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MELPOMENE (38) Taken by Lord HOOD at Calvi on 10 August 1794.
Sold in 1815.

  • Capt. Sir Charles HAMILTON, 04/1795.
    Spithead.
  • On 28 February 1799 she captured a French privateer ZELE (16), about 9 leagues from the Saints.
    As soon as he had taken off the prisoners he went in chase of her prize, the BETSEY, Mosson, an English brig with a valuable cargo of sugar and ivory from Santa Cruz to Liverpool, but when he got within a mile of her she ran on shore among the rocks of the Penmarks and was destroyed.
    The ZELE arrived in Plymouth on 2 March.
  • 1800 MELPOMENE, MAGNAMINE and SNAKE sailed from Portsmouth on 13 February with a convoy of the East India and African trade.
  • When Capt HAMILTON learned that three French frigates were at anchor under the forts of the island of Goree, just south of Cape Verde, he took RUBY, which was watering at Porto Praya on Santiago in the Cape Verde Islands, under his orders.
  • On 4 April they reconnoitred the Goree roadstead but found no war ships so, deciding that the force of his two ships was enough to overawe the garrison, he sent Lieut. TIDY ashore to summon the island to surrender.
    When the lieutenant signalled that the terms had been accepted the marines under Capt. M'Cleverty were landed to take possession.
    On the 13th. Mr PALMER with two boats and 30 men to take possession of Jool (a factory dependant on Goree) and he brought back a French brigantine and a sloop both laden with rice.
  • On 13 October a court martial was held on board GLADIATOR at Portsmouth on Thomas M'CARTY, a seamen belonging to MELOPMENE, for desertion.
    It was shown that it was the third time he had deserted, each time after receiving his bounty for joining the service.
    After deserting MELPOMENE he had entered the marines and had sworn that he did not belong to either the army or the navy, that he was an Englishman and that he was not a Roman Catholic.
    Since he was a Catholic Irish seaman, his perjury was proved.
    He was sentenced to be hanged for desertion.
  • While MELPOMENE was off the bar of Senegal on 3 January 1801 Capt. HAMILTON and Lieut. Col. Frazer, Commandant of the Goree garrison, determined to take advantage of calm weather and unusually low surf to capture a brig-corvette and an armed schooner anchored within the bar.
    Ninety-six officers and men from MELPOMENE and the African corps left the ship in five boats under the command of Lieut. Thomas DICK and passed the bar with the flood tide.
    They were not sighted by the point battery but the alarm was raised as they approached the brig and two boats were sunk and Lieut. William PALMER and seven seamen were killed by her two bow guns.
    The brig was carried after 20 minutes but this gave the schooner time to cut her cable so, under constant fire from her and the battery, Lieut. DICK attempted to get the brig out of the river.
    The tide was ebbing and two hours later she grounded and had to be abandoned.
    At daylight they were pleased to see that the brig had sunk up to her gunwales in a quicksand. She had been fitted out by the Republic and mounted eighteen 12 and 9-pounders.
    Of the crew of nearly sixty, some were killed, others escaped in a boat and five whites and thirteen blacks were taken on board MELPOMENE as prisoners.
  • The British casualties were: Lieut. PALMER; Lieut. Vyvian of the marines; Mr Robert MAIN, Midshipman; six seamen; one marine and one corporal of the Africa Corps were killed.
    Mr John HENDRIE, Master's Mate; Mr Robert DARLING, surgeon's Mate; ten seamen; five marines and Lieut. Christie of the Africa Corps were wounded.
  • 1803 Capt. Robert Dudley OLIVER, fitting out at Deptford.
    In May she came under the orders of Lord KEITH and was stationed off the Elbe to watch French invasion preparations.
    In July MELPOMENE and PENELOPE were responsible for the coast between Yarmouth and Orfordness.
  • On 1 August 1804 Capt. OLIVER, with a squadron off Le Havre determined to attack the numerous vessels in the harbour and moored outside which numbered 28 brigs and about the same number of luggers.
    His bombs fired nearly five hundred shells and carcasses into the town and basin.
  • 1805 Capt. Peter PARKER, Mediterranean.
    ORION, ENDYMION, MELPOMMENE and WEAZLE parted from Lord COLLINGWOOD's fleet on 8 December 1805 with orders to scour the Mediterranean for a squadron of frigates under Jerome Buonaparte which was reported to have left Genoa.
    MELPOMENE captured a Spanish settee on the 11th. and took her in tow.
    During the night they had to cut her adrift and scuttle her when they were hit by a violent squall.
    Off Majorca on the 12th., with only WEAZLE in company, the larboard bumpkin was carried away and the main-yard sprung.
    By the next day the ship was labouring very hard and, because of the violence of the sea, she bore up.
    On the 14th. they lost sight of WEAZLE and on the 15th., in the middle of a tremendous squall, the main-mast was struck by lightning and injured Mr William BADCOCK and a sailor.
    When the weather moderated slightly the next day they found that the mast was badly splintered in many places.
  • As they stood towards Barcelona in search of ORION the weather again worsened and on the morning of the 17th., with waterspouts and lightning in every direction, they furled sails and prepared for another gale.
    At 11 o'clock they were pooped by a heavy sea which filled the cabin with water.
    At 1 o'clock they were again struck by lightning and an hour later, with the storm sails ripped to ribbons, whole seas were breaking over her.
    The rudder head gave way and, although it was secured, the rudder chains soon gave way also.
    During the afternoon and evening the main-top-mast broke in three places and a man fell from the fore-yard on to the best bower anchor, but was not killed.
    On the 18th. the quarter-boats were stove in and the rudder was torn from the stern post.
    On the 19th. the weather moderated but in the heavy swell they found they were drifting down on to the rocky uninhabited Islas Columbretes about 50 miles off the coast.
    They made sail on the fore-mast but found that she would not wear so anchored with a spring on the cable in 60 fathoms.
    At 1 AM
    on the 20th. they found she was driving so the cable and spring had to be cut.
    Although they set storm-stay-sails and fore-sail there seemed no chance of missing the rocks until a squall pushed them clear of danger.
    In the afternoon they succeeded in shipping a rudder and on the 21st. they bore up for Malta.
    At midnight on the 25th. they anchored off Valetta light-house and the following day warped into the harbour.
  • After undergoing repairs at Malta MELPOMENE escorted troops under Major-General Sherbrooke from Messina to Egypt.
    Subsequently she supported the garrison under the Prince of Hesse at Gaeta which was being besieged by Marshal Massena with 30,000 men.
  • On 18 May 1806, when a French row-boat and several other small boats were seen near the shore, Capt. PARKER sent off a 6-oared cutter in pursuit.
    Since the captain was anxious to go after a ship to leeward he bundled Lieut. BADCOCK into the boat without sword and pistols.
    Four cutlasses and two pistols were tossed down to the nine people in the boat.
    The row-boat was captured within gunshot of Livorno but proved to be so full of corn that her 16 crew could not be confined below.
    When the lieutenant's attention was distracted they managed to overpower him and his men and take them ashore as prisoners.
    Lieut. BADCOCK was exchanged about three months later and returned to his ship.
  • When Fribourg's newly raised regiment of Greeks and Albanians mutinied at Malta and occupied Fort Ricazoli overlooking the entrance to Grand Harbour, Capt. PARKER landed his marines and provided boats to assist the 44th. regiment in attacking the fort by night.
    The assault was successful but six of the mutineers shut themselves in the powder magazine and threatened to blow it up.
    Negotiations dragged on for six days as the commander insisting on complete surrender, the mutineers appearing every day to suffering more and more from the effects of starvation.
    On the seventh day their leader said death was preferable to the cruelties of military law and they were going to blow themselves up.
    At nine o'clock the magazine exploded, tearing the fort to pieces and killing or wounding many men.
  • In fact the mutineers had escaped.
    They had spent the days of negotiation making a tunnel down which they crawled after setting off the powder train.
    They were captured a week later when they tried to steal food from a priest after unsuccessful attempts to obtain a boat.
    Within a few hours they were sentenced to death.
  • MELPEMONE next served in the Adriatic and returned to England from Trieste in November 1807.
  • 1809 Baltic.
    On 1 May 1809 MELPOMENE chased a Danish man-of-war cutter on shore at Huilbo in Jutland and, after anchoring in 19 feet of water, Capt. PARKER sent his boats in under the direction of Lieuts. PLUMRIDGE and George RENNIE.
    They succeeded in destroying her and several others under a heavy fire which was answered by MELPOMENE and the carronade in the launch.
    Lieut. RENNIE, seamen John GIBBS and John GRIFFTHS, and marines Frederick Thomas, William Evans and William Binding, were wounded.
  • Shortly afterwards MELPOMENE was attacked by twenty large Danish gun vessels during a calm and had 34 of her officers and crew killed and wounded, and suffered considerable damage to her hull, sails and rigging.
  • Capt. MARTIN of IMPLACABLE took MELPOMENE under his orders and together they cruised to the eastward of Nargen Island.
    After they stood into the Gulf of Narva she and IMPLACABLE captured nine Russian transports laden with timber and spars.
    Their boats then searched every creek along the south coast of the Gulf without finding any other vessels.
    On the north side they captured three vessels.
  • During the night of 7 July the boats of IMPLACABLE, BELLEROPHON, MELPOMENE and PROMETHEUS attacked eight gunboats which were protecting some ships inshore under Percola Point where the Russians had taken up positions between two rocks from which they could keep up a continuous fire of grape.
    The men in the boats boarded them sword in hand.
    Six gun boats, each mounting a 32 and a 24-pounder, were brought out and one sunk, and twelve vessels laden with powder and provisions were also captured.
    MELPOMENE's boats were commanded by Lieut. George RENNIE, Lieut Robert Gilbert, RM, and midshipman MOUNTENEY.
    Some two thirds of the Russians were killed, wounded or jumped overboard; ten soldiers were taken on board MELPOMENE as prisoners.
  • The total British losses were 17 killed, including Mr J. B. MOUNTENEY, midshipman; Elijah MELKIN, gunner's mate; George MATHEWS, able seaman; Benjamin CRANDON, second master, and John Cole, marine.
    of MELPOMENE, and 37 wounded, including six from MELPOMENE.
  • 1811 Capt. WALDEGRAVE, Lisbon.
    (armed en flute as a troopship) Cdr. Gordon Thomas FALCON, 03/1811, Lisbon.
  • 1814 Cdr. Robert ROW


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