burnt her. The British also captured two schooners, each of four 8-pounder guns, and four schuyts, each of two 8-pounder guns. The Dutch prisoners numbered 380 men.^[14] In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Arrow 13 Sept 1799" and "Wolverine 13 Sept. 1799" to any survivors of the two crews that claimed them.

Arrow andWolverine weighed on 15 September and near VlieWolverine went to take possession of a Batavian ship, the 24-gunDolphin (Dolfijn), which hoisted Orange colours as soon as the English came up. Two hundred and thirty prisoners were put aboard her and the command given to Lieutenant M'Dougall ofWolverine. Command of theGier, a brand new vessel, went to Lieutenant Gilmour,first lieutenant ofArrow.^[14] Gilmour would receive promotion to the rank of commander for his part in the action.

Arrow was also involved in the wreck and attempted salvage ofHMSLutine, which sank on 9 October 1799 carrying a large cargo of gold.^[15]

In November 1799 William Bolton replaced Portlock in command ofArrow,^[5][16] Portlock having received promotion topost captain on 28 September 1799.

On 25 July 1800Nemesis was part of a squadron that also includedTerpsichore,Prevoyante,Arrow, and thehired armedluggerNile. The squadron encountered the Danish frigateHDMSFreja, which was escorting a convoy of two ships, two brigs and twogalliots.^[17] Captain Baker ofNemesis hailedFreja and said that he would send a boat to board the convoy. The Danish captain refused, and said that if a boat approached he would fire on it. Baker sent a midshipman and four men in a boat, and the Danes fired several shots, which missed the boat, but one of which killed a man onNemesis.Nemesis then opened fire with her broadside. After an engagement of about 25 minutes,Freja, much damaged,struck. She had suffered eight men killed and many wounded; bothNemesis andArrow each suffered two men killed and several wounded.^[18]

The British broughtFreya and her convoy into the Downs on 6 March.^[17] They later released her, and presumably the rest of the convoy.^[c] This incident led to strained relations withDenmark, and, in order to anticipate any hostile move fromCopenhagen, the British government despatchedEarl Whitworth in August on a special mission to Copenhagen. The Danes not being ready for war, his mission staved off hostilities for about a year.

On 20 SeptemberArrow capturedOster Risoer.^[19]

In 1801Arrow came under the command of CommanderThomas-Charles Brodie.^[5] In FebruaryArrow recapturedBetsey, of Montrose, which had been sailing from Riga to Shoreham when a French privateer had captured her.^[20]

Brodie wasArrow's captain at theBattle of Copenhagen.Arrow suffered no casualties, though her sister shipDart had two men killed and one wounded.^[21][22] After the battleArrow took the dispatches back to England.^[23]

In 1802 CommanderRichard Budd Vincent replace Brodie.^[5] He had received his promotion to commander on 29 April and his appointment to commandArrow on 17 May. He proceeded to sail her off the Devonshire coast on anti-smuggler patrol.^[24] On 7 SeptemberArrow seized 174 kegs of spirits and wine.^[25]

Arrow's design made her too recognizable at a distance so in February 1803 Vincent paid her off.^[24] On 1 March he was reappointed to her. However, he faced great difficulty in assembling a crew. He had to resort to sending one of his officers in a Customs House cutter into the Channel to impress seamen from vessels sailing there. He had no sooner succeeded in assembling a crew than the Lords of the Admiralty drafted the majority of the men Vincent had gathered and put them into a troopship sailing for the West Indies.^[26]

On 1 May Vincent recommissionedArrow for the Mediterranean.^[26] In mid-June,Arrow recaptured the luggerLouisa, which had been carrying spirits when a French privateer had captured her.Arrow sentLouisa into Portsmouth.^[27]

In July Vincent sailedArrow for the Mediterranean. When he left she had only about two-thirds of her official complement. Once in the Mediterranean,Arrow performed convoy duty in the Adriatic and theAegean Archipelago.^[26]Arrow called in at Gibraltar, Malta, Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Turkey, Corfu,Zante and the neighboring isles, Venice, Trieste,Fiume, andSmyrna, as well as many smaller places.^[26]

In March 1804Arrow was in theDardanelles, convoying some vessels to Constantinople, when a fort on the European side fired on her. The wind was blowing too hard forArrow to be able to stop and remonstrate with the fort's commander, but when she reached Constantinople Vincent complained to the British Minister, Alexander Stratton.^[d] He in turn complained to theDivan, who then fined the governor of the fort.^[26]

WhileArrow was in Constantinople, Vincent visited the "Capitan Pacha" (Kapudan Pasha), the commander of the Ottoman fleet, and toured theImperial Arsenal and Ottoman vessels. The Kapudan Pasha presented Vincent with an elegantsabre. When the Kapudan Pasha and some of his officers touredArrow Vincent reciprocated by presenting the Kapudan Pasha with abrace of pistols whose workmanship the Kapudan Pasha had admired.^[26]

On 3 June, Vincent sent in his boats under the command of Lieutenant Cuthbert Featherstone Daly to cut out the French privateerActif from under the cliffs atFano island, at the entrance to the Adriatic and belonging to the then neutral self-governing federation of theSeptinsular Republic (Heptanesos or Seven Islands).Actif was atartane of four guns, rowing 24 oars, and having a crew of 74 men. She was new but had had some success. The British were unable to get her out and after she grounded they set her on fire, destroying her. In the action,Arrow had two men killed and a number wounded, one mortally.^[28] This action ledLord Nelson to write a letter to Vincent, dated 28 July, onHMS Victory at sea. Nelson informed Vincent that he supported Vincent's decision to attackActif, and that he, Nelson, would advise the British minister at Corfu to draw the attention of the authorities that if enemy vessels took advantage of Corfu's neutrality to fire on British warships from Corfiote ports, the British would be justified in destroying the French privateers. At the same time, Nelson wanted Vincent to understand clearly that British vessels were not to fire on enemy vessels in neutral ports unless the enemy vessels forfeited the protection of the port by firing first.^[29]

By late August it was clear that the Malta Yard could not repair the many defects inArrow that had accumulated, particularly with respect to her water tanks, which were integral to her hull. Nelson, therefore, decided that she should sail back to Britain as escort to a convoy in autumn.^[30] By 10 October,Arrow was back in Malta undergoing some repairs.^[31]

Still, on 18 OctoberArrow was off Cape Spartivento when a bolt of lightning hit her main mast. Although main top-mast went overboard, the sails, being furled and wet, did not catch fire. There were no casualties and no further damage.^[26][e] The next dayArrow returned to Malta where she replaced her mast.^[32]

Arrow proceeded toPalermo andGergenti, where she gathered a convoy that she escorted to Malta, arriving on 17 November. Next,Arrow was dispatched on a secret mission toMessina, Palermo, and Naples. She left Naples on 12 December and arrived at Malta on 20 December.^[32]

At Malta, Vincent received instructions to take the merchant vessels gathered there to England, once some merchantmen arrived fromSmyrna to join the convoy. The orders further specified that he was to take the 8-gunbomb vesselAcheron, under the command of CommanderArthur Farquhar, with him to assist him in protecting the trade.^[32] The vessels from Smyrna arrived on 2 January 1805, and the convoy left for England on 4 January. The brigJalouse had escorted the convoy from Smyrna and she continued on as an escort as far as western Sicily.^[32]

The convoy numbered some 25-30 vessels.^[33] A later account gives the vessels as the transportDutchess of Rutland and 29 British merchant vessels.^[f]

Between 19 and 22 January, bad weather off the coast of Spain caused the convoy to separate into two parts, one withArrow and the other withAcheron. During the night of 29 January the brigUnion apparently foundered with all hands during a squall.^[32]

On 2 February, the convoy fell in with the Spanish shipGravina, whichAmazon had captured on 27 January.^[35]Gravina was on her way to Malta but CaptainHyde Parker ofAmazon had instructed the commander of the prize crew to sail to England should he encounter a convoy sailing there.Gravina therefore joined the convoy.^[32]

The French frigatesHortense andIncorruptible were cruising off the coast of Algeria when on 1 February, they engaged a convoy, destroying seven ships. Two days later, they encountered another convoy.

This second convoy was the convoy thatArrow andAcheron were escorting. Early on the morning of 3 February the British were offCape Caxine when they sighted the two French vessels, which the British initially thought might be members of the convoy rejoining. When it became clear that the strange vessels were French frigates,Arrow threw off the tow to the brigAdventure, (which had been leaking and which the British destroyed to prevent her falling into enemy hands).Arrow andAcheron then placed themselves between the convoy and the pursuing French. Vincent signaled the vessels of the convoy to make for a pre-designated rendezvous point. The French frigates did not catch up to the Royal Navy vessels until the morning of 4 February. Initially,Hortense engagedAcheron, andArrow fired a broadside intoHortense as well. About two hours later,Incorruptible joined the action. Vincent signaled toDuchess of Rutland, the most capable, though minimally so, of the merchant vessels, to join the action, a signalDuchess of Rutland ignored. Throughout the action the Royal Navy vessels were at a disadvantage. Not only did the French frigates have more cannons and men, but the French cannons were guns, whereas the British cannons were almost all carronades. The French could therefore stand off and fire their guns while out of the effective range of the carronades. Also, the French were carrying a large number of troops who harassed the British with small arms fire whenever the vessels closed.^[36][26]

After about an hour Vincent had tostrike.Arrow's hold was filling with water and four of her cannons were dismounted. She also had heavy casualties. All ofArrow's boats had been destroyed, but boats fromIncorruptible took off the survivors, and rescue those men fromArrow that jumped into the water asArrow turned on her beam ends and sank.^[36][26]

In the battleArrow lost 13 men killed and 27 wounded, at least two of whom died later, of the 132 men on board. The number included passengers, some 17 of whom were being invalided home. A lady, her infant, and her ladies' maid were also taking passage on board.^[32]

Acheron fought on for another quarter of an hour before she too struck. She had lost three or four men killed and eight wounded. She had complement of 67 men, and at least two passengers, a lieutenant of marines and his servant, both of whom were killed. She was so damaged that the French burnt her.^[26]Hortense had 10 men killed out of her crew of 300 men and the 350 artillerymen she was carrying.^[37]

The French frigates also captured three ships of the convoy; the rest of the convoy escaped.^[38] One of the vessels the French captured wasDutchess of Rutland, whose master failed to destroy her convoy signals and instructions; fortunately for the British, the French had to return to port to effect repairs and did not take advantage of the opportunity this represented.^[26] The French scuttled the three merchant vessels they captured.^[37]

After the loss of their escorts, some of the surviving vessels of the convoy fell prey to privateers.Fuerte, of Cadiz, capturedAlert, Langley, master,Castle, Anderson, master, a ship, and a brig, and sent them into Malaga. Reportedly,Fuerte had captured a fifth vessel that she sent into Algeciras.^[39]

It later turned out that British frigateFisgard and the sloopWasp had been atCape Pallas (37°35′N0°43′W / 37.583°N 0.717°W /37.583; -0.717), a fewleagues from the action.^[31] However, they were unaware of it and so did not come to the convoy's assistance.

Hortense took Farquhar and his men into Malaga, from where they were exchanged relatively quickly. The court martial of Farquhar, his officers, and men, for the loss of their vessel took place onRoyal Sovereign in Palma Bay, Sardinia.^[g] Farquhar, his officers, and men, were honourably acquitted. Farquahar then received a promotion to post captain for his bravery.^[40]

The French held Vincent and his crew as prisoners inCartagena, Spain, for almost three months from 8 February until early May. Vincent had managed to keep his Turkish sabre when he leftArrow, but a French officer confiscated it and the French refused to return it. Eventually, Admiral LordNelson was able to arrange acartel brig to return the British prisoners to Gibraltar. From there they left for England on 28 May on the storeshipCamel,^[26] arriving at Saint Helen's on 4 June.^[32]

The court martial of Vincent and his crew for the loss ofArrow convened on 17 June aboardGladiator at Portsmouth. The court martial honourably acquitted all; Vincent received promotion topost captain immediately thereafter.^[41]

Lloyd's Patriotic Fund awarded both Vincent and Farquahar honour swords, each worth £100. In addition, the Fund awarded Vincent a piece of plate of the same value.^[42]> Furthermore, the Fund paid out £545 to the wounded and the families of those who had died. At the request of Lloyd's, the chairman of the association of Merchants Trading to South of Europe provided Vincent with the sum of £477 10s, and a proportionate amount to Farquhar, for them to procure clothing and necessities for their officers and crew, who had lost everything when they were captured and their vessels were destroyed. Vincent received £50, and each seaman received £2 10s.^[32]

On 19 September 1808, the merchants of Malta awarded Farquhar with a piece of plate and a complementary letter.^[43] The merchants also presented Vincent with a piece of plate.^[44]

In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Arrow 3 Feby. 1805" to the eight surviving claimants fromArrow, and the clasp "Acheron 3 Feby. 1805" to the one surviving claimant fromAcheron.

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• James, William;Chamier, Frederick (1837),The naval history of Great Britain from the declaration of war by France in 1793 to the accession of George IV (New ed., with additions and notes, and An account of the Burmese war and the battle of Navarino / by Captain Chamier ed.), Bentley,OCLC 1924562
• Laughton, John Knox (1896)."Portlock, Nathaniel" . InLee, Sidney (ed.).Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 46. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• Marshall, John (1827)."Daly, Cuthbert Featherstonr" .Royal Naval Biography. Vol. sup, part 1. London: Longman and Company. p. 383–387.
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• Nelson, Horatio and Nicholas Harris Nicolas (1846)The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson. (Colburn).
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