HMS Beagle (1804)
Introduction '''HMS ''Beagle''''' was an 18-gun ''Cruizer''-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1804, during the Napoleonic Wars. She played a major role in the Battle of the Basque Roads. ''Beagle'' was laid up in ordinary in 1813 and sold in 1814.
Career ''Beagle'' was commissioned in August 1804 under Commander John Burn, who sailed her to the Mediterranean. On 5 December Burn and ''Beagle'' captured the Spanish ship ''Fuenta Hermosa''. Burn was temporarily relieved by Commander George Digby between June and August 1805, after which she joined Sir John Orde’s squadron off Cádiz.On 14 January 1805, ''Beagle'' captured the Spanish ship ''Pastora Hermosa'', which was carrying bullion.Commander Francis Newcombe left the hired armed ship ''Lord Eldon'' to replace Burn in February 1806; ''Beagle'' remained in the Mediterranean until 1807.On 27 April 1806, ''Beagle'' and a number of other vessels were in company with ''Termagant'' when ''Termagant'' captured ''Anna Maria Carolina''. ''Beagle'' then moved to the Downs where she operated between 1808 and 1809.While under Newcombe's command ''Beagle'' captured three privateers in the English Channel. She captured ''Hazard'', of 14 guns and 49 men, on 2 October 1808, ''Vengeur'', of 16 guns and 48 men, on 24 January 1809, and ''Fortune'', of 14 guns and 58 men, on 18 February. *''Hazard'', which was under the command of Joseph Marie Lelong, had one man badly wounded before ''Beagle'' was able to capture her after a three-hour chase. ''Hazard'' had left Dieppe the day before and had captured two light colliers (the ''Trinity'' Yacht and ''Assistance''), but Newcombe was unable to find and recapture them. ''Hazard'' had been ''Matthew'', of Sunderland, and was carrying a cargo of coals. *''Vengeur'' was in company with ''Grand Napoleon'', which escaped. ''Vengeur'' herself did not surrender until ''Beagle'' came alongside, though her captain, M. Bourgnie, was wounded. ''Vengeur'' had made no captures. *''Fortune'', under Captain Tucker, had one man badly wounded. She was out of Calais and had made no captures.===Participation at the Battle of the Basque Roads===''Beagle'' arrived at Basque Roads on 10 April, having escorted from the Downs the convoy of fireships that were to attack the French anchorage the next day. ''Beagle'' was the second ship (after the bomb vessel ) to voluntarily arrive to aid Cochrane's ''Imperieuse'' after the successful fireship attack, her crew reportedly giving Cochrane three cheers upon arriving. The prize crew that took possession and later burnt the French ship-of-the-line , was under the command of a lieutenant from ''Beagle'' and a midshipman from ''Imperieuse''. ''Beagle'' also took part in the bombardment of the French ships ''Aquilon'' and ''Ville de Varsovie'', skilfully manoeuvring to fire, unlike other British ships that were anchoring to engage. ''Beagle'' was one of the few ships joining Cochrane in ignoring Rear-Admiral Robert Stopford's recall order. Cochrane tasked her with protecting ''Aetna'' during the move upriver. Newcombe therefore placed ''Beagle'' between ''Aetna'' and the grounded French battleships. As a result, ''Beagle'' took heavy damage to her rigging and expended nearly all of her powder. ''Beagle'' had one man wounded.Newcombe's achievements and valour resulted in his receiving promotion to post-captain after the battle. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the then-surviving participants in the battle the Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "Basque Roads 1809". Two of ''Beagle''s sister ships,  and  were also present at the Basque Roads.===Later years===Later in 1809 Commander William Dolling took command of ''Beagle'', following Newcombe's promotion. In July and August,  ''Beagle'' took part in the Scheldt operations.On 4 November ''Beagle'' and  recaptured ''Mount Royal'', of Pool. On 8 February 1810 ''Beagle'' recaptured the brig ''Resource''. On 10 October Dollin and ''Beagle'' captured the smuggling lugger ''Ox'', for which they received a reward from the Commissioners of His Majesty's Customs.On 13 June 1810 ''Beagle'' captured the smuggling boat ''Fly'', of Bexhill. Three days later she captured several smuggling galleys. Apparently the officers and crew of ''Beagle'' purchased the cargo of two of the galleys and sold it.Commander John Smith took command of ''Beagle'' in August 1811.On 14 August 1813, ''Beagle'', in company with , the gun-brig , and the schooner , captured ''Marmion''. ''Beagle'', ''Juniper'', and  participated in the Siege of San Sebastián (7 July – 8 September 1813) as part of the fleet under Captain George Collier assigned to help Sir Arthur Wellesley's campaigns in Portugal and Spain. ''Beagle'' had one man dangerously wounded in the taking of the battery on Santa Clara Island. Later, the seamen from the squadron, under Smith's command, maneuvered 24-pounder guns from ''Surveillante'' up the steep scarp of Saint Clara Island to assemble their own battery facing San Sebastian, which allowed them to silence the guns there. Smith was slightly wounded while being in charge of the seamen on shore engaged in taking the French battery on Saint Clara Island and in the subsequent operations. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General service Medal with clasp "St. Sebastian" to surviving participants in the campaign.On 30 November ''Beagle'' was in company with  when ''Rover'' captured the American brig ''Empress''.
Fate ''Beagle'' was laid up in ordinary at Plymouth in 1813.She was sold there on 21 July 1814 for the sum of £900.
Notes
Citations
References * * Cordingly, David. (2007) (US title)''Cochrane: The Real Master and Commander.'' Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 448pp, . (UK title: ''Cochrane The Dauntless: The Life and Adventures of Thomas Cochrane, 1775-1860'') London: Bloomsbury, * Daly, Gavin (2007) "English Smugglers, the Channel, and the Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1814". ''Journal of British Studies'' 46 (1), pp. 30–46. * * *
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