HMS ''Statira'' was a

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 ...

38-gun

sailing 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 British Royal Navy, built during 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 ...

Construction

The sixteen ships of the ''Lively'' class were based on a design dating from 1799 by William Rule, the Surveyor of the Navy, and were probably the most successful British frigate design of the time.

Service history

The ''Statira'' was commissioned under Captain Robert Howe Bromley. From December 1808, Captain Charles William Boys was her commanding officer. In company with , the 16 gun ''La Mouche'' was taken off Santander on 10 June 1809. She was present during the

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...

later in the year. On 3 October 1809, ''Statira'' sailed for 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 ...

. Captain Boys died in November 1809, and was succeeded by Captain

Volant Vashon Ballard Volant Vashon Ballard CB ( bapt. 4 January 1774 – 12 October 1832) was a Rear-Admiral of the Royal Navy. He served as a midshipman with George Vancouver on his voyage to the north-west coast of America. Early career Christened on 4 January ...

, who was superseded in 1811 by Captain Hassard Stackpole. In company with , ''Statira'' captured the American privateer ''Buckskin'' off

Cape Sable Cape Sable is the southernmost point of the United States mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern ...

on 11 August 1812. In January 1813, the ''Statira'', in the company of ''Colibri'' and headed to Long Island Sound, subsequently commencing a coastal blockade of the Chesapeake. Her boats, with those from the , ''Maidstone'' and captured the American 6-gun

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

''Lottery'' in

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

on 8 February 1813. The ''Statira'', ''Belvidera'' and ''Morgiana'' controlled access to the

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

during the Autumn 1813 blockade. From April 1814, she was commanded by Captain Spelman Swaine whilst at

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. On 1 November 1814, General

Edward Pakenham Major-General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham, (19 March 1778 – 8 January 1815), was a British Army officer and politician. He was the son of the Baron Longford and the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he served in the Pen ...

, Major General Samuel Gibbs and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Dickson embarked at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

and set sail for North America. Three days after setting sail, Swaine opened his sealed orders, and announced his destination was Jamaica. Pakenham's assistant adjutant general, Major Harry Smith, commented the ''Statira'' was 'a noble frigate...

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometers, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is i ...

a full complement of men.' It is asserted that the captain's seamanship and navigation were lacking and that the delay in arrival was ten days later than it should have been. On 13 December, the ''Statira'' arrived at Negril Point. On 24 December, the ''Statira'' joined Cochrane's fleet moored off Cat Island, and Pakenham disembarked to assume command. On 6 January 1815, a boat from the ''Statira'' overturned on

Lake Borgne Lake Borgne ( ; , ; ) is a lagoon of the Gulf of Mexico in southeastern Louisiana. Although early maps show it as a lake surrounded by land, coastal erosion has made it an arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Geography In southern Louisiana, three large ...

. Seventeen fusiliers with

round shot A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

in their knapsacks were drowned in the shallow waters. The ''Statira'' was wrecked on a rock off

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

on 26 February 1815.

Citations

References

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External links

Compilation of newspaper entries for HMS Statira by the late Paul Benyon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Statira (1807) 1807 ships Ships built in England War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom