- HMS Ganges (1782)
HMS "Ganges" was a 74-gun
third rate ship of the line of theRoyal Navy , launched onMarch 30 1782 atRotherhithe . She was the first ship of the Navy to bear the name.She saw active service from
1782 to1811 , inEurope and theWest Indies ; she took thee prize of the the French 24-guncorvette "Jacobin". The Ganges was involved in the squadron commanded by Admiral John Gell which escorted back to Portsmouth, a Spanish ship, which they had captured from the French. The ownership of the Spanish ship was a matter of some debate and was not settled until 4 February 1795 when the value of the cargo was put at £935,000. At this time all the crew, captains, officers and admirals could expect to share in this prize. Admiral Hood's share was £50,000. The ships that conveyed her toPortsmouth were theHMS St George , HMS Egmont,HMS Edgar , HMS Ganges andHMS Phaeton . [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=C8kLAAAAYAAJ&lpg=RA1-PA8&ots=RPvxGeVdOO&dq=%22admiral%20john%20gell%22&pg=RA1-PA6&ci=498,560,428,512&source=bookclip Annual Register] , 1795, accessed6 October 2008 ]She was present at the Battle of Copenhagen, and commanded by Captain Thomas Fremantle. Also aboard were a contingent of soldiers from the 49th foot, commanded by
Isaac Brock . They were supposed to storm the forts atCopenhagen , but the outcome of the naval battle made such an assault unnecessary.She was commissioned as a
prison ship onDecember 12 1811 , for holding prisoners of war, transferred to the Board of Transport in1814 , and broken up atPlymouth in1816 .References
*Michael Phillips. [http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/G.HTM Ships of the Old Navy, A History of Ships of the 18th Century Royal Navy] . Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved26 April 2007 .
*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.External links
* [http://www.hmsgangesassoc.org/frigate.html The HMS "Ganges" Association Website] has a timeline of the activities of the "Ganges".
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