HMS Doris (1808)
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HMS ''Doris'' was a 36-gun ''Perseverance''-class
fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...
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 ...
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 ...
that served between 1808 and 1829.


Career

''Doris'' was built for the Royal Navy in the East India Company Dockyard in
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
in 1807. She was launched as ''Salsette'', and was renamed locally as ''Pitt'' later that year. However, because the Royal Navy already had an HMS ''Pitt'' in service, the Admiralty renamed her again as HMS ''Doris''. HMS ''Doris'' initially saw service in the
Malacca Straits The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, long and from wide, between the Malay Peninsula to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pa ...
and the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
. ''Doris'' and captured in the China Sea an American ship named ''Rebecca''. They brought her into Bombay where the new
Vice admiralty court Vice admiralty courts were juryless courts located in British colonies that were granted jurisdiction over local legal matters related to maritime activities, such as disputes between merchants and seamen. American Colonies American maritime act ...
condemned her. Her cargo of 4,000 bags of Batavian sugar and 13,710 pieces of sapan-wood were auctioned on 7 March 1810. Then on 10 March ''Rebecca'', of 600 tons burthen, teak-built at
Pegu Bago (formerly spelled Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...
, too was auctioned off.Robert Houghton: ''A Peoples' History 1793 – 1844 from the newspapers: Prize-taking''. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
/ref> Towards the end of 1810 ''Doris'' was involved in the Mauritius campaign. In 1811 she participated in the invasion of Java. On 18 March 1814 ''Doris'' captured the American merchant ship ''Hunter'' off Macau. On 8 May chased an American schooner from New York through the estuary and into
Pearl River The Pearl River (, or ) is an extensive river system in southern China. "Pearl River" is often also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Pearl tributaries within Guangdong, specifically the Xi ('west'), Bei ('north'), and Dong ( ...
. The American succeeded in reaching Whampoa where she anchored. ''Doris'' than sent her boats with 70 men into the river and captured the American ship. Only one British seaman was killed but several of the Americans died. The boarding party from ''Doris'' cut the schooner’s cables to sail her out from Chinese jurisdiction but the ship went aground. The boarding party then abandoned her. ''Doris'' finally brought ''Hunter'' into Bombay on 12 August for the recently established
Vice admiralty court Vice admiralty courts were juryless courts located in British colonies that were granted jurisdiction over local legal matters related to maritime activities, such as disputes between merchants and seamen. American Colonies American maritime act ...
to condemn. ''Doris'' apparently returned to Canton because around mid-September her boats recaptured ''Arabella'', which the Portuguese had moved just outside Macanese waters. The American
letter of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a Sovereign state, government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or French corsairs, corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with t ...
ship had captured ''Arabella'' as ''Arabella'' was sailing from Bengal to Sumatra. ''Rambler'' brought ''Arabella'' with her as ''Rambler'' sailed onto Canton, but sent her into Macao when the Americans realized that ''Doris'' was at Canton. ''Doris''s retaking of ''Arabella'' sparked a small incident between the British
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
and the local authorities, who eventually accepted that ''Arabella'' was a lawful prize to ''Doris''. Captain O'Brien, of ''Doris'' found he could not sell his prize, ''Arabella'', on the China coast. When he received orders to proceed to Malacca after his replacement had arrived he wanted to take ''Arabella'' with him to try to sell her in Malaya. However, the night before they were to leave a severe gale caused ''Arabella'' to break her cables. She then broke up on nearby rocks.Sweetman (1993), p.141.


Post-war

''Doris'' place in
ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (album) (2011), by Every Little Thing * "Ordinary" (Alex Warren song) (2025) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016 ...
in 1815. She was recommissioned in 1821 and served two tours of duty on the South America station during the Chilean and Brazilian wars of independence and the
Cisplatine War The Cisplatine War was an armed conflict fought in the 1820s between the Empire of Brazil and the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata over control of Brazil's Cisplatina province. It was fought in the aftermath of the United Provinces' an ...
of 1825-1828 between Argentina and Brazil.


Fate

By the late 1820s, decayed timbers in her bow made her unfit for further service, and she was sold at Valparaiso in April 1829.Vale (2001).


Captains

During her 21 years in the Royal Navy she had eight captains. One of them was Barrington Reynolds, who commanded her for a short period in 1812, between his commands of and . Another was Thomas Graham, who died en route to Chile in 1822, with his wife, the
travel writer The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered ...
Maria Graham, on board.


Notes


Citations


References

* * Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif (2004) ''The Sail and Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889''. (Chatham). * Vale, Brian, (2001) ''A Frigate of King George: Life and Duty on a British Man-of-war''. (I B Tauris). * Sweetman, Jack (1993) ''New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the Tenth Naval History Symposium Held at the United States Naval Academy, 11–13 September 1991''. (Naval Institute Press).


External links


Ships of the Old Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doris Frigates of the Royal Navy 1807 ships Maritime incidents in 1828 Perseverance-class frigates