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ARDENT
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(64) |
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Built in 1796, Northfleet.
Hospital ship in 1812. |
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- 1796 Capt. Richard Rundle BURGESS, 06/1796.
He was killed at the Battle of Camperdown on 12 October 1797 ten minutes after bringing his ship into action. The master was killed soon after and two of her lieutenants badly wounded. ARDENT suffered heavier casualties than any other ship that day. The battle with the 74 gun VRIJHEID resulted in 40 dead and 96 wounded, losses which might have been smaller if Capt. WILLIAMSON in AGINCOURT had supported her. The wife of one of her gunners insisted on serving with her husband's gun until she had one leg shot away. - ARDENT had 98 round shot in her hull and could not set sail on any of her masts. She had to be towed home by BEDFORD.
- 1797 Capt. Thomas BERTIE, 11/1797. Yarmouth.
- In August 1799 ARDENT was with the Anglo-Russian expedition to the Texel. Some 250 craft of all sizes transported 17,000 troops from Margate Roads and the Downs across the Channel on the 13th. Due to bad weather it was the 21st. before they anchored off Kuikduin and the following day a summons was sent to Vice Ad. Storij, calling on him to surrender his fleet. When he declined, a landing was made near Den Helder on the 27th. under covering fire from the fleet. Den Helder was occupied the following day when the garrison evacuated the town. 13 old warships laid up in ordinary were taken possession of.
- On the 30th. GLATTON, ROMNEY, ISIS, VETERAN, ARDENT, BELLIQUEUX, MONMOUTH and OVERYSSEL, a Russian ship and the frigates, anchored in line ahead in the Vlieter and Vice Ad. Storij was summoned again. This time he agreed to surrender his squadron of 12 modern warships. of these 11 were purchased for the Royal Navy.
- ARDENT sailed from Yarmouth Roads on 9 August 1800 with Vice Ad. DICKSON's squadron to take part in a demonstration against the Danes. Sir Home POPHAM in ROMNEY went on ahead into the entrance of the Sound to obtain intelligence and reported that three Danish 74s were anchored between Cronberg Castle and the Swedish shore. By the 17th. the British had advanced as high as the Kholt and over the following few days the two squadrons made move and countermove off Copenhagen until matters were settled amicably.
- On 8 December 1800 a court martial was held on board the PRINCESS o F ORANGE in Yarmouth Roads to try Captain Hopper of the marines on board ARDENT. He was accused of contemptuous language in a letter addressed to Capt. BERTIE. He was acquitted when it turned out that the letter had been addressed to Lieut. Marrie of the marines.
- On 2 April 1801 she was with Ad. Sir HYDE PARKER's squadron at Copenhagen forming part of Lord NELSON's division.
Midshipman George HOARE was among the 93 killed and wounded and ARDENT was severely damaged in her hull, masts and sails. - 1801 Capt. William NOWELL, 08/1801, from GLATTON. For the remainder of the war he commanded a squadron guarding the Thames estuary.
ARDENT was paid off in the spring of 1802. - 1803 Capt. Robert WINTHROP, 03/1803, Channel.
After a chase ARDENT closed with a ship off Cape Finisterre on 28 November. She managed to get in a few shots before the wind headed her off shore allowing the enemy to double the cape and run aground in Finisterre Bay. The crew set the vessel on fire to prevent ARDENT taking possession and she blew up at midnight. She proved to be the French national frigate BAYONNAISE (32) with 200 men, from the Havana bound to Ferrol.
In September 1804 she was with the Dungerness squadron under Rear Ad. LOUIS and employed watching Boulogne.
In January 1805 Lord KEITH was on board her off Ramsgate. Capt. WINTHROP moved to SYBILLE in July 1805. - 1806 Capt. R. DONNELLY, from NARCISSUS.
ARDENT escorted a reinforcement of troops under Sir Samuel Auchmuty for the army in South America. The convoy sailed from Falmouth on 11 October, touched at Rio de Janeiro and joined Rear Ad. STIRLING off Maldonado on 5 January 1807.
After Rear Ad. STIRLING's force assembled off the island of Flores troops were landed on 16 January 1807 to invest Monte Video. About 800 seamen and marines under Capt. DONNELLY were landed with the troops as well as guns and ammunition from the line-of-battle ships. The naval contingent transported the battering train and its ammunition some 7 miles along a sandy road.
The town was captured on 3 February. ARDENT lost seaman Lawrence PLUNKET killed. Hon. C. L. IRBY, midshipman, and seamen John DOAK, Michael BURNE, John LEVAN and William JEFFS were wounded and two seamen William HART and James WEBSTER were reported missing. - ARDENT arrived home with the Admiral's dispatches on 12 April.
- Capt. George EYRE was appointed to ARDENT in July 1806 but only remained in her a short time before removing to MAGNIFICENT.
- 1807 Capt. E. H. CHAMBERLAYNE, Sheerness
- 1808 Capt. J. G. VASHON, North Sea. Flagship of Vice Ad. James VASHON.
- In the spring of 1809 ARDENT was in Gothenburg commanded by Capt. Robert HONYMAN.
Shortly after she was stationed in the Great Belt to protect the Baltic trade and her boats were frequently in action against the Danish flotillas.
on 19 April a party of about 80 men under Act. Lieut. David PRICE landed on the island of Romso in the Great Belt to procure wood and water but they were surrounded and captured by 300 Danes who had landed the previous day. Several of the men were either killed or wounded. Lieut. PRICE was taken to the Isle of Fuen but later exchanged.
ARDENT remained in Danish waters with four others while the rest of the fleet sailed eastwards during June to look for Russians. - In the autumn ARDENT ran aground on the Anholt Reef through the ignorance of the pilot. Soon afterwards Lieut. PRICE was taken prisoner again when a Danish prize he was in went ashore in Norway.
- A peace treaty between France and Sweden was signed in January 1810 and the British were excluded from Swedish ports. Next year Britain was officially at war with all three Baltic powers but acted only against Denmark.
- 1811 Downs. A British fleet of 11 line-of-battle ships, including ARDENT, arrived off Gothenburg on 2 May 1811.
- 1812 (Armed en flute) Capt. John DAVIE, 04/1812, he moved to LEYDEN on 4 May. Capt. George BELL, 06/1812, fitting out to take troops to Bermuda.
- 1813 Capt. John COCHET, prison ship at Bermuda.
- 1814 Capt. Sir William BURNABY, 05/1814, ditto.
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