HMS Swallow (1805)

HMS ''Swallow'' was a launched in December 1805, nine months late. She served the Royal Navy through the Napoleonic Wars, capturing numerous privateers. After the end of the wars she was broken up in 1815.

Career

Commander Alexander Milner commissioned ''Swallow'' in March 1806. On 30 October 1807 ''Swallow'' was in company with some northeast of Scilly when ''Plover'' captured the French privateer lugger ''Bohemienne''. ''Bohemienne'' was armed with two guns and had a crew of 44, 16 of whom were away as prize crews. She had sailed from Saint Malo two weeks earlier and had captured four British merchant sloops, ''Hope'', ''Favorite'', and two others.

Then on 15 November ''Swallow'' captured another French two-gun privateer, ''Friedland'', south of The Lizard. ''Friedland'' had a crew of 41 men and had thrown her guns overboard during the chase. She was only a day out of Morlaix and had not captured anything.

On 14 June 1808 ''Swallow'' captured ''Diana''. Some 18 months later, on 7 November 1809, ''Swallow'' sailed for the Mediterranean.

''Swallow'' was under the command of Commander John Bedford on 19 April 1810 when she captured the French privateer ''Général Octavy''. ''Général Octavy'' was armed with 12 guns and had a crew of 50 men.

On 14 June was cruising in the Mediterranean in company with and ''Swallow''. Together, the three British vessels captured three French gun-boats: ''Vincentina'', ''Modanese'' and ''Elvetica'' (or ''Elvetria'').

''Swallow''s next capture occurred on 7 June 1811, at which time she was under the command of Commander Edward Reynolds Sibly. and ''Swallow'' sent their boats in pursuit of a French privateer off Corsica. After a long chase the boats captured ''Intrepide'', which had a crew of 58 and was armed with two 8-pounders.

A month and a half later, on 26 July, ''Swallow'' captured the privateer ''Belle Genoise'' off Sicily. ''Belle Genoise'' was armed with two guns and had a crew of 37 men.

In 1812 ''Swallow'' was under E. R. Sibly's command when a British squadron consisting of the 74-gun third-rate , the frigate , and ''Swallow'' intercepted a French convoy that had left Genoa on 11 June, heading for Toulon. The convoy consisted of 14 merchant vessels, several gunboats, and most importantly, the brig-corvette , of 16 guns, under the command of ''Lieutenant de vaisseau'' Charles Baudin, and the schooner ''Goéland'', of 12 guns, under the command of ''Enseigne de vaisseau'' Belin. The British on 15 June drove the French to take shelter at the Île Sainte-Marguerite. The next day ''Swallow'' came close to reconnoitre, the other two British ships having to hold off because of shallow water. Although the French escorts came out when they saw ''Swallow'' becalmed, they then turned back when the winds picked up and took their convoy to Fréjus. There the French escort vessels took on board some reinforcements and then turned to engage ''Swallow''.

A sanguine but inconclusive action ensued. Eventually, ''Swallow'' hauled off to rejoin the two larger British ships, which were coming up, while ''Renard'' and ''Goéland'' rejoined their convoy, now in the Bay of Grimaud. The action cost ''Swallow'' six men killed and 17 wounded, out of 109 men on board. ''Renard'' had a crew of 94, which had been doubled by the troops taken on at Fréjus. In all she lost 14 men killed and 28 wounded, including her captain, Lieutenant Baudin. ''Goéland'' had a crew of 113 men but her casualties are not known. She did not engage deeply in the battle, though she did exchange some fire with ''Swallow''..

Later the same month ''Swallow'' came under the temporary command of Commander Benjamin Crispin and then under that of Lieutenant George Canning (acting), in June. E. R. Sibly had transferred to , but was superseded and returned to ''Swallow''.''United Service Magazine'' (1842), p. 455.

On 31 August 1813, and ''Swallow'' captured the French privateer ''Audacieuse'' off the Strait of Bonifacio. ''Audacieuse'' was armed with three guns and carried a crew of 40 men. She was two days out of Civitavecchia.

Sibly and ''Swallow'' were involved in another notable action on 16 September 1813. ''Swallow'' observed a French brig and a xebec close inshore between herself and the port of D'Anzo. He sent in three boats which were able to bring out the brig ''Guerriere'', of four guns. ''Guerrier'' was carrying 60 stands of small arms. The cutting out expedition cost ''Swallow'' two men killed and four wounded.

On 5 October ''Swallow'' joined a British squadron off D'Anzo. The squadron consisted of the 74-gun , the two frigates ''Imperieuse'' and , and the sloops , , and ''Swallow''. The ships deployed against the port's defenses, ''Swallow'' engaging a tower of one gun, while a cutting out party of seamen and marines went in and brought out 29 vessels. The British suffered no casualties in the attack.

Sibly received a promotion to post captain on 8 March 1814. Commander Lord Algernon Percy replaced Sibly in command of ''Swallow''. She was then part of the squadron that captured Lerici and the fortress of Santa Maria at the end of March, and Genoa on 19 April. Among the vessels captured at Genoa was the brig ''Renard'', of fourteen 24-pounder guns and two long 9-pounder guns. In May Captain Edwin James replaced Percy.

Fate

In February 1815 the "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" offered ''Swallow'' for sale at Chatham. She was broken up there in November 1815.

Notes

Citations

References

*
*
*

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swallow (1805)
1805 ships
Cruizer-class brig-sloops
Ships built in Dartmouth