HMS Espoir was a Cruizer Class brig-sloop built under contract for the Royal Navy by John King at his shipyard on Beach Street in Dover.
Designed by William Rule, the Cruizer class was the most numerous class of warship built by the Royal Navy during the period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with 106 vessels being built in eight batches between 1797 and 1815. They were also the second-most numerous class of sailing warship built by any navy at any time after the slightly smaller Cherokee Class brig-sloops, also built for the Royal Navy. The Cruizer class brig-sloops featured a narrower than normal (for the time) hull, which, combined with their fine, almost clipper-like bows, gave them a good turn of speed. They were very seaworthy vessels for their time and despite their small size, were true ocean-going warships. Their brig-rig (with two, rather than three masts) and carronade armament meant that they only required small crews, which was a god-send for the Royal Navy which at the time was desperately short of men despite the efforts of the Impressment Service. Their armament of carronades gave them a ferocious short-range broadside, which suited the Royal Navy's preferred tactic of engaging the enemy at close range. In fact, the weight of broadside they could fire was slightly heavier than that of the nominal armament of an 18 pdr armed 36 gun frigate. All that firepower was delivered on a hull half the size of the frigate and manned only a third of the crew. The downside to this was that their brig rig only having two masts, made them more vulnerable to being crippled by damage to masts, spars and rigging. In addition, the short range of their carronades made them vulnerable to being picked off at range by the long guns fitted to enemy frigates. The Cruizer Class Brig-Sloops were flush-decked, that is they carried their guns on the main deck, out in the open, rather than on an enclosed gun-deck. Their main deck was a continuous deck between the bow and the stern and the whole crew, including the officers and warrant-officers lived on the lower deck, below the main deck.
The term 'Brig-Sloop' was an abbreviation of 'Brig-rigged Sloop-of-War'. The term 'sloop-of-war' itself was used to classify an ocean-going warship which carried less than the 20 guns required for the vessel to be rated under the Royal Navy's rating system. The first batch of Cruizer class vessels was to have comprised of four vessels of which only one was to have been built in a Kent shipyard, by Thomas Pitcher at his Northfleet shipyard. The order for that vessel was cancelled before construction began. Of the intended four vessels, two were ship-rigged, with three masts and the other two, including the one to have been built in Northfleet, were to be brig-rigged with two masts. This was so that the Royal Navy could assess the performance of the two types. In the end, the two ship-rigged vessels became known as the Snake class, which apart from their different arrangement of masts, rigging and sails, were identical to their cousins of the Cruizer class.
Sloops-of-war like HMS Espoir tended to be commanded by an officer in the position of 'Master and Commander', abbreviated to 'Commander'. It combined the positions of Commanding Officer and Sailing Master. 'Commander' wasn't a formal rank as it is today and an officer in such a position held a substantive rank of Lieutenant. That stated, the Master and Commander would receive a substantially higher salary than a Lieutenant and would also receive the lions share of any prize and head money earned by his vessel and crew. If he was successful, he would be 'Posted', or promoted to Captain and would either remain in command of the sloop or would be appointed to a rated vessel. If a war ended and the vessel was paid off, unless he was lucky and well-connected enough to receive another command appointment, the commander would revert to his substantive rank of Lieutenant and receive half-pay accordingly. Sloops-of-war therefore were generally commanded by ambitious, well-connected young men anxious to prove themselves.
HMS Espoir was a member of the 2nd batch, ordered by what is known as the St. Vincent Board, so called because Admiral Sir John Jervis, the Earl St. Vincent was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time. She was ordered from John King on 7th November 1803 and was to be the fourth of five vessels of that batch ordered from him. Her keel was laid in February 1804 and she was launched with all due ceremony into Dover Harbour, her hull complete, on 22nd September. After her launch, HMS Espoir was towed to the Royal Dockyard at Sheerness where she arrived on the 1st of October and was dry-docked and inspected by the Dockyard's shipwrights to ensure that her build quality was within the specifications. That complete, the vessel's lower hull was sheathed in copper before being floated out and fitted with her guns, masts and rigging while she was secured to a mooring buoy in the Swale off the Dockyard. HMS Espoir was commissioned in October 1804 whilst still fitting out, with Mr Joseph Edmunds appointed to be her Master and Commander and was declared complete on 16th December. HMS Espoir was Edmunds' second appointment in command, his first had been as Lieutenant-in-Command of the Acute Class gun-brig HMS Asp of 12 guns, where he had distinguished himself during the Raid on Ostende in 1798.
On completion, HMS Espoir was a vessel of 383 tons. She was 100 feet long on her main deck, 77ft 3in long at the keel and 30ft 7in wide across her beam. Her hold below the lower deck was 12ft 9in deep. She drew 6ft of water at the bow and 11ft at the rudder. She was armed with 16 32pdr carronades and 2 6pdr long guns. Like all her sisters, she had a pair of empty gunports over her stern, each of which could be filled with either a carronade or one of her long guns. If you look at the lines and sheer plan below, you will see a small square port beside each gunport. This port was for a sweep, or large oar, to be run out when the vessel needed, for example, to work out of a harbour in adverse winds, or manoeuvre when becalmed. She was manned by a crew of 121 officers, men and boys.
Cruizer Class Plans:Sheer plan and lines:
Lower and Main Deck Plans:
A fine model of HMS Teazer. Also a Cruizer class brig-sloop, HMS Espoir was identical. This model clearly shows the efficient layout of the main deck, with space being maximised by the boats being suspended from davits near the stern rather than being stored on the upper decks, where they would just be in the way.
A watercolour of a Cruizer class brig-sloop. Notice the figures below the driver boom, near the stern of the vessel. This gives an idea of her size:
After working up his vessel, Commander Edmunds and his vessel were engaged in the typical duties of a sloop-of-war in home waters, that is preventing attacks by enemy naval units and privateers on British shipping and hunting down enemy vessels and blockade runners. On 22nd June 1805, HMS Espoir recaptured the merchant vessel Hannah, registered in Greenock, for which they were paid prize money on 14th August. The breakdown of the prize money is interesting and explains why appointments in vessels like HMS Espoir were popular. The breakdown was as follows:
Commander's share - £101.0s.7d (this represented a quarter of the total value of the prize, as determined by the Admiralty Court).
Commissioned Officer's share - £11.4s.6d each (there were two Lieutenants in the vessel)
Warrant Officer's share - £5.12s.3d each (these were the Bosun, Carpenter, Cook, Gunner and Surgeon)
Petty Officer's share - £2.11s.9d each
Able Seaman's share - £0.15s.3d each.
Commander Edmunds received orders in the autumn of 1805 to take his vessel to Madeira, where he was to join a squadron under the command of Commodore Sir Home Popham, flying his command broad-pennant in the 64-gun third rate ship of the line HMS Diadem. In addition to the flagship and HMS Espoir, the squadron also comprised the third rate ships of the line HMS Belliqueux and HMS Raisonnable (both also of 64 guns), the fourth-rate ship of the line HMS Diomede of 50 guns, the 18pdr armed frigates HMS Leda of 38 guns and HMS Narcissus of 32 guns, together with the gun-brig HMS Encounter of 14 guns. The squadron was tasked with escorting a fleet of transport ships and East Indiamen carrying a force of 5,000 soldiers under the command of Major-General Sir David Baird to the Cape of Good Hope. Their task was to take that colony from the Dutch. The reason why the fleet was to rendezvous at Madeira was to conceal the operation from the enemy and to prevent the French from being able to assist their Dutch allies with the defence of the colony.
On 5th October 1805, Commander Edmunds was posted and was appointed in command of HMS Diomede, replacing her captain, Captain Hugh Downman, who had been appointed to command the flagship, HMS Diadem, whose commander, Captain Charles Grant, had been sent back to the UK. Edmunds was replaced by Mr William King, whose previous appointment had been as First Lieutenant in HMS Diadem.
The fleet left Madeira on 26th November and arrived at Robben Island off Cape Town on 4th January. At 03:00 the following day, the troops embarked in the fleet's boats, which assembled around HMS Espoir. Commander King decided that the surf at the chosen landing site, Blauberg Bay was too high and that a landing in boats was too dangerous, so the troops returned to their ships. Commodore Popham and Major-General Baird then embarked in HMS Espoir and instructed Commander King to search the entire coastline of the Dutch Cape Colony for a suitable landing site. It was decided to land the troops in Saldanha Bay, despite the narrowness of the Bay entrance meaning that if a French Squadron known to be at sea at the time should discover the landings and attack, it would be next to impossible to fight their way out of the bay or defend the landings. The initial landings would be conducted by the 38th Foot Regiment, the Cavalry force and artillery and vessels containing those units would be escorted into the Bay by HMS Diomede and HMS Espoir. As this force headed off to conduct the landings, dawn on the 6th Janaury revealed that the wind had dropped overnight and the surf at Blauberg Bay had subsided enough to make a landing there possible. The rest of the troops were landed at Blauberg Bay without incident. Later that day, the fleet was joined by the gun-brig HMS Protector of 12 guns and that vessel joined with HMS Encounter to provide close-in fire support for the landings should the enemy make an appearance.
The British troops fought a battle against the Dutch on the slopes of the Blue Mountain near Cape Town which saw the Dutch retreat after sustaining heavy casualties on the 8th January and on the 9th, as the British were preparing to storm the defences of Cape Town itself, the commander of the Dutch Garrison offered to surrender. On 12th January 1806, the British took possession of Cape Town and the rest of the Dutch Cape Colony. Under the terms of the surrender agreement, the British agreed to repatriate all the Dutch troops at their expense. When the British fleet had appeared off Cape Town, the Dutch ship of the line Bato of 68 guns and the French 18pdr armed 44 gun frigate Atalante were run ashore by their crews and destroyed to avoid capture by the British. Head Money for these ships was later distributed amongst all the vessels of the squadron.
On 4th March 1806, the French 18pdr armed 40 gun frigate Le Volontaire was sighted approaching Cape Town, obviously unaware that the colony had fallen to the British. In order to lure the powerful French frigate into Table Bay, the forts guarding the bay were ordered to fly Dutch colours. Deceived by this ruse, Le Volontaire anchored in the Bay and quickly found herself surrounded by British warships. Wisely, her commander decided to surrender without a fight. Le Volontaire was taken into the Royal Navy under her French name, was refitted for British service at Portsmouth and as HMS Volontaire, served until February 1816, when she was broken up at Deptford.
Le Volontaire was not the only enemy vessel to fall foul of the lack of news about the fall of the Dutch Cape Colony. On 10th January, the Spanish ship Arayo out of Mozambique bound for the River Plate with a cargo of slaves was taken by the squadron. On 28th, the British ship Resource having been captured by the French, was recaptured by the squadron, as was the French Brig-Corvette Rollo of 16 guns on 21st February. She was followed by the French brig General Isidro out of Brest bound for Cape Town having picked up a cargo of slaves on the way and captured by the squadron on March 19th.
In the meantime, on 22nd January, Commander King was appointed as Acting-Captain in HMS Diadem and was replaced by Mr Henry Hope, previously First Lieutenant in HMS Narcissus. Commodore Popham was later criticised by the Admiralty for appointing such a junior and inexperienced officer as Mr King to command of a sloop-of-war.
Between 9th and 13th April 1807, Commodore Popham received intelligence from a number of people, including the master of an American merchant vessel putting into Cape Town that the inhabitants of Monte Video and Buenos Aries that the civilia populations of those cities, in important Spanish possessions were so unhappy with their colonial administrators and so close to the brink of rebellion, that they would offer no resistance to a British occupation of those territories. Commodore Pophap consulted with Major General Baird and the two men decided to launch an attack on those cities and take them from the Spanish, despite having to sail across the South Atlantic Ocean to achieve the objective. The smaller vessels including HMS Espoir were to return to the UK, while the Commodore and the General took the rest of the force to South America.
By June 1807, HMS Espoir was in the UK and received orders to join the Mediterranean Fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Cuthbert, the Lord Collingwood and she departed the UK on 29th June. In April 1808, Mr Hope was posted and appointed captain of the 44 gun fifth-rate ship HMS Glatton, replacing Captain Thomas Seccombe, who had died of wounds received during a failed cutting-out raid. Commander Hope was replaced in command by Mr William Henry Higgs, previously her First Lieutenant. He remained in command until 1809, when he was replaced by Mr Robert Mitford.
