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TIGRE (80) Taken by Ad. Lord BRIDPORT off L'Orient on 23 June 1795.
Broken up in 1817.

  • Capt. Sir William Sydney SMITH, 06/1798, Mediterranean.
    In October 1799 Sir Sidney SMITH was senior officer of the squadron employed off the coast of Egypt.
    He was blockading Alexandria when news reached him that Napoleon had stormed Jaffa.
    He immediately sent THESEUS to Acre with the French Royalist engineer Philippeaux to organise the defences of that place.
  • The French found found Acre defended only by a handful of Turks and British sailors (less than 3,000 men) and covered by the guns of TIGRE, THESEUS and two gunboats.
    On 17 March, while rowing inshore near Caifa, Sir Sidney discovered the advance guard of the French army marching along the shore.
    He returned to TIGRE and sent her launch to defend the ford across a small river the biblical brook of Krishon.
    The French, flushed with their success at Jaffa, were taken by surprise by the vigourous fire which greeted them on the morning of the 18th.
  • Because of the fire from the British ships the French were obliged to attack from the north-east side of the town.
    Here they opened the siege trenched and launched an attack against Acre's low, un-breached wall which was repulsed with great slaughter.
    The French brought up guns from Jaffa.
    These soon made a 50 foot breach in the wall but Sir Sidney placed two 68-pounders to cover the breach, an 18-pounder in a ravelin and a 24-pounder in the light house.
    The fire from these, helped by flank fire from the ships, crushed every assault.
  • By 1 April the French realised that Acre was not going to be a repeat of Jaffa, where 8,000 men were defeated in three days.
    They drove a mine under one of the towers and occupied the lower floors for a night and two days until they were driven out by the Turks and sailors on the upper stories.
    Djezza Pasha had seated himself in sight of the French in the tower and was paying 50 piastres for every French head.
  • By 2 May the British had run ravelins on either side of the French approach and manned them with marines from TIGRE and THESEUS.
    During the following week the French made seven night attacks on the ravelins and nine on the town, all defeated.
    On the 7th., after 51 days, the Turkish fleet from Rhodes with 7,000 troops arrived, only to be becalmed.
    Napoleon took advantage of the delay to launch one last attack but Sir Sidney landed every man he could spare from the guns and led them to fill the breach.
    By the 20th. Napoleon was in full retreat having lost over 4,000 men and many officers including eight generals.
    Sir Sidney SMITH was granted a pension of 1,000 pounds per year for his services at Acre and thanked by both houses of Parliament.
  • During the campaign in Syria Sir Sidney's intercession saved many French prisoners from a cruel death at the hands of the Turks.
    One who published an account of his rescue was M. Delasalle, a second Lieutenant of Dragoons who, after spending days in a dungeon in daily expectation of death, was released and taken to safety on board TIGRE where he was treated with the respect due to an officer.
  • In 1802 Sir Sidney SMITH presented Lieut. William KNIGHT, late of TIGRE, with a sword for his merituous conduct at the siege of St. Jean D'Acre.
  • When Patrona Bey, the Turkish Vice Admiral, was assassinated in Cyprus on 18 October during a mutiny, Capt. SMITH had just been joined by Seid Ali Bey with troops from Constantinople.
    Together they proceeded to the mouth of the Damietta branch of the Nile to draw the French away from the Grand Vizier's army at Gaza.
  • TIGRE's boats took possession of a ruined castle on an island in the entrance of the channel and hoisted the Turkish flag.
    The Turkish gunboats then advanced and came under fire from two 32-pounders and an 8-pounder mounted on the mainland at point blank range.
    The French guns were soon silenced by the carronade from TIGRE's launch which had been mounted in the castle and by field pieces in the small boats.
    Lieut. STOKES was detached with the boats to check a body of cavalry approaching and succeeded in stopping them with the loss of one man killed and one wounded.
  • The exchange of fire continued from the 29 to the 30 October when, after a French 32-pounder was destroyed and a magazine blown up, the Turkish transports were ordered in.
    The landings were delayed until 1 November and this allowed the French time to reinforce.
    The first attack by French bayonets was routed by Turkish sabres but the Turkish reserve quit their station to chase after the fugitives only to be routed in their turn by the advance of French reserves combined with a cavalry charge on the flank.
    TIGRE's boats rescued all who fled into the water except those taken prisoner by the French who waded in after them.
    The French said that they had taken about 1100.
  • The Grand Vizier's army, assisted by marines from TIGRE, advanced to El Arish on 20 December.
    Major Douglas of the marines reconnoitred the fort and batteries were erected from the 24th.
    The fire from these silenced the French guns and Major Douglas climbed into the fort by means of a rope let down to him and accepted the surrender.
