HMS Venom (1794)

HMS Venom was a gunbrig that Admiral Sir John Jervis captured in the Caribbean in 1794.[4][Note 1] The Royal Navy commissioned her under the command of Lieutenant Thomas H. Wilson. In March and April 1794, she participated in the capture of Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadeloupe.[5] Jervis's expedition restored monarchist rule. The French counter-attacked and recaptured Guadeloupe on 2 June. Jervis and General Sir Charles Grey, the army commander, landed a force to recapture the island but the reinforced French garrison repulsed the British expedition, which withdrew.[6]

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Venom.
Venom
History
Great Britain
Name: Venom
Acquired: 1794, by capture
Honours and
awards:		 Naval General Service Medal with clasp "17 Mar. Boat Service 1794"[1]
Fate: delisted 1799 or 1800
General characteristics [2]
Tons burthen: 128​42⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 65 ft 1 in (19.8 m) (overall)
  • 47 ft 1 in (14.4 m) (keel)
Beam: 22 ft 8 in (6.9 m)
Depth of hold: 9 ft 0 in (2.7 m)
Complement: 45
Armament: 4 x 4-pounder guns + 4 x 18-pounder carronades
Notes: Although some sources report that Venom was the French Navy tartane Génie that Commodore Horatio Nelson captured at Oneglia on 31 May 1796,[3] this is clearly incorrect as Venom was already two years into her service with the Royal Navy by that time.

Venom was deleted from the lists in 1799 or 1800. After commanding Venom, Wilson assumed command of the hired armed lugger Lark on 21 April 1800.[7]

Prize money:The London Gazette published details for four tranches of prize and head money payments for Jervis's campaign. In all some 36 ships qualified: HMS Asia, Assurance, Avenger, Boyne, Beauleau, Blonde, Bull Dog, Ceres, Dromedary, Experiment, Irresistible, Inspector, Nautilus, Quebec, Roebuck, Rattlesnake, Rose, Retort, Santa Margarita, Solebay, Seaflower, Terpsichore, Ulysses, Undaunted, Vengeance, Veteran, Vesuvius, Winchelsea, Wooolwich (sic), and Zebra. So did six gunboats: Spiteful, Teazer, Tickler, Tormentor, Venom, and Vexor.

Year Martinique St Lucia Guadaloupe All three
Captain's share
1795[8] £150 0s 1¾d £24 10s 1½d £29 10s 3¼d £203 11s 4¾d
1797[9] £29 6s 8½d £12 9s 1¼d £9 7s 2¼d £51 3s 0d
1800[10] £695 16s 8¼d £10 7s 6¼d £71 0s 3¼d £777 4s 6¾d
1806[11] £51 4s 2½d £5 12s 0d £12 12 6¼ £69 8s 8¾
Total £926 7s 9d £52 14s 9d £122 10s 3d £1102 7s 8¼d
Seaman's share
1795[8] £0 15s 4¾d £0 2s 5¼d £0 3s 0d £1 0s 10d
1797[9] £0 3s 0d £0 1s 3d £0 0s 11¼d £0 5s 2¼d
1800[10] £3 5s 9¼d £0 0s 11½d £0 6s 8d £5 13s 4¾d
1806[11] £0 4s 10d £0 0s 6¼d £0 1s 2d £0 6s 6¼d
Total £4 9s 0d £5 2s 0d £0 12s 7¼d £10 11s 7¼d

In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "17 Mar. Boat Service 1794" to all surviving claimants from the action at Fort Royal Bay, Martinique during which the boats of Venom, and others, captured the French frigate Bienvenue, and other vessels.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

  1. It has so far not been possible to identify the origins of this brig from readily available online resources.

Citations

  1. "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 246.
  2. Winfield (2008), p. 336.
  3. Winfield & Roberts (2015), pp. 277-8.
  4. "NMM, vessel ID 378301" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol iv. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  5. "No. 13661". The London Gazette. 20 May 1794. p. 470.
  6. "No. 13694". The London Gazette. 16 August 1794. pp. 841–842.
  7. Marshall (1833), Vol. 4, Part 1, pp.217-8.
  8. "No. 13824". The London Gazette. 20 October 1795. p. 1090.
  9. "No. 14043". The London Gazette. 5 September 1797. p. 862.
  10. "No. 15245". The London Gazette. 5 April 1800. p. 339.
  11. "No. 15976". The London Gazette. 18 November 1806. p. 1511.

References

  • Marshall, John (1823-1835) Royal naval biography, or, Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains, and commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers at the commencement of the present year 1823, or who have since been promoted ... (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown).
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
  • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.

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