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HMS ''Mediator'' was a ''Roebuck''-class 44-gun
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 ...
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 and served during the
American War of Independence 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 ...
, but was reduced to a
storeship Combat stores ships, or storeships, are ships used to store naval supplies. They are used to deliver supplies such as provisions and fuel to combat ships on extended deployments. The United States US Navy, Navy operated the and es and the Royal ...
and renamed HMS ''Camel'' in 1788. She spent the French Revolutionary and part of the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
in this capacity before being broken up in 1810. Built as the revival of a design that had fallen out of favour as naval architecture developed, ''Mediator'' was intended to operate in the shallow waters of the North American coastline. Her first significant action was fought off the European coastline however, when her captain,
James Luttrell James Luttrell ( 1751 – 23 December 1788) was an officer in the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1775 to 1788. Born into a prominent political family, t ...
attacked and defeated an American and French convoy off Ferrol, taking two ships as prizes. Resisting an attempt by his prisoners to seize his ship, Luttrell returned home to public applause and praise from
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
. ''Mediator''s next commander,
Cuthbert Collingwood Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy. Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and later lived in Morpeth, Northumberland. He entered the Royal Navy at ...
, was a close friend of
Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
, and served with him in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
. There he helped Nelson to enforce the
Navigation Acts The Navigation Acts, or more broadly the Acts of Trade and Navigation, were a series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce with other countries and with its own colonies. The laws al ...
, causing controversy with the local civil and naval authorities. In 1788 she left front-line service for good, and was converted into a storeship, being renamed ''Camel''. ''Camel'' saw important service in the French Revolutionary Wars, making several voyages to the fleets in the Mediterranean and serving under several officers who would becoming prominent in the navy. She also made trips further afield, returning to the West Indies on occasion, as well as making voyages to the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
to deliver supplies to the armies there. While making one such trip, she was attacked at anchor by a powerful French frigate. Her crew, together with that of a sloop also anchored in the bay, mounted a strong defence, and despite being damaged, forced the French ship to withdraw. She spent her last days making voyages to the various hotspots around the globe, before being finally withdrawn from service and broken up in 1810.


Design and construction

Small two-decked warships, usually classed as
fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...
s had largely fallen out of favour by the second half of the eighteenth century, and by the end of the century even the smaller
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 ...
s of 64 guns were being phased out. The American War of Independence led to a revival in the concept of the smaller two decked designs, as their shallow draught but comparably heavy armament compared to
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 ...
s, made them suitable for coastal warfare in the shallow waters of the North American coastline. The ''Roebuck'' class was a revival of a 1769 design by Sir Thomas Slade, with nineteen ships ordered to the design during the war, and classed as fifth rates, but not as frigates, as they carried their main armament on two decks, rather than one. ''Mediator'' was ordered from the commercial shipbuilder Thomas Raymond, of Northam, on 3 December 1779. She was laid down there in July 1780 and was launched on 30 March 1782. ''Mediator'' was then taken into
Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...
on 7 April that year for fitting out and having her bottom copper sheathed. The work was completed by 15 June, ''Mediator'' having cost £12,133.4.5d to build, with a further £137.15.1d spent on extra works, which together with the costs for fitting her for service came to a total of £22,412.12.0d. She was commissioned in April under the command of Captain
James Luttrell James Luttrell ( 1751 – 23 December 1788) was an officer in the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1775 to 1788. Born into a prominent political family, t ...
.


American War of Independence


Convoy action

On 12 December Luttrell was cruising off Ferrol when a convoy of five sails was sighted, which stood to when Luttrell approached and formed a line of battle. The force consisted of several American and French privateer frigates, storeships and transport vessels under the command of
Nicolas Baudin Nicolas Thomas Baudin (; 17 February 175416 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific. He carried a few corms of Gros Michel banana ...
, intending to deliver reinforcements and supplies to America. Baudin, commanding from the 36-gun ''Aimable Eugénie'', had at his disposal the former 64-gun ship ''Ménagère'', now armed ''
en flute EN or En or en may refer to: Businesses * Bouygues (stock symbol EN) * Island Rail Corridor, formerly known as the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN) * Euronews, a news television and internet channel Language and writing * N, 14t ...
'' and mounting 34-guns, the ''Dauphin Royal'' of 28 guns, and two American vessels, the 24-gun ''Alexander'' under Stephen Gregory, and the 14-gun
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...
''American''. Together the five ships had nearly 600 men and considerably more guns than the ''Mediator''. Luttrell closed the ships, and exchanged fire with them, eventually breaking their line and forcing them to flee. Luttrell then cut off the ''Alexander'' and forced her to surrender, before pursuing the remaining ships. By the evening he had caught up with the ''Ménagère'' and after an exchange of fire, forced her to surrender. The surviving ships were still in sight on the morning of 13 December, but Luttrell had a large number of prisoners to guard, and with the hostile Spanish coast nearby, decided to head for a British port with his prizes. He had taken 340 prisoners, and only had 190 men to guard them. Six men had been killed and four wounded on ''Alexander'', while ''Ménagère'' had four killed and eight wounded. There were no casualties on ''Mediator'', their opponents having been aiming at their masts and rigging in an attempt to disable the British ship. The captured prisoners made an attempt to seize the ''Mediator'' during the voyage to Britain, but prompt action by the ship's officers quashed the rising without bloodshed. Captain Gregory was shown to be the main instigator of the plot, and he and several accomplices were placed in irons for the remainder of the voyage. Luttrell was later praised by
King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
, who wrote to Lord Keppel, the First Lord of the Admiralty, that "The skill as well as bravery shown by Captain Luttrell ... deserve much approbation." Marine artists
Thomas Luny Thomas Luny (1759 – 30 September 1837) was an English artist who primarily painted seascapes and other types of marine art. Biography Luny was born in Cornwall, probably at St Ewe, in 1759. At the age of eleven, Luny left Cornwall to live ...
and
Dominic Serres Dominic Serres ( 4 November 1793) was a French-born British painter who specialised in marine art. He co-founded the Royal Academy (RA) in 1768, and served as the RA's librarian from 1792 until his death. Life and works He was born in Auch ...
created depictions of ''Mediator'' attacking the convoy. Luttrell remained in command towards the end of the American War of Independence, until May 1783 when Captain
Cuthbert Collingwood Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy. Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne and later lived in Morpeth, Northumberland. He entered the Royal Navy at ...
succeeded him. Collingwood spent the next three years as ''Mediator''s captain.


Collingwood and the peace

Collingwood, a close naval friend of
Horatio Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...
, had previously commanded the 64-gun . He received orders to go out to the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, there to protect British interests in the Caribbean and to enforce the
Navigation Acts The Navigation Acts, or more broadly the Acts of Trade and Navigation, were a series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce with other countries and with its own colonies. The laws al ...
which now applied to American ships trading with British colonies. Collingwood sailed in late September for
Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...
, carrying John Moutray, the new commissioner for
English Harbour English Harbour is a natural harbour and settlement on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean, in the extreme south of the island. The settlement takes its name from the nearby harbour in which the Royal Navy established its base of operations fo ...
, and his wife Mary. Also aboard his ship as Collingwood's servant was Jeffrey Raigersfeld, the son of Baron Raigersfeld, the secretary and ''
chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...
'' to the Austrian ambassador to London. Collingwood was joined by Nelson, now commanding the 28-gun in July 1784, with Nelson becoming the senior officer on the station. Together with Collingwood's younger brother Wilfred, who had arrived on the station in command of the 14-gun sloop , the officers decided to take a firm stance on implementing the Navigation Acts, despite the apparent unwillingness to do so by the more senior officers, such as Moutray, the station's commander Admiral Sir Richard Hughes, and the Governor of the
Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...
, Thomas Shirley. Hughes and Shirley were both making money from the trade. Matters came to a head on 15 December 1784 when Collingwood ordered an American merchant vessel to be detained as it approached St. John's. The American master complained to Shirley, who referred the matter to the island's attorney-general. Collingwood held firm in his enforcement of the acts, and the matter was eventually passed on to Admiral Hughes. Hughes ordered a compromise. The arrival of foreign vessels was to be reported, but only acted on if the governor so ordered. Given Shirley's reluctance to do so, the compromise was unsatisfactory to Nelson and the brothers Collingwood. Collingwood continued to use ''Mediator'' to intercept foreign trade, seizing the ''Lovely Ann'', flying an Irish flag, in February, and an American brig named ''Dolphin'' in June 1785. Incensed, the merchants of the island threatened Collingwood and Nelson with writs for wrongful seizure, and both were pursued by lawyers for a time. ''Mediator'' sailed for
Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
towards the end of the 1785 hurricane season, but was becalmed off
La Désirade La Désirade (; or ) is an island in the French West Indies, in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. It forms part of Guadeloupe, an Overseas region, overseas regions of France, region of France. History Archaeological evidence has been disc ...
for a night. The following day she was struck by a sudden squall that laid her on her beam ends. Further damage occurred when
A terrible crash took part in the fore part of the ship, accompanied by a tremendous explosion and stench of sulphur, deep groans followed, – sixteen men upon the main deck were knocked down, some were apparently dead and others groaning; relief was instantly afforded, and in about four hours after all were apparently well again. A lightning ball had struck the fore topmast, passed into the pigsty, and through the galley into the waist, where it burst and overthrew seventeen men; eleven pigs in the sty before the mast were killed, belonging to the Captain; the silver buckles in the shoes of the gunner were melted into wire, and himself was knocked out of the roundhouse forward.
Despite the dramatic nature of the lightning strike, no one was killed, except for the pigs, which Collingwood gave to the crew as a reward for their work in repairing the foremast. Collingwood took ''Mediator'' back to English Harbour to be careened in early 1786, and then returned to England to be paid off in August 1786.


