HMS Roebuck (1743)

HMS Roebuck was a 44-gun, fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She took part in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War, serving in The Channel, the Mediterranean and the West Indies. Roebuck participated in the attack on Martinique in January 1759 and the capture of Guadeloupe in April.

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

History
Great Britain
Name: Roebuck
Ordered: 1 December 1742
Cost: £11,518.3.5d including fitting
Laid down: 2 January 1743
Launched: 21 December 1743
Fate: Sold
General characteristics
Class and type: fifth-rate
Tons burthen: 708 ​22⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 126 feet 0 inches (38.4 m) (gundeck)
  • 102 feet 6 inches (31.2 m) (keel)
Beam: 36 feet 0 1⁄2 inch (11.0 m)
Depth of hold: 15 feet 5 1⁄2 inches (4.7 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Fully Rigged Ship
Complement: 280
Armament:

Construction and armament

Roebuck was one of the 1741 Establishment group of Royal Navy fifth-rates. Originally ordered 1 December 1742 as a 40-gun ship, she was completed with 44 guns; 20 x 18pdrs on her lower deck, 20 x 9pdrs on her upper deck and 4 x 6pdrs on the quarter deck. Her keel,102 feet 6 inches (31.2 m) long, was laid down on 2 January 1743. As built, Roebuck was 126 feet 0 inches (38.4 m) long at the gundeck, had a beam of 36 feet 0 1⁄2 inch (11.0 m), and a depth in the hold of 15 feet 5 1⁄2 inches (4.7 m), making her 708 ​22⁄94 tons burthen.[1]

Service

Having cost the Admiralty £7,266.5.0d, Roebuck was launched on 21 December 1743. She was first commissioned under Captain Thomas Sturton and taken to Portsmouth, where she was finished at a further cost of £4,251.18.5d. Upon finishing, Roebuck joined the Channel Fleet under Admiral John Norris.[1] Norris' fleet had left The Downs early on 24 February 1744, having received word that 15 French ships out of Brest were off Dungeness.[2] Contrary wind and tide forced the British to anchor within sight of their enemy, where at 11:00 they were joined by Roebuck from Portsmouth.[3] At about 01:00 the following morning, a storm blew up which continued for much of the day, breaking cables and scattering the fleet. Roebuck remained at anchor but lost one of her boats. The storm broke that evening but the French, by that time, had already gone.[4][3] Although France and Great Britain were technically at peace, a declaration of war was expected at any time and the possibility of invasion from a large fleet of French transports at Dunkirk kept Norris from pursuing.[5]

Norris wanted to retain enough ships to attack the French at Dunkirk should an opportunity present itself[5] but ships were also needed to escort 6,000 Dutch troops from Willemstadt. In addition Admiral Thomas Mathews' fleet in the Mediterranean was desperately short of supplies and the victualing fleet at Spithead was unable to move while the French were still at large.[6] Norris, required to divide his forces but wanting to prevent the Channel Fleet from becoming too depleted, decided that eight of his most powerful vessels would chaperone Mathews' supplies only as far as Brest. Two fifth-rates would then take the convoy the rest of the way.[6] This order was later changed and Roebuck and Preston took the transports only as far as the Tagus, with Mathews left to arrange the remainder of the journey.[7] The convoy was due to sail on 25 March, the same day war broke out, but foul weather delayed departure until 31 March. Progress was slow due to the lack of wind and in due course the fleet was forced to anchor once more. When the wind returned, it was blowing the wrong way.[7] Finally, on 23 April 1744, Roebuck, with Victory, Duke, Sandwich, St George, Princess Royal, Cornwall, Shrewsbury, Princess Amelia and another fifth-rate, Preston, escorted the convoy up the Channel.[6]

While separated from the convoy, Roebuck fell in with and captured an 18-gun Spanish vessel, 150 nautical miles west of Cape Finisterre.[8] She arrived in Lisbon with her prize on 6 May[8] to find the convoy already there, having arrived three days previous.[9][10] It was subsequently blockaded by the Brest fleet and had to be rescued on 9 September, by a force of 25 British and Dutch ships under Sir John Balchen.[11]

Mediterranean service

Roebuck subsequently joined Admiral William Rowley's fleet in the Mediterranean, where on 20 October 1744, she was despatched with Stirling Castle, Guernsey and Chatham to watch the Spanish in Cadiz while the rest of Rowley's ships escorted a large flotilla of merchant vessels.[12] In September 1745 she was attached to a small squadron comprising Liverpool, Seaford, Kennington, Feversham, two bomb ketches and two other smaller vessels, with orders to watch Toulon, patrol the coast of Genoa and prevent supplies being transferred between Naples and the Adriatic or along the coast of Italy.[13] Roebuck spent some time at anchor in the port of Leghorn while the powerful ships-of-the-line bombarded the city of Genoa; leaving on 12 October to rejoin the main fleet.[14]

In December 1746, Roebuck, then under the command of Captain John Weller, delivered cannon to the army of Maximilian Ulysses Browne while it lay siege to Antibes.[15] Roebuck remained as part of the blockading fleet under Vice Admiral Henry Medley.[16] On 1 February the Austrians withdrew, fearing an attack from a large force under the Duc de Belle-Isle. Browne also thought the siege ineffective, suggesting the town was being resupplied whenever foul weather blew the blockading ships off station.[16] No longer required, Medley's fleet was reassigned to keeping the Spanish fleet bottled up in Cartagena while Roebuck and some smaller craft were left to protect the islands of Sainte Marguerite and Saint Honorat, occupied at that time by Britain's Austrian allies.[16] On 18 February several small craft were seen on the Cannes shore and Wellard sent in a barca-longa and two feluccas to destroy them. French troops gathered on the beach to protect their boats but the British managed to capture six and destroy many others without losing a man.[16] Four days later, another large force assembled on the shore, this time with artillery, which it was supposed was for an assault on the castle on Sainte Marguerite. Wellard ordered another attack, which came under heavy fire when the cannon on the beach were turned against his modest squadron.[17][18] Roebuck however soon put the batteries out of action and forced the enemy to retreat. The barca-longa had to retire, being in danger of sinking but Roebuck kept up her bombardment until it was too dark to continue. In the process, she received some thirty shot to her hull and much damage to her spars and rigging; six of her crew were killed and 14 wounded.[18][19] To prevent further attempts, Captain George Townsend, at that time commanding a squadron off Provence, was ordered to extend his patrol to include the islands.[18]

When the war ended in October 1748, Roebuck was paid off. She returned to England, where she was surveyed in November.[1] Repairs started in April 1750 at Deptford which took five years and cost the Admiralty £3,128.19.9d. By the time the ship had been refitted at Woolwich, the costs had risen to £8,189.5.2d. Roebuck was brought back into service in July 1755 under Captain Matthew Whitwell.[20]

The Leeward Station

In December 1756, Roebuck was on the Jamaica Station, under the command of Captain John Hollwall, who later took her to the Leeward Islands. Hollwell was superseded by Captain Thomas Lynn, who returned the ship to Jamaica in December 1757.[20]

Roebuck was present for the attack on Martinique in January 1759.[21] To facilitate attacks on French possessions in the Caribbean, the Leeward Squadron was joined by eight ships-of-the-line and transports containing 4,400 troops under the command of Peregrine Hopson. The reinforcements arrived in Barbados from England in January 1759.[22] Sir John Moore retained command of naval operations and the force set sail on 13 January, arriving two days later in Fort-Royal Bay.[23] At 08:00 on 16 January 1759, Roebuck with Winchester and Woolwich, opened fire on the batteries in Cas des Navieres Bay, where it was intended to land the troops. At the same time, Bristol and Rippon attacked Fort Negro, three miles away.[24][23][25] The battery at Cas des Navieres was silenced when the magazine exploded, but Roebuck and the others continued to fire at the shore so the enemy was unable to form up and oppose a landing.[25] The squadron kept up its salvo for much of the following day and provided covering fire when the troops landed at 16:00.[26] Without access to drinking water, and out-numbered by 10,000 French troops and militia, the British were later forced to withdraw and, after a short bombardment of Saint-Pierre, it was decided to abandon the invasion altogether and instead attack Guadeloupe.[27][28]

Plan of the attack on Basse-Terre on 23 January 1759, shows Roebuck attacking batteries to the west of the town
Plan of the attack against Fort Louis now Fort George, at Point à Pitre in Guadeloupe by a squadron, detached from Commodore Moore and commanded by Capt. Wm. Harman of Berwick on 14 February 1759. Showing Roebuck

The British force arrived off Basse-Terre at midday on 22 January and began their attack the following morning.[27] Moore took eight of his largest ships, of between 60 and 90 guns, in to cannonade the enemy batteries and citadel. When the 60-gun Rippon grounded, Roebuck and Bristol were required to sail in and rescue her. By 17:00 the French guns had been put out of action. At 22:00, four bomb ketches began to shell the town.[27] The bombardment continued throughout the night, causing a fire which swept through town destroying buildings and gutting the citadel.[28][29] On 24 January, troops were landed which quickly occupied Basse-Terre but were unable to capture the governor, who escaped into the mountains.[29] Instead of pursuing however, Hopson decided to consolidate his position and by 30 January, 1,500 of his men had succumbed to disease.[28] On 13 February, Moore sent Roebuck with Berwick, Woolwich, Renown and two bomb ketches to attack Fort Louis on the Grande Terre side of the island.[30]

On 11 March, Moore received news of a French squadron comprising eight ships-of-the-line and three large frigates. While Roebuck was left to guard the transports, Moore gathered his ships and set sail for Prince Rupert's Bay, Dominica where he was able to resupply and was best placed to monitor the enemy's movements.[31]

After three months of sporadic fighting, on 22 April, the Governor of Guadeloupe eventually offered to surrender. It was accepted by John Barrington, Hopson having died from a tropical illness at the end of February, and terms were agreed on 25 April.[32]

Non-naval service and fate

Roebuck paid off for the last time in August 1759. She was hired out as a foreign, private warship from June 1762 until January 1764. On her return, she was surveyed then sold at Portsmouth for £560.0.0d on 3 July.[20][33]

Notes

Differences between dates quoted in text and in contemporary sources are due to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752. A bill, passed by the British Parliament in May, meant that Wednesday 2 September 1752, was followed by Thursday 14 September and New Year's Day changed from 25 March to 1 January.[34]

Citations
  1. Winfield p. 170
  2. The Naval Chronicle (Vol.IV) p.117
  3. The Naval Chronicle (Vol.IV) p.118
  4. Richmond p. 83
  5. Richmond p. 91
  6. Richmond p. 86
  7. Richmond p. 97
  8. "No. 8329". The London Gazette. 19 May 1744. p. 2.
  9. Charnock p. 261
  10. Kingsley p. 341
  11. Newberry pp. 30–31
  12. Richmond p. 236
  13. Richmond p. 243
  14. "No. 8479". The London Gazette. 26 October 1745. p. 9.
  15. "No. 8609". The London Gazette. 24 January 1746. p. 1.
  16. Beatson (Vol.I) p. 354
  17. "No. 8629". The London Gazette. 4 April 1747. p. 1.
  18. Ekshaw p. 170
  19. Beatson (Vol.I) p. 355
  20. Winfield p. 171
  21. The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) pp.437–438
  22. Clowes pp. 201 – 202
  23. Clowes p. 201
  24. The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) p.439
  25. Beaston (Vol.II) p.313
  26. Beaston (Vol.II) p. 314
  27. Clowes p. 202
  28. McLynn p. 110
  29. Clowes p. 203
  30. The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) p.446
  31. The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) pp.446–447
  32. The Naval Chronicle (Vol.III) pp. 446 – 448
  33. "No. 10427". The London Gazette. 16 June 1764. p. 2.
  34. Cavendish, Richard (September 2002). "The Gregorian Calendar Adopted in England". History Today. London: History Today Ltd. 52 (9).

References
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