| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Serpent |
| Acquired | 1794 |
| Fate | Sold c. 1802 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type | Hoy |
| Tons burthen | 57 bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 13 ft 11 in (4.24 m) |
| Depth of hold | 6 ft 6+1⁄2 in (1.994 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Complement | 30 |
| Armament | 1 × 24-pounder gun + 3 × 32-pounder carronades |
HMS Serpent was a former Dutch hoy that the British Admiralty purchased in 1794 for service with the Royal Navy. She was paid off in 1796 and was sold around 1802.
The Admiralty had Serpent fitted out between April 1794 and April 1795 at Woolwich, commissioning her in April 1794 under Lieutenant John Lundin. [1]
Smith assigned all his gunvessels to the defence of the Îles Saint-Marcouf, which are some three and a half miles from the French coast and about nine miles south-east of Cape La Hogue, and which consist of two islands, West and East. The gunvessels and the shore batteries and redoubts the British erected on the islands were initially under the overall command of Lieutenant Henry Hicks of Hawke, and then under Lieutenant Charles Papps Price in Badger. [2]
On 7 September the French mounted an attack with 17 large boats filled with men. They retreated in confusion after coming under fire from the redoubts the British had erected on East Island and from the gunvessels, [3] among them the hoys Badger, Shark and Hawke, and the Musquito-class floating battery Sandfly. Subsequently, material from Serpent was used to build a battery. [4]
Serpent was paid off in 1796. [1]
On 4 July 1802 orders were received at Portsmouth for the hired armed cutter Swan, among a number of other vessels including Bulldog and Serpent, to be put in commission. [5] The Serpent in question was probably this Serpent, Serpent (1789) being already in service on the Cork station. [6] Bulldog may have been Bulldog, which had been a powder hulk in Portsmouth since her recapture from the French in 1801, and which was broken up in 1829. [7] Neither the hoy Serpent nor Bulldog were in fact recommissioned.
The hoy Serpent was sold around 1802. [1]
Seven vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Bulldog, after the bulldog, with an eighth announced:
Îles Saint-Marcouf comprise two small uninhabited islands off the coast of Normandy, France. They lie in the Baie de la Seine region of the English Channel and are 6.5 km (4.0 mi) east of the coast of the Cotentin peninsula at Ravenoville and 13 km (8 mi) from the island of Tatihou and the harbour at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. In addition to the fortifications described below, on the larger island there is a lighthouse that dates to 1948.
HMS Fly was a Swan-class ship sloop of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 September 1776. She performed mainly convoy escort duties during the French Revolutionary Wars, though she did capture three privateers. She foundered and was lost with all hands early in 1802.
The Battle of the Îles Saint-Marcouf was an engagement fought off the Îles Saint-Marcouf near the Cotentin peninsula on the Normandy coast of France in May 1798 during the French Revolutionary Wars. Dislodging a British garrison on the islands was the main objective for French forces. The garrison allowed the islands to serve as a resupply base for Royal Navy ships patrolling northern French waters. Apart from expelling the British, the French sought to test new equipment and tactics, which had allegedly been developed with an intention of invading Britain.
HMS Hornet was a 16-gun ship-rigged sloop of the Cormorant class in the Royal Navy, ordered 18 February 1793, built by Marmaduke Stalkart and launched 3 February 1794 at Rotherhithe. Hornet saw most of her active duty during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the Napoleonic Wars she served for about six years as a hospital ship before being laid up in 1811 and sold in 1817.
During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the Admiralty also made use of hired armed vessels, one of which was His Majesty's Hired armed cutter Swan. Actually there were two such cutters, but the descriptions of these vessels and the dates of their service are such that they may well represent one vessel under successive contracts. The vessel or vessels cruised, blockaded, carried despatches and performed reconnaissance.
HMS Sandfly was a Musquito-class floating battery of the Royal Navy. The two-vessel class was intended to defend the Îles Saint-Marcouf (Marcou) situated off the Normandy coast. During her brief career Sandfly shared in the capture of one privateer and participated in a battle that would earn her crew the Naval General Service Medal. The Peace of Amiens returned the islets to France in May 1802; Sandfly was paid off in June 1802 and broken up in 1803.
HMS Shark was a former Dutch hoy that the British Admiralty purchased in 1794 for service with the Royal Navy. In 1795 her crew mutinied and handed her over to the French.
The Musquito class was a Royal Navy class of two 4-gun floating batteries built to a design by Admiral Sir Sidney Smith specifically to serve with his squadron in French coastal waters. Both were named and ordered under Admiralty Order 26 May 1794.
HMS Badger was a Dutch hoy, one of some 19 that the Admiralty purchased for the Royal Navy in 1794 after France's declaration of war in 1793. The intent was to create quickly a class of gun-vessels for operations in coastal and shallow waters. Of all the hoys, she had probably the most distinguished career in that she helped fend off two French attacks on the Îles Saint-Marcouf, and participated in the capture of several French vessels. The Navy sold her in 1802.
HMS Hawke was a former Dutch hoy, one of 19, that the British Admiralty purchased in 1794 for service with the Royal Navy. She seems to have participated in only one engagement against the French and was sold in 1796.
HMS Viper was a Dutch hoy that the Admiralty purchased in 1794. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy in March 1794 under Lieutenant John W. Skinner, for the Nore. At some point in 1796 Viper was under the command of Lieutenant R. Wilson. In March 1796, the Navy lent Viper to the Transport Board. The Navy recommissioned Viper in September under Lieutenant William Stagg, who commanded her until 1801. In 1801 she was broken up at Portsmouth.
HMS Eagle was a Dutch hoy that the Admiralty purchased in 1794. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy in March 1794 under Lieutenant David Hamline for the Channel Islands. She and several of her sister ships — — formed part of a short-lived squadron under Philippe d'Auvergne at Jersey in the Channel Islands. Eagle was paid off in 1795 and then lent to the Royal Navy's Transport Board in March 1796.
HMS Scorpion was a Dutch hoy that the Admiralty purchased in 1794. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy in March 1794 under Lieutenant Thomas Crocker for the Channel Islands. She and several of her sister ships, formed part of a short-lived squadron under Philippe d'Auvergne at Jersey.
HMS Nancy was the mercantile vessel Nancy that the Royal Navy purchased in 1794 for use as a fire ship. She was never expended as a fireship but instead served as a small gunboat. The Navy sold her at Deptford in 1801.
HMS Ferret was a Dutch hoy that the Admiralty purchased in 1794 for use as a gun-boat. It sold her in May 1802.
HMS Sparkler was an Acute-class gunvessel launched in 1797 as GB No.7 and renamed HMS Sparkler in August 1797. She served the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Navy sold her in 1802. She became a merchantman. In 1813 a French privateer captured her but the Royal Navy recaptured her shortly thereafter. She was wrecked in February 1814.
HMS Ferret was a Dutch hoy of the same name that the Admiralty purchased in 1794 for use as a gun-boat. It sold her in May 1802.
HMS Wolf was a 4-gun gunvessel, originally a Dutch hoy that the British Admiralty purchased in 1794 for service with the Royal Navy. She was broken up in 1803.
HMS Tickler was launched in 1794 as a Conquest-class gunbrig. She was sold in 1802.