HMS ''Orion'' 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 British

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 at Deptford on 1 June 1787 to the design of the , by William Bately. She took part in all the major actions of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under a series of distinguished captains. In 1794 she fought at the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June, also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was fought on 1 June 1794 between the British and French navies during the War of the First Coalition. It was the first and largest fleet a ...

under Captain

John Thomas Duckworth Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB (9 February 1748 – 31 August 1817) was an English Royal Navy officer, colonial administrator and politician who served in the Seven Years' War, American War of Independence, French Revolutio ...

. ''Orion'' 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, Captain James Saumarez was appointed in command. Under Saumarez, ''Orion'' took part in the defeat of the French fleet at the

Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix (, ) took place on 23 June 1795 off the island of Groix in the Bay of Biscay during the War of the First Coalition. It was fought between elements of the British Channel Fleet and the French Ponant Fleet, Atlantic Fleet, whi ...

off

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

on 22 June. In October 1795 ''Orion'' recaptured the merchantman , Atterbury, master, which had been among a number of vessels that a French frigate squadron had captured in late September. Nancy Perriam, one of the very few women to serve on a Royal Navy ship during the Coalition Wars, served on the ''Orion'' under Saumarez during this period. In early 1797 ''Orion'' joined the Mediterranean Fleet and distinguished herself at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent on 14 February. She then took part in the blockade of Cadiz from March 1797 to April 1798, when she was sent into the Mediterranean as part of a small squadron under the command of Rear-Admiral

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 ...

. In August, Nelson finally caught up with the French fleet, resulting in the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...

, where Captain Saumarez was wounded. In October 1805, now under Captain

Edward Codrington Sir Edward Codrington, (27 April 1770 – 28 April 1851) was a British admiral, who took part in the Battle of Trafalgar and the Battle of Navarino. Early life and career The youngest of three brothers born to Edward Codrington the elder (1732 ...

, she took part in the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

where, with , she forced the surrender of the French 74-gun ship . After Trafalgar, ''Orion'' continued in the blockade of Cadiz. On 25 November, detained the Ragusan ship ''Nemesis'', which was sailing from Isle de France to

Leghorn, Italy Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, with a cargo of spice,

indigo dye Indigo dye is an organic compound with a distinctive indigo, blue color. Indigo is a natural dye obtained from the leaves of some plants of the Indigofera#Uses, ''Indigofera'' genus, in particular ''Indigofera tinctoria''. Dye-bearing ''Indigofer ...

, and other goods. ''Orion'' shared the prize money with ten other British warships.

Fate

''Orion'' was broken up in 1814.

In popular culture

In the

Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series. These sea novels are set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and ...

novel ''

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 di ...

,'' Capt. Jack Aubrey says he was third lieutenant aboard HMS ''Orion'' at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

Citations

References

*Will of henry Plowman Surgeon's First Mate 15 Jan 1802 *Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Orion (1787) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Canada-class ships of the line Ships built in Deptford 1787 ships