Storeship

This marked the end of ''Mediator''s role as a front-line fighting ship. The
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...
made the decision in an order dated 19 December 1787 to have her undergo a large repair and refit to repurpose her as a
storeship Combat stores ships, or storeships, are ships used to store naval supplies. They are used to deliver supplies such as provisions and fuel to combat ships on extended deployments. The United States US Navy, Navy operated the and es and the Royal ...
. Her
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...
was also chosen to undergo the same process. ''Mediator'' was refitted between January 1788 and July 1789 for the sum of £11,658. Both her and ''Janus'' were renamed on 3 March 1788 to fit their latest role, with ''Mediator'' being renamed ''Camel'' and ''Janus'' being renamed ''Dromedary''. The guns on ''Camel''s lower gundeck were removed, leaving her with twenty 9-pounder guns on her upper deck; four 6-pounder guns were fitted onto her
quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...
. ''Camel'' did not return immediately to service, but was briefly recommissioned during the Russian Armament in April 1791, under Commander Charles Patton. When the period of tension passed without breaking into open war, ''Camel'' was paid off in September that year. The outbreak of the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
was the next opportunity for active service, and ''Camel'' was recommissioned in February 1793 under Commander Benjamin Hallowell, who took her out to the Mediterranean in May that year to join the fleet under Admiral Lord Hood. Hallowell was promoted to post-captain on 30 August 1793, shortly after his arrival, and became acting captain of the 74-gun . ''Camel'' remained in the Mediterranean until her return to England in April 1794, at which time Commander Joseph Short became her captain. Short's command lasted from May 1794 until January 1795, with Commander Edward Rotheram taking over on 27 January 1795. ''Camel'' was at
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 ...
on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels,
East Indiamen East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European Trading company, trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belon ...
, and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands. Rotheram sailed ''Camel'' back to the Mediterranean in February, and after serving with the fleet on this station, was back in England by summer the following year. Commander William Haggit replaced Rotheram at
Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...
in July 1796, though was in turn superseded by Commander Thomas Caulfield in November that year, as ''Camel'' returned for another stint in the Mediterranean. Commander John Lee was captain of ''Camel'' by July 1797, during which time she was serving on the
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
station. She returned to England in June 1798, after which she made two voyages to the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
, the first in October 1798 and the second in May 1799.


Battling ''Preneuse''

''Camel'' had been used to carry stores and supplies to the Cape for the use of the army under General
Francis Dundas General Francis Dundas ( – 15 January 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the acting governor of the Cape Colony from 1798 to 1799 and again from 1801 to 1803. He was the second son of Robert Dundas ...
, which was fighting the Third Frontier War. On 20 September she was anchored in
Algoa Bay Algoa Bay is a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is located on the east coast, east of the Cape of Good Hope. Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to deep. The harbour ...
with the 16-gun sloop . Both captains, Lee of ''Camel'' and Samuel Gooch of ''Rattlesnake'', were onshore with a number of their men, supporting the army. At 4 pm a strange sail was seen approaching the bay, flying the Danish flag. The ship entered the bay and approached the British ships, where upon it was approached by a guard boat from ''Camel'', who planned to board her. As they approached, the British sailors saw armed men aboard and realised the ship was a large frigate; they immediately returned to ''Camel''. A British privateer
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 ...
, ''Surprise'', had also passed by the strange ship, and discovered she was a French frigate. ''Surprise'' sailed for ''Rattlesnake'' to report this. With Lee and Gooch ashore, command devolved to First Lieutenant William Fothergill of ''Rattlesnake''. After warning shots fired from both ''Camel'' and ''Rattlesnake'' elicited no response, both ships prepared for action. By 8.30 pm the French frigate, which was the 40-gun ''Preneuse'' under Captain Jean-Marthe-Adrien l'Hermite, had manoeuvred close to ''Rattlesnake''. Fothergill fired a broadside at her, supported by ''Camel'', and a general action broke out. The ships exchanged fire for over three hours, with ''Preneuse'' concentrating her fire on ''Camel'', until having sustained a shot below the waterline and having six feet of water in the hold, ''Camel''s crew were forced to abandon the guns to work the pumps. ''Preneuse'' then turned her attention to ''Rattlesnake'', and a fierce cannonade was exchanged until 3.30 am on the morning of 21 September, when ''Preneuse'' stopped firing and bore away, to the surprise of the British. She then left the bay and sailed away, ending the engagement. Both ''Camel'' and ''Rattlesnake'' had sustained damage to their masts, sails and rigging, and had several holes in their hulls. Casualties were comparatively light however, with six men wounded on ''Camel'' and two men killed, one man mortally wounded and six or seven slightly wounded on ''Rattlesnake''. Both Lee and Gooch had made several attempts to return to their ship, but were unable to launch their boats due to the raging surf on the beach. Seeing ''Preneuse'' bear away apparently damaged, Lee sent news of the attack on to
Table Bay Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the fl ...
. The 54-gun put to sea to intercept the French ship, but ''Preneuse'' was able to repel her after bad weather prevented ''Jupiter'' from outmaneuvering ''Preneuse''. The 74-gun and the 50-gun finally caught up with ''Preneuse'' on 11 December 1799, driving her ashore and causing her destruction.


Later service

''Camel'' returned to England in August 1800, with Commander Matthew Buckle becoming her new captain in December that year. She went out to the West Indies in April 1801, returning to England in February the following year. She was paid off in September 1802 and spent the
Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...
laid up. With the outbreak of the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, ''Camel'' was recommissioned under Commander John Ayscough in June 1803 and returned to the West Indies later that year. She was back in England in April 1804, with Ayscough superseded by Commander Thomas Garth in May. ''Camel'' was initially based in the North Sea until November 1804, when she sailed to the Mediterranean. She returned in June 1805, and was under Commander John Joyce from October that year. ''Camel'' recommissioned in May 1808 under sailing master Duncan Weir, and returned to the Cape of Good Hope. She was back supporting military efforts on land at the
Battle of Corunna The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'' or ''La Corogne''), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a Briti ...
in 1809. She was removed from service shortly afterwards and was broken up at
Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...
in December 1810, after 28 years of service.


Notes

a. Winfield's '' British Warships in the Age of Sail'' has "Capt. John Luttrell" instead, confusing James Luttrell with his elder brother
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
, later third Earl of Carhampton. This is a common occurrence according to J. K. Laughton in the ''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''. b. The post on ''Mediator'' was the start of a long career in the navy for Jeffrey Raigersfeld. After service as a young lieutenant aboard some years before she won fame under Lord Cochrane, Raigersfeld rose eventually to be a
rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...
, albeit as a yellow admiral. He also wrote his autobiography, entitled ''The Life of a Sea Officer'', which includes details of his time on ''Mediator''. c. Nelson was soon involved in a quarrel with Moutray over rank and privilege. Moutray was the more senior
post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...
at English Harbour, but was on
half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...
. When Moutray raised a commodore's
broad pennant A broad pennant is a triangular swallow-tailed naval pennant flown from the masthead of a warship afloat or a naval headquarters ashore to indicate the presence of either: (a) a Royal Navy officer in the rank of Commodore, or (b) a U.S. Navy ...
aboard , Nelson ordered him to strike it.


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * *


Bibliographies

* Tugdual de Langlais, ''L'armateur préféré de Beaumarchais Jean Peltier Dudoyer, de Nantes à l'Isle de France'', Éd. Coiffard, 2015, 340 p. (). pp. 163–170. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mediator (1782) 1782 ships Storeships of the Royal Navy Ships built in Southampton Fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy