HMS Naiad (1797) - Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

Throughout most of 1802 Naiad was in ordinary but on 9 September orders came down for her to be commissioned in place of Fisgard to be paid off and for Naiad to be commissioned in Fisgard's place. Captain James Wallis and the crew of Fisgard were to transfer to Naiad when she was ready for commissioning. On 18 December it was announced that Naiad would have to supply men to Belleisle, then fitting out for foreign service, if she was still short crew. Apparently they were not needed.

In early 1803, Naiad succeeded in taking several prizes. Her boats, with those from Hazard, cut out a new brig from among the Penmark Rocks off Brest while under fire from French batteries. They also cut out and sank a chasse-maree. These were probably the French the French brig Jeanne and the galiot Balier, which they captured on 10 May. On 19 May Naiad and Hazard captured the Frauen Brigitta.

On 29 May, in the Bay of Biscay Naiad captured the French corvette Impatiente, which was under the command of Citizen Hypolite Arnous, Lieutenant de Vaisseau. Impatient was armed with 20 guns, some of which she had thrown overboard during the chase. She and her crew were sailing from Senegal to Rochefort when Naiad captured her. Two days later Naiad captured the French merchant ship Chasseur, of 359 tons burthen. She was under the command of Citizen Lamar, Lieutenant de Vaisseau, and was carrying sugar, cotton and coffee from San Domingo to Lorient.

Next, Naiad and Doris captured a French brig from the Straits and a Dutch sloop, also from the Straits, carrying drugs and medicines. Naiad and Doris also took a French corvette from Gorée laden with gum and ivory. These vessels came into Plymouth on 4 June. That same day Naiad arrived with two French ships and two Dutch ships that she and Doris had also captured.

Then 2 June, Naiad captured Napoleon, a French brig from Guadeloupe bound for Nantes with sugar and coffee. On 5 July she captured the Providence. On 8 July she captured the brig Prudente, and on 8 August the brig Anne Marie.

On 4 July Wallis sent Naiad's boats to cut out a French schooner lying at anchor at the Saints. Next morning, in spite of the strong tides and the many rocks and shoals in the area, they brought her out without loss as almost the entire crew, including the commander, Citizen Martres Preville, Lieutenant de Vaisseau, had fled at their approach. The prize was the Providence, which had only two guns mounted but was laden with 36, 24 and 18-pounder cannon she was taking to Brest from a foundry near Nantes. Her cargo also included some choice timber.

Naiad returned to Plymouth from her cruise on 7 September and went in for a refit. This was completed on 2 October when she went from Barnpool out into the Sound to await orders. On 5 October she received six months of wages, and sailed the next day down the Channel, before anyone could spend any of their accumulated pay.

During the following fifteen weeks Naiad cruised off Ferrol and Corunna with Sir Edward Pellew's squadron. The squadron experienced severe gales but in spite of the weather blowing them off station on several occasions, the squadron succeeded in preventing the French squadrons from Ferrol and Corunna linking up. On 29 November Ardent forced the French frigate Bayonnaise aground in Finisterre Bay where her crew set fire to her so that she blew up. Naiad was among the vessels in Pellew's squadron sharing, by agreement, in the head money.

Naiad left the squadron on 8 January 1804 when they were close in to Ferrol, to carry dispatches to Admiral William Cornwallis off Ushant. She left the Admiral on 10 January and arrived back in Plymouth four days later.

On 31 January 1804 Captain J. Pellew was appointed to command Naiad while Wallis was dangerously ill at home in Storehouse. At some point Captain Thomas Dundas took command of Naiad in 1804.

Her next station was with the squadron off Brest and she brought back dispatches for the Admiralty on 10 May.

On 15 June a court martial ordered the Honorable Alexander Jones, then a lieutenant in Naiad, shot for striking Lieutenant William Dean, the senior lieutenant, during a quarrel. Dean was dismissed from the service for ungentlemanly conduct. The court recommended clemency for Jones; ten days later he received a pardon and was restored to his former rank. (Jones was promoted to Commander on 22 January 1806. Dean was restored to his former rank in 1821 but died five years later.) Naiad sailed for a cruise off the coast of Spain on 24 September.

On 27 November, while Naiad was off Brest, Thomas saw some small vessels open musket fire on boats belonging to Aigle and wound two seamen. Naiad captured Gun-boats Nos. 361 and 369. Each mounted one long brass 4-pounder and one short 12-pounder and had on board a lieutenant from the 63rd Infantry Regiment, 36 privates and six seamen. They had sailed with fourteen others from Dandiorne to Brest. Thomas sent the gunboats back to Britain under the escort of Dispatch.

Naiad returned to Plymouth on 7 January 1805 from a cruise off the coast of Spain. She brought with her a large Spanish ship with 200,000 dollars on board plus a valuable cargo of dry goods. This was the Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, which Naiad had captured on five days earlier. Naiad sailed again on 8 January on a cruise to the westward. She sent in a neutral ship flying Papenburg colours, suspected of carrying Spanish property.

On 15 February Naiad was in sight when Hazard captured the Dutch schooner Der Vriede. Next, Naiad capture the Mars on 25 June. Naiad was in company with Pickle on 9 July 1805 when they captured the brig Argo and the sloop Nelly. Then on 10 September Naiad detained the American ship Wells, of eleven Men and 205 tons. Wells was sailing from Salem to Marseilles with a cargo of sugar and coffee.