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NIOBE
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The French LA DIANE taken on 24 August 1800 off Malta by NORTHUMBERLAND, GENEREUX AND SUCCESS.
Broken up in 1816. |
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- 1804 Capt. M. H. SCOTT.
On the afternoon of 17 December 1804 NIOBE entered Guernsey Roads during a gale and anchored close ahead of THISBE.
In doing so she fell a-board THISBE which was obliged to veer two cables to get clear, but nevertheless she carried away THISBE's figure head.
A couple of hours later NIOBE attempted to weigh in order to get clear but fell a-board a second time and sprung THISBE's bowsprit.
THISBE, now being near the rocks was forced to cut and make sail and anchor outside NIOBE.
The following night the wind increased to a hurricane and NIOBE had to cut away her masts.
At about 4 o'clock in the morning the gale began to abate. - 1806 Capt J. W. LORING, Channel.
On 28 March 1806 NIOBE gave chase to three French frigates and a brig standing out of L'Orient.
In the evening he managed to take possession of the sternmost, the national corvette NEARQUE of 16 guns and and 97 men, stored for a cruise of five months.
NIOBE rejoined Earl ST. VINCENT with his prize and CRESCENT, which needed repair, was ordered to take the prisoners on board and take the prize into Plymouth. - A court martial was held in Portsmouth on 13 June 1807 on Marine J. Graves of NIOBE who was sentenced to 150 lashes for desertion.
- When French troops occupied Chaves in Portugal early in March 1809 and marched towards Oporto, NIOBE, which was then at Lisbon, took on board a quantity of arms and ammunition and hastened to the mouth of the Douro.
Lieut. William HENDERSON was sent up to Oporto on the 25th. March with the supplies and despatches for the Governor.
After two days of attacks the French succeeded in breaking through the defences of the city on the 29th.
and subjecting the inhabitants to atrocities with "scenes of murder, rapine and plunder." Meanwhile gales had forced NIOBE to put to sea and a heavy surf prevented Lieut. HENDERSON from crossing the bar.
He was taken prisoner and forced to accompany the French army when it retreated towards Gallicia.
He managed to escape on 16 May, made his way to Oporto and returned to England in the NAUTILUS brig. - The French privateer lugger HIRONDELLE (4) sailing from La Hogue with a crew of 30 men under Aimable Le Roy, was captured off Cape Barfleur on the evening of 20 October 1810.
Two large French frigates sailed from Le Havre on the night of 12 November and were chased into La Hogue by NIOBE and DIANA.
One of them was driven aground near St. Vaast by a gale from the southward and the other anchored near the shore under the forts of La Hogue and Tatilion. - The following morning DONEGAL, REVENGE, DIANA and NIOBE tacked towards them firing broadsides while going about.
The attack lasted until the tide turned when the ships anchored out of gunshot.
In the evening Lieut. TAYLOR carried out an attack with Congreve rockets and the next morning they saw one frigate was ashore and the other on her beam ends and dry at low water.
NIOBE had no casualties and she and DIANA resumed their watch on La Hogue.
On 4 March 1811 she captured the French privateer lugger LOUP MARIN of 16 guns and 64 men off La Hogue. - In April 1811, due to the indisposition of Capt. LORING, Capt. James KATON was appointed to command NIOBE.
On 11 May he sailed for the coasts of Spitzbergen and Greenland to protect the whale fishery.
On 15 July the Greenland Fisheries fleet of whalers some 150 miles east of Jan Meyen Island, were alarmed by a strange ship approaching through the fog.
They closed together and called the hands to quarters, and were very relieved to find that she was NIOBE.
A lieutenant came on board to exchange news and a glass of wine.
Scoresby's in his Journal says that NIOBE's reckoning of position (Lat.
72.59 Long.
5.28 E.) put them too far west, NIOBE had had no lunar sights since leaving North Cape two weeks previously.
He reckoned Long.
6.57 E. * - On his return in the autumn Capt. KATON was superseded and placed on half pay when Capt. LORING returned.
- 1812 off the coast of Spain.
- 1814 Capt. William Augustus MONTAGUE, Lisbon.
- 1815 armed en flute as a hospital ship, Cdr. Henry Colins DEACON, 06/1814. She was first employed carrying wounded from the Russian Imperial Guard to Cronstadt where she was visited by the Czar, at whose invitation the captain spent two weeks at St. Petersburg.
- 1815 To America with reinforcements for the Canadian lakes, then to the West Indies via Bermuda and formed part of the force under Sir Philip DURHAM at the reduction of Guadeloupe.
Capt. DEACON suffered from two severe attacks of yellow fever while in the Leeward Islands.
NIOBE paid off at Woolwich in the spring of 1816.
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