HMS Kingston (1697)

HMS "Kingston" was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Frame in Hull and launched on 13 March 1697. She had an eventful career, taking part in numerous engagements.

Career

During the War of Spanish Succession, "Kingston" took part in the engagements of Gibraltar (1704) under the command of Edward Acton, Vélez Málaga (1709) and Gaspé (1711).

She was rebuilt for the first time according to the 1706 Establishment at Portsmouth Dockyard, and relaunched on 9 May 1719. She was rebuilt for a second time at Plymouth according to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment, and relaunched on 8 October 1740. "Kingston" was present at the Battle of Toulon in 1744.

During the Seven Years' War, the ship was part of Admiral John Byng's squadron sent to relieve Fort St. Philip (Port Mahon) in 1756, besieged by a French amphibious force who had invaded the island of Minorca. The squadron set sail from England on April 10. On May 2, it arrived at Gibraltar, departing on May 8. On May 19, it came into sight of Fort St. Philip. The French fleet then advanced to meet Byng. On May 20, the squadron fought the Battle of Minorca where several British ships were seriously damaged but none was lost on either side. On May 24, after a council of war, Byng gave orders to return to Gibraltar, abandoning Minorca to its fate. The squadron arrived at Gibraltar on June 19.

In 1757, the ship was part of Admiral Holbourne's squadron which left Ireland on May 5 for the planned expedition against Louisbourg. By July 10, the entire squadron was finally at anchor before Halifax where it made its junction with Hardy's squadron. However in August, when the combined fleet was ready to set sail, Louisbourg had already been reinforced by three French squadrons and Governor Loudon cancelled the whole enterprise. Holbourne's squadron stayed off Louisbourg until September 25 when it was dispersed by a storm, forcing it to return to Great Britain in a very bad condition. On November 20 1759, "Kingston" took part in the Battle of Quiberon Bay where the French navy suffered a great defeat.

As the "Lord Clive"

The ship was sold to privateers linked to the East India Company on January 14 1762 and renamed "Lord Clive".

The same year during the Spanish-Portuguese War, 1761-1763, these privateers, fighting on the side of Portugal, had plans to conquer Spanish territory in South America and organised a raid on Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
Their squadron, under the command of Robert McNamara from the East India Company, consisted of the "Lord Clive" (60), the "Ambuscade" (40), two Portuguese ships (among which were the frigate "Gloria" (38)) transporting 500 foot soldiers, and five storeships. On November 2, the squadron sailed from Rio de Janeiro towards the mouth of the Río de la Plata but soon abandoned the project because of the strong resistance of the Spaniards.

On January 6 1763, in an attempt to retake the Colonia del Sacramento after its conquest by the Spanish in the First Cevallos expedition, the squadron came under the fire of the Spanish coastal defences. The "Lord Clive" was lost to Spanish coastal defences. The expedition's commander Captain Robert McNamara was also killed during the action. There were 272 fatalities on board the "Lord Clive" and 78 survivors. Officers taken prisoner were not granted naval status and were tried and hanged on the spot while sailors were imprisoned.

Notes

References

*Colledge
*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.
* [http://www.kronoskaf.com/syw/index.php?title=Kingston_(60) "Kingston" (60)] . Project SYW. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
*Anonymous, A Complete History of the Present War, from its Commencement in 1756, to the End of the Campaign, 1760, London, 1761, pp. 202-205, 233-235
*Michael Phillips. [http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=5520 "Kingston" (60) (1740)] . Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 9 August 2008.