HMS ''Orpheus'' was a 32–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 ...
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 ...
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 launched in 1780, and served for more than a quarter of a century, before she was wrecked in 1807.
American War of Independence
On 14 April 1781, ''Orpheus'' and captured the off the Delaware. The Royal Navy briefly took her into service as HMS ''Confederate''.
In March 1782, ''Orpheus'' captured the American
letter of marque
A letter of marque and reprisal () was a Sovereign state, government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or French corsairs, corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with t ...
''Navarro''. The Royal Navy took her into service as .
French Revolutionary Wars
1792 Orpheus sailed to the leeward Island under the command of Captain Henry Newcombe, 1793 sailed to the East Indies.
On 5 May 1794, ''Orpheus'' captured the French frigate
''Duguay Trouin'', the former
East Indiaman
East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...
''Princess Royal'', which the French had captured on 27 September 1793.
On 22 June 1796 ''Orpheus'' was in the
Straits of Banca, where she captured the Dutch brig ''Harlingen''. The British took ''Harlingen'' into service as .
In August 1797 ''Orpheus'' was reported as being in Madras and Captain William Hill was appointed commander.
On 7 May, 1800 she was anchored in the
Sunda Strait
The Sunda Strait () is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java island, Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean.
Etymology
The strait takes its name from the Sunda Kingdom, which ruled the western portion of Ja ...
.
Napoleonic Wars
On 16 April 1806, ''Orpheus'', Captain Thomas Briggs, was in company with the revenue
cutter
Cutter may refer to:
Tools
* Bolt cutter
* Box cutter
* Cigar cutter
* Cookie cutter
* Cutter (hydraulic rescue tool)
* Glass cutter
* Meat cutter
* Milling cutter
* Paper cutter
* Pizza cutter
* Side cutter
People
* Cutter (surname)
* Cutt ...
. They shared in the proceeds of the capture of two merchant vessels, ''Vrou Fingina'' and ''Vyf Gesusters''.
Fate
''Orpheus'', under the command of Captain
Thomas Briggs, arrived off Jamaica from England in the evening of 22 January 1807. Being short of water, Briggs decided to try to sail her into Port Royal, rather than wait for a pilot. Around midnight ''Orpheus'' grounded on a reef that was not accurately marked on her charts. Efforts to lighten her failed and she took on water. When the water reached her main deck, the crew took to the boats, abandoning her.
[Hepper (1994), p. 116.]
Notes
Citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Orpheus (1780)
Frigates of the Royal Navy
1780 ships
Ships built in Deptford
Maritime incidents in 1807
Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea