HMS ''Asia'' was a 74-gun

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

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 ...

, launched on 2 December 1811 at

Frindsbury Frindsbury is part of the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, southern England. It lies on the opposite side of the River Medway to Rochester, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the City of Rocheste ...

War of 1812

On 26 July 1813 ''Asia'' sailed from

Negril Negril is a small, widely dispersed beach resort and town located in Westmoreland and Hanover parishes at the far western part of Jamaica, southwest from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Westmoreland is the westernmost paris ...

as escort to a convoy bound for London. ''Asia'' was off

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

in July 1814. The Royal Marine Artillery company of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Marines were ferried from Bermuda to the Chesapeake aboard ''Asia'', via . During the bombardment of

Fort McHenry Fort McHenry is a historical American Coastal defense and fortification, coastal bastion fort, pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, Baltimore, Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War ...

, ''Asia'' was moored off Baltimore, along with , and . ''Asia'' was among Admiral

Alexander Cochrane Admiral Sir Alexander Inglis Cochrane, GCB (born Alexander Forrester Cochrane; 23 April 1758 – 26 January 1832) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and achieved the rank of admi ...

's fleet moored off New Orleans at the start of 1815. In support of the attack on New Orleans, 107 Royal Marines from ''Asia'' were disembarked. Under the rules of prize-money, the ''Asia'' shared in the proceeds of the capture of the American vessels in the

Battle of Lake Borgne The Battle of Lake Borgne was a coastal engagement between the Royal Navy and the U.S. Navy in the American South theatre of the War of 1812. It occurred on December 14, 1814 on Lake Borgne. The British victory allowed them to disembark their tro ...

on 14 December 1814. Renamed as HMS ''Alfred'' in 1819. From 1822 to 1828 ''Asia'' was reduced to a 50-gun fourth rate Frigate, and was eventually broken up in 1865.

Notes

Citations

References

* Crawford, Michael J. (Ed) (2002). ''The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History, Vol. 3''. Washington: United States Department of Defense. *Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asia (1811) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Vengeur-class ships of the line Ships built on the River Medway 1811 ships War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom