HMS Matilda (1805)

HMS Matilda was the French privateer Matilde, which HMS Cambrian captured in 1805. The British Royal Navy used her briefly that year. She is last listed in 1805.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Matilda.

History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameMatilde
FateCaptured by the British 3 July 1805
United Kingdom
NameHMS Matilda
Acquiredby capture, 3 July 1805
FateLast listed 1805
General characteristics
TypeSchooner
Tons burthen200 (bm)
Complement95
Armament10 or 20 × 8-pounder guns[lower-alpha 1]

Capture

Cambrian captured the French privateer schooner Mathilde on 3 July 1805, after a chase of 22 hours. Mathilde, of 200 tons, was armed with twenty 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 95 men.[lower-alpha 2] She surrendered in shoal water and if not for the efforts of Lieutenant Pigot in one of Cambrian's boats, Mathilde's entire crew might have been lost.[lower-alpha 3]

Mathilde had earlier captured the letter of marque Clyde, which had been on her way to Liverpool.[3][lower-alpha 4] Prior to her capture by Cambrian, Mathilde had evaded capture by Heron.

Action of 7 July

Captain Beresford of Cambrian appointed Lieutenant Pigot commander of Matilda, and used her as a tender.

On 7 July Lieutenant Pigot again distinguished himself. He arrived off the harbour of St. Marys, Georgia the day before and took Matilda twelve miles up the St Marys River to attack three vessels reported to be there. All long the way militia and riflemen fired on Matilda. Eventually the British reached the vessels, which were lashed in a line cross the river. They consisted of a Spanish privateer schooner and her two prizes, the ship Golden Grove and the British brig Ceres, which the Spanish privateer had captured some two months earlier. The Spaniards had armed Golden Grove with eight 6-pounder guns and six swivels, and given her a crew of 50 men. The brig too they had armed with swivels and small arms. The Spanish schooner carried six guns and a crew of 70 men.[3]

Pigot engaged the vessels for an hour, and after Matilda had grounded, took his crew in her boats and captured Golden Grove. The British then captured the other two vessels. Lastly, Pigot fired on a group of 100 militia and a field gun, dispersing them. The British had two men killed, and 14 wounded, including Pigot, who had received two bullet wounds to his head and one to a leg.[3] Spanish casualties were reportedly 25 men killed (including five Americans) and 22 men wounded. A crowd of Americans on the Georgia side of the river watched the entire battle.[3] Pigot was unable to extricate himself and his prizes from the river until 21 July, but during the entire period he remained in command except when he was getting his wounds dressed. For his efforts Pigot received a promotion to commander, and the Lloyd's Patriotic Fund awarded him a medal and a plate worth £50.[5][lower-alpha 5]

Fate

Matilda is no longer listed after 1805.[6]

Notes
  1. The French pound being heavier than a British pound, an 8-pounder French gun would be the rough equivalent of a 9-pounder British gun.
  2. James reports that Mathilde was armed with ten 8-pounder guns.[1] However, James also gives Lieutenant Pigot's first name as Robert, whereas other accounts give it as George.
  3. Mathilde was a privateer schooner commissioned in Guadeloupe in June 1805. Demerliac states that the entire crew might have been killed during the capture, perhaps misreading the danger in which the crew was until Lieutenant Pigot intervened.[2]
  4. Clyde, of twelve 4-pounder guns and a crew of 30 men under the command of David Kilock, had received her letter of marque on 20 November 1804.[4]
  5. Long gives the name of Pigot's vessel as the Spanish privateer Maria. Beresford's letter states that Pigot's vessel was the vessel they had taken on 3 July, making her Matilda.[5]

Citations
  1. James (1837), Volume 4, p.138-9.
  2. Demerliac (2003), p. 322, n°2751.
  3. "No. 15844". The London Gazette. 17 September 1805. pp. 1181–1182.
  4. "Letter of Marque, p.56 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  5. Long (1895), pp. 421-2 & 435.
  6. Colledge & Warlow (2010), p.252.

References
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
  • Demerliac, Alain (2003). La Marine du Consulat et du Premier Empire: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1800 à 1815 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 9782903179304. OCLC 492784876.
  • James, William (2002 [1827]). The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 4. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-906-9.
  • Long, William H. (1895). Medals of the British navy and how they were won: with a list of those officers, who for their gallant conduct were granted honorary swords and plate by the Committee of the Patriotic Fund. London: Norie & Wilson.
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