    Unfortunately he could not restrain the Turkish troops and 300 of the French garrison were slaughtered before they could be brought under control.
    Among those serving with the army were Captains Winter and Trotte and Mr Thomas SMITH, midshipman.
  • Major Douglas arrived at the Admiralty Offices on the morning of 27 March 1800 with Sir Sidney SMITH's dispatches.
  • Two seamen from TIGRE were wounded when she assisted in the disembarkation of the army at Aboukir Bay on 8 March 1801.
    Sir Sidney SMITH, with other captains and officers of the Royal Navy under his command, landed with the army.
    One officer and five seamen were killed and nineteen seamen wounded from the naval detachment in an action on 13 March.
    TIGRE's losses were Two seamen killed, eleven wounded, of which four died later.
    On 21 March the army, by now in a position 4 miles from Alexandria, was attacked by the French force of some 11-12,000 men.
    Sir Sidney SMITH and one seaman from TIGRE were wounded during the battle.
    (In total one officer and three seamen were killed and two officers and eighteen seamen wounded)
  • On 11 June Mr BRAY, the carpenter of TIGRE, directed the construction of a bridge of boats across the Nile near Cairo.
    This was composed of 60 djerms and was about 180 yards wide.
  • 1802 Capt. Richard CURRY (of FURY), 01/1802, until October 1802 when she paid off at Plymouth.
  • 1803 Plymouth.
  • 1805 Capt. Ben.
    HALLOWELL, off Cadiz.
    (with QUEEN, CANOPUS, SPENCER, ZEALOUS and ENDYMION under Rear Ad. LOUIS) By 2 October the ships were running short of provisions so NELSON ordered them into Gibraltar.
    There they were ordered to escort a convoy to Malta and thus missed the battle at Trafalgar.
  • 1807, Mediterranean.
    TIGRE sailed from Messina on 6 March 1807 with troops under the command of Major Gen. Frazer in 33 transports.
    Nineteen parted during heavy weather on the 7th. so they arrived off the Egyptian coast with only fourteen.
    These were kept out at sea while TIGRE went inshore on the 16th.
    to meet the British resident and the vice-consul on board WIZARD.
    Although they were convinced that there would be no opposition, the Governor, when summoned, said that he would defend the place to the last man.
  • The following evening between six and seven hundred troops with five field pieces and fifty-six seamen under Lieut. BOXER, were put ashore but heavy surf prevented the remainder landing until the next morning.
    The army then took up a position to the eastward of Alexandria to prevent Albanian reinforcements arriving from Rosetta.
    On the 19th. APOLLO arrived with the rest of the convoy and the troops were landed the following day.
    The Turkish Governor, faced with superior force, agreed to capitulate the same afternoon.
    Capt. HALLOWELL left TIGRE in charge of Lieut. POWELL while he remained ashore with the army.
    In the Western or Old Port they captured two Turkish frigates and a corvette all mounting brass guns.
  • 1808 To Lisbon with specie in November.
  • On 21 October 1809 a French squadron with a large convoy sailed from Toulon to reinforce the army in Spain.
    When they were sighted by VOLONTAIRE Lord COLLINGWOOD advanced the two fast sailing ships TIGRE and BULWARK.
    The enemy hauled to the wind and the men of war separated from the convoy and were seen to be three ships-of-the-line, two frigates and two smaller frigates or storeships.
    Rear Ad. MARTIN's division, CAOOPUS, RENOWN, TIGRE, SULTAN, LEVIATHAN and CUMBERLAND, was ordered to chase after them.
    On the 24th. the division found the French near the mouth of the Rhone and chased them on shore.
    ROBUST (80) and LEON (74) set fire to themselves the following day and the BOREE and a frigate ran ashore at Cette.
    The only shots were fired by TIGRE at the BOREE.
  • On 30 October TIGRE, along with CUMBERLAND, VOLONTAIRE, APOLLO, TOPAZE, PHILOMEL.
    SCOUT and TOPAZE, all under the orders of Capt. HALLOWELL, was ordered to dispose of the convoy which had taken refuge in the Bay of Rosas under the protection of an armed storeship, two bombards and a xebec.
    The squadron anchored about 5 miles off and the boats were detached under Lieut. John TAILOUR, 1st. of TIGRE.
  • The officers employed in TIGRE's boats were: Lieuts. John TAILOUR, A. W. CLIFFORD, Edward BOXER, William WATERFACE, William HAMILTON, John BRULTON; Master's Mates James CALDWELL and Josh.
    KNYSON; Midshipmen D. SYER, Hon. Robert SPENCER, Henry FAWCETT, G. F. BRIDGES, George SANDYS, James ATHILL, Hon. James PERCEVAL, James MONTAGUE, Frederick NOEL; Ass.
    Surgeon Alex.
    HOSACK.

  • The vessels of the convoy were all captured or destroyed but the loss was severe with 15 killed and 55 wounded.
    TIGRE's casualties were: James CALDWELL, master's mate, who left a widowed mother in distressed circumstances, Thomas JONES (1), Alexander DUNCAN and James ANDERSON, all able seamen.
    ten officers, seamen and marines were wounded including Lieut. TAILOUR and D. R. SYER, midshipman, both severely.
  • 1812 (As a 74.) Capt. HALLIDAY, Channel fleet.
  • 1815 Ditto, Cork for the West Indies.
  • 1816 Out of commission at Plymouth.


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