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RAISON(N)ABLE (64) Built in 1768, Chatham.
Receiving ship in 1810.

  • 1782 Capt. Lord HERVEY 1799 Capt. C. BOYLES, Cape of Good Hope.
  • 1800 Re-fitting at Sheerness.
  • 1801 Capt. John DILKES, Baltic. She took part in the expedition against Copenhagen in March 1801.
  • 1803 Capt. Widlam HOTHAM, Sheerness.
  • 1804 Capt. Robert BARTON. He was appointed to her in the summer and removed to the GOLIATH.
  • 1805 Capt. Josias ROWLEY, Channel fleet. She formed part of Sir Robert CALDER's fleet in the action with the combined fleet off Ferrol on 22 July 1805 and had one man killed and several wounded.
    At the end of 1805 she sailed from Cork with the expedition against the Cape of Good Hope led by Commodore POPHAM and Sir David Baird. They arrived in Table Bay on 4 January 1806 and the army was landed with little opposition. On the 8th. they marched towards Cape Town and routed a Dutch force of about 6,000 men, mainly cavalry, with 23 guns. The enemy losses were about 700 killed and wounded while the British lost 15 killed and 197 wounded. The town surrendered the following day.
  • After the reduction of the Cape Sir Home POPHAM, hearing of the weakness of the Spanish colonies, decided to put into action a scheme devised by Pitt and Viscount Melville, and carried his whole naval force with a body of troops under Brig. Gen. Beresford to South America. He sailed in the middle of April and called at St Helena to procure reinforcements for his small army which did not exceed 1600 men including seamen. They arrived at the mouth of the River Plate at the beginning of June and the troops began landing on the 25th. The Spaniards fled as they approached Buenos Ayres and Beresford entered the city on the 27th. to receive its capitulation. The Spaniards rallied their forces and launched an attack on the city compelling the British troops, some 1300 of them, to lay down their arms with a loss of 165 killed and wounded.
    The squadron continued to blockade the river, receiving reinforcements.
    In the autumn Ad. STIRLING came out to supersede Sir Home POPHAM and on 18 January some 4,000 troops under Sir Samuel Auchmuty started an assault on Monte Video. The town was not carried until 3 February with the loss of about 600 British troops. The naval squadron lost 6 killed and 28 wounded. The prizes in the harbour consisted of 10 armed vessels, 15 sloop-rigged gun boats, 6 row-boats, 2 Indiamen and more than 10,000 tons of merchant shipping.
  • In July the new commanders, Rear Ad. MURRAY and Lieut. General Whitelocke, launched an attack on Buenos Ayres. Capt. ROWLEY was in command of the seamen who dragged the artillery for miles through swamps from the point of debarkation. 2,500 British were killed, wounded or taken prisoner in the assault as a murderous fire was poured down on the almost defenceless troops and Whytelocke agreed to a proposal to withdraw from the River Plate in exchange for the return of all British prisoners. He was cashiered on his return to England.
  • RAISONABLE returned to the Cape of Good Hope station where Capt. ROWLEY commanded a squadron blockading the Isles of France and Bourbon. He obtained a detachment of 368 soldiers from Rodriguez and on 20 September 1809, with the troops, 100 seamen and 136 marines embarked in NEREIDE, the squadron (RAISONABLE, NEREIDE, BOADICEA, SIRIUS, OTTER, SAPPHIRE and WASP) sailed for the Isle of Bourbon. The detachment was landed in the bay of St. Paul's without raising the alarm and stormed and carried the batteries while the rest of the squadron stood into the bay.
    Soon the whole of the batteries, town and shipping were in British hands. The H. E.I. Co. ships STREATHAM and EUROPE were rescued and a 40 gun frigate, CAROLINE, a 16 gun-brig and 3 merchantmen captured.
    British losses were 22 killed and 76 wounded.
  • 1811 Capt. Thomas NEW, Sheerness.


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