View source for HMS Cambrian (1797)

{{short description|Frigate of the Royal Navy}}
{{Other ships|HMS Cambrian }}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=CAMBRIAN 1797 RMG J5512.png
|Ship caption=View of the hull of ''Cambrian''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=Great Britain
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Great Britain|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Cambrian''
|Ship ordered=30 April 1795
|Ship builder=[[George Parsons (shipbuilder)|George Parsons]], [[Bursledon]]
|Ship laid down=September 1795
|Ship launched=13 February 1797
|Ship acquired=
|Ship completed=By 16 June 1797
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=[[Naval General Service Medal (1847)|Naval General Service Medal]] with clasp "Navarino"<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=20939|page=245|date=26 January 1849}}</ref>
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Wrecked on 31 January 1828
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=40-gun [[fifth-rate]] [[sailing frigate|frigate]]
|Ship displacement=
|Ship tons burthen= 1,161{{small|{{frac|14|94}}}} ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
|Ship length=* {{convert|154|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} (gundeck)
* {{convert|128|ft|5+1/4|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (keel)
|Ship beam={{convert|41|ft|3|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed=
|Ship complement=320
|Ship armament=* As built
* Gun deck: 28 × 24-pounder guns
* [[Quarterdeck|QD]]: 8 × 9-pounder guns + 6 × 32-pounder [[carronade]]s
* [[Forecastle|Fc]]: 4 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades
* From 1799
* 6 × 9-pounder guns replaced by 32-pounder carronades
* 24-pounders replaced by lighter version
* From 1805
* 24-pounder guns replaced by 18-pounder guns
* From 1807
* Gun deck: 28 × 18-pounder guns
* QD: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 12 × 32-pounder [[carronade]]s
* Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades
|Ship armour=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Cambrian''''' was a [[Royal Navy]] 40-gun [[fifth-rate]] [[frigate]]. She was built and launched at Bursledon in 1797 and served in the [[English Channel]], off North America, and in the Mediterranean. She was briefly [[flagship]] of both Admiral [[Mark Milbanke]] and Vice-Admiral [[Andrew Mitchell (Royal Navy officer)|Sir Andrew Mitchell]] during her career, and was present at the [[Battle of Navarino]]. ''Cambrian'' was wrecked off the coast of [[Gramvousa|Grabusa]] in 1828.

==Design==
Ordered on 30 April 1795, ''Cambrian'' was designed by [[John Henslow (Surveyor of the Navy)|Sir John Henslow]] and built by [[George Parsons (shipbuilder)|George Parsons]] of Bursledon. She represented the first attempt to design a frigate that would carry 24-pounder guns and was one of several designs the Admiralty ordered to find a counter to French 24-pounder frigates.{{sfnp|Gardiner|2006|p=43}} For her design, Henslow essentially simply scaled-up an earlier design. However, she was still too small to carry 24-pounder long guns comfortably and so the Admiralty replaced these first with lighter 24-pounders (in April 1799) and then with 18-pounders in 1805.{{sfnp|Gardiner|2006|p=45}}

==French Revolutionary Wars==
She was first commissioned in April 1797 under Captain [[Thomas Williams (Royal Navy officer)|Thomas Williams]] on the [[Western Approaches|Irish station]]. Then under Captain [[Arthur Kaye Legge|Arthur Legge]] she served in the [[Channel Fleet|Channel]], where she captured a number of French privateers.<ref name=NDB>{{cite web|url= http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/C/00784.html|title= The Naval Database|access-date= 7 January 2012|archive-date= 8 August 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110808232235/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/C/00784.html|url-status= dead}}</ref>

On 11 January 1798, in company with {{HMS|Indefatigable|1784|2}} and ''Childers'', she captured the French privateer schooner ''Vengeur''.<ref name=LG14083/> ''Vengeur'' was a new vessel of 12 guns and 72 men. She was eight days out of [[Ostend]] but had taken no prizes. Pellew sent her into Falmouth.<ref name=LG14083>{{London Gazette|issue=14083|page=49|date=16 January 1798}}</ref>

Five days later, in the evening of 16 January, [[Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth|Sir Edward Pellew's]] squadron captured the French privateer ''Inconcevable''.<ref name=LG14083/> She was armed with eight guns and had a crew of 55 men. She was 10 days out of Dunkirk and had taken nothing.<ref name=LG14083/> Prize money was paid to ''Indefatigable'', ''Cambrian'' and {{HMS|Success|1781|2}}.<ref name=LG15060>{{London Gazette|issue=15060|pages=869–870|date=11 September 1798}}</ref>

On 28 January, ''Indefatigable'' and ''Cambrian'' captured the privateer ''Heureuse Nouvelle''. She was armed with 22 guns and had a crew of 130 men. She was 36 days out of Brest and during that time had capture only one ship, a large American vessel named ''Providence'', which had a cargo of cotton and sugar. The [[Hired armed vessels|hired armed]] [[cutter (vessel)|cutter]] {{ship|Hired armed cutter|Duke of York||2}} also shared in the capture.<ref name=LG15060/> Pellew sent ''Cambrian'' in pursuit of ''Providence'',<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=14088|page=111|date=3 February 1798}}</ref> and that same day ''Cambrian'' and ''Indefatigable'' recaptured her.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15149|page=617|date=18 June 1799}}</ref>

On 27 March 1798, ''Cambrian'' captured ''Cæsar'', a French privateer ship of 16 guns and 80 men. She was from [[Saint-Malo]] and 35 days out of [[Brest, France|Brest]]. Six days earlier, ''Cambrian'' and {{HMS|Cleopatra|1779|2}} had recaptured ''William Pen'' of Philadelphia.<ref name=LG15005>{{London Gazette|issue=15005|page=295|date=17 April 1798}}</ref> Then three days after capturing ''Cæsar'', ''Cambrian'' captured ''Pont de Lodi'', which was also French privateer ship, and which carried 16 guns and 102 men. ''Pont de Lodi'' was five days out of Bordeaux, on her maiden cruise, and had not yet captured anything.<ref name=LG15005/>

Near the end of the year, on 8 December, ''Cambrian'' captured the French privateer brig ''Cantabre''. ''Cantabre'', which was armed with 14 guns and which carried a crew of 60 men, was, according to Legge, "quite new... on her first Cruize, and a very fine Vessel."<ref name=LG15092/> Four days later, ''Cambrian'' recaptured ''Dorothea'', a Danish brig sailing from Amsterdam to Tangiers with a cargo of bale goods. Three days earlier the French privateer brig ''Rusée'', of [[Bayonne]] had captured her in Lat. 42 Deg. 30 Min, North.<ref name=LG15092>{{London Gazette|issue=15092|page=1238|date=22 December 1798}}</ref>

Around 20 January 1799, ''Cambrian'' encountered a tremendous gale in the Channel, with thunder and lightning. A fireball hit her forecastle, killing two men and wounding seventeen, of whom two were struck blind, and one of whom became "raving mad". All aboard expected immediate destruction.<ref>''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 1, p.339.</ref>

Some months later, on 9 March, {{HMS|Triton|1796|2}}, {{HMS|St Fiorenzo|1794|2}}, {{HMS|Naiad|1797|2}}, and ''Cambrian'' captured the French merchant ship ''Victoire''.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=208|issue=15338|date=17 February 1801}}</ref>

On 9 October 1799, ''Cambrian'' was among the several vessels that shared in the capture of the Spanish brig ''Nostra Senora de la Solidad''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15230|page=143|date=11 February 1800}}</ref> Then on 23 October, ''Cambrian'' recaptured ''Sarah''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15213|page=1296|date=14 December 1799}}</ref> ''Cambrian'' also shared in the capture of the Spanish brig ''San Joachim'' by ''Triton''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15214|page=1309|date=17 December 1799}}</ref>

Ten days later, ''Cambrian'' was in company with {{HMS|Stag|1794|2}} off the entrance to the [[Garonne]] when they spotted two vessels, which they immediately chased. ''Stag'' captured one, the [[letter of marque]] ''Heureux Premier'', which was armed with 10 brass 6-pounder guns, and which was sailing from Cayenne to Bordeaux with a cargo of red dye, cotton, cocoa, coffee, and sugar. ''Cambrian'' sailed after the second vessel, a privateer of 26 guns, but apparently did not succeed in capturing her.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15200|page=1130|date=2 November 1799}}</ref> ''Stag'' did share the prize money for ''Heureux Premier'' with ''Cambrian''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15229|page=130|date=8 February 1800}}</ref>

At the end of the month, on 30 October, the American ship ''Sally'' came into Plymouth. ''Cambrian'' had recaptured her after ''Sally'' had been captured by the French privateer ''Vengeance'', of 20 guns and 160 men.<ref>''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 2, p.541.</ref> ''Cambrian'' sailed in pursuit of ''Vengeance'', but did not succeed in capturing her.

On 23 April 1800, ''Cambrian'' and {{HMS|Fisgard|1797|2}} were in company when they captured the French schooner ''Emelie''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15308|page=1262|date=4 November 1800}}</ref> Four days later the two vessels were still in company when ''Fisgard'' captured the French privateer ''Dragon''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15296|page=1112|date=23 September 1800}}</ref> Then on 5 May ''Cambrian'' and ''Fisgard'' captured the French brig corvette ''Dragon'', pierced for 14 guns but armed with 10, and with a crew of 72 men under the command of ''Lieutenant de Vaisseau'' Lachurie. She was two days out of Rochefort with dispatches for [[Guadeloupe]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15259|page=499|date=20 May 1800}}</ref>

Eleven months later, on 5 April 1801, ''Cambrian'' recaptured the letter of marque {{ship||Nancy|1792 ship|2}}, which the French privateer [[HMS Barbadoes (1804)|''Braave'']] had captured three days earlier.<ref name=LG15357/> ''Cambrian'' shared the prize money with {{HMS|Venerable|1784|2}} and {{HMS|Superb|1798|2}}.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15415|page=1231|date=6 October 1801}}</ref> The next day ''Cambrian'' captured the French privateer lugger ''Audacieux''. ''Audacieux'' was armed with 14 guns and carried a crew of 50 men under the command of S.B. Ant. Candeau. ''Audacieux'' had left Bordeaux on 30 March and while at sea had captured one vessel, an American.<ref name=LG15357>{{London Gazette|issue=15357|page=431|date=21 April 1801}}</ref> ''Cambrian'' also shared the prize money for ''Audacieux'' with ''Venerable'' and ''Superb''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15416|page=1242|date=10 October 1801}}</ref>

Lastly, on 28 July ''Cambrian'' captured the Danish ship ''Kron Prinz''. In November 1804 there was a distribution of a £7000 advance on the prize money for her cargo. As captain, Legge would have been entitled to one-quarter of the [[prize money#Distribution|prize money]], an amount equal to some four years of salary.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15748|page=1323|date=23 October 1804}}</ref> In May 1802 Captain [[William Bradley (Royal Navy officer)|William Bradley]] replaced Legge. That same month ''Cambrian'' came to serve as flagship to Admiral [[Mark Milbanke]] and later (July to March 1803) Vice-Admiral [[Andrew Mitchell (Royal Navy officer)|Sir Andrew Mitchell]] while on the [[North America and West Indies Station]].{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=133}}

==Napoleonic Wars==
[[File:CAMBRIAN 1797 RMG J5506.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Deck, quarter and [[forecastle]] of ''Cambrian'']]
In March 1804, ''Cambrian'' was under the command of Captain [[William Bradley (Royal Navy officer)|William Bradley]] and on her way to Bermuda when she captured two French privateers. On 22 March she captured the schooner ''Tison'' after a chase of 25 hours. ''Tison'' had been armed with six 9 and 12-pounder guns, which she threw overboard during the chase. She had a crew of 59 men under the command of Joseph Kastique, and had been out of Guadaloupe for 11 days buy had not captured anything.<ref name=LG15710>{{London Gazette|issue=15710|page=726|date=12 June 1804}}</ref> Four days later ''Cambrian'' captured the schooner ''Alexander'' (or ''Alexandre''), which was armed with eight guns and had a crew of 68 men under the command of Charles La Marque. She had been cruising for 11 days but had not taken anything.<ref name=LG15710/> Head money was paid in June 1827.{{efn|A first-class share was worth [[£sd|£]]96 1[[shilling|s]] 3[[pence|d]]; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 5s {{frac|3|1|2}}d.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18372|page=1347|date=22 June 1827}}</ref>}}

In October 1804 ''Cambrian'' came under the command of Captain [[Sir John Beresford, 1st Baronet|John Beresford]]. From June to November 1804, ''Cambrian'' and {{HMS|Leander|1780|2}} had blockaded two French frigates in the port of New York. In November, the French vessels succeeded in escaping.<ref>''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 13, p.64.</ref> The two were the [[French frigate Président|''Président'']] and the other was supposedly the ''Revolutionnaire''.<ref>''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 13, p.161.</ref>

Then in May 1805, ''Cambrian'' transferred to the Halifax station, where she harassed French and Spanish shipping and captured several privateers and merchantmen.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Navy_List_1805/Ship_Duties/Halifax.html |title= Ships on the Halifax Station in 1805 |access-date= 7 January 2012 |archive-date= 27 April 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120427014027/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Navy_List_1805/Ship_Duties/Halifax.html |url-status= dead }}</ref> On 13 June her boats, under the command of Lieutenant George Pigot, boarded and captured the Spanish privateer schooner ''Maria'', of 14 guns and 60 men. Somewhat uncharacteristically for privateers, the Spanish resisted, with the result that ''Cambrian'' sustained casualties of two dead and two wounded.<ref name=LG15844>{{London Gazette|issue=15844|pages=1181–1182|date=17 September 1805}}</ref>

Next, ''Cambrian'' captured the French privateer schooner ''Matilda'' on 3 July, after a chase of 22 hours. ''Matilda'', of 200 tons (BM), was armed with twenty 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 95 men.{{efn|James reports that ''Matilda'' was armed with ten 8-pounder guns.<ref name=James>James (1837), Volume 4, p.138-9.</ref> However, James also gives Lieutenant Pigot's first name as Robert, whereas other accounts give it as George.}} She surrendered in shoal water and if not for the efforts of Lieutenant Pigot in one of ''Cambrian''{{'}}s boats, ''Matilda''{{'}}s entire crew might have been lost. ''Matilda'' had earlier captured the [[letter of marque]] ''Clyde'', which had been on her way to Liverpool.<ref name=LG15844/>{{efn|''Clyde'', of twelve 4-pounder guns and a crew of 30 men under the command of David Kilock, had received her letter on 20 November 1804.<ref>Letter of Marque,[http://www.1812privateers.org/Great%20Britain/marque1793-1815.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709083440/http://www.1812privateers.org/Great%20Britain/marque1793-1815.htm# |date=9 July 2015 }} - Retrieved 14 May 2011.</ref>}} Prior to her capture by ''Cambrian'', ''Matilda'' had evaded capture by [[HMS Volcano (1804)|''Heron'']].

===Boat service===
Then on 7 July Lieutenant Pigot again distinguished himself. He arrived off the harbour the day before and took the ''Matilda'' twelve miles up the [[St. Marys River (Florida–Georgia)|St Marys River]] to attack three vessels reported to be there. All long the way militia and riflemen fired on ''Matilda''. Eventually the British reached the vessels, which were lashed in a line cross the river. They consisted of a Spanish privateer schooner and her two prizes, the ship {{ship||Golden Grove|1786 ship|2}} and the British brig ''Ceres'', which the Spanish privateer had captured some two months earlier. The Spaniards had armed ''Golden Grove'' with eight 6-pounder guns and six [[swivel gun|swivels]], and given a crew of 50 men. The brig too was armed with swivels and small arms. The Spanish schooner carried six guns and a crew of 70 men.<ref name=LG15844/>

Pigot engaged the vessels for an hour, and after ''Matilda'' had grounded, took his crew in her boats and captured ''Golden Grove''. The British then captured the other two vessels. Lastly, Pigot fired on a group of 100 militia and a field gun, dispersing them. The British had two men killed, and 14 wounded, including Pigot, who had received two bullet wounds to his head and one to a leg.<ref name=LG15844/> Spanish casualties were reportedly 25 men killed (including five Americans) and 22 men wounded. A crowd of Americans on the Georgia side of the river watched the entire battle.<ref name=LG15844/> Pigot was unable to extricate himself and his prizes from the river until 21 July, but during the entire period he remained in command except when he was getting his wounds dressed. For his efforts Pigot received a promotion to commander, and the [[Lloyd's Patriotic Fund]] awarded him a medal and a plate worth [[£sd|£]]50.<ref name=Long>Long (1895), pp. 421-2 & 435.</ref>{{efn|Long gives the name of Pigot's vessel as the Spanish privateer ''Maria'', but Bereford's letter states that she was the vessel they had taken on 3 July, making her ''Matilda''.<ref name=Long/>}}

''Cambrian'' arrived at Bermuda on 4 August, in company with ''Golden Grove'', ''Ceres'', and the privateer ''Matilda''.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Marine List |work=Lloyd's List |issue=4263 |date=18 October 1805 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015005721496?urlappend=%3Bseq=176}}</ref>

On 1 November, ''Cambrian'' captured ''Adeline''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16579|page=412|date=29 February 1812}}</ref>

===''Leander'' affair===
In 1806, ''Cambrian'' came under the command of Captain John Nairne (acting). While under his command she, along with ''Leander'' and the ship-sloop {{HMS|Driver|1797|2}}, was engaged in searching American vessels coming from foreign ports, for enemy property and contraband.<ref>James (1837), Vol. 4, p.236.</ref> This gave rise to the so-called [[HMS Leander (1780)#The Leander Affair|''Leander'' affair]] with the result that on 14 June President [[Thomas Jefferson]] issued a proclamation ordering ''Leander'', ''Driver'', and ''Cambrian'' immediately to quit US waters and forbidding them ever to return. He extended the same prohibition to all vessels that their respective captains might command.<ref>''Draft of Proclamation concerning "Leander"'' - Thomas Jefferson, ''The Works of Thomas Jefferson'', vol. 10 (Correspondence and Papers 1803-1807) [1905], Ed. Paul Leicester Ford, Federal Edition (New York and London, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904-5).</ref> On 26 April, the day after the affair, ''Leander'', ''Cambrian'', and ''Driver'' captured the American ship ''Aurora''.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=319|issue=16575|date=15 February 1812}}</ref>

''Cambrian'' continued to cruise, including sailing to [[Charlestown, South Carolina|Charlestown]] to lift a blockade of the port by three French privateers.<ref>Ralfe (1828), p.6.</ref> Later, Nairne sailed ''Cambrian'' back to Britain in order to be a witness at the court martial of Captain Henry Whitby of ''Leander'' for the murder of John Pierce, the American supposedly killed by a shot from ''Leander'', which was the substance of the affair. (Whitby was acquitted.) Between April and June 1807 ''Cambrian'' was at Portsmouth, refitting.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=133}}

===Copenhagen===
Captain the Honourable [[Charles Paget (Royal Navy officer)|Charles Paget]] took command in May 1807.<ref name="NMM-WH-381712">
{{cite web|url=http://www.nmm.ac.uk/upload/pdf/Warship_Histories_Vessels_v.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110802041628/http://www.nmm.ac.uk/upload/pdf/Warship_Histories_Vessels_v.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 August 2011|title=NMM, vessel ID 381712|work=Warship Histories, vol v|publisher=[[National Maritime Museum]]|access-date=30 July 2011}}</ref> ''Cambrian'' then participated in the [[Battle of Copenhagen (1807)|Expedition to Copenhagen]].<ref name="NMM-WH-381712"/>{{efn|In July 1809, ''Cambrian'' shared in the prize money for the Danish vessels that the British seized. A petty officer's share was £22 11s; a seaman's share was £3 8s.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16275|page=1103|date=11 July 1809}}</ref>}}{{efn|One of the midshipmen on ''Cambrian'' was [[Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford|Frederick Thesiger]], later twice [[Lord Chancellor]] of Great Britain and the first Baron Chelmsford.<ref>Atlay (1908), pp.79-80.</ref>}} In October her captain was [[James Whitley Deans Dundas|James Deans]] (acting),<ref name="NMM-WH-381712"/> while Paget took up Admiral [[James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier|Gambier's]] offer to let him return to Britain in {{HMS|Nightingale|1805|2}} with the duplicate despatches announcing Denmark's capitulation.<ref>Paget & Paget (1896), Vol. 2, pp.352-3.</ref> Paget later resumed command. On 14 January 1808, ''Cambrian'' was under Paget's command when she captured the French ship ''Aeleon''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16279|page=1177|date=25 July 1809}}</ref>

===Spain's Mediterranean coast===
On 9 May Paget sailed ''Cambrian'' for the Mediterranean.<ref name="NMM-WH-381712"/> The next month he transferred to {{HMS|Leviathan|1790|2}}. His successor was Captain Richard B. Vincent.<ref name="NMM-WH-381712"/>

Captain [[Francis Fane (Royal Navy officer)|Francis William Fane]] replaced Vincent in 1809.<ref name="NMM-WH-381712"/> On 5 September 1810 ''Cambrian'' sailed from [[Tarragona]] with General Doyle and two [[xebec]]s carrying Spanish soldiers and some cannons. Their objective was the fort on Meda Gran in the [[Medes Islands]], in the [[Roses, Girona|Bay of Rosas]] near the mouth of the [[River Ter]]. The next day the Spanish frigate ''Flora'' joined them. When it turned out that an assault on the fort was impossible, on 10 September Doyle led a landing party of soldiers and marines from the frigates to attack a battery of four 24-pounder guns (two mounted) at [[Begur, Spain|Bega (or Bagur)]]. The attack was successful with the attackers capturing 36 men while sustaining no casualties. Then on 14 September boats from ''Cambrian'' assisted the Spanish in their attack on [[Palamós]]. The attack cost ''Cambrian'' three men wounded and the loss of a launch to fire from a French battery. On 17 September ''Cambrian'' left Palamós with the French cannon and prisoners that had been captured, together with Spanish [[Henry O'Donnell, 1st Count of la Bisbal|General O'Donnell]], who had been shot in the leg during the battle. ''Cambrian'' returned him to Tarragona on 17 September.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16247|page=1861|date=20 November 1810}}</ref> General O'Donnell had the Spanish government strike a medal for the British officers involved in the two actions (in gold), and the same medal in silver for the Royal Marines at Bagur and the sailors in the boats at Palamós.{{efn|Long states that the marines and sailors involved came from {{HMS|Kent|1798|2}} and {{ship|French frigate|Volontaire|1796|2}},<ref>Long (1895), p.60.</ref> however, this appears to be incorrect. These two vessels were involved in a later attack on the coast. In all, only eight gold medals and reportedly some 600 silver medals were issued, though this last number appears excessive. It may result from confusion between the attacks for which the medals were awarded and the December attack on Palamós, which involved about 600 men from a British squadron.}}

On 13 December British 350 sailors and 250 marines from ''Cambrian'', the [[seventy-four (ship)|74-gun]] [[third rate]]s ''Kent'' and {{HMS|Ajax|1809|2}} again attacked Palamós. (The sloops {{HMS|Sparrowhawk|1807|2}} and {{HMS|Minstrel|1807|2}} covered the landing.) The landing party destroyed six of eight merchant vessels with supplies for the French army at Barcelona, as well as their escorts, a national ketch of 14 guns and 60 men and two xebecs of three guns and thirty men each. The vessels were lying inside the mole under the protection of 250 French troops, a battery of two 24-pounders, and a 13" mortar in a battery on a commanding height. Although the attack was successful, the withdrawal was not. The British lost 33 men killed, 89 wounded, and 86 taken prisoner, plus one seaman who took the opportunity to desert.<ref>James (1837), Vol. 5, pp.259-60.</ref> ''Cambrian'' alone lost one man killed, seven wounded, and four men missing, among them Fane, who had been taken prisoner. Captain [[Charles Bullen]] of ''Volontier'' then took command of ''Cambrian'' on 1 January 1811.<ref name=BB255>Broadley & Bartelot (1906) p.255-6.</ref>

Bullen continued to support the Spanish in operations along the Catalan coast. On 14 April boats from ''Cambrian'' cut out a [[settee (sail)|settee]] carrying grain from Port Vendee to Barcelona that had sheltered under the protection of batteries on the [[Medes Islands]]. More importantly, on 12 and 14 April, ''Cambrian'' and ''Volontaire'' took possession of St. Philion and [[Palamós]]. There they destroyed the batteries and took out their guns. This, together with the Spanish capture of Figueras, gave the Spanish control of almost all Catalonia, save Barcelona.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16485|page=897|date=14 May 1811}}</ref>

Returning to the [[Gulf of Roses|Bay of Rosas]], Bullen captured 19 merchant vessels off [[Cadaques]]. He sent six, which were loaded with wine and grain to Tarragona for the garrison there. In June, while serving in a battery ashore at [[Selva]], he was badly wounded.<ref name=HC20>Heathcote (2005) p.20.</ref> Bullen quit ''Cambrian'' on 9 December and returned to England invalided.<ref name=BB255/>

''Cambrian'' refitted at Gibraltar and then sailed to Malta. From there she convoyed a large number of French prisoners to Britain. On 20 November 1811 ''Cambrian'' arrived in [[Portsmouth]].<ref name=NDB/> She was then paid off at Plymouth in December. She underwent substantial repair at Plymouth between May 1813 and September 1814, but then was laid up.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=133}}

==Post-war==
[[File:William HamiltonSZ 748.jpg|thumb|Gawen William Hamilton]]
Between July and October 1820 ''Cambrian'' was fitted for sea, and in July Captain [[Gawen William Hamilton (Royal Navy officer)|Gawen Hamilton]] recommissioned her.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=133}} He then conveyed [[Percy Smythe, 6th Viscount Strangford|Lord Strangford]] to be ambassador to the Ottoman court at Constantinople.

In October 1821, as a result of piracy in the region, ''Cambrian'' was escorting merchant shipping between the islands off [[Smyrna]]. Hamilton, though an advocate for the cause of Greek independence, was widely respected by Greeks and Ottomans for his impartiality in the conflict. After the Greeks captured [[Nafplio|Nauplia]] on 12 December 1821, they were still negotiating the surrender of the Ottoman troops in the fortress above the town when ''Cambrian'' arrived on 24 December. Hamilton arranged for the evacuation of the Ottoman troops with [[Theodoros Kolokotronis]] and the other Greek leaders. ''Cambrian'' herself took 500 on board, with another 900 going on board ships that Hamilton insisted the Greek government charter. Unfortunately, 67 of the Ottomans died of typhus on board ''Cambrian''; several of her crew died of it as well. However, by intervening, Hamilton had staved off a massacre.<ref>Finlay (1861), p.369.</ref>{{efn|The Greek government made Nauplia the first capital of an independent Greece.}}

In November 1822, Midshipman Edward Codrington, one of her officers and the son of Admiral Sir [[Edward Codrington]], drowned. Midshipman Codrington had been taking a cutter to [[Hydra (island)|Hydra]] when a squall overturned the boat, drowning him, a merchant, and three crewmen.{{sfnp|Marshall|1823|pp=875-6}}<ref>Bourchier (1873), Vol. 1, pp.347-9</ref>

On 18 March 1824 {{HMS|Naiad|1797|2}} captured ''Quattro Fratelli ''.<ref name=LG18811>{{London Gazette|issue=18811|date=10 June 1831|pages=1353–1141}}</ref> ''Cambrian'' shared the prize money.{{efn|A first-class share of the prize money was worth [[£sd|£]]6 11[[shilling|s]] {{frac|5|1|2}}[[pence|d]]; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth 1s {{frac|2|1|4}}d.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18814|date=17 June 1831|page=1195}}</ref>}} That same year Hamilton conducted a mission to Tunis. He then sailed ''Cambrian'' back to Britain where she was paid off, but in July he recommissioned her for the Mediterranean.<ref name=GM>''Gentleman's magazine'', (1835), Vol. 157, p.97.</ref>

In 1825 ''Cambrian'' was lead vessel of a small squadron in anti-piracy operations in the [[Aegean Islands|Archipelago]], at Alexandria, and around the coasts of Syria. She shared in the destruction of two Greek pirate vessels on 31 January and another on 9 June.<ref name=LG18621>{{London Gazette|issue=18621|date=20 October 1829|page=1921}}</ref> For the first vessel ''Cambrian'' was in company with {{HMS|Seringapatam|1819|2}} and {{HMS|Cyrene|1814|2}}.{{efn|A first-class share of the prize money was worth £159 8s 3d; a sixth-class share was worth 10s {{frac|2|1|2}}d.<ref name=LG18621/>}} For the second, ''Cambrian'' was in company with ''Seringapatam'' and {{HMS|Alacrity|1818|2}}.{{efn|A first-class share of the prize money was worth £69 19s {{frac|2|1|2}}d; a sixth-class share was worth 4s {{frac|10|3|4}}d.<ref name=LG18621/>}} ''Cambrian'' alone destroyed another Greek pirate vessel on 27 July 1826.{{efn|A first-class share of the prize money was worth £94 3s {{frac|4|1|2}}d; a sixth-class share was worth 5s {{frac|5|1|4}}d.<ref name=LG18621/>}}

The capture and destruction of the two pirate vessels on 31 January 1825 was an unusually sanguine affair. When the pirate vessels refused to surrender, ''Cambrian'' and ''Seringapatam'' sent in their boats to capture them. Each of the pirate vessels was armed with a gun and had a crew of about thirty men. Both resisted strongly before the British were able to overcome them. ''Cambrian'' had three men killed and five wounded; ''Seringapatam'' had three killed and eight wounded. All the pirates, save for a few who were captured, were killed or wounded.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18130|page=698|date=23 April 1825}}</ref>

On 27 July 1826 ''Cambrian''{{'}}s boats captured a pirate bombard and burnt a [[mistico (boat)|mistico]] on the [[Cyclades|Cycladic]] island of [[Tinos]].{{efn|Bombard in this context represents a type of small merchant vessel of two masts, not a [[bomb vessel]].}} Five pirates were killed and several wounded. Then in early September, ''Cambrian{{'}}''s marines landed on [[Andros]] where they burnt a pirate vessel and captured a bombard. During this period ''Alacrity'' and ''Seringapatam'' also succeeded in destroying several pirate vessels.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18300|page=2545|date=27 October 1826}}</ref>

On 27 June 1827, boats from ''Cambrian'' and {{HMS|Rose|1821|2}} destroyed a pirate vessel that had a crew of 30 men.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18660|page=440|date=2 March 1830}}</ref>{{efn|A first-class share was worth £14; a sixth-class share was worth 1s {{frac|8|1|2}}d.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18678|page=881|date=4 May 1830}}</ref> A second distribution followed but was subject to deductions. A first-class share was worth £28, minus a deduction of £11 15s 6d; a sixth-class share was worth 1s {{frac|8|1|2}}d, minus a deduction of {{frac|7|1|4}}d.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18789|page=627|date=1 April 1831}}</ref>}} ''Cambrian'' and ''Rose'' had fitted out three [[Mistico (boat)|misticos]] that on 27 June 1827, at [[Andros]], captured a row galley, armed with one gun. The galley's 35 crew members escaped ashore. On the galley the British found a log book belonging to {{ship||Nimble|1813 ship|2}}, some oars from the British vessel ''Brothers'', and several other English goods.{{sfnp|Jones|1934|p=273}} ''Nimble'' had been sailing to Smyrna from London pirates plundered her of part of her cargo, stores, and men's clothes.<ref>"SHIP NEWS". ''Morning Post'' (London, England), 15 November 1827, issue 17760.</ref><ref>"Naval and military miscellany", ''Naval and Military Magazine'', volume 3 (March 1828), p.iii.</ref> 

[[File:George Philip Reinagle - Glasgow and Cambrian at the Battle of Navarino, 20 Oct 1827.jpg|thumb|''Glasgow'' and ''Cambrian'' at the Battle of Navarino, 20 Oct 1827, by [[George Philip Reinagle]]]]
On 14 October 1827, ''Cambrian'', still under Captain Hamilton, joined the allied fleet just outside the Bay of Navarino. On the 20th, she entered the bay with the rest of the fleet, where she took part in the [[Battle of Navarino]]. ''Cambrian's'' casualties were light; she had one crew member killed and one wounded.<ref name=NDB/>{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=133}} For his role in the battle, Hamilton received the medal of the second class of the order of St. Anne of Russia and was made a member of the French order of St. Louis.<ref name=GM/> In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Navarino" to all surviving claimants from the action.

==Fate==
In January 1828, ''Cambrian'' was again involved in the suppression of piracy as part of a squadron under Commodore [[Thomas Staines|Sir Thomas Staines]].<ref name=NDB/> Staines took a small squadron to the island of Grabusa, off Cape Busa (Vouxa) to deal with a nest of Greek pirates that had made the harbour there their home after the Greeks had taken possession of it early in the war against the Turks in Crete. The squadron consisted of ''Cambrian'', ''Pelican'', {{HMS|Isis|1819|2}}, {{HMS|Rattlesnake|1822|2}}, {{HMS|Zebra|1815|2}}, {{HMS|Cameleon|1816|2}}, and two French [[corvette]]s.{{sfnp|Marshall|1828|pages=451-2}} In the port there were 14 Greek vessels, together with an Austrian and an Ionian merchantman that the pirates had taken.{{sfnp|Marshall|1828|pages=451-2}} After the pirates had refused to surrender, the squadron opened fire and destroyed a number of the vessels. Marines from ''Pelican'' and ''Isis'' then landed to take possession of the fortress there. However, as the squadron left, ''Isis'' struck ''Cambrian'', causing her to broadside the rocks in the narrow channel. ''Cambrian'' settled in shallow water and her entire crew left in an orderly manner.{{sfnp|Hepper|1994|p=159}} The strong swell then broke up ''Cambrian''.{{sfnp|Marshall|1828|pages=451-2}}<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?16403|title= The Wreck Site|access-date=6 January 2012}}</ref>{{efn|A first-class share of the prize money for the goods captured from the pirates was worth £15 18s {{frac|11|1|4}}d; a sixth-class share was worth 4s {{frac|9|3|4}}.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=2955|issue=20258|date=5 September 1843}}</ref>}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
==References==
*Atlay, James Beresford (1908) ''The Victorian chancellors''. (Smith, Elder).
*{{cite book |first1= A. M.| last1= Broadley | first2=R.G.| last2= Bartelot|title=The Three Dorset Captains at Trafalgar - Thomas Masterman Hardy, Charles Bullen, Henry Digby| year=1906| publisher= The Dovecote Press| location=Wimborne}}
*{{cite book | last=Gardiner | first=Robert | title=Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars | publisher=Chatham Publishing Naval Institute Press | publication-place=London, England Annapolis, Md | year=2006 | isbn=978-1-59114-283-6 | oclc=83747176}}
*{{cite book |title=Nelson's Trafalgar Captains and Their Battles|last=Heathcote |first=T.A.|year=2005|publisher=Pen and Sword Books|location= Barnsley, Yorks.|isbn=1-84415-182-4}}
* {{cite book|last=Hepper|first=David J.|year=1994|title=British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859|publisher=Jean Boudriot|location=Rotherfield|isbn=0-948864-30-3}}
*{{cite book|first1=William|last1=James|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval_History/Index.html|title=The Naval History of Great Britain (volume IV)|year=1837|access-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702185556/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval_History/Index.html|archive-date=2 July 2008|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite book|first1=William|last1=James|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval_History/Index.html|title=The Naval History of Great Britain (volume V)|year=1837|access-date=10 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080702185556/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval_History/Index.html|archive-date=2 July 2008|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=C.G.Pitcairn |year=1934 |title=Piracy in the Levant, 1827–8: Selected from the papers of Admiral Sir Edward Codrington |publisher=Navy Records Society}}
* {{cite book |last1=Long |first1=William H. |year=1895 |title=Medals of the British navy and how they were won: with a list of those officers, who for their gallant conduct were granted honorary swords and plate by the Committee of the Patriotic Fund |url=https://archive.org/details/medalsbritishna00longgoog |location=London |publisher=Norie & Wilson}}
* {{cite RNB1823 |wstitle=Addenda & corrigenda:Codrington, Edward |volume=1 |part= |page=}}
* {{cite RNB1823 |wstitle=Hamilton, Gawen William |volume=sup |part=2 |page=}}
*Paget, Sir Arthur, and Sir Augustus Berkeley Paget (1896) ''The Paget papers:diplomatic and other correspondence of the Right Hon. Sir Arthur Paget, G.C.B., 1794-1807. With two appendices 1808 & 1821-1829, Volume 2.'' (W. Heinemann).
*Ralfe, James (1828) ''The naval biography of Great Britain: consisting of historical memoirs of those officers of the British Navy who distinguished themselves during the reign of His Majesty George III''. (Whitmore & Fenn).
* {{cite book |first=Rif|last=Winfield|title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates|publisher=Seaforth |location=London |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-86176-246-7}}
{{WarshipHist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|HMS Cambrian (ship, 1797)}}

{{1828 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambrian (1797)}}
[[Category:Frigates of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:1797 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Hamble]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in January 1828]]
[[Category:Ships involved in anti-piracy efforts]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:Ships sunk in collisions]]