HMS ''Sylph'' was a 16-gun ''Albatross''-class

brig-sloop During the 18th and 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship of the Royal Navy with a single gun deck that carried up to 18 guns. The rating system of the Royal Navy covered all vessels with 20 or more guns; thus, the term encompassed all ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Her namesake was the air spirit

sylph A sylph (also called sylphid) is an air spirit stemming from the 16th-century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible) beings of the air, his elementals of air. A significant number of subsequent literary and occult works have be ...

. She commissioned in August 1795 under Commander

John Chambers White Vice Admiral Sir John Chambers White, KCB (c. 1770 – 2 April 1845) was a prominent British Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century, who participated in a number of engagements during the Napoleonic Wars. He achieved most of his ...

, who would have her until the end of 1799. She was later commanded by Charles Dashwood. ''Sylph'' was an active ship through the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, participating in actions such as the action of 12 May 1796 and taking a number of warships and

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 ...

s during service as a blockade and patrol ship. The majority of her service would be spent in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

and off the coast of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. ''Sylph'' served actively until 1805, when she was laid up at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. She was

broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...

there in 1811.

Construction

''Sylph'' was a 16-gun, 32-pound

carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the last quarter of the 18th century to the mid-19th cen ...

. She was part of the ''Albatross''-class designed by William Rule and approved on 22 April 1795. Of the five ships in the class three, including ''Sylph'', were built of fir, likely due to a wartime lack of other available materials.Gardiner, First Frigates, p. 54 The class was established to help meet the need for extra ships for convoy duties. ''Sylph'' and her class were originally planned to have sixteen 6-pound long guns, but the Admiralty Order of 22 April also established the ships with carronades instead.Winfield, British Warships, p. 643 ''Sylph'' was ordered on 13 July as part of a contract to the yard of William Barnard, however Barnard had died in March and the construction of ''Sylph'' was organised by his widow and two sons. ''Sylph'' was completed with the following dimensions: along the

gun deck The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical prope ...

, at the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

, with a beam of and a depth in the hold of . She measured 369

tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship b ...

. ''Sylph'' was launched on 3 September 1795 and

fitted out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

between 10 and 23 September at

. While her class nominally held 32-pound carronades, they proved too heavy for the small ships and were replaced in most vessels with smaller 24-pound carronades.

Service

1796

''Sylph'' was commissioned under Commander

, who would command her into 1799, on 28 August 1795.O'Byrne, Naval Biographical Dictionary, p. 1281 She first served in the

North Sea Fleet The North Sea Fleet (NSF; ), concurrently the Northern Theater Command Navy (), is one of the three fleets of China's People's Liberation Army Navy. Headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong, the fleet provides naval forces to the Northern Theater Comma ...

of Admiral Adam Duncan.Duncan, British Trident, p. 10 ''Sylph'' was sent with HMS ''Leopard'', HMS ''Phoenix'', and HMS ''Pegasus'' to intercept a small Dutch squadron that had recently sailed from Norway. The Dutch were spotted on 12 May 1796 off the

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...

, and consisted of the 36-gun

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 ...

''Argo'', the 18-gun ''Echo'', 16-gun ''Mercury'', and 14-gun ''De Grier'' (all

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

s), and the

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 ...

''Duke of York'', which was a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

of ''Argo''. The brigs immediately attempted to escape and were chased by ''Sylph'' and ''Pegasus'' while ''Phoenix'' pursued the frigate, ''Leopard'' being too slow to assist. After a battle of twenty minutes ''Argo'' surrendered to ''Phoenix'', while ''De Grier'' and ''Echo'' were driven ashore and ''Mercury'', despite throwing fourteen of her sixteen guns overboard to lose weight, taken by ''Sylph''.Schomberg, Naval Chronology, p. 91 From around August ''Sylph'' was a part of Commodore

John Borlase Warren Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the British House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. Early life Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshir ...

