HMS Lively (1756)
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HMS ''Lively'' was a 20-gun
post ship Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the second half of the 18th century and the Napoleonic Wars to describe a sixth-rate ship (see rating system of the Royal Navy) that was smaller than a frigate (in practice, carrying ...
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 in 1756. During the Seven Years' War she captured several vessels, most notably the French corvette ''Valeur'' in 1760. She then served during the American Revolutionary War, where she helped initiate the
Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...
. The French captured her in 1778, but the British recaptured her in 1781. She was sold in 1784.


Seven Years' War

''Lively'' was commissioned in July 1756 under Captain Francis Wyatt. In November 1756 she captured the French privateer ''Intrépide'', of Nantes, and her prize, ''Charming Molly'', which had been sailing from Malaga to Bristol. ''Intrépide'' was armed with eight guns and 10
swivel gun A swivel gun (or simply swivel) is a small cannon mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rot ...
s, and had a crew of 75 men. ''Lively'' brought the two vessels into Plymouth. Around this time she also recaptured the merchant vessel ''Pike'', of Liverpool. ''Lively'' sailed for
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
on 31 January 1757. In March 1759 she was under the command of Captain
Frederick Maitland General Frederick Maitland (3 September 1763 – 27 January 1848) was a British Army officer who fought during the American War of Independence, the Peninsular War and later served as Lieutenant Governor of Dominica. Life The youngest son ...
, at Jamaica. On 17 October 1760 she was with and when they intercepted five French vessels in the
Windward Passage Windward Passage (; ) is a strait in the Caribbean Sea, between the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. The strait specifically lies between the easternmost region of Cuba and the northwest of Haiti. wide, the Windward Passage has a threshold depth ...
. The French vessels had sailed from Cape Francois and were carrying sugar and indigo. The next day ''Lively'', using her sweeps, caught up with the sternmost enemy vessel, the French 20-gun corvette ''Valeur''. ''Valeur'' had a crew of 160 men under the command of a Captain Talbot. In the hour-and-a-half fight before ''Valeur'' struck, ''Lively'' had two men killed but no wounded; ''Valeur'' had 38 killed and 25 wounded, including her captain, master, and boatswain. At the same time, ''Boreas'' captured ''Sirenne'', and ''Hampshire'' chased the merchant frigate ''Prince Edward'' on shore where her crew set fire to her, causing her to blow up. The day after that, on 19 October, ''Hampshire'', with ''Lively'' and ''Valeur'', cornered the French frigate ''Fleur de Lis'' in Freshwater Bay, a little to leeward of
Port-de-Paix Port-de-Paix (; or ; meaning "Port of Peace") is a List of communes of Haiti, commune and the capital of the Nord-Ouest (department), Nord-Ouest Departments of Haiti, department of Haiti on the Atlantic coast. It has a population of 462,000 (201 ...
; her crew too set her on fire. The merchant frigate ''Duc de Choiseul'', of 32 guns and 180 men under the command of Captain Bellevan, escaped into Port-de-Paix. In March 1762 Captain J. Jorer took command of ''Lively'' from Maitland. Captain Keith Stewart replaced Jorer later that year, and cruised her in home waters. In June 1763 he sailed her to the Mediterranean and remained in command into 1764. In April 1769 Captain Robert Fanshawe recommissioned ''Lively'' for the Channel. Fanshawe apparently commanded her through 1770, and in 1771 was superseded by Captain G. Talbot. In early 1771 ''Lively'' served at Plymouth as the flagship of Admiral Richard Spry. Then on 18 June 1771 Talbot sailed her to North America. In 1773 Captain William Peere Williams took command of ''Lively'' on 11 October 1773, sailing her back to Britain and paying her off in December. Captain Thomas Bishop recommissioned ''Lively'' in January 1774. On 16 April he sailed her for North America. She was in the area of Salem & Marblehead, Mass. on 1 January 1775.


American Revolutionary War

On 13 May 1774, ''Lively'' arrived in Boston. She brought with her General
Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator best known for his many years of service in North America, including serving as Commander-in-Chief, North America during the early days ...
, commissioned as governor of the
Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...
. ''Lively'' was part of the British fleet that blockaded the port of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
to enforce the
Boston Port Act The Boston Port Act, also called the Trade Act 1774 ( 14 Geo. 3. c. 19), was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which became law on March 31, 1774, and took effect on June 1, 1774. It was one of five measures (variously called the ''Into ...
, a punishment of that city for the
Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...
. On 22 March 1775 she seized a schooner off
Cape Ann Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of Essex, Man ...
for violation of the Acts of Trade. Following the outbreak of the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
in April 1775, she remained part of the British presence during the
Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. In the siege, Patriot (American Revolution), American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Wash ...
. On 6 May 1775 she seized $23,000 from a ship at
Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsu ...
, that had salvaged the money from a dismasted Spanish ship on the
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after rescuing her crew. She was the first ship to fire at the fortifications the American colonial militia had erected, helping to spark the
Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Boston, Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peri ...
. In 1776 she cruised off Marblehead. She captured a number of vessels off
Cape Ann Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of Essex, Man ...
: in February the
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
''Tartar''; in May an unknown sloop (unknown because the crew abandoned her and fled, taking all her papers with them); on 26 June, ''Lively'', and took the schooner ''Lydia'', bound for the West Indies. The Vice-Admiralty Court at
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
, ruled all three to be prizes. ''Lively'' also escorted the victualler ''Levant'' to New York, Delaware, Cape Fear and St. Augustine.


Capture and re-capture

In March 1777 Captain Robert Biggs recommissioned ''Lively''. On 10 July 1778 ''Lively'', having escorted an ordnance sloop to Guernsey, then proceeded to sail to meet Admiral Keppel's fleet off
Ushant Ushant (; , ; , ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and in medieval times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in t ...
. In the morning, as the fog lifted, she found herself near the French fleet, under Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers. The French cutter ''Curieuse'', of 10 guns and under the command of Captain Trolong du Rumain, chased ''Lively'' and ordered her to lie to, which order Biggs declined. However, the 32-gun ''Iphigénie'', Captain Kersaint de Coëtnempren, came up and ordered Biggs to sail ''Lively'' to the French admiral. Biggs was still arguing when ''Iphigénie'' fired a broadside. The broadside killed 12 British sailors; thereupon, Biggs
struck Struck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adolf Struck Adolf Hermann Struck (1877–1911) was a German sightseer and writer. He is known for his Travel literature, travelogue ''Makedonische Fahrten'' and for surveying the ...
. The
French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...
took ''Lively'' into service. In January–February 1779 she was part of a squadron, together with ''Résolue'', under Admiral Vaudreuil, that captured Fort St Louis in Senegal from the British. The troops were under the command of the Duc de Lauzun. ''Lively'' then sailed to the Caribbean. In June 1779 she was the lead ship in a small flotilla sent from
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
to capture British-controlled Saint Vincent. On 29 July 1781, Captain Skeffington Lutwidge's ''Perseverance'' recaptured ''Lively'', which was under the command of Lieutenant de Breignon. ''Lively'' put up a short, desperate defense during which she had six men killed and 10 wounded, one of whom died later. ''Lively'' was on her return from Cayenne, had been at sea for 53 days, and ten days earlier had captured ''Rosemount'' and ''Katherine'', which had been sailing from Cork. In capturing ''Lively'', ''Perseverance'' recaptured the two brigs. ''Lively'' had also been in company with the corvette ''Hirondelle'', which however escaped. Thirty-two vessels of the British fleet shared the prize money, which was declared on 17 August 1782. By September 1781 ''Lively'' was off Sandy Hook, with Admiral Robert Digby's squadron. By 14 November ''Lively'', under Captain Manley, had returned to Britain with dispatches from Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves. On 3 October 1782, ''Lively'' captured the sloop ''Charles'', laden with stock and sailing to Turks Island.


Fate

She was sold in March 1784.


Citations


References

* * * Clowes, Sir William Laird, Sir Clements R. Markham, A T Mahan, Herbert Wrigley Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, L. G. Carr Laughton (1897–1903) ''The Royal Navy: a history from the earliest times to the present''. (Boston: Little, Brown and Co.). * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lively (1756) Post ships of the Royal Navy 1756 ships Ships built on the River Hamble