HMS BELLEROPHON (1786)

The first 'HMS ''Bellerophon''' of the Royal Navy was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line launched on 6 October 1786 at Frindsbury on the River Medway, near Chatham. She was built at the shipyard of Edward Greaves to the specifications of the ''Arrogant'' class, designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1758. (Cordingly, 7-8) History has it that the First Lord of the Admiralty at the time, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, had a penchant for Greek and Roman mythology. He directed that the vessel be named for the Greek warrior Bellerophon who rode the winged horse Pegasus and slew the monster Chimera^[1].

Contents

Early history

Napoleon's surrender

Eventual fate

Notes

References

Early history

She fought at the battle of The Glorious First of June,^[2] the Battle of the Nile^[3] and the Battle of Trafalgar, becoming one of the most famous British ships of the Napoleonic Wars. Her crew affectionately called her the '''Billy Ruffian''' (or Billy Ruff'n). At Trafalgar she was the fifth in Admiral Collingwood's Southern division and thus was heavily engaged, battling the French ''L'Aigle'' to a bloody standstill at the cost of her captain John Cooke dead, 26 other crew killed and 123 wounded. Command was ably assumed by her first lieutenant William Pryce Cumby, who safely steered the battered ship back to Gibraltar. On board during the battle was future Arctic explorer John Franklin, serving as a young midshipman.

Napoleon's surrender

She achieved further fame on July 15, 1815 when Napoleon Bonaparte surrendered to Captain Maitland of the ''Bellerophon'' and was transported to Torbay where the ship anchored off Brixham on July 24. There Maitland received orders from Admiral Lord Keith. He was "...most positively ordered to prevent every person whatever from coming on board the ship you command, except the officers and men who compose her crew"^[4].
In response to his orders, Captain Maitland refused to allow the usual visits of the boats full of traders with supplies of fresh food. John Michelmore, aboard one of the boats hoping to sell bread, saw a sailor in one of the lower gunports who signalled to them and then set adrift a small bottle containing a message that Bonaparte was aboard. He and the baker rowed ashore and the news quickly spread.^[5] While Maitland still kept boats from actually coming alongside, there were no further attempts to conceal the Emperor's presence. After two days, ''Bellerophon'' received orders to proceed to Plymouth harbour where Lord Keith was anchored aboard his flagship HMS ''Ville de Paris''. Napoleon remained on board ''Bellerophon'' and the ship was still kept isolated from the throngs of curious sightseers by two guardships anchored close at hand. On August 4, Lord Keith ordered ''Bellerophon'' to go to sea and await the arrival of HMS ''Northumberland'' which had been designated to take Napoleon into exile on St Helena. On August 7, Napoleon left the ''Bellerophon'' where he had spent over three weeks without ever landing in England and boarded ''Northumberland'' which then sailed for St Helena.

Eventual fate

From 1816, ''Bellerophon'' was out of commission at Sheerness, and at some point became employed as a prison ship. She was renamed ''Captivity'' in 1824, and sold 12 January 1836 and broken up.

Notes

1. Cordingly, page 18
2. Commanded by Captain William Johnstone Hope. 4 killed and 27 wounded.
3. Commanded by Captain Henry D'Esterre Darby, who was wounded early in the action. 49 killed and 148 wounded
4. Cordingly, page 259, from "Letter from Admiral Keith to Captain Maitland, 23rd July, 1815"
5. Cordingly, page 260

References

★ Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.

★ David Cordingly, ''The Billy Ruffian: The Bellerophon and the Downfall of Napoleon'' (Bloomsbury USA, 2003) ISBN 1-58234-468-X