HMS Vigilant (1777)
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HMS ''Vigilant'' was the merchantman ''Grand Duchess of Russia'', converted into a warship during the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. She served as a transport in North American waters from 1775. 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 ...
(RN) purchased her in 1777, named her HMS ''Vigilant'', and modified her for
shore bombardment Naval gunfire support (NGFS), also known as naval surface fire support (NSFS), or shore bombardment, is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of severa ...
duties. She was instrumental in the eventual British success during the
siege of Fort Mifflin The siege of Fort Mifflin or the siege of Mud Island Fort, which took place from September 26 to November 16, 1777, saw British land batteries commanded by Captain John Montresor and a British naval squadron under Vice Admiral Lord Richard Howe ...
that same year and supported British operations in Georgia and South Carolina in 1779–80. Her heavy armament proved to be more than ''Vigilant'' was designed to handle and she was condemned and burnt in 1780.


Description and service

''Grand Duchess of Russia'' was built at Whitby in 1774; the
Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the Regulatory agency, commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headqua ...
chartered her at the beginning of 1775 to serve as a transport. While being modified at
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 ...
in February, the ship was surveyed and found to be
barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...
-rigged and just over 308 tons burthen in size. A survey in New York two years later gave her length as , measured 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 . Naval historian Rif Winfield quotes her burthen as 684 tons with a length at the
gundeck The term gun deck used to refer to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. The term is generally applied to decks enclosed under a roof; smaller and unrated vessels carried their guns ...
of and beam of . ''Grand Duchess of Russia'' departed for
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, Massachusetts carrying 150 marines on 30 March 1775 and she remained in North American waters for the next two years.
Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...
Lord Howe, commander of the
North American Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956, with main bases at the Imperial fortresses of Bermuda and Halifax, Nova Scotia. The ...
, informed the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...
on 23 April that he had purchased the ''Grand Duchess of Russia'' and commissioned her as HMS ''Vigilant'' to bombard targets ashore.Syrett, p. 57 The ship received fourteen 24-pounder guns from the 50-gun ship , and two 9-pounder and four 6-pounder guns from the
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
(prison) ship . Additional gun ports were cut in ''Vigilant''s side to allow two guns to be switched from one side to give her a broadside of nine guns. The 150 men of her crew came from the crews of Howe's
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
, the
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 ...
, ''Centurion'', and the
fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...
, while her 30
marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
were drawn from the marine
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
at Halifax. Her conversion was completed by the end of June and her first task was to cover the evacuation of British troops from
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on 29 July. The following month, ''Vigilant'' served as Howe's flagship when he landed British troops at
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, at the northern end of
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, during the
Philadelphia Campaign The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British military campaign during the American Revolutionary War designed to gain control of Philadelphia, the Revolutionary-era capital where the Second Continental Congress convened, formed the ...
. In October, the ship sailed for the mouth of the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
to attack the American fortifications defending
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. During this voyage, she rolled so badly during heavy weather that the
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 ...
fell out of her guns and it was later decided that she should not put to sea with her guns mounted except during the summer months. ''Vigilant'' was not designed to carry such heavy weights as the 24-pounder guns up high in the ship and cutting gun ports in her sides further weakened her structure. The first attack on
Fort Mifflin Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island (or Deep Water Island) on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia International ...
on 22–23 October had been a disaster with two British ships run aground and burnt. For the second attack three weeks later, ''Vigilant''s crew was reinforced with an extra 50 men to work the guns and 24 riflemen to suppress the defenders of the fort during the attack. The ship's sides were reinforced and two guns were transferred to the starboard side of the ship. Her trim was maintained by placing casks of water on the port side. While other ships bombarded the fort from the main channel, ''Vigilant'' and a smaller ship worked their way up a secondary channel to the rear of the fort. They were able to silence the fort's guns by 6 p.m., and the Americans evacuated five hours later, despite the ship's
grapeshot In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of a collection of smaller-caliber round shots packed tightly in a canvas bag and separated from the gunpowder charge by a metal wadding, rather than being a single solid projectile ...
and small arms fire. During the attack ''Vigilant'' only lost three men killed and five wounded; her hull had only been hit several times, but her
rigging Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support and control a sailing ship or sail boat's masts and sails. ''Standing rigging'' is the fixed rigging that supports masts including shrouds and stays. ''Running rigg ...
was shot to pieces. In recognition of the ship's success, her commander,
Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
John Henry, was promoted to the command of the frigate . ''Vigilant'' was generally inactive while the British occupied Philadelphia, but she sailed to
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when the British evacuated the city in June 1778. She joined the small British squadron there upon the approach of a French squadron under the command of the
Comte d'Estaing Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French military officer and writer. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of wa ...
in July, but the French declined to engage the British ships. The ship accompanied the British squadron to
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as it attempted to lift the Franco-American siege, but ''Vigilant'' was badly damaged when a storm interrupted the planned battle on 13 August. Despite the damage, she supported British troops on 29–30 August as they pursued the retreating Americans who had abandoned the siege after the French ships sailed to Boston for repairs. A few days later, on 4 September, the ship collided with the
sloop-of-war 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 u ...
''Raven'' during the British raid on
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and had her bow stove in by the other ship. ''Vigilant'' was quickly repaired in New York and participated in the attack on Little Egg Harbor River in October. At the beginning of December, the ship sailed from New York to
Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...
to assist in the attack on that city. Despite dismounting her main armament, the ship had to keep one or more pumps running continuously during the voyage to prevent her from sinking. She arrived at Savannah on 28 December, after the British had secured the city. Her 9-pounder guns were ordered removed when she was reclassified as a 20-gun armed transport on 22 December. Throughout 1779, ''Vigilant'' supported British operations along the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina, despite running aground several times. Lacking substantial repairs during this time, the ship's condition deteriorated until her crew refused to take her to sea from
Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , different from that of Beaufort, North Carolina) is a city in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston, South Carolina ...
on 28 February 1780 to support the planned
siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The British ...
. She was then surveyed and condemned as "utterly unfit for sea"Syrett, p. 61 and decommissioned on 9 April. Her crew and armament were loaded aboard the transport ''Margaret & Martha'' and taken to Charleston where they were transferred to the transport ''Margery'', which had been purchased and renamed to serve as ''Vigilant''s replacement. ''Vigilant'' was burnt at Beaufort sometime later that year.Colledge, p. 374


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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vigilant (1777) 1774 ships Ships built in Whitby Barques Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships of the Royal Navy Age of Sail naval ships of the United Kingdom Military units and formations of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War