In June 1809, HMS Espoir joined a squadron commanded by Rear-Admiral George Martin, flying his command flag in the ex-French 80 gun third rate ship of the line HMS Canopus. In addition to HMS Canopus and HMS Espoir, the squadron also comprised the third rate ships of the line HMS Warrior, the ex-French HMS Spartiate, both of 74 guns and the 32pdr carronade-armed sixth rate post-ship HMS Cyane of 22 guns. On the 15th June, the fleet was joined by the 18pdr armed ex-French 38 gun frigate HMS Alceste together with a force of Sicilian gunboats, two Sicilian frigates and more troopships from Sicily. On 24th June, the squadron together with over 100 vessels carrying troops and stores arrived in the Bay of Naples, where they were to invade the islands of Ischia and Procida, laying in the Bay off the City. At the time, the whole Kingdom of Naples was controlled by the French and the British intended to blockade the city and port. The force anchored to the north of the island of Procida and the Rear-Admiral ordered HMS Cyane, HMS Espoir and twelve of the gunboats to patrol between the island and Cape Miseno, where the slopes of Mount Vesuvius reach the sea. This was in order to prevent the French from attempting to reinforce their garrison on the islands. At 08:00 on 25th, the British and Sicilian vessels were lying at anchor to the south of Procida watching the Bay when they sighted a French frigate, a Corvette and several gunboats heading towards the island. Captain Thomas Staines, commanding HMS Cyane ordered that they immediately weigh anchor and head off to intercept the enemy force before they had a chance to get in amongst the landing vessels and troopships. The enemy frigate was identified as being the Ceres, an 18pdr armed frigate of 44 guns, while the Corvette was the Fama, an 8pdr armed ship of 28 guns. Each of the enemy gunboats was carrying a single 24pdr long gun. At 08:30, all the British and Sicilian vessels opened fire at the enemy, who turned and headed back to the mainland after returning fire. In this brief engagement, HMS Espoir suffered no damage or casualties, but HMS Cyane had some of her rigging cut up and her main topgallant yard shot away. The Anglo-Sicilian force continued to patrol between Procida and the mainland until about 21:00, when they once again anchored to the south of the island. The French garrison on Procida surrendered that evening, while the garrison on Ischia had surrendered that morning.
That night, Rear-Admiral Martin received intelligence that a force of enemy gunboats was headed his way from Gaeta and in the early morning of the 26th June, HMS Espoir, HMS Cyane and the gunboats again weighed anchor and headed off to intercept the enemy. At 06:25, the force intercepted the enemy gunboats and engaged them. Before 10:00, Captain Staines and his force had taken 18 French gunboats and had sunk four. Once again, HMS Cyane bore the brunt of the casualties and damage, while HMS Espoir emerged completely unscathed. That afternoon, the British spotted a flag of truce flying from a shore battery on Point Messina. Captain Staines sent his own boats with those of HMS Espoir ashore and on landing, the British spiked the four 36pdr long guns on the battery and took off 17 French deserters. Captain Staines wasn't finished with the enemy yet. At 19:00, the British warships in company with 23 Sicilian gunboats slowly made their way to the shore, sounding their way in to where the Ceres, the Fama and the 20 French gunboats were anchored. Overnight, the wind died away completely so that by 08:00 on the 27th, they were completely becalmed. They were also within range of another shore battery which opened fire. At 10:00, with the enemy's fire becoming increasingly accurate, Captain Staines ordered another raid. Under his personal command, the landing party from both British vessels landed, spiked a further four 36pdr long guns, threw a 10 inch mortar into the sea and returned to their ships without loss. At 17:00, the French Commodore on seeing the enemy vessels laying becalmed, decided to put to sea and make a run for it. He considered that the Sicilian gunboats would not pose much of a threat and that his vessels would be able to evade the two becalmed British vessels. At 17:42, Captain Staines signalled HMS Espoir to make all possible sail and to prepare for battle, while he set off in pursuit of the enemy as best he could. At 18:23, the Sicilian gunboats began to engage the gunboats at the rear of the French force. At 18:50, Captain Staines observed that the Ceres had fallen a mile and a half behind the Fama, while the French gunboats were one and a half miles astern of the frigate. He also saw that the Sicilian gunboats and HMS Espoir were too far astern to be of any use. He ordered the sweeps run out and that HMS Cyane attack the much larger frigate. Although much smaller, the British post-ship was very heavily armed and Captain Staines reckoned that he had a good chance of taking the Ceres. His own ship was armed with 22 32pdr carronades on her gundeck, with 8 18pdr carronades on her quarterdeck and forecastle with a further two 6pdr long guns in her bow. At 19:30, HMS Cyane had come alongside the Ceres at a range of about 15 yards and opened fire. The two vessels engaged in a furious firefight which went on for about an hour, during which the French ship received reinforcements from ashore and occasional assistance from both the corvette and some of the French gunboats which had managed to come up. At 20:30, the Ceres ceased fire. By this time however, HMS Cyane was also in no condition to continue the fight. Command of the British ship had devolved to Mr Joseph Miller, her Sailing Master. Captain Staines had been badly wounded; his left arm had been shot off at the shoulder and both her Lieutenants were also badly wounded. Her sails and rigging had been left shredded by grape and langridge shot from the Ceres, she had suffered no less than 45 shot holes in her hull and her masts and yards were badly damaged although still standing. She had suffered casualties of one seaman and one Royal Marine killed with her captain, both her Lieutenants (John Hall and John Ferrier), Mr Midshipman John Taylor, eleven seamen, four Royal Marines and a boy wounded. By the time the firing ceased, HMS Espoir had been able to come up and give assistance and with help from some of the Sicilian gunboats, was able to tow the crippled HMS Cyane away from the scene.
On 4th April 1810, HMS Espoir was patrolling along the Calabrian coast in company with the 12pdr armed 32 gun frigate HMS Success when they spotted vessels on the beach being loaded. Captain John Ayscough of HMS Success as the senior officer decided that these might make a worthwhile target and that they should launch a boat attack to seize or destroy them. Three boats were sent under the orders of Lieutenant George Rose Sartorius, Third Lieutenant in HMS Success, assisted by Lieutenant Robert Olives of HMS Espoir and Masters Mates Mr George Lewis Coates and Mr Richard Peace. As they arrived within a musket-shot (about 100 yards) of the shore, all three boats were swamped by waves breaking over submerged rocks. Two of HMS Espoir's seamen were drowned and all the gunpowder was wet and spoiled. Nevertheless, the surviving British men swam to the shore with their cutlasses in their mouths under fire from a pair of 6pdr long guns and four wall-pieces which had been hidden amongst the rocks ashore. On landing, the British attacked the men ashore and drove them to nearby houses and under musket-fire from the houses, burned the vessels on the beach, spiked the guns, recovered their boats and left the scene. Apart from the two seamen drowned, the party suffered a further two Royal Marines wounded.
By 25th April, the force had been joined by the large 18pdr armed 38 gun frigate HMS Spartan under Captain Jahleel Brenton and as the senior captain, Brenton assumed overall command of the force.
On that date, the squadron was patrolling when they sighted a ship, three barques and a number of feluccas at anchor under the castle at Terrecino. Brenton ordered his squadron to make all sail towards the town and on arrival off the harbour, ordered the squadron's boats into the harbour in order to take possession of the vessels in it. The attack was to be led by Lieutenant Baumgardt of HMS Spartan, assisted by Lieutenant George Rose Sartorius of HMS Success. The squadron approached the harbour, led by HMS Espoir, which was feeling her way in with lead and line until they were directly under the shore batteries. On anchoring, the three vessels then began a furious bombardment of the enemy's positions ashore and the shore batteries guarding the harbour. In the meantime, Lieutenant Baumgardt led his men into the harbour under severe fire and boarded the ship, which was strongly defended by her crew. Eventually, the enemy surrendered and the Baumgardt's men quickly took control of the other vessels in the harbour and brought them out. In this action, the British suffered casualties of one dead and four wounded.
HMS Espoir left the squadron shortly after this and missed HMS Spartan's famous battle against the Neopolitan Squadron in the Action of 3rd May 1810, in which HMS Spartan defeated a superior force which included the Ceres and the Fama previously engaged by HMS Cyane.
HMS Espoir remained in the Mediterranean and in 1812, was assigned to a light squadron in the Aegean Sea, protecting British interest and trade and maintaining good relations with the Ottoman Empire. On 13th March 1813, Mr Mitford was posted and appointed to take command of the 18 gun ship-sloop HMS Minstrel. His replacement, The Honourable Robert Cavendish Spencer was unable to assume command until after he had been able to hand over his previous command, the 16-gun brig-sloop HMS Kite.
HMS Espoir remained in the Mediterranean and on 11th April 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed by the warring parties, ending the Napoleonic War. With the war over, the British moved many of their ships to join the war against the United States, which had broken out in July 1812. In the meantime, Captain Spencer had been appointed to the 20 gun post-ship HMS Carron and was replaced, first by Mr Robert Russell and then by Mr Norwich Duff.
HMS Espoir was Mr Duff's first command appointment. Norwich Duff was the son of the famous Captain George Duff, killed in action while commanding the large 74 gun ship HMS Mars at the Battle of Trafalgar. Norwich Duff had been a young midshipman in HMS Mars at the time.
Under Commander Duff, HMS Espoir sailed to join the war off the United States. The war against the United States was ended by the Treaty of Ghent, signed by the warring parties on 24th December 1814, but not ratified by the US Congress until February the following year. With the country at peace, HMS Espoir returned to the UK and paid off at Portsmouth in October 1816. She was broken up at Portsmouth in April 1821.
