HMS Terpsichore (1785)

Captain Richard Bowen, Terpsichore's commander for many of her greatest exploits until his death at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797

Bowen and the Terpsichore spent some time in the North Sea, until December 1795, when his old patron, Jervis, replaced Admiral William Hotham as commander of the Mediterranean Fleet.[5] Jervis requested Bowen to come out and take command of a squadron of small vessels operating around Gibraltar in defence of British trade and the garrison there.[5] In early October 1796 the British squadron under Sir John Man was chased into Gibraltar by a Spanish fleet. Bowen set out in Terpsichore to report this to Jervis, and having rendezvoused with HMS Pallas of Jervis's fleet on 10 October, began the return voyage to Gibraltar.[5] While off Cartagena on 13 October, a frigate was spotted under full sail. Bowen's crew had been reduced by sickness, but he decided to chase down the mysterious sail. After closing on her, and determining that she was attempting to manoeuvre into a position to better fight the Terpsichore, Bowen ordered a gun be fired to test her intent.[6] This was instantly met with a broadside, and a general action began. After an hour and forty minutes the frigate surrendered, and was discovered to be the Spanish Mahonesa.[7] Terpsichore had four men wounded during the battle and none killed.[1] Mahonesa was taken into service with the British as HMS Mahonesa.[8] Bowen received a piece of plate valued at 100 guineas.[9]

Bowen refitted Terpsichore and departed on another cruise, capturing several small vessels on 12 and 13 November, sending them to Gibraltar, and on 22 November he learned from an American brig that he had encountered off Cape St. Mary's, that a Spanish ship bound for Cadiz from Montevideo was in the area.[10] Bad weather prevented Bowen from locating the Spanish vessel at first, and he also had to escape from a Spanish ship of the line that appeared and chased Terpsichore for a while. The Spanish ship was found to be anchored in Cadiz, and at 10 am the next day Bowen entered the harbour, captured the ship and brought her out.[10] Bowen continued to cruise off Cadiz, and while sailing through a gale on the morning of 12 December, the lookouts spotted a frigate. Bowen gave chase, with both ships hampered by the rough weather, so that it was only after 40 hours that Bowen was able to bring Terpsichore alongside and at 10 o'clock on the night of 13 December the two ships engaged each other.[10] After two hours the frigate surrendered, and was discovered to be the 36-gun French Vestale, with 270 men aboard.[11] She had lost her captain and 40 men killed, while her second captain and another 50 men were wounded. The Terpsichore had casualties of a quartermaster and three seamen killed, and nineteen wounded.[11]

Shortly after the French surrender all of Vestale's masts and her bowsprit went by the board. She began to drift towards the breakers off Cadiz, while her crew were drunk. The British prize-crew managed to regain control, and both ships managed to ride out the storm that night.[11] It was not until the following evening that the wind changed sufficiently for Bowen to attempt to tow his prize away.[9] The line became snagged on a rock, and had to be cut for the safety of both vessels. When dawn broke the next day Bowen discovered that the French had risen up against the prize crew and retaken the ship, sailing her into Cadiz. Now bereft of his prize, Bowen returned to port empty handed, writing to Jervis that 'As we feel conscious of having done out duty, to the utmost of our power, we endeavour to console ourselves with the expectation of our conduct being approved.'[9] Jervis confirmed this, writing

Dear Bowen, The intelligence we received from the patrons of two pilot-boats, when off Cadiz, on the 17th December, that the French frigate then lying between the Diamond and Procros, had been dismasted and captured by an English frigate, impressed us all with an opinion, that the Terpsichore had achieved this gallant action. I lament exceedingly that you and your brave crew were deprived of the substantial reward of your exertions; but you cannot fail to receive the tribute due to you from the government and country at large.[9]

Terpsichore attacking the Santissima Trinidad, 2 weeks after the Battle of St. Vincent, by John Christian Schetky

