HMS ''Monarch'' 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 ...

, built by

Adam Hayes Adam Hayes (1710–1785) was an 18th-century shipbuilder to the Royal Navy. A great number of his models survive. He was responsible for the selection of the ship the ''Earl of Pembroke'' and was the wright who converted it into in 1768 fo ...

and launched on 20 July 1765 at

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and man ...

Service history

This huge ship had a complement of 550 men as crew, and had many distinguished commanders. ''Monarch'' had a very active career, fighting in her first battle in 1778 at the First Battle of Ushant and her second under

Admiral Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a Royal Navy officer, politician and colonial administrator. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularl ...

at Cape St. Vincent in 1780. She fought in the van of Graves' fleet at the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

in 1781 under Admiral Francis Reynolds. In early 1782 she was actively engaged at the Capture of Sint Eustatius, Action of 4 February 1781, the Battle of Saint Kitts, the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

and, the Battle of the Mona Passage. ''Monarch'' 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. Later in 1795 she was part of the small fleet under Admiral George Elphinstone that captured the Cape of Good Hope from the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

at the Battle of Muizenberg. In 1797 ''Monarch'' was Vice Admiral Richard Onslow's flagship at the

Battle of Camperdown The Battle of Camperdown (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Zeeslag bij Kamperduin'') was fought on 11 October 1797 between the Royal Navy's Commander-in-Chief, North Sea, North Sea Fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, Adam Duncan and a ...

, under Captain Edward O'Bryen In 1801 ''Monarch'' was part of Admiral Nelson's fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen, where her captain, James Robert Mosse was killed early in the action and replaced by Lieutenant John Yelland, the next highest ranking officer. ''Monarch'' suffered over 200 casualties including 55 dead, the highest number of casualties of any ship engaged in the battle. In 1807, ''Monarch'' helped escort the Portuguese royal family in its flight from Portugal to Brazil. ''Monarch'' was broken up in 1813.

Notes

References

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

External links

* Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ramillies-class ships of the line Ships built in Deptford 1765 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub

Service history

See also

Notes

References

External links