HMS Pactolus (1813)
Encyclopedia
HMS Pactolus was one of eight 38-gun Cydnus-class fifth-rate
Fifth-rate
In Britain's Royal Navy during the classic age of fighting sail, a fifth rate was the penultimate class of warships in a hierarchal system of six "ratings" based on size and firepower.-Rating:...
frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, that served in the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. She was one of the warships that bombarded Stonington, Connecticut
Stonington, Connecticut
The Town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut, in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, Wequetequock, the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic...
from 9 to 12 August 1814. Pactolus was paid off in August 1817 and sold in 1818.
Construction
Cydnus-class frigates such as Pactolus were actually Leda-class frigates, but built of red fir (pine). Pine was cheaper and more abundant than oak and permitted noticeably faster construction, but at a cost of a reduced lifespan. The motive for the use of red pine – an inferior material for shipbuilding – was speed of construction. It was much quicker to build a ship with this material than one of oak; the drawback was that these fir-built ships were less durable than oak-built ships.Like all the 38-gun British frigates of the late Napoleonic wars period, she carried twenty-eight 18-pounder guns on the upper deck, fourteen 32-pounder carronades on the quarter deck, and two 9-pounder guns and another two 32-pounder carronades on the forecastle. Under the re-classifications on February 1817, this resulted in her being re-classed from 38 guns to 46 guns.
Service
Pactolus was commissioned in September 1813 under Captain Frederick William Aylmer. He would remain her captain to the end of 1815. On 24 March Pactolus recaptured the Swedish ship Maria Christina while in company with Seahorse and another warship.On 8 August 1814 Pactolus was part of a small squadron made up of herself, the brig Dispatch and the bomb vessel
Bomb vessel
A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...
Terror
HMS Terror (1813)
HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one and one .-War service:...
, all under under the command of Captain Sir Thomas Hardy in Ramillies
HMS Ramillies (1785)
HMS Ramillies was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 July 1785 at Rotherhithe.In 1801, she was part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve squadron at the Battle of Copenhagen, and so did not take an active part in the battle.In August 1812, Sir Thomas Masterman...
, Together, the vessels attacked Stonington, Connecticut
Stonington, Connecticut
The Town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut, in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, Wequetequock, the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic...
. Stonington was known for preparing and harbouring "torpedos", that is naval mines, and for supporting American attempts to destroy British warships off New London.
Action commenced on 9 August when Dispatch anchored within pistol shot of a battery on shore and opened fire, which the battery answered. The water was too shallow for Pactolus to follow so Dispatch withdrew, having suffered casualties of two men dead and twelve wounded. On 11 August Terror lobbed shells into the town. Ramillies and Pactolus then anchored as close to the town as they could and opened fire, doing a great deal of damage. As they started their bombardment, the Americans withdrew their guns from the battery to the outskirts of town where a large force of militia had gathered. Hardy then withdrew.
Pactolus was one of some seven ships that shared in the capture of the Spanish brig Patriota on 6 September. On 6 November Pactolus was in company with Telegraph
HMS Telegraph (1813)
HMS Telegraph was built in 1812 in New York as the American letter of marque Vengeance. The Royal Navy captured her in 1813 and took her into service as the 14-gun schooner or gunbrig Telegraph. Over a period of only about two years she took numerous small prizes and caused the destruction of a...
and Majestic
HMS Majestic (1785)
HMS Majestic was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line launched on 11 December 1785 at Deptford. She fought at the Battle of the Nile, where she engaged the French ships Tonnant and Heureux, helping to force their surrenders...
when they recaptured the brig Recovery.
On 7 December 1814 Pactolus captured the schooner Armistice, of 3 guns, 15 men and 143 tons. A privateer later recaptured Armistice, but then Junon re-recaptured the schooner. Two days later, Pactolus captured the schooner Post Bay of 8 men and 73 tons.
Pactolus returned to Britain and on 9 July 1815 sailed up the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
, together with Hebrus and Falmouth. Pactolus was on a mission to treat with the authorities in Bordeaux over the reestablishment of the monarchy in France. Though the British squadron was under a flag of truce, the fort at Verdon opened fire on them, but without effect. The next day the French evacuated the fort and a British landing party dismantled and destroyed the guns. Over the next few days several more French forts in the area. The British took possession of the forts of Verdon, Royan, de Lotisac, and Miche, which they completely dismantled. They took nearly 70 pieces of heavy artillery (mostly French thirty-six-pounders), including many mortars, all of which they completely spiked and whose carriages they rendered useless. On 22 July Bordeaux declared for the monarchy as French troops, which Hebrus had brought with her on two transports, took control.
In January 1816 Captain William Hugh Dobbie took command of Pactolus for the Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
station. She sailed in May. In July 1816 Pactolus returned to Portsmouth.