Bowen was at Gibraltar when news of Jervis's victory at the Battle of Cape St Vincent of 14 February 1797 arrived. He immediately set out to join the fleet, and having fallen in with several other British frigates, including HMS Emerald, came across the Spanish first rate Santísima Trinidad. The Spanish ship was flying the Union Jack above her own colours, indicating that she was in the hands of a British prize-crew, but the bad weather meant no meaningful exchange could take place between the frigates and the Spanish vessel, and it was suspected that the British colours were being used as a ruse de guerre.[12] After the frigates lost sight of the ship in bad weather, Bowen hurried to report the sighting to Jervis. While returning to his station he again fell in with Santísima Trinidad, and determined to see if she would surrender to him. He opened fire on the massive Spanish vessel, at the time the world's largest warship, carrying 136-guns on four decks, over a hundred more guns than Terpsichore.[12] The Spanish ship resisted Bowen's fire, and he broke off the attack. It was later discovered that Bowen's attack had killed nine men, and left a number of others badly wounded.[13]

In April Jervis sent Bowen in Terpsichore accompanied by Dido to reconnoitre off Tenerife, where they found the Cadiz-bound Philippine frigates Principe Fernando and El Principe d'Asturia in the Bay of Santa Cruz. On the night of 17/18 April a joint cutting out expedition was mounted by the two British frigates, each sending three boats of which those from Terpsichore under the command of its first lieutenant (Lieutenant George Thorp) successfully captured the nearer of the Indiamen to the shore,[14] Principe Fernando, sailing and towing her to sea while under fire from shore batteries for two hours.

Jervis again sent Bowen to reconnoitre off Tenerife in mid-1797, and at midnight on 18 June he captured a rich ship from the Manillas bound for Cadiz.[13]

Next, Terpsichore participated in the bombardment of Cadiz on 5 July.[15]

Bowen and Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson then prepared plans for an assault on Santa Cruz de Tenerife.[16] In the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 24 July Bowen was assigned to lead the landing parties onto the Mole. He led forty or fifty of his men and managed to land on the mole and take the battery covering the harbour by storm, spiking its guns, and was advancing into the town in pursuit of the fleeing Spanish.[16] As he did so the Spanish fired a large round of grapeshot onto his party, killing Bowen, his first lieutenant (George Thorp) and many of his men, while Nelson and his men, who were just landing, were caught in the fire, Nelson being hit in his right arm.[16] Bowen's body was recovered the next morning and returned to the British ships after the withdrawal.[16] He was buried at sea on 27 July.[16]

On 15 March 1808 Terpsichore was sailing some 60 miles off Ceylon when a mysterious sail was spotted coming up fast.[26] The ship came up at 5.50 that evening, hoisted English colours and fired a shot, before changing tack. She fired a second shot at 6.45, at which Montagu hauled up and hove-to. As the strange ship approached, Montagu was able to determine her to be hostile, and Terpsichore opened fire, which was returned and a general action began.[26] The enemy ship, which was the 40-gun French frigate Sémillante under Captain Léonard-Bernard Motard, closed at 7.10 and threw some combustible materials onto the deck, which caused a large explosion amongst boxes of powder.[27] The explosion unmanned four guns and started fires, which the officers and men of Terpsichore struggled with but successfully extinguished.[27] The two ships exchanged fire for sometime, each trying to manoeuvre into an advantageous position, until Sémillante ceased fire at 8 and bore round to escape. The reason for this was that Sémillante apparently suffered an explosion in a room near the magazine during the action. To reduce risk, the crew flooded the magazine, leaving her without usable powder, Sémillante had no choice but to break off the action with Terpsichore and return to port.[27] Terpsichore had been badly damaged in her sails and rigging, but gave chase, and for the next four days pursued the fleeing French. By 20 March most of the damage to Terpsichore had been repaired, and she was fast closing on the French ship, under fire from her stern-chasers.[28] The French eventually resorted to throwing overboard her boats, lumber, water and provisions and so Sémillante was finally able to pull away and escape her pursuers.[28] Terpsichore's losses were almost entirely caused by the explosion of the powder boxes, and amounted to one lieutenant and twenty men killed and twenty-two wounded, two of them mortally.[28]

At 2am in morning of the 20th, Terpsichore sighted a sail, which Montagu initially believed was Sémillante. However, the vessel turned out