- HMS Fisgard (1819)
HMS "Fisgard" was a 46-gun
fifth rate "Leda" classfrigate of theRoyal Navy . She spent sixty years in service on a variety of duties.Construction and commissioning
"Fisgard" was a continuation of the successful "Leda" class that had been designed by Sir
John Henslow and served during theNapoleonic Wars . They had their armament increased from the earlier ships of that class, and mounted 46 guns instead of 38. "Fisgard" was ordered on24 August 1815 fromPembroke Dockyard and was laid down in February 1817. She was launched on8 July 1819 and commissioned on27 August 1819 , having cost a total of £23,493.Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, "Sail and Steam Navy List", p. 26]Career
Having been accepted into service, she was laid up in ordinary for 24 years, only being activated in 1843. [Colledge, "Ships of the Royal Navy", p.127.] She came under the command of Captain John Alexander Duntze on
13 May 1843 and spent some time in thePacific , before returning toWoolwich . [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=1451 Fisgard's career] ] Here she was designated as the harbourflagship and was fitted for a commodore. Commodore James John Gordon Bremer hoisted his flag aboard her on24 October 1847 , the first of a number of such officers. On20 December 1858 "Fisgard" became the flagship of CommodoreJames Robert Drummond , the commander-in-chief at Woolwich. Her last commodore was William Edmonstone, who took command on6 April 1868 . Between 1848 and 1872 she was also used to train engineers for the navy, and was the nominateddepot ship for personnel stationed ashore. [Warlow, "Shore Establishments", p.58.]Decommissioning
"Fisgard" was eventually paid off for breaking up, a process completed at Chatham by
8 October 1879 . She would give her name to the latershore establishment named HMS "Fisgard", which would go on to train engineers and artificers during the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth.References
*Colledge
*Warlow, Ben, "Shore Establishments of the Royal Navy", Liskeard : Maritime, 2000. ISBN 9780907771739
* Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, "The Sail and Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889", pub Chatham, 2004, ISBN 1-86176-032-9
* [http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=1451 Fisgard's career]
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