HMS ''Minden'' was a

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 ...

74-gun ''Ganges''-class

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 ...

, launched on 19 June 1810 from

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. She was named after the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

town

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

and the

Battle of Minden The Battle of Minden was a major engagement during the Seven Years' War, fought on 1 August 1759. An Anglo-German army under the overall command of Prussian Field Marshal Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated a French army commanded by Marshal of F ...

of 1759, a decisive victory of British and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n forces over

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. The town is about 75 km away from

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, from where the

House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...

comes—the dynasty which ruled the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

from 1714 until 1901.

Construction

Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia of the

Wadia Group Wadia Group is an Indian multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate, founded in Surat, headquartered in Mumbai. It was founded by Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia in 1736 and is the List of oldest companies in India, ...

built ''Minden''. She was launched from the Duncan Docks in

, and was built of

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

. The ''Bombay Courier'', 23 June 1810 wrote:

“On Tuesday last His Majesty’s Ship, the ''Minden'' built in the new docks (Bombay) by Jamsetji Bomanji Wadia was floated into the stream at high water, after the usual ceremony of breaking the bottle had been performed by the Honorable Governor Jonathan Duncan. Also In having produced the ''Minden'', Bombay is entitled to the distinguished praise of providing the first and only British ship of the line built out of the limits of the Mother Country; and in the opinion of very competent judges, the ''Minden'', for beauty of construction and strength of frame, may stand in competition with any man-o-war that has come out of the most celebrated Dockyards of
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. For the skill of its architects, for the superiority of its timber, and for the excellence of its docks, Bombay may now claim a distinguished place among naval arsenals”.

Service history

''Minden'' sailed from Bombay on 8 February 1811 on her first cruise, under the command of Edward Wallis Hoare, and manned by the crew of the . In March she sailed from

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

to take part in the invasion of Java. On 29 July two of her boats, under the command of Lieutenant Edmund Lyons, with only 35 officers and men aboard, attacked and captured the fort covering the harbour of Marrack, to the westward of Batavia. The Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "30 July Boat Service 1811" was issued to survivors of this action in 1848. The Dutch and French forces in Java surrendered in September. ''Minden'' then sailed for the UK and escorted convoys to the East Indies, the Cape of Good Hope, South America, and the coast of Africa. ''Minden'' sailed from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

under Captain Alexander Skene on 6 August 1812 arriving at

Madras, India Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian censu ...

on 29 January 1813 where she then served as the flagship of Vice Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, Commander in Chief of the

East Indies Station The East Indies Station was a formation and command of the British Royal Navy. Created in 1744 by the Admiralty, it was under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies. Even in official documents, the term ''East Indies Station'' wa ...

. While there, she was first commanded by Captain William Webley, then by Captain Joseph Prior, and thereafter (20 April 1814) by Captain George Henderson (until 14 January 1815). "In the summer of 1814 dmiral Hoodmade a voyage, in his majesty’s ship ''Minden'', to the eastern parts of his station.” He eventually arrived at Semarang, Java on 29 June 1814. Hood then "sailed on the ''Minden'' from Batavia on 1 August 1814 for Madras, where he aterdied on 24 December of that year.”. The ''Minden'' remained in the East Indies until September 1815 when she returned to England, arriving at Portsmouth on 4 February 1816. number of blogs and articles on the internet repeat an old myth that HMS ''Minden'' saw service during the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay">War of 1812"> number of blogs and articles on the internet repeat an old myth that HMS ''Minden'' saw service during the War of 1812 in the Chesapeake Bay and that Francis Scott Key was aboard her when he wrote the words which became the lyrics for "The Star-Spangled Banner". Such claims have been proven wrong by over 100 official British documents, newspaper accounts from that time, and from personal first-hand accounts. (See preceding paragraph and also these sources:) Hinkey, Donald R. (editor). The War of 1812: Writings from America’s Second War of Independence” “The Life and Legend of Francis Scott Key: Maryland, September 1814” 2013 Published by Library of America (pages 547-554) - Roger B.Taney to Charles Howard” 1856. First published in Baltimore by Samuel Tyler in “Memoir of Roger Taney” 1872 https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.loa.org/images/pdf/Key_Taney.pdf ] In late July 1816 ''Minden'' sailed from

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

, as part of an Anglo-Dutch fleet that made an attack on Algiers on 27 August. The Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "Algiers" was issued to survivors of this battle in 1848. ''Minden'' then sailed for the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

, and was reported to be at

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

in 1819. In July 1830 ''Minden'' was at Plymouth. She was commissioned there on 19 March 1836 and sailed for the

Tagus The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon. Name T ...

joining the British squadron. In 1839 she was at Malta, returning to Plymouth in early 1840. She was at Devonport dockyard when it suffered severe damage in a large scale fire on 25 September 1840, it started in the North Dock on which was completely gutted, spread to the ''Minden'' whose fire was successfully put out, and spread to nearby buildings and equipment. A

typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

destroyed the shore-based

Royal Naval Hospital A Royal Naval Hospital (RNH) was a hospital operated by the British Royal Navy for the care and treatment of sick and injured naval personnel. A network of these establishments were situated across the globe to suit British interests. They were p ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

on 22 July 1841, and ''Minden'' was commissioned at Plymouth in December 1841 to serve as a hospital ship there. She was stationed at Hong Kong as a hospital ship from 1842 until she was replaced by in 1846. ''Minden'' then served there as stores ship until sold for scrapping in August 1861. In memory of the ship, two streets were named after her,

Minden Row Minden Row () is a street in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It junctions Mody Road to the North and ends at Middle Road, Hong Kong, Middle Road to the South. A short alley called Minden Avenue () junctions the middle of the street. Name The ...

and Minden Avenue, located behind Signal Hill of

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui ( zh, c=尖沙咀), often abbreviated as TST, is an list of areas of Hong Kong, area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed ...

Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...

, Hong Kong.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. .

External links

*
Photo of a scale model of ''Minden''

* ttp://www.pdavis.nl/RN_Hosp.htm The Royal Naval Hospital, Hong Kong {{DEFAULTSORT:Minden (1810), Hms Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Victorian-era ships of the line of the United Kingdom Hospital ships of the Royal Navy Military of Hong Kong under British rule Ganges-class ships of the line Royal Navy ship names 1810 ships British military hospitals Defunct hospitals in Hong Kong