View source for HMS Phoebe (1795)

{{short description|Frigate of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Phoebe}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin
}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Capture of Nereide.jpg
| Ship caption = Capture of ''Néréide'' by HMS ''Phoebe'', on 20 December 1797, by [[Thomas Whitcombe]], 1816
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = Great Britain
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Great Britain|naval}}
| Ship name = HMS ''Phoebe''
| Ship ordered = 24 May 1794
| Ship builder = John Dudman, [[Deptford Wharf]]
| Ship laid down = June 1794
| Ship launched = 24 September 1795
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship commissioned = 
| 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 clasps
* "Phoebe 21 Decr. 1797"<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=20939|page=238|date=26 January 1849}}</ref>
* "Phoebe 19 Feby. 1801"<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=20939|page=239|date=26 January 1849}}</ref>
* "Trafalgar"<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=20939|page=240|date=26 January 1849}}</ref>
* "Off Tamatave 20 May 1811"<ref name="LG20939-244">{{London Gazette|issue=20939|page=244|date=26 January 1849}}</ref>
* "Java"<ref name="LG20939-244"/>
* "Phoebe 28 March 1814"<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=20939|page=245|date=26 January 1849}}</ref>
| Ship captured = 
| Ship fate = Sold 1841
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption ={{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}}
| Ship class = {{sclass|Phoebe|frigate|0}} [[sailing frigate|frigate]]
| Ship type = 36-gun 18-pounder [[fifth rate]]
| Ship tons burthen = 926{{small|{{frac|8|94}}}} ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
| Ship length = *{{convert|142|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (overall);
* {{convert|139|ft|0|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (keel)
| Ship beam = {{convert|38|ft|3|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught = 
| Ship hold depth = {{convert|15|ft|5+1/2|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
| Ship sail plan = Ship rigged
| Ship propulsion = [[Sails]]
| Ship complement = 264
| Ship armament = *Upper deck: 26 × 18-pounder guns
* [[Quarterdeck|QD]]: 8 × 9-pounder guns + 6 × 32-pounder [[carronade]]s
* [[Forecastle|Fc]]: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 4 × 32-pounder carronades
| Ship notes = 
| Ship speed = {{convert|13|kn|lk=in}}<ref>{{Cite book|title=The heavy frigate : eighteen-pounder frigates|last=Gardiner|first=Robert|date=1994|publisher=Conway Maritime Press|others=National Maritime Museum (Great Britain)|isbn=0851776272|location=London|oclc=32469643}}</ref>
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Phoebe''''' was a 36-gun [[fifth rate]] of the [[Royal Navy]]. She had a career of almost twenty years and fought in the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and the [[War of 1812]]. Overall, her crews were awarded six clasps to the [[Naval General Service Medal (1847)|Naval General Service Medals]], with two taking place in the French Revolutionary Wars, three during the Napoleonic Wars and the sixth in the War of 1812. Three of the clasps carried the name ''Phoebe''. During her career, ''Phoebe'' sailed to the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] and [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] seas, the Indian Ocean, South East Asia, North and South America.

Once peace finally arrived, ''Phoebe'' was laid up, though she spent a few years as a [[slop ship]] during the 1820s. She was then hulked. The [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] finally sold her for [[Ship breaking|breaking]] up in 1841.

==Construction==
She was one of four [[frigate]]s that the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] ordered on 24 May 1794 to a design by Sir [[John Henslow (Surveyor of the Navy)|John Henslow]], Surveyor of the Navy, to be a faster version of the 1781 {{sclass|Perseverance|frigate|1}}s. The contract for the first ship was placed with the [[River Thames|Thames]]-side yard of John Dudman, where the [[keel]] was [[Keel laying|laid]] in June 1794. She was named ''Phoebe'' on 26 February 1795 and was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 24 September 1795 at [[Deptford Wharf]] on the Thames. She then moved to [[Deptford Dockyard]], where she was completed on 23 December.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}}

==French Revolutionary Wars==
''Phoebe'' was first commissioned in October 1795 under Captain [[Robert Barlow (Royal Navy officer)|Robert Barlow]],{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}}{{efn|One of Barlow's officers was [[Samuel Pechell]], the future Rear-Admiral and [[Lord of the Admiralty]]. Pechell served aboard ''Phoebe'' for four years and participated in the capture of both ''Néréide'' and ''Africaine''.}} for the Irish coast and [[Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth|Edward Pellew]]'s squadron.<ref name="NMM-WH-373286">{{cite web|url=http://www.nmm.ac.uk/upload/pdf/Warship_Histories_Vessels_iii.pdf|title=NMM, vessel ID 373286|work=Warship Histories, vol iii|publisher=[[National Maritime Museum]]|access-date=30 July 2011|archive-date=2 August 2011|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110802041552/http://www.nmm.ac.uk/upload/pdf/Warship_Histories_Vessels_iii.pdf|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref> On 10 January 1797, after an eight-hour chase, she captured the 16-gun {{HMS|Atalante|1797|2}}, under the command of Lieutenant Dordelin, off the [[Isles of Scilly]]. ''Atalante'' had a crew of 112 men. She was a three-year-old [[brig]] with a [[coppered hull]] and an {{convert|80|ft|adj=on}} keel.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=52 |issue=13972 |date=17 January 1797}}</ref> The Royal Navy took her into service under her existing name.

In 1797 ''Phoebe'' was off [[Brest, France|Brest]] as part of an inshore squadron of frigates under Sir Edward Pellew in {{HMS|Indefatigable|1784|2}}. The squadron included  {{HMS|Amazon|1795|2}}, {{HMS|Révolutionnaire|1794|2}} and the [[hired armed vessels|hired armed]] [[lugger]] {{ship|Hired armed lugger|Duke of York||2}}.<ref>James (1837), Vol. 2, p.6</ref>

On 22 December 1797 ''Phoebe'' captured the French 36-gun {{ship|French frigate|Néréide|1779|2}}, Captain Antoine Canon.<ref>{{London Gazette|pages=1230–1231|issue=14077|date=26 December 1797}}</ref> ''Phoebe'' sighted the ''Néréide'' at 10am; the pursuit started at 11:30am and ended at 10:45pm with ''Néréide''{{'}}s surrender. During the chase ''Néréide'' fired her stern guns at ''Phoebe'' and the two vessels exchanged broadsides shortly before the ''Néréide'' surrendered. ''Phoebe'' lost three men killed and 10 wounded; ''Néréide'' lost 20 men killed and 55 wounded. Part of the reason for the disparity in casualties was that the ratio of the weight of the [[broadside (naval)|broadsides]] was {{convert|407|lb}} to {{convert|268|lb}}.<ref name=James2>James (1837), Vol.2, pp.92-93.</ref> In 1847, the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Phoebe 21 Decr. 1797" to all remaining members of her crew who had participated in the action.

On 11 October 1799, ''Phoebe'' captured the French [[privateer]] ''Grand Ferrailleur''. ''Grand Ferrailleur'' was armed with sixteen [[brass]] 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 121 men. She was 16 days from [[Bordeaux]] but had not taken any [[Prize law|prizes]].<ref>{{London Gazette|page=1095|issue=15197|date=22 October 1799}}</ref>

On 21 February 1800, ''Phoebe'' captured the French privateer ''Bellegarde'' (or ''Belle Garde'') of [[Saint-Malo]]. ''Bellegarde'' carried 14 guns and a crew of 114 men. She had been out 16 days and had captured ''Chance'', of London and sailing from [[Martinique]], and the brig ''Friends'', of Dartmouth, sailing from St. Michael's to Bristol.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=247|issue=15238|date=11 March 1800}}</ref> Later, on 24 February, {{HMS|Kangaroo|1795|2}} recaptured ''Chance''.<ref>''The Naval chronicle'', Volume 3, p.320.</ref>{{efn|''Baalgade'' (mistakenly spelled "''Bellegarde''" in some documents), was a 166-ton ("of load") privateer from Saint-Malo commissioned in February 1798. Her first cruise, under a Captain P. Kerpoisson with 69 men, occurred from February 1799. She made another cruise from November. Captain F. Leconte sailed her on third cruise from March 1800 with 115 men and 14 guns.{{sfnp|Demerliac|2004|p=247|loc=n°2101}}}}

===''Heureux''===
On 5 March, ''Phoebe'' captured the privateer ''Heureux'' in the [[English Channel]] off Bordeaux. ''Heureux'' had intended to cruise the [[West Indies]]. Instead, she arrived at Plymouth on 25 March.

''Heureux'', of 22 long brass 12-pounders and 220 men, mistook ''Phoebe'' for an [[East Indiaman]], and approached her. ''Heureux'' did not discover her mistake until she had arrived within point-blank [[musket]]-shot. ''Heureux'' fired on ''Phoebe'' in an "Act of Temerity to be regretted". Her hope was that well-directed fire would disable ''Phoebe''{{'}}s masts, rigging, and sails, and thereby enable ''Heureux'' to escape.<ref name=James>James (1837), Vol. 3, pp.33-4.</ref> ''Phoebe'' returned fire and ''Heureux'' was forced to [[Striking the colours|strike her colours]]. ''Phoebe'' had three seamen killed or mortally wounded, and three slightly wounded. ''Heureux'' had 18 men killed and 25 wounded, most of whom lost limbs.<ref name=James/> She had been out 42 days but had captured only a small Portuguese [[sloop]] that the wind had pushed out to sea while the sloop was sailing from [[Limerick]] to [[Galway]] with a cargo of wine.<ref name=LG15241/>

Barlow described ''Heureux'' as "the most complete flush Deck Ship I have ever seen, coppered, Copper fastened, highly finished and of large Dimensions... The Accounts given of her Sailing are very extraordinary; she will be considered as a most desirable Ship for His Majesty's Service."<ref name=LG15241>{{London Gazette|pages=284–285|issue=15241|date=22 March 1800}}</ref> The British took her into service as {{HMS|Heureux|1800|2}}.

===''Africaine''===
On 19 February 1801, about {{convert|6|mi|spell=in}} east of [[Gibraltar]], ''Phoebe'' sighted a French ship off [[Ceuta]], also sailing eastwards. Barlow chased the French vessel for two-and-a-half hours before he could bring her to a close [[Action of 19 February 1801|action]]. After about two hours the French vessel struck her colours; she had {{convert|5|ft|spell=in}} of water in her [[Hold (ship)|hold]] and was almost a wreck. ''Phoebe''{{'}}s fire had dismounted her guns and left her decks strewn with hundreds of casualties.<ref name=LG15357>{{London Gazette|pages=429–431|issue=15357 |date=21 April 1801}}</ref>

She proved to be {{ship|French frigate|Africaine|1798|2}}, of twenty-six 18-pounders and eighteen 9-pounders; she had sailed from Rochefort on the 13th. She was under the command of Capitaine Majendie and she flew the broad pennant of Commandant de Division Saunier. She had a crew of 315 men, but also was ferrying 400 troops under General Desfourneaux to reinforce the French invasion force in Egypt.<ref name=LG15357/>

The French reported that they had suffered 200 killed in the action, including Saunier, the Chef de Brigade and two army captains, and 143 wounded, the later including Desfourneaux and Majendie, who was wounded in two places.<ref name=LG15357/> The heavy casualties were the result of French troops crowding the upper deck despite their small arms fire contributing little or nothing in the dark to her defense. The troops had refused shelter below deck on the basis of mistaken valour.<ref name="James 3 139">James (1837), Vol. 3, pp.139-41.</ref>

''Phoebe'' lost one man killed, and 12 men wounded.<ref name=LG15357/> Her masts, sails and rigging were badly damaged but she was able to limp to [[Mahón|Port Mahon]]. Weak winds resulted in the voyage, in company with ''Africaine'', taking two weeks.<ref name="James 3 139"/> The British took ''Africaine'' into service under her existing name.

Barlow received a knighthood. ''Phoebe''{{'}}s [[first lieutenant]], John Wentworth Holland, who had been wounded, received a promotion to commander.<ref name="James 3 139"/> In 1847 the action earned ''Phoebe''{{'}}s crew the clasp "Phoebe 19 Feby. 1801" to the Naval General Service Medal (1847). Captain [[Thomas Baker (Royal Navy officer)|Thomas Baker]] subsequently took command of ''Phoebe'' in May 1801.

==Napoleonic Wars==
In June 1802 Capt. James Shephard took command. [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] The Hon. [[Thomas Bladen Capel]]l followed him and recommissioned ''Phoebe'' in September.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}} She then sailed for the Mediterranean on 28 September.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}}

In 1803 ''Phoebe'' was sailing out of [[Malta]]. At some point, perhaps during the summer, her boats participated in a disastrous attack on two French privateers off [[Civitavecchia]]. The privateers repulsed the British, who lost eight men killed and wounded.<ref name=Fireside>''The fireside book; a miscellany''. (Philadelphia), Vol. 1, p.397.</ref> On 1 August, ''Phoebe'' captured two [[settee (sail)|settées]], which a French squadron recaptured. In recapturing the settees, the French squadron involved lost an opportunity to capture ''Phoebe'', though they did capture the schooner {{HMS|Redbridge|1798|2}} and a transport.<ref name=Fireside/>{{sfnp|Marshall|1833|p=283-284}}

{{HMS|Hindostan|1795|2}} arrived at Gibraltar in March 1804 and then sailed from there to join [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Admiral Nelson]] off [[Toulon]] in company with ''Phoebe'',<ref>Nelson and Nicholas (1845 - 1846), p.330.</ref> but the vessels became separated during a gale in the [[Gulf of Lyons]]. Shortly thereafter ''Hindostan'' caught fire and was totally destroyed.{{efn|All but three of the 259 people on board were saved.}}

On 13 June ''Phoebe'' and ''Amazon'' made ready to engage two French frigates anchored under the guns of the north-most fort at Toulon. The fort fired at ''Phoebe'', but she was out of range. When the French fleet sortied, the British vessels rejoined their squadron, however the French fleet returned to port without engaging.<ref>James (1837), Vol. 2, p.237-8.</ref>

On 24 August 1804 ''Phoebe'' and {{HMS|Childers|1778|2}} captured ''Venscab''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16093|page=1636|date=5 December 1807}}</ref>

On 10 November ''Phoebe'' captured ''Cacciatore''. Then ''Phoebe'' and ''Hydra'' shared the proceeds from the capture between 9 and 15 November of the vessels ''Paulina'' and ''Sesostris''.{{efn|A first-class share of the prize money for ''Cacciatore'' was worth [[£sd|£]]233 8[[shilling|s]] 8[[pence|d]]; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 19s 11d. A first-class share of the prize money for ''Paulina'' and ''Sesostris'' was worth £591 4s 6d; a fifth-class share was worth £2 7s 4d. In addition, there were 28 supernumeraries aboard ''Phoebe'' or ''Hydra'' who were entitled to a fifth-class for ''Paulina'' only. Each supernumerary received £1 3s 2d.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=19 March 1825|issue=18118|page=468}}</ref>}}

{{HMS|Victory}} was passing the island of Toro (off Mallorca; {{coord|39.462307|N|2.471722|E}}) on 4 April 1805 when ''Phoebe'' brought the news that the French fleet under Admiral [[Pierre-Charles Villeneuve]] had escaped from Toulon. While Nelson made for [[Sicily]] to see if the French were heading for Egypt, Villeneuve entered [[Cadiz]] to link up with the Spanish fleet.

Then, while Nelson was pursuing the French fleet from Toulon to the West Indies, Capel, in ''Phoebe'', was in charge of a small squadron of five frigates and two bomb vessels with the mission of covering Sicily, [[Sardinia]] and the route to Egypt.{{sfnp|White|2005|p=33-4}} ''Phoebe'' joined the blockade of Cadiz later in the summer.

===Trafalgar===
The arrival of the additional frigates ''Phoebe'', {{HMS|Naiad|1797|2}}, {{HMS|Sirius|1797|2}}, {{HMS|Juno|1780|2}}, and {{HMS|Niger|1759|2}} off Cadiz allowed Nelson to detach them to disrupt local shipping supplying provisions for the Franco-Spanish Combined Fleet in Cadiz.

In October, the frigate squadron was acting as the eyes of the British fleet. When the Combined Fleet put to sea on 19 October, ''Phoebe'' was first in line, followed by ''Naiad'' and the [[third-rate]] {{HMS|Defence|1763|2}}. Capel spotted the Combined Fleet's exit and notified Nelson. As the combined fleet approached the British over the next couple of days, the frigates shadowed it, reporting on its movements.

During the subsequent [[Battle of Trafalgar]], ''Phoebe'' relayed Nelson's signals to the rest of fleet, and remained close to the action although she did not actually engage the enemy. In the gale that followed a few days later {{HMS|Donegal|1798|2}} and ''Phoebe'' assisted two of the prizes, {{HMS|Swiftsure|1787|2}} and ''Bahama'', with the result that they were saved.{{sfnp|Jackson|1899|pp=306-12}}{{efn|In later life, Cappel would sit on the committee that would issue the Naval General Service Medal, one of the clasps of which read "Trafalgar".}}

===North Sea and Baltic===
In January 1806 Captain James Oswald took command. ''Phoebe'' then served in the North Sea and the Channel.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}} On 9 July ''Phoebe'', {{HMS|Thames|1805|2}} and {{HMS|Amfitrite|1804|2}} were deployed to the [[Shetland Islands]] to find a French squadron reported to be destroying British and Russian fishing and merchant vessels in the Arctic.<ref>James (1837), Vol. 2, p.249.</ref> Although ''Phoebe'' met with no success, ''Blanche'' encountered and captured {{HMS|Guerriere|1806|2}}. ''Phoebe'' then sailed to the West Indies.

On 18 January 1808, ''Phoebe'' sailed for the Mediterranean.<ref name="NMM-WH-373286"/> In April 1809 Captain Hassard Stackpoole took command for the Baltic.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}}> Between 7 and 12 July, ''Phoebe'' captured the Russian vessels ''Saint Nicholas 1'' and ''Saint Nicholas 2'', and another vessel, name unknown. In August Captain [[James Hillyar]] replaced Stackpoole.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}} On 6 January 1810 ''Phoebe'' sailed from [[Torbay]] for off the [[Île de Batz]]. Later she was in the Gulf of [[Livonia]] where her boats took numerous prizes.

Between March and July 1810 ''Phoebe'' underwent repairs at Plymouth. She then sailed for the East Indies on 18 July.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}}

===Indian Ocean===
By 21 November ''Phoebe'' was off the island of [[Rodrigues]] preparing for a joint naval and military expedition to take the [[Mauritius|Île de France]]. The expedition arrived on 28 November and the French signed the capitulation on 3 December.{{efn|A first-class share was worth [[£sd|£]]278 19[[shilling|s]] {{frac|5|3|4}}[[pence|d]]; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £3 7s {{frac|6|1|4}}d.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=1923|issue=16938|date=24 September 1814}}</ref> A fourth and final payment was made in July 1828. A first-class share was worth £29 19s {{frac|5|1|4}}d; a sixth-class share was worth 8s {{frac|2|1|2}}d.<ref>{{London Gazette|pages=1376–1377|issue=18487|date=15 July 1828}}</ref>}}

In March 1811, ''Phoebe'' survived two major hurricanes in the Indian Ocean. ''Phoebe'' the participated in the [[Battle of Tamatave]], where she fought another ''Néréide'', under Captain [[Jean-François Lemaresquier]]. In the severe action the British captured ''Renommée''; ''Néréide'' surrendered subsequently on the 25th at [[Tamatave]]. The British took both vessels into service, ''Néréide'' as {{HMS|Madagascar|1811|2}} and ''Renommée'' as {{HMS|Java|1811|2}}. ''Phoebe'' suffered seven dead and 24 wounded. ''Néréide'' suffered some 130 men dead and wounded. In 1847 this battle earned ''Phoebe''{{'}}s surviving crew the clasp "Off Tamatave 20 May 1811" to the Naval General Service Medal.

===Java===
On 3 August 1811, ''Phoebe'' joined the fleet involved in the [[Invasion of Java (1811)|invasion of Java]]. Lieutenant-general Sir [[Samuel Auchmuty (British Army officer)|Samuel Auchmuty]] was the military commander-in-chief, and Commodore [[William Robert Broughton]] of the 74-gun [[third rate]] {{HMS|Illustrious|1803|2}} was the naval commander-in-chief. Later, Rear-Admiral [[Robert Stopford (Royal Navy officer)|Robert Stopford]] took charge of the naval forces.

On 31 August Stopford detached the frigates {{HMS|Nisus|1810|2}}, [[French frigate Président|''President'']], and ''Phoebe'', and the [[sloop-of-war|sloop]] {{HMS|Hesper|1809|2}} to take [[Cirebon|Cheribon]], a seaport about {{convert|35|league|lk=in}} east of [[History of Jakarta|Batavia]]. They arrived at dark on 3 September and the fort surrendered the next morning without a shot being fired.<ref name=JamesVI>James (1837), Vol. VI, pp.38-9.</ref>

On 11 September, all squadron re-embarked the seamen and marines that had landed, together with about 700 prisoners, including 237 Europeans. At 4am ''Nisus'' and ''Phoebe'' weighed and steered for Taggal, a port about {{convert|20|or|25|league}} further to the east. The next day ''Phoebe'' arrived off the harbour. Together with a landing party of seamen, marines, and some [[sepoy]]s, Captain Hillyar took quiet possession of the fort and public stores.<ref name=JamesVI/>

''Phoebe'', ''Nisus'', ''President'', and {{HMS|Harpy|1796|2}} joined Stopford with {{ship|French ship|Scipion|1801|2}} and {{HMS|Lion|1777|2}} on 14 September. The next day they sailed for [[Surabaya]]. On 17 September they anchored off Ledayo on the Java shore where three transports with 450 men joined them. There they learned that the Dutch and French had surrendered the day before. The troops landed two days later and took possession of the place on 20 September under the general terms of the capitulation.

In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Java" to all remaining survivors of the campaign. ''Phoebe'' arrived at Plymouth Dock on 18 January 1812 with dispatches from the East Indies.

==War of 1812==
On 9 April 1812 ''Phoebe'' sailed with a convoy for Quebec.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}} She returned to [[Deal, Kent|Deal]] on 2 August. On 30 September she was in Plymouth, having brought dispatches from [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]]. She then underwent a refit.

In late December 1812, ''Phoebe'' captured two American schooners. One was the ''Vengeance'', an American [[letter of marquee]] 12-gun [[schooner]] from New York, bound to Bordeaux, laden with sugar and coffee. ''Vengeance'' arrived in Plymouth on 8 January. The Royal Navy took ''Vengeance'' into service as {{HMS|Telegraph|1813|2}}. ''Vengeance'' was closely followed by ''Hunter'', a privateer schooner, of 14 guns and 100 men. The capture of ''Hunter'' occurred on 23 December after a chase during which she threw 12 of her guns overboard.{{sfnp|Maclay|1900|p=365}} Earlier, ''Hunter'' had captured a transport and a brig from a convoy under the escort of [[hired armed vessels|hired armed]] [[Cutter (ship)|cutter]] {{ship|Hired armed cutter|Nimrod||2}}.<ref>''[[Lloyd's List]]'' [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2735026?urlappend=%3Bseq=15 No. 4736.]</ref>

A few days later, ''Phoebe'' was sailing off the [[Azores]] in the company of the 74-gun third rate {{HMS|Elephant|1786|6}}, under the command of [[Francis Austen]], the brother of the acclaimed novelist [[Jane Austen]], together with {{HMS|Hermes|1811|3}}. On 27 December they captured the American privateer schooner ''Swordfish'' of [[Gloucester, Massachusetts|Gloucester]], John Evans, master. ''Swordfish'' was 16 days out of [[Boston]] and had a crew of 82 men, and originally twelve 6-pounder guns. However, she had thrown 10 overboard during the chase, which took 11 hours and covered more than 100 miles.{{sfnp|Hubback|Hubback|1906|p=228}}

On 18 March 1813 ''Phoebe'' left Portsmouth with a convoy for Brazil and the [[East Indies]]. On 6 July ''Phoebe'', the sloop-of-war {{HMS|Cherub|1806|2}}, and {{HMS|Racoon|1808|2}} sailed from [[Rio de Janeiro]] around [[Cape Horn]] to the [[Juan Fernández Islands]]. There, ''Racoon'' continued on to the fur trading outpost of [[Fort Astoria]]. ''Phoebe'' and ''Cherub'' remained to search for the 36-gun {{USS|Essex|1799|6}}. Hillyar was under orders to capture the ''Essex'' "at all costs".
[[File:NavalMonument10 byAbelBowen 1838.png|thumb|249x249px|The ''Phoebe'' captures the [[USS Essex (1799)|''Essex'' (I)]].]]

===USS ''Essex''===
On 8 February 1814 ''Phoebe'' and ''Cherub'' arrived at [[Valparaíso]], a neutral port, where ''Essex'' and her prizes were anchored. Having trapped ''Essex'' in the harbour, Hillyar waited six weeks for her to come out and thwarted all of the efforts of her captain, [[David Porter (naval officer)|David Porter]], to escape. Eventually, on 28 March, Porter attempted to break out of the harbour. A squall took off his main topmast and he attempted to return to harbour but ''Phoebe'' and ''Cherub'' drove ''Essex'' into a nearby bay and defeated her in a short engagement. ''Phoebe'' and ''Cherub'' also captured ''Essex''{{'}}s tender, {{ship||Essex Junior}}, the ex-British whaler ''Atlantic''.

In the engagement with ''Essex'', ''Phoebe'' had four men killed, including her first lieutenant, and seven men wounded. ''Cherub'' had one killed and three wounded, including her captain. The British reported that ''Essex'' had 24 killed and 45 wounded, though the Americans reported higher casualties. In 1847 the then surviving crew members of ''Phoebe'' and ''Cherub'' were awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Phoebe 28 March 1814" and "Cherub 28 March 1814".

On 31 May ''Phoebe'' and ''Essex'' set sail for England, with Lieutenant Pearson of ''Phoebe'' commanding the prize crew on ''Essex''. On the way they stopped for some time in Rio de Janeiro. The two ships finally anchored in Plymouth sound on 13 November. The Admiralty promoted Pearson to commander, and repaired ''Essex'', taking her into service as HMS ''Essex''.{{efn|A first-class share of a portion of the prize money for ''Essex'' was worth [[£sd|£]]619 17[[shilling|s]]; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £7 13s 6[[pence|d]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16977|page=110|date=21 January 1815}}</ref> The second distribution occurred on 24 October 1815 for which the value of a first-class share was worth £299 2s 9d; a sixth-class share was worth £3&nbsp;2s.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=17072|page=2130|date=21 October 1815}}</ref> A first-class share of the final distribution was worth £153 6s 6d; a sixth-class share was worth £3 2s.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=17059|page=1840|date=6 September 1815}}</ref>}}

On 19 June, ''Cherub'' recaptured {{ship||Sir Andrew Hammond|1800 ship|2}} near the [[Hawaiian Islands|Sandwich Islands]]. ''Sir Andrew Hammond'' was a whaler that Porter had captured and left at [[Nuka Hiva]], together with other captured vessels, including the ''Greenwich'' and the former British letter-of-marque whaler, [[Seringapatam (1799 ship)|USS ''Seringapatam'']], the whole being under the command of Lieutenant [[John M. Gamble]] [[United States Marine Corps|USMC]]. When Gamble made preparations to leave the island, many of his party [[Nuku Hiva Campaign#Seringnapatam Mutiny|mutinied]]. Gamble and seven men (four unfit for duty) escaped and sailed ''Sir Andrew Hammond'' {{convert|2000|mi}} before they had the misfortune to meet up with ''Cherub''.<ref>Mooney (1976), Vol. 6, p.517.</ref>{{efn|A first-class share of the salvage money was worth [[£sd|£]]72 13[[shilling|s]] 5[[pence|d]]; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth 16s 6d. ''Cherub'' shared the money with ''Phoebe'' by prior agreement.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=17313|page=2534|date=13 December 1817}}</ref>}}

==Fate==
''Phoebe'' was [[paid off]] in 1814 and laid up at Plymouth in August 1815. Between January 1823 and October 1826 she was a receiving ship and slop ship. She became a [[hulk (ship)|hulk]] in 1826 at Plymouth. ''Phoebe'' was sold for breaking up to Joshua Crystall for £1,750 on 25 May 1841.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=147}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==Citations==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* {{cite book|title=La Marine de la Révolution: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1792 A 1799|last=Demerliac|first=Alain|year=2004|publisher=Éditions Ancre|isbn=2-906381-24-1|language=fr}}
* {{cite book | last1=Hubback | first1=J. H. |last2=Hubback |first2=Edith C. |author2-link=Edith Charlotte Brown| title=Jane Austen's sailor brothers : being the adventures of Sir Francis Austen and Charles Austen | publisher=J. Lane | year=1906 |location=New York | oclc=563092096 | url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924013208883}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Jackson |editor-first=Robert Sturges |title=Logs of the great sea fights, 1794-1805 |url=https://archive.org/details/logsofgreatseafi0018unse |year=1899 |series=Publications of the Navy Records Society Volume XVIII |volume=2}}
* {{cite book| last = James| first = William| author-link = William James (naval historian)| year = 1837| title = The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV.| publisher = R. Bentley| volume =1, 2, 3, 6}}
* {{cite book | last=Long | first=William H. | 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 | publisher=Norie & Wilson | year=1895 | oclc=613203093 | url=https://archive.org/details/medalsofbritishn00longrich }}
* {{cite book | last=Maclay | first=Edgar Stanton | title=A history of American privateers | publisher=Sampson, Low, Marston & Co. | year=1900 | oclc=606621677 | url=http://catalog.hathitrust.org/enwiki/api/volumes/oclc/7769838.html }}
* {{cite RNB1823 |wstitle=Boys, Edward(a) |volume=4 |part=1 |pages=283–301}}
* Nelson, Horatio & Nicholas Harris Nicolas (ed.) (1845-6) ''The Dispatches And Letters 2''. London: Colburn.
* {{cite book | last=White | first=Colin | title=The Trafalgar captains : their lives and memorials | publisher=Naval Institute Press | publication-place=Annapolis, Md | year=2005 | isbn=978-1-59114-874-6 | oclc=62174520}}
* {{cite book |first=Rif|last=Winfield|title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates|publisher=Seaforth|year=2008|isbn=978-1-86176-246-7}}

== External links ==
* https://web.archive.org/web/20060304034536/http://www.treeforall.org.uk/trafalgar/TrafalgarWoods/Otherwoods/Phoebe/
{{WarshipHist}}

{{Phoebe class frigate}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phoebe (1795)}}
[[Category:Frigates of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ships built in Deptford]]
[[Category:1795 ships]]