HMS ''Ardent'' was a 64-gun third-rate

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was built by contract at

Blaydes Yard Blaydes' Yard was a private shipbuilder in Kingston upon Hull, England, founded in the 18th century which fulfilled multiple Royal Navy contracts. Her most notable ship was HMS Bounty, HMS ''Bounty'' famed for its mutiny. History Hugh Blaydes ...

in Hull according to a design by Sir Thomas Slade, and launched on 13 August 1764 as the first ship of the . She had a somewhat turbulent career, being captured by the French in the action of 17 August 1779, and then re-captured by

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in 1782.

Career

British career

The ''Ardent'' was first commissioned in October 1774 under Captain Sir Charles Douglas. In 1778, under the command of Captain George Keppel, she was with Admiral Lord Howe's squadron off New York, defending the town from the larger French fleet under the command of Admiral d'Estaing. The two forces engaged in an action off

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

on 11 August, though both fleets were scattered by a storm over the following two days.Ships of the Old Navy, ''Ardent''. On 23 December her tender captured a prize off Cape Henry and another on 19 January 1779. She returned home to Portsmouth and was paid off in January 1779. June 1779 saw ''Ardent'' recommissioned under the command of Captain Phillip Boteler, sailing from

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

in August to join Sir Charles Hardy in the Channel. According to the ship's logs, as many as 4/5 of the crew were landmen, and neither Boteler nor the captain of the ''Marlborough'', in whose company ''Ardent'' was sailing, were aware that a French fleet had put to sea. ''Ardent'' encountered a fleet two days after sailing, and after receiving the correct replies to the private signal, ran down to meet them. The fleet however was a Franco-Spanish fleet, somehow in possession of the Royal Navy signal code book, thus permitting the correct response to ''Ardent's'' signals.Cole 2009, pages 286-287 With ''Ardent'' within range, the French

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

'' Junon'' fired two broadsides before raising her

colours Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

. Three further frigates, and the Spanish ship of the line ''Princesa'' joined the action shortly afterward. In response, ''Ardent'' offered sporadic and inaccurate return fire before striking her colours to the vastly superior enemy force. At his subsequent

court martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

Captain Boteler blamed his failure to return fire on an inadequate supply of

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

for ''Ardent′''s cannons, a statement strongly denied by the ship's gunner Archibald Macintyre who presented evidence there was enough powder for fifty minutes of vigorous engagement. The court martial rejected Boteler's claims, finding instead that the inexperience of the crew was the principal cause of ''Ardent′''s failure to respond to the attack. Boteler was dismissed from the Navy for his failure to adequately defend his ship.

French career

On 2 May 1780, she departed Brest with the 7-ship and 3-frigate

Expédition Particulière The Special Expedition (French: ''Expédition Particulière'') was an Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force deployed by Kingdom of France, France to North America to support the United States against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain ...

under Admiral Ternay, escorting 36 transports carrying troops to support the

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in the War of American Independence. The squadron comprised the 80-gun ''Duc de Bourgogne'', under Ternay d'Arsac (admiral) and Médine ( flag captain); the

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently de ...

''Neptune'', under Sochet Des Touches, and ''Conquérant'', under La Grandière; and the 64-gun ''Provence'' under Lombard, ''Ardent'' under Bernard de Marigny, ''Jason'' under La Clocheterie and ''Éveillé'' under Le Gardeur de Tilly, and the frigates ''Surveillante'' under Villeneuve Cillart, ''Amazone'' under La Pérouse, and ''Bellone''. ''Amazone'', which constituted the vanguard of the fleet, arrived at Boston on 11 June 1780. She took part in the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

on 5 September 1781 under Captain Bernard de Marigny. She took part in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

under Captain de Gouzillon. The British re-captured her on 14 April 1782 following the battle, and recommissioned her that month under Captain Richard Lucas. On 28 August 1783 the ship was renamed ''Tiger''. She was sold out of the service in June 1784.

Citations

References

* * * * * * * . * .

External links

* Michael Phillips
''Ardent'' (64) (1764)
Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 1 September 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ardent (1764) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ardent-class ships of the line Ships built on the Humber 1764 ships Captured ships