's blockading squadron in the Channel.Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 502 On 22 August this squadron, consisting of four frigates and ''Sylph'', was cruising off the mouth of the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

when they discovered and chased the French 32-gun frigate ''Andromaque''. HMS ''Galatea'' and ''Sylph'' cut ''Andromaque'' off from the river and while they lost sight of her overnight, ''Andromaque'' was driven ashore on the morning of 23 August. Sylph fired into her as she lay on shore and then sent her boats in to burn her in the afternoon. She took the 4-gun

cutter ''Le Phoenix'' in the

in September.Schomberg, Naval Chronology, p. 119

1797

On 17 July 1797 ''Sylph'' participated in the destruction of the French 28-gun frigate ''La Calliope'' off the coast of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. ''Sylph'' was in company with HMS ''Pomone'', HMS ''Artois'', HMS ''Anson'', and the cutter ''Dolly'' when they came across a French convoy of fourteen ships guarded by ''Calliope'', a

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

, and a brig-corvette off

Ushant Ushant (; , ; , ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and in medieval times, Léon. In lower tiers of government, it is a commune in t ...

at Hodierne Bay.James, Naval History, Vol. 2, p. 95 The two corvettes were able to use their speed to escape the squadron, but ''Calliope'' was not able to follow them and instead chose to cut away her masts and run herself on shore at 2:20 A.M. so as to not be taken by the British. At 7 A.M. ''Anson'' anchored near the beached ''Calliope'' and a brig attempting to assist her, and fired on them. Realising that ''Anson'' was too far away to do significant damage, Captain White moved ''Sylph'' in between ''Calliope'' and ''Anson'' at 9:30 A.M. and began a 'well-directed fire' at ''Calliope''. At 11:30 A.M. ''Anson'' left to rejoin ''Pomone'' and ''Artois'', but ''Sylph'' stayed to continue firing on ''Calliope'' until 6 P.M. when she was recalled by Warren in ''Pomone''. The efforts of ''Sylph'' meant that the French were unable to salvage any of ''Calliope'', and the frigate broke up on the shore the next day. ''Sylph'' lost five seamen and one marine wounded, but on top of ''Calliope''s destruction, one transport ship, three brigs, and four

chasse-marée In English, a chasse-marée is a specific, archaic type of decked commercial sailing vessel. In French, ''un chasse-marée'' was 'a wholesale fishmonger', originally on the English Channel, Channel coast of France and later, on the Atlantic coa ...

s were taken, and two other ships run ashore.James, Naval History, Vol. 2, pp.95-6Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 507 Less than a month later on 11 August she participated in an attack on another enemy convoy. ''Sylph'' was sailing with ''Pomone'', HMS ''Jason'', and HMS ''Triton'' when early in the morning the convoy of brigs and chasse-marées was spotted off the coast of

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.James, Naval History, Vol. 2, p. 96 The convoy was protected by the 22-gun corvette ''Réolaise'' and three or four smaller gun vessels; these ran to the mouth of the

Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside resort and port on the Atlantic coast of western France. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loi ...

river to receive protection from a fort stationed there.James, Naval History, Vol. 2, p. 97Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 508 Captain White of ''Sylph'' volunteered to sail in and begin firing at the vessels despite this, and did so at 11:30 A.M. ''Sylph'' opened fire from around one mile away, receiving fire in turn from the anchored ships and fort, and was joined in her endeavour at noon by ''Pomone'' and ''Jason'' while ''Triton'' chased members of the convoy away. After around forty-five minutes of firing, ''Sylph'' cut her cable and stood out from the river mouth having had one

master's mate Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the British Royal Navy, Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the sailing master, master. Master's mates evolved into th ...

and two seamen killed. The attack was successful with one 12-gun

gun-brig A gun-brig was a small brig-rigged warship that enjoyed popularity in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, during which large numbers were purchased or built. In general these were vessels of under 200 tons burthen, and thus smaller than ...

destroyed and the corvette heavily damaged. On 27 August ''Sylph'' was sailing with the same group of ships at the mouth of the Gironde when they discovered and chased another French convoy. They chased the convoy all night and the two fastest, ''Triton'' and ''Jason'', captured five of the ships.

1798

In February 1798 ''Sylph'' was present at the capture of the 18-gun privateer ''La Légere'', and took the French chasse-marée ''La Sainte Famille'' with HMS ''Impétueux'' on 5 April. On 16 September a French expedition commanded by

Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart (; 1757 – 1842) was a French Navy officer and privateer. He was related to the noted Admiral Maximin de Bompart. He took part in the American War of Independence as a young officer. He later captained the ''Em ...

consisting of the

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 ...

''Hoche'', eight frigates, a

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

, and 3,000 soldiers, left Brest to sail for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

as reinforcements to the invasion of General Jean Humbert.James, Naval History, Vol. 2, p. 139 ''Sylph'' was part of a small squadron including HMS ''Boadicea'' and HMS ''Ethalion'' which spotted the expedition off

Pointe du Raz The Pointe du Raz is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, in France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territori ...

at daybreak on 17 September. ''Ethalion'' and ''Sylph'' were left to follow the French as they made sail, later being joined by HMS ''Amelia'' and ''Anson''.James, Naval History, Vol. 2, p. 140 While the French made attempts to dislodge the following British ships and confuse them as to their destination, by 23 September Captain

George Countess Rear admiral (Royal Navy), Rear-Admiral George Countess (1743 – 1811) was an officer of the British Royal Navy who saw extensive service in the French Revolutionary Wars. Career Made captain (Royal Navy), captain in 1790, Countess was in comm ...

of ''Ethalion'' was sure of their path towards Ireland, and ''Sylph'' was sent to warn the commander-in-chief of the Irish Station of the approaching ships. The warning provided by ''Sylph'' and the squadron allowed the Royal Navy to bring together a force to attack Bompart's ships, resulting in the

Battle of Tory Island The Battle of Tory Island (also known as the Battle of Donegal, Battle of Lough Swilly or Warren's Action) was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwest c ...

on 12 October and a series of follow-up actions which saw ''Hoche'' and five of the frigates captured.James, Naval History, Vol. 2, pp. 142-9Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 345

1799

Alongside HMS ''Mermaid'' she took the Spanish 4-gun

packet Packet may refer to: * A small container or pouch ** Packet (container), a small single use container ** Cigarette packet ** Sugar packet * Network packet, a formatted unit of data carried by a packet-mode computer network * Packet radio, a form ...

''Golondrina'' off Corunna on 24 May 1799.Schomberg, Naval Chronology, p. 88 On 2 July she took part in an attempt on some Spanish ships in Aix Roads. This Spanish squadron had sailed from Brest at the end of May and was cornered by the fleet of

Lord Bridport Admiral Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport, KB (2 December 17262 May 1814) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Origins He was a younger son of the Rev. Samuel Hood (1691/2 � ...

on 4 June, at which point they retired to the fortified port of

Île-d'Aix Île-d'Aix () is a communes of France, commune in the departments of France, French department of Charente-Maritime, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Poitou-Charentes), off the west coast of France. It occupies the territory of the sma ...

.James, Naval History, Vol. 2, p. 301 Bridport left a blockading force commanded by Rear-Admiral

Charles Morice Pole Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Morice Pole, 1st Baronet, Order of the Bath, GCB (18 January 1757 – 6 September 1830) was a Royal Navy officer, colonial administrator and politician. As a junior officer he ...

of six ships of the line, three

bomb vessel A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons (Naval long gun, long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but ...

s, four frigates, and ''Sylph'', off the island.James, Naval History, Vol. 2, p. 302 On 2 July Pole moved his ships of the line into the Roads, and the smaller vessels closer to Aix itself.Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 389 The intent was to protect the three bomb vessels as they bombarded the anchored Spanish ships. However, the Spaniards were protected by two forts on land as well as a floating battery of mortars, which ''Sylph'' reported to Pole had a much higher range than the British ships. At 3 P.M. a number of Spanish gun boats advanced and opened fire on them, forcing by 4:30 P.M. the British ships to cease their bombardment and sail out of range of the Spaniards. Neither side was very damaged, but the Spanish claimed it as a victory. On 2 August command of ''Sylph'' was handed to Commander Charles Dashwood, who on 17 November took the French 8-gun

lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or more masts. Luggers were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively ...

''Fouine'' while watching the French fleet in Brest.Schomberg, Naval Chronology, p. 83 On 18 December ''Sylph'', along with ''Ethalion'' and HMS ''Fisgard'', was blown off station by a severe gale.Phillips
''Sylph'' (18) (1795)
Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 1 April 2021. ''Ethalion'' returned to her position off Brest first, and was wrecked on 24 December. 150 survivors were rescued by the boats of ''Sylph'', HMS ''Nimrod'', and HMS ''Danae'', before they were transferred to ''Sylph'' who brought them to

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 26 December.

1800–1801

''Sylph'' continued to patrol the northern coast of Spain and the Channel in 1800-1; she fought two actions with unidentified ships off Santander on 31 July and 28 September of the latter year. These actions may have been against a 44-gun French frigate apparently called ''L'Artemise''.O'Byrne, Naval Biographical Dictionary, p. 263. On 31 July ''Sylph'' was chasing an armed schooner off Santander which the enemy frigate arrived to protect.James, Naval History, Vol. 3, p. 145 The wind was not favourable for her to escape the much larger enemy, and so ''Sylph'' prepared to engage her; the engagement lasted one hour and twenty minutes in which one man was killed and nine wounded before ''Sylph'' withdrew to make repairs. At daybreak on 1 August the enemy frigate was spotted by ''Sylph'' seemingly in a disabled state, but the damaged state of ''Sylph'' meant she was too slow in advancing on the frigate, which escaped.James, Naval History, Vol. 3, pp. 145-6 After the combat she was filling with of water an hour but managed to reach the Channel Fleet from where she was ordered by Admiral

William Cornwallis Admiral Sir William Cornwallis, (20 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a number of decisive ...

to go to Plymouth for repairs, which she did on 14 August.James, Naval History, Vol. 3, p. 146 Having been repaired, ''Sylph'' resumed her station off the coast of north Spain, and on 28 September discovered a French frigate of the same force as her earlier adversary. At 7:30 P.M. the two ships engaged each other from extremely close distance, exchanging broadsides for two hours and five minutes before the frigate disengaged, leaving ''Sylph'' with heavy damage to her rigging but again with minimal casualties, only one man injured.James, Naval History, Vol. 3, pp. 146-7 Commander Dashwood was promoted to

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 dis ...

for his bravery in these two engagements.James, Naval History, Vol. 3, p. 148

Later service

By November ''Sylph'' was under Commander William Goate based in the Channel and

on blockade duties. She was decommissioned during the

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it set t ...

but recommissioned to continue the same services in February 1803. On the night of 17 December 1804 ''Sylph'', HMS ''Thisbe'', and HMS ''Niobe'' were all forced to cut away their masts to save themselves from being destroyed during a gale off

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

. ''Sylph'' was repaired and stayed on station until the end of 1805. The ship was laid up at

in November and

there in April 1811.

Notes and citations

Notes

Citations

References

* Clowes, William Laird (1899) ''The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to 1900 Volume Four.'' London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company. * Duncan, Archibald (1805) ''The British Trident; or, Register of Naval Actions; including Authentic Accounts of all the most Remarkable Engagements at Sea, in which The British Flag has been Eminently Distinguished; from the period of the memorable Defeat of the Spanish Armada, to the Present Time. Volume IV.'' London: James Cundee. * Gardiner, Robert (1992) ''The First Frigates: Nine-pounder & Twelve-pounder Frigates 1748-1815'' London: Conway Maritime Press. * James, William (1859) ''The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 2.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * James, William (1859) ''The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 3.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. * * *

External links

*
Ships of the Old Navy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sylph (1795) Brig-sloops of the Royal Navy 1795 ships Ships built in Deptford Albatross-class sloops