HMS Niger (1759)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Niger and HMS Negro.

HMS Niger was a 32-gun Niger-class fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy.

HMS Niger hull plan
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Niger
Namesake	Niger River
Ordered	19 September 1757
Builder	Sheerness Dockyard
Laid down	7 February 1758
Launched	25 September 1759
Completed	By November 1759
Renamed	HMS Negro in 1813
Honours and awards	Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Egypt"[1]
Fate	Sold for breaking up on 29 September 1814
General characteristics
Class and type	Niger-class fifth rate frigate
Tons burthen	67967⁄94 bm
Length	125 ft (38 m) (gundeck) 103 ft 4 in (31.50 m) (keel)
Beam	35 ft 2 in (10.72 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft (3.7 m)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	220
Armament	As built Upper gundeck: 26 × 12-pounder guns QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns 12 × 1⁄2-pdr swivels After 1794 Upper gundeck: 26 × 12-pounder guns QD: 4 × 6-pounder guns + 4 × 24-pounder carronades Fc: 2 × 6-pounder guns + 2 × 24-pounder carronades

History

She was launched in 1759.^[2]

In 1766, under the command of Sir Thomas Adams, Niger travelled to Newfoundland and Labrador.^{[Note 1]} Also on board were Constantine Phipps, and the English botanist Joseph Banks.^[4] The purpose of the journey was to transport a party of mariners to Chateau Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador to build a fort, to continue strengthening relations with the native population, and to survey some of the coast of Newfoundland.^[2]

Banks collected many species of plants and animals during that journey, including many which were previously unknown or undescribed by Europeans.^[5] In 1766 Banks met James Cook briefly in St John's, through their mutual friend Thomas Adams. This meeting would lead to Banks joining Cook on his first circumnavigation from 1769 to 1771.^[6]

During the American Revolutionary War in 1776, Niger briefly engaged Gurnet Fort guarding Plymouth, Massachusetts, while searching for patriot privateers. Niger grounded but was soon refloated. Plymouth Light was damaged, but there were no other casualties.^[7][8]

On 14 March, 1778, under command of Captain Robert Lambert, she captured schooner Sukey off Monti Christi, Spanish Santo Domingo.^[9] On 18 March She pursued and captured sloop Dove after she ran aground 2 or 3 miles off Monti Christi. Dove was refloated and sent to Jamaica. On 19 March she captured French brig St. Joseph 4 or 5 leagues off Monti Christi.^[10] On 1 April, 1778 she captured schooners Angelina and Adventure.^[11]

Because Niger served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 8 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.^{[Note 2]}

On 21 May 1806 Niger was in company with the bomb vessel Thunder and the brig Dexterous when they detained Trende Damen (Three Ladies).^[13]

Fate

The Navy converted Niger to a prison hospital ship in May 1809, and renamed her Negro in 1813. She was sold in 1814.

Stern plan of Niger

Notes

1. Sir Thomas Adams was Niger's captain from March 1763 until 1767. His father, Sir Robert Adams, was a London solicitor, his mother's name was Diana. Sir Thomas was baptized in St Pancras Church, London on 17 February 1738.^[3] He inherited a baronetcy on the death of his father, but died without issue in April 1770.^{[citation needed]}
2. A first-class share of the prize money awarded in April 1823 was worth £34 2s 4d; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 3s 11½d. The amount was small as the total had to be shared between 79 vessels and the entire army contingent.^[12]

Citations

1. "No. 21077". The London Gazette. 15 March 1850. pp. 791–792.
2. Lysaght, p. 37
3. Lysaght, p. 63
4. Lysaght, pp. 37 & 41.
5. Lysaght, p. 38
6. Lysaght, p. 41
7. "Massachusetts - Fort Andrew and Gurnet Fort". American Forts Network. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
8. The Gurnet by Charles W.E. Morris at Pilgrimhall.org
9. "Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 11 AMERICAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778 EUROPEAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
10. "Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 11 AMERICAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778 EUROPEAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
11. "Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 11 AMERICAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778 EUROPEAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
12. "No. 17915". The London Gazette. 3 April 1823. p. 633.
13. "No. 16390". The London Gazette. 24 July 1810. p. 1104.

References

• Lysaght, A. M. (1971). Joseph Banks in Newfoundland and Labrador, 1766; his diary, manuscripts, and collections. Berkeley, University of California Press.
• Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. London: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.