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EAGLE
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(74) |
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Built in 1804, Northfleet.
Training ship in 1860. |
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- 1805 Capt. David COLBY, with Rear Ad. COCHRANE's squadron in the West Indies.
On the evening of 2 April Capt. COLBY was sent in chase of schooner which he captured about midnight. She was the privateer EMPEREUR from Guadeloupe, a fine, coppered vessel of 160 tons mounting fourteen 6-pounders and with 82 men on board. She had made no captures in the 46 days she had been at sea.
The prize was taken into the Royal Navy as HART. - 1805 Capt. Charles ROWLEY, 11/1805, Mediterranean, under Rear Ad. Sir Sidney SMITH.
On 21 April 1806 the Rear Ad. took command of the squadron which Lord COLLINGWOOD had placed under his orders at Palermo and his first care was to see that supplies and ammunition to Gaeta which the Prince of Hesse was defending against a besieging French army. - The city of Naples was illuminated to celebrate the proclamation of Joseph Buonaparte as King of the Two Sicilies when POMPEE, EXCELLENT, ATHENIEN, INTREPID arrived in the Bay where they were joined by EAGLE.
The Admiral decided that the inhabitants had suffered enough so refrained from opening fire and disrupting the ceremony, but he felt no such consideration for the French garrison on Capri which protected their convoy route to the south.
When the French commandant refused to surrender on 11 May, EAGLE was ordered to attack the island.
Capt. ROWLEY anchored his ship within musket-shot range - the first lieutenant, James CRAWLEY, was slightly wounded and a seaman killed on the quarter-deck by French fire as they came up.
Between nine and ten o'clock fire from both decks of EAGLE and from two Neapolitan mortar-boats drove the enemy back from their walls and the marines under Capt. Bunce and the seamen under Lieut. MORRELL of EAGLE and Lieut. REDDING of POMPEE then landed.
Led by the officers they climbed the steps through a narrow pass and, when Lieut. Capt. Stannus of the ATHENIEN's marines killed the Commandant, the enemy offered to surrender.
Under the terms of the capitulation the garrison were allowed to pass over to Naples with every honour of war. - On her return from the Mediterranean EAGLE took part in the ill fated Walcheren expedition and in February 1810 she joined the squadron defending Cadiz against the French army under Marshal Victor.
Fort Matagorda, opposite Puntales was defended for two months by a party of British troops, seamen and marines, including some from EAGLE.
In a particularly heavy attack on 21 and 22 April, 9 naval men were killed and 22 wounded. - EAGLE was sent to the Adriatic in March 1811.
On 27 November EAGLE gave chase to three vessels off Fano, some 10 miles south of Pesaro on the Italian Adriatic coast.
After more than 10 hours she captured near Brindisi the French frigate CORCEYRE which was pierced for 40 guns but only mounted twenty-six 18-pounders on the main deck and two 6-pounders on the quarter deck. She had on board 170 seamen, 130 soldiers and 300 tons of wheat with military stores, bound for Corfu from Trieste.
Her companions, the URANIE frigate and the SCEMPLONE brig, escaped. - On 17 September 1812 EAGLE, anchored off the mouths of the Po, was joined by Lieut. Augustus CANNON and EAGLE's barges accompanied by two gunboats and 15 vessels laden with oil which the lieutenant had captured.
In the morning a convoy of 23 vessels with two gunboats was sighted sailing towards Goro which drew up in line of battle under the protection of a 4-gun battery when the barges approached them.
Although the boats frequently grounded while rowing up to make the attack they captured the gunboats and then forced the convoy to surrender.
Lieut. CANNON died of his wounds on the 22nd, two seaman lost their lives and and three were wounded. - EAGLE and ELIZABETH fell in with a convoy of seven armed merchant vessels off Goro, near the mouths of the Po, on 29 April 1813.
Four were captured and the other three ran ashore in surf under a battery.
Lieuts. GREENAWAY and HOLBROOKE of the EAGLE and Lieut. ROBERTS of ELIZABETH managed to bring one of them off and destroyed another. - Following information that the enemy were sending three vessels, loaded with powder, along the coast of Istria EAGLE and ELIZABETH went in search of them.
On 8 June they were found at Omago and the marines from the two ships first drove about 100 soldiers out of the town before the seamen under Lieuts. GREENAWAY and HOTHAM of EAGLE and ROBERS and BENNETT of ELIZABETH destroyed a 2-gun battery and brought off two boats laden with wine. - Vice Ad. PELLEW left the island of Meleda off the Dalmatian coast on 28 June 1813 with MILFORD, BACCANTE and HAUGHTY and met EAGLE and ELIZABETH off Cape Promotore.
On 1 July they entered the Quarnero Channel and the following evening anchored about four miles from Fiume.
On the morning of the 3rd. four of the ships weighed with the intention of attacking the sea line of batteries, leaving a detachment of boats and marines with HAUGHTY to storm the battery at the mol:e head.
When the wind shifted EAGLE could only reach the second battery but she anchored and poured in a well directed fire.
Capt. ROWLEY in his gig then led in a detachment of marines and took possession of the fort while Capt HOSTE with MILFORD's marines took and spiked the guns of the first battery. - Capt. ROWLEY with the marines, headed by Lieuts. Lloyd and NEPEAN, and the seamen from the boats, then headed on through the town until they were brought up by a strong point in a house on the main square.
This was soon reduced by the carronades in the boats under Capt. MARKLAND and, when Capt. HOSTE with his division joined, the enemy, numbering about 250, fled leaving the shipping, guns and stores to be taken possession of.
Thirty of the ninety vessels taken were sent to Lissa with oil, grain and powder, the small ones were returned to their owners and the rest destroyed.
Only one man was killed, a marine from EAGLE. - The fortress at Farasina mounting five 18-pounders was bombarded by EAGLE on the morning of 7 July.
It was then stormed and carried by a force of seamen and marines landed under cover of the fire and led by the first lieutenant, Mr GREENAWAY, Lieut. HOTHAM and Lieut. Lloyd of the marines.
The battery and the outworks were destroyed and the whole force re-embarked within three hours.
Mr HUDSON, midshipman, was slightly wounded. - EAGLE and BACCHANTE were sailing along the coast of Istria on the evening of 2 August when a convoy of 21 sail was seen in at anchor in the harbour at Rovigno (Rovinj).
Capt. HOSTE led in and the two ships opened fire on the batteries.
When they were abandoned the boats of each ship landed parties of royal marines and disabled the guns.
The enemy started to scuttle the greater part of the convoy but, by the efforts of the officers and men employed, they were all either brought off or destroyed. - MILFORD, EAGLE and HAVANNAH anchored off FIUME on 26 August and the Austrian troops marched into the town the same day.
- The army under Gen. Nugent moved against Trieste on 27 September and by the beginning of October the port was completely blockaded by sea.
Guns were landed to lay siege to the castle and by the 23rd. Capt. ROWLEY, assisted by Lieuts. HOTHAM and MOORE, and Mr HIBBERT, midshipman, had got a 32-pounder within 200 yards.
At the first shot the gun recoiled and fell backwards off the platform but Capt. ROWLEY and his people immediately got a triangle above the work and ran the gun back into place although they were under a shower of grape and musketry.
When Trieste surrendered on 8 November the citadel contained 800 Frenchmen with 45 large guns.
About 50 vessels were taken in the port. - EAGLE found APOLLO and HAVANNAH at anchor off BRINDISI on the evening of 3 February 1814 and the French frigate URANIE on fire inside the port.
The URANIE had escaped from Ancona on 16 January but, when he entered BRINDISI, her captain learnt that the Neapolitan government had joined the Allies.
He landed his powder then set fire to the frigate. - EAGLE returned to the Downs in the spring of 1814 and by January 1815 she was in Chatham dockyard for repair. She remained out of commission until November 1844 when Capt. George B. MARTIN was appointed to her for service on the West Indies and North American station. She was back in Devonport by 1848 and in 1860 she was employed by the Coast Guard service at Milford Haven.
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