HMS Diomede (1798)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Diomede.

HMS Diomede was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Diomede class of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1798.

History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Diomede
Ordered	9 December 1790
Builder	Deptford Dockyard
Laid down	October 1792
Launched	17 January 1798
Commissioned	March 1798
Renamed	Built as Firm Renamed Diomede on 29 December 1797
Fate	Broken Up August 1815
General characteristics
Class and type	Diomede-class ship of the line
Tons burthen	1,122 53⁄94 (bm)
Length	151 ft 1.5 in (46.1 m) (gundeck) 124 ft 7+7⁄8 in (38.0 m) (keel)
Beam	41 ft 1+3⁄4 in (12.5 m)
Depth of hold	17 ft 7 in (5.4 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	343
Armament	Lower gundeck: 22 × 24-pounder guns Upper gundeck: 22 × 12-pounder guns QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns

Service history

She was commissioned in March 1798 under Captain Charles Elphinstone, and deployed to the North Sea. On 6 December 1798 she sailed for the Cape of Good Hope. On 24 March, 1800 a heavy gale hit Cape Town capsizing and sinking USS Essex's launch, the crew was saved with difficulty by her barge.^[1] From December 1802 she was commanded by Captain Samuel Mottley,^[2] and was the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir James Saumarez from June 1803 for the next three years. In January 1804 she was commanded by Captain Hugh Downman (as Mottley had returned to Britain aboard Leopard), and deployed to the Channel Islands and the North Sea.^[3] In April 1806 she was commanded by Commander Joseph Edmonds, and was in Popham's squadron at the Cape of Good Hope,^[4] then participated in the River Plate Expedition,^[5] once more commanded by Downman, then was paid off in June 1807.^[3]

Diomede was refitted at Portsmouth from September to November 1807, having been recommissioned in August 1807 under Captain Philip Dumaresque,^[3] who thereafter commanded Victory. In 1808 she was commanded by Captain John Sykes, and was the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Edmund Nagle at Guernsey. In 1809 she was commanded by Captain Hugh Cook for the next two years.^[6] She sailed on 22 April 1809 with a convoy to Saint Helena, and thereafter to the East Indies.^[3]

From June to September 1812, she was refitted at Chatham as a 26-gun troopship, and was recommissioned in October 1812 under Captain Charles Fabian.^[7] In 1813 she sailed for North America. In 1814 Diomede was commanded by Hugh Pigot until October, and thereafter by Captain George Kippen.^[8] The boats and some of the complement of the Diomede participated in the Battle of Lake Borgne in December 1814. In 1821 the survivors of the flotilla shared in the distribution of head-money arising from the capture of the American gun-boats and sundry bales of cotton.^[9][a] The Diomede returned to England in April 1815 and paid off. On 7 July 1815, Diomede was ordered to become a provisions depot vessel at Sheerness, but upon inspection was found to be too decayed so was broken up in August 1815.^[3]

Medal

In 1847 the Admiralty initiated the Naval General Service Medal. The clasps covered a variety of actions, from boat service to single-ship actions, to larger naval engagements, including major fleet actions. The engagement at Lake Borgne was deemed a boat service worthy enough of recognition by a clasp, and appears on the list of clasps for boat service during the War of 1812. The Admiralty issued a clasp (or bar) marked "14 Dec. Boat Service 1814" to surviving combatants who claimed the clasp. ^{[b] [11]} This was the largest Boat Action for which the Naval General Service Medal was granted. In all, 205 survivors claimed it.^[12]

Notes

1. A first-class share of the prize money was worth £34 12s 9+1⁄4d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth 7s 10+3⁄4d.^[10]
2. The 'Names of Ships for which Claims have been proved' are as follows: warships Tonnant, Norge, Royal Oak, Ramillies, Bedford, Armide, Cydnus, Trave, Seahorse, Sophie, Meteor; troopships Gorgon, Diomede, Alceste, Belle Poule

Citations

1. "Naval Documents related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France Volume Part 2 of 4 Naval Operations January to May, 1800, February, 1800-March, 1800 Pg. 345" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
2. MottleyRNB.
3. Winfield 2008, p. 121.
4. James 1902, pp. 186–187.
5. James 1902, pp. 189–190.
6. CookRNB.
7. FabiannRNB.
8. KippenRNB.
9. "No. 17719". The London Gazette. 26 June 1821. pp. 1353–1354.
10. "No. 17730". The London Gazette. 28 July 1821. p. 1561.
11. "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 247.
12. Hayward, Birch & Bishop (2006), pp. 133–134.

Bibliography

• Hayward; Birch; Bishop (2006). British Battles and Medals (7th ed.). London: Spink. ISBN 1-902040-77-5.
• James, William (1902) [1837]. The naval history of Great Britain (1805–1809). Vol. 4 (New six volume ed.). London: Macmillan.
• Marshall, John (1827). "Cook, Hugh" . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. sup, part 1. London: Longman and company. pp. 160–162.
• Marshall, John (1828). "Fabian, Charles Montague" . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. sup, part 2. London: Longman and company. p. 268.
• Marshall, John (1829). "Kippen, George" . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. sup, part 3. London: Longman and company. p. 401.
• Marshall, John (1825). "Mottley, Samuel" . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. 2, part 2. London: Longman and company. pp. 684–685.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.

External links

• Compilation of newspaper entries for HMS Diomede by the late Paul Benyon