''Hermione'' was a 26-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 ...

of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

designed by a British shipwright at Cadiz. Opinions differ on the age and provenance of this ship. Some claim it to have been the ''Hermione'' bought in 1730. Others believe it to have been the ''Hermione'' constructed in the

Arsenal de la Carraca Arsenal de La Carraca, also Naval Station of La Carraca, is a naval shipyard and a naval base in San Fernando, Spain. It is a naval base for the construction and repair of ships, and the storage and distribution of arms and ammunition. The first ...

, Cadiz in 1752.

Notable incidents

The ship fired several broadsides into the

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 ...

when held at Cadiz in 1756 at the beginning of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

, at that time armed with 32 nine-pounders. ''Hermione'' engaged Captain Herbert Sawyer's frigate, the 28-gun , and the 18-gun

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 ...

under Captain Philemon Pownoll, off the coast of Spain near the port of Cadiz in the action of 31 May 1762. The British captured ''Hermione'', with the capture being notable for the size and value of the bounty seized and the subsequent

prize money Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to ...

awarded, possibly the largest ever in a single haul. William Cole, on a visit to his friend

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

, noted the suicide of Walpole's neighbour, Isaac Fernandez Nunez, in the summerhouse of Cross Deep House, following Nunez's ruin as insurer of ''Hermione''. ''Hermione'' features in a picture by Richard Wright, dated November 1762, depicting the capture and dedicated to the victorious captains by the artist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermione Maritime incidents in 1762 Frigates of the Spanish Navy Ships built in Spain