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AIGLE
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(36) |
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Built in 1801, Buckler's Hard.
Hulk in 1853. |
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- 1802 First commissioned by Capt. George WOLFE, 12/1802, Plymouth Channel.
- In March 1803 he was ordered to impress seamen at Portland.
Here his crew came into conflict with the quarrymen who were protecting likely sailors and they were forced to return to their boats. - He tried again on 1 April and landed at the head of 50 seamen and marines.
They immediately came under fire but managed to seize two of the rioters before the remainder retired to Portland Bill to join some 300 men armed with muskets, pistols and cutlasses.
This group lost no time in attacking the landing party and badly wounded 16 or 17 of them, nine of whom had to be discharged from the service.
At one point Capt. WOLFE was seized and John MANNING, quarter master's mate, had his cutlass broken while fending off a blow aimed at his captain's head.
To secure their retreat back on board the marines opened fire, killing 4 of the rioters.
As soon as Capt. WOLFE reached AIGLE he dispatched Lieut. HASTINGS and a midshipman, Mr John MORGAN, to inform the Admiralty of the true facts, but as soon as they landed at Weymouth they were seized and committed to Dorchester jail charged with murder.
A coroner later added the names of Capt. WOLFE and marine Lieut. Jefferies to the indictment and the four men attended for trial in August at the Dorchester Assizes.
The jury agreed that they had acted in self-defence and they were acquitted.
They rejoined their ship at Plymouth and sailed on a cruise on the 10th. - Before the trial AIGLE intercepted six homeward bound French West Indiamen during a cruise and sent in the SAPPHO with coffee from St. Lucia and the brig DIANA with brandy and wine on 6 June.
- At Portsmouth on 9 May Major General Whitelocke was ordered to embark the Royals, lately returned from Gibraltar, on board AIGLE and the CHICHESTER troopship for the West Indies.
- On 17 October AIGLE passed up the Channel with about 52 sail under convoy from Oporto. She entered Plymouth on 2 November to await orders.
- AIGLE was with the inshore squadron off Brest under the direction of Rear Ad. GRAVES. She was driven south-west off her station on the French coast by a gale on 9 July 1804.
Three days later she was standing in for the lighthouse on the Cordouan Rock in the mouth of the Gironde when a large brig and a ship were seen steering to the southward.
They shortened sail and Capt. WOLFE could see the men going to quarters as AIGLE approached so he anticipated a close action.
To his surprise the enemy, after firing their starboard broadside, ran themselves ashore and took to their boats which were swamped as they landed on the deserted beach about 30 miles south of Cordouan.
Capt. WOLFE anchored about a mile off and had great hopes of getting them afloat since the wind was off the land, but he was defeated by the surf and was forced to burn them.
This was done by Mr FURLONGER, the master, and Mr STEEL, the gunner. - The two French ships had sailed that morning from the Gironde and were intending to steal along the shore to Bayonne with with arms, powder and shot and other ordnance stores from Rochefort.
The ship CHARANTE was armed with twenty 6-pounders and four swivels and carried 104 men.
The brig was JOIE with only eight 12-pounders mounted, although pierced for fourteen, carried 75 men.
AIGLE took on board as prisoners: Benjamin GODOBERT and his officers and nine soldiers and sailors off the JOIE and John SANSON, his officers and eight soldiers and sailors off the CHARANTE. - The officers were landed at Plymouth on 16 August and examined to determine the head and gun-money to be paid to AIGLE.
- Off Brest on the morning of 27 November 1804 Capt. WOLFE sent his boats in chase of several French gunboats.
They came under musket fire and two seamen, William SHEPHARD and James MITCHELL, were wounded, the later dangerously.
NAIAD came to their assistance and cut off two of the gunboats which had been part of sixteen that had sailed from Dandiorne for Brest. - AIGLE returned to Plymouth on 8 January 1805 after a long cruise during which she ran down the FLYING FISH of 10 guns in a gale, fortunately all her officers and crew were saved on board the AIGLE.
- AIGLE went into the Barnpool on 12 January to have her rigging overhauled and early on the morning of the 26th. she was warped down the harbour with Lieut. STURT of the VILLE DE PARIS acting as captain while Capt. WOLFE was absent on business. She sailed on a cruise to the southward on the track of homeward bound Spanish ships from South America.
On the 30th. Capt. WOLFE returned from London, immediately hired a trawl-boat and sailed the same afternoon after the AIGLE. - In September 1805 AIGLE, becalmed off Vigo, was attacked by nine Spanish gunboats.
A breeze sprang up after an hour and Capt. WOLFE was able to capture one vessel armed with a long 12-pounder, sink another and drive the rest ashore. - At a court martial held on board SALVADOR DEL MUNDO on 16 October 1807, the master of AIGLE, Mr Thomas FOREST, was charged with contempt and disobedience.
Being found guilty he was dismissed from his occupation in the navy and directed to serve before the mast. - On the following day Lieut. Thomas Beckford HORNBROOK was accused of pulling the nose of William HAMILTON, surgeon, and the latter of using aggravated means to induce him to do so.
The lieutenant was sentenced to be severely reprimanded and placed at the bottom of the list for 1804 and Mr HAMILTON to be dismissed his ship.
In another court martial the purser was sentenced to be dismissed. - In March 1808 AIGLE, cruising near the Glenan Islands, gave chase after two French frigates pushing for L'Orient.
As she passed between Ile de Croix and the mainland she came under heavy fire from batteries on both sides and forced one of the frigates to take shelter under a fort on the island.
The other, the FURIEUSE (40) was brought to action and eventually ran ashore on the Pointe des Chats, the south-eastern point of the island.
AIGLE had 22 officers and men wounded including the captain and Lieut. LAMB, three of her guns were dismounted. - AIGLE took part in the attack on French ships in the Basque Roads on 11 April 1809.
Lord COCHRANE in IMPERIEUSE led fire and explosion vessels in and many of the French ships were driven ashore.
He signalled Lord GAMBIER in vain for him to send the fleet to destroy them before they got off.
Nine hours later Lord GAMBIER ordered INDEFATIGABLE to weigh and, with AIGLE, EMERALD and UNICORN ahead of her, proceeded towards the scene of the action.
They were joined by PALLAS, VALIANT and REVENGE, and the British squadron opened a heavy fire on the 80-gun VARSOVIE and the 74-gun AQUILON which forced them to submit.
On the 14th. Lord COCHRANE was superseded in command of the squadron by Capt. WOLFE and the AIGLE remained at her station above the Boyart shoal for 15 days, much exposed to attacks from French gunboats. - Later in the year AIGLE was with Rear Ad. Sir Richard STRACHAN's fleet off the Scheldt during the disastrous Walcheren expedition.
Ten frigates under Lord William STUART in LAVINIA forced the passage through the West Scheldt between the the batteries at Flushing and Cadsand on 11 August.
The ships were under fire for nearly two hours and AIGLE was struck by an 18" shell which passed through the quarter-deck and burst in the gun-room abaft the mizzen.
The splinters flying in all directions destroyed the partitions of the officer's cabins and sprung a beam in the bread-room.
0th.er splinters came back through the deck and tore out the bowels of a marine standing there.
Four others were wounded and AIGLE's stern frame was badly shattered.
Hot splinters set fire to the rockets and blue lights stowed in the after gun-room and it was a considerable time before they were extinguished. - On 12 September 1810, in mid Atlantic about 1200 miles west of Finisterre, AIGLE captured the French privateer ship PHOENIX of Bordeaux after a 134 mile chase over 13 hours.
The enemy vessel, which had escaped from four previous attempts to catch her, was very fast and was only caught this time due to a gale of wind. She carried eighteen English 18-pounder carronades and, commanded by Jaques Perrond with a crew of 129 strong, healthy, young seamen, she had sailed from Passages fifty days earlier. She had taken the English brig UNITY, bound for Lisbon with Newfoundland fish, on 14 August, and the American barque AGENORIA from New Orleans to Liverpool with cotton on the 24th. - Mons. Perrond was a lieutenant from the pre-revolutionary French navy and had been captain of BELLONA privateer in the East Indies for more than nine years, receiving the order of the Legion of Honour from Napoleon.
He came to Europe as captain of the CANNONIERE frigate - 1811 Capt. Sir John LOUIS, 03/1811, Mediterranean.
In the early summer of 1813 the boats of AIGLE and CURACOA, Capt. TOWER, captured and destroyed eight enemy vessels.
On 20 May seamen and marines landed at Campo del Porto in the island of Elba and routed a considerable force of military, taking a battery of two 12-pounders and a square tower with a 6-pounder.
All the guns were thrown into the sea and several of the enemy were killed and seven taken prisoner.
Three deeply laden feluccas in the harbour were scuttled by the enemy. - The following morning the boats captured three settees which, escorted by the French brig ABEILLE, had taken refuge in Port Ferrajo.
On the morning of the 28th. the boats chased two feluccas into Mesca (?Massa) near La Spezia.
In the evening, while they were being unloaded on the beach, a breeze enabled the ships to come in close and anchor.
After a few shells from CURACOA and the threat of broadsides from the two ships the boats were able to bring the feluccas off.
In this attack AIGLE lost two able seamen, Frederick VICTORY and Peter BARRIE, killed, and John RUSSELL, yeoman of the powder room, and two ordinary seamen, John CHALK and James OXFORD, wounded. - On 18 August 1813 REPULE and AIGLE, having previously captured the ST. CATHARINE laden with iron ore and the COLOMBO with sulphur, chased two enemy trading vessels into the harbour at Vernazza.
The two ships anchored close in and the Royal Marines were landed to occupy the town while fire from the ships kept back troops from the neighbourhood.
The two vessels, laden with onions and wooden planks, were burnt after being scuttled by the enemy. - Early in 1814 Capt. BRISBANE in PEMBROKE was detached with AIGLE and ARMIDE under his orders to cruise off Corsica and in the Gulf of Genoa.
On the morning of 20 April off Capo della Melle they encountered about 20 French vessels which ran themselves ashore under the guns of Port Maurice.
The three ships anchored close inshore and sent in boats to get the vessels off the beach.
When they came under musket fire from the houses the ships opened up with broadsides until the French colours were hauled down.
by this time most of the vessels had been stripped but four were got off during the night and the following day. - 1816 In ordinary at Woolwich.
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