HMS Cressy (1810)

HMS Cressy was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 7 March 1810 at Frindsbury.[1]

A View of the shipwreck and total loss of the St George and the Defence; Cressy can be seen top left of the picture
For other ships with the same name, see HMS Cressy.

Cressey
History
UK
Name: HMS Cressy
Ordered: 1 October 1806
Builder: Brindley, Frindsbury
Launched: 7 March 1810
Fate: Broken up 1832
General characteristics [1]
Class and type: Vengeur-class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1763 bm
Length: 176 ft (54 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Depth of hold: 21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 4 × 12-pounder guns + 10 × 32-pounder carronades
  • Fc: 2 × 12-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades
  • Poop deck: 6 × 18-pounder carronades

Service

On 24 December 1811 Cressy was off the west coast of Jutland, Denmark, under command by commander Charles Dudley Pater and in the company of St George, under Rear-admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds, and Defence, when a hurricane and heavy seas came up. St George was jury-rigged and so Captain Atkins of Defence refused to leave her without the Admiral's permission. As a result, both were wrecked near Ringkøbing. Cressy did not ask for permission and so avoided wrecking.[2]

Both St George and Defence lost almost all their crews, including the Admiral. Most of the bodies that came ashore were buried in the sand dunes of Thorsminde, which have been known ever since as "Dead Mens Dunes".[2]

Shortly after the outbreak of the War of 1812, on 12 August, Cressy shared in the seizure of several American vessels: Cuba, Caliban, Edward, Galen, Halcyon, and Cygnet.[Note 1]

Fate

She was broken up in 1832.[1]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

  1. Prize money was paid in November 1815. A first-class share was worth £360 2s 3d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £3 11s 7d.[3]

Citations

  1. Lavery, Ships of the Line vol. 1, p. 188.
  2. Gossett (1986), p. 81.
  3. "No. 17076". The London Gazette. 4 November 1815. p. 2209.

References

  • Gossett, William Patrick (1986). The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. Mansell. ISBN 0-7201-1816-6.
  • Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.


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