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LONDON
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(98) |
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Built in 1766, Chatham.
Broken up in 1811. |
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- 1793 Capt. R. G. KEATS with the flag of the DUKE OF CLARENCE during May and June.
- 1994 Capt. L. W. HALSTEAD, 08/1794, with Rear Ad. MONTAGU's flag.
- 1795 Capt. Edward GRIFFITH (later COLPOYS), flagship of Ad. Sir John COLPOYS. She took part in the action of L'Orient on 22 June 1895 when Lord BRIDPORT gave chase to the French fleet which had been anchored off Brest.
TIGRE was brought to action by SANS PAREIL, with LONDON and QUEEN also taking part, and forced to strike.
LONDON had three men wounded. - In the winter of 1796 COLPOY's squadron of line-of-battle ships was off Ushant, with Capt. PELLEW's squadron of frigates inshore watching the French fleet in Brest.
The Admiral had made no arrangements about what was to happen if he was blown off station by bad weather and, when the French came out on 16 December, and Capt. PELLEW fell back to rejoin him, he was nowhere to be found.
COLPOY had in fact retired before a gale not to Torbay but right back to Spithead.
The French meanwhile entered Bantry Bay, remained there for less than a week in a howling gale without landing a man or firing a shot, and then returned to Brest. - 1796 Vice Ad.C. THOMPSON's flagship in November.
- In 1797, when symptoms of mutiny and discontent appeared in the fleet at Spithead, petitions from seamen complaining of conditions were ignored by the Admiralty and the first BRIDPORT heard of them was from a junior officer on 13 April.
On 15 April the fleet refused to sail.
After much negotiation most of the men's wishes were acceded to but on 7 May the fleet again refused to sail until arrangements had been sanctioned by King and Parliament and they resolved to hold a meeting of delegates on board LONDON.
Sir John refused to let them board whereupon a party of seamen on the forecastle pointed a gun at the quarterdeck.
The first lieutenant threatened to fire if they did not desist and, when one man dared him, he shot the man dead.
Immediately 800 men surged forward and three men were killed and others wounded before the surgeon, just in time to prevent the lieutenant being strung up to the yardarm, persuaded them to listen to the Admiral.
COLPOYS took responsibility but the men were not satisfied and he and the lieutenant were tried and found guilty of murder.
COLPOYS would certainly have been executed if news had not arrived that a Seamen's Bill had been rushed through Parliament. - 1797 Capt. J. C. PURVIS, 06/1797, Lisbon.
While cruising off Cadiz in November 1798 Mr Edward WATSON was killed in fall from the masthead which almost dashed him to pieces. - 1800 Ditto, Channel.
- 1801 Capt. Robert Waller OTWAY.
LONDON arrived at Portsmouth on 21 February and sailed again to join the North Sea fleet on 3 March following Lord NELSON's squadron which had sailed the day before.
Other important ships followed them over the next few days.
On 12 March seventeen ships of the line, three frigates, ten gunbrigs and other small vessels making a fleet of nearly fifty vessels, under the orders of Sir Hyde PARKER and Lord NELSON, sailed from Yarmouth at daybreak and by eight o'clock they had cleared the sands.
LONDON was the flagship of Ad. Sir Hyde PARKER.
On Sunday 22nd the body of the fleet anchored about 4 leagues to the Northward of Kol point which forms the East entrance to the Sound. - Capt. OTWAY was not present at the meeting held between flag officers and senior captains when the fleet arrived in the Cattegat and he was disturbed to learn that it was proposed to reach Copenhagen through the Belt.
Because of his intimacy with Sir Hyde PARKER he was able to point out to him that all the stores and guns would have to be taken out of the ships for them to reach the Sound from the southerly direction.
The captain of the fleet, Sir William DOMMETT, agreed that there had been an error in reasoning and Capt. OTWAY was sent to apprise Lord NELSON.
He replied that he did not give a damn which passage they went so long as they fought them. - LONDON did not form part of the division ordered to engage the enemy.
When Sir Hyde PARKER and Capt. DOMMETT debated whether to order NELSON to leave off action, Capt. OTWAY asked leave to go to the ELEPHANT and find out the situation.
He hailed a passing boat carrying a large hawser and in this dangerous vessel passed through the enemy fire to reach NELSON.
By the time that he arrived the signal to cease action had been made but NELSON ignored it and Capt. OTWAY was able to say that he had verbal authority for the action to be continued if there was hope of success. - At the end of the battle Capt. OTWAY sorted out problems with the Danish line-of-battle ship ZEALAND which refused to acknowledge herself a captured ship.
During the absence of Capt. OTWAY, who had been charged with delivering the commander-in-chief's dispatches, LONDON was commanded by Cdr. James BRISBANE of CRUIZER (18). - 1802 Capt. MURRAY, Channel fleet. She went up river at Plymouth to be stripped on 10 May and on the 12th. she was paid off and her crew discharged.
- 1803 under repair at Plymouth.
- 1805 In July LONDON was still under repair at Plymouth.
October, Capt. Sir Robert BARLOW, fitting out at Plymouth. - 1806 Capt. Sir Harry NEALE, Channel fleet.
At half past three on the morning of 13 March 1803, LONDON, which had been stationed to the windward of Vice Ad. Sir John WARREN's squadron, sighted some strange sails. She signalled the squadron, then engaged a large ship and a frigate, keeping up a running fire with them as they attempted to escape until half past seven when the AMAZON came up and engaged the frigate.
The rest of the squadron approached and at a quarter to ten the line-of-battle ship struck, soon followed by the frigate.
An officer went aboard FOUDROYANT to inform Sir John that the ships were the MARENGO (80) flagship of Ad. Linois and the BELLEPOULE (40), returning to France from the East Indies.
LONDON lost Mr William ROOKE, midshipman; James MURPHY, Henry Van FLEYLEN, John LAY, James SLYDE, seamen; John MOORE, landman; William Griffith,William Jummers and Thomas Toole, marines, killed.
Lieut. William FADDY was dangerously wounded and Mr J. W. WATSON, midshipman, slightly wounded.
Patrick FITZPATRICK, quarter gunner, nine seamen and seven marines were also wounded.
The French ships lost sixty-five killed and eighty wounded.
LONDON's first lieutenant, Mr SPENCE was promoted to commander.
The men of LONDON and AMAZON were granted medals in 1849. - Capt E.0.
OSBORNE was appointed to command LONDON in May but instead became captain of the Channel fleet instead of Capt. BOWEN and Capt. Thomas WESTERN was appointed in his stead. - 1807 Capt. Charles Marsh SCHOMBERG was appointed when LONDON was intended as the flag ship of Rear Ad. Sir William Sidney SMITH for the expedition to South America, but HIBERNIA was chosen instead and Capt. SCHOMBERG moved to her.
- 1808 Capt. Thomas WESTERN, who resumed command, Brazils.
- 1811 Chatham.
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