HMS Princess (1795)

HMS Princess was the Dutch East Indiaman Williamstadt en Boetzlaar that the British Royal Navy captured on 18 August 1795 at the Capitulation of Saldanha Bay. The Royal Navy initially rated her a 28-gun sixth rate. She quickly became a receiving ship, a guard ship, and a floating battery. The Navy sold her in 1816.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Princess.

History
Dutch Republic
Name: Williamstadt en Boetzlaar
Captured: August 1795
Great Britain
Name: HMS Princess
Acquired: 1795 by capture
Fate: Sold April 1816
General characteristics [1]
Tonnage: 978 (Dutch)
Tons burthen: 676​90⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • Overall:140 ft 6 in (42.8 m)
  • Keel:123 ft 0 in (37.5 m) (keel)
Beam: 32 ft 2 in (9.8 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 80 (as RN receiving ship)
Armament:
  • British frigate
  • Gundeck: 20 × 9-pounder guns
  • QD: 6 × 18-pounder carronades
  • Forecastle: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 18-pounder carronades
  • Receiving ship:18 × 6-pounder guns

Dutch East India Company

The Amsterdam Chapter of the Dutch East India Company hired Williamstadt en Boetzlaar. She sailed from Texel on 22 December 1794, under the command of Captain Simon Koter, bound for Batavia. She arrived at the Cape of Good Hope (the Cape), on 10 May 1795.[2]

She was one of five merchant vessels that the British Royal Navy captured at Simon's Bay on 18 August 1795.[3]

Royal Navy service

Princess was commissioned in November 1795 under Captain John Spanger.[1] Captain Thomas Hardy replaced Spanger in January 1796, only to be replaced by Captain A. Todd (or Tod) in March. In March 1797 Captain N. Kemp replaced Todd. Captain Edward Ramage paid her off in August 1797.[1]

Between 16 June 1797 and 29 November Princess was at Plymouth being fitted as a receiving ship.[1] Lieutenant Richard Dorril commissioned her in August as a guardship for Waterford. In November her commander was lieutenant Cox, with Lieutenant Wills replacing him in October. Lieutenant Dorrill (or Dayrell) remained in command into 1798. In 1801 she served as a guard ship under the command of Lieutenant Joseph White.[1]

In June 1802 Princess was at Plymouth in ordinary. Commander Samuel Colquitt recommissioned in June 1803 as a floating battery for Liverpool. Commander Edward Killwick replaced Colquitt in July 1809. Then Commander James Galloway replaced Colquitt in June 1810.[1]

Captain Donald M'Leod took command in December 1812 and Commander William Simpson in May 1814.

Fate

The Navy sold Princess at Liverpool for £740 in April 1816.[1]

Citations and references

Citations

  1. Winfield (2008), pp. 234-5.
  2. The Dutch East India Company's shipping between the Netherlands and Asia 1595-1795 – accessed 17 February 2019.
  3. "No. 13826". The London Gazette. 27 October 1795. pp. 1113–4.

References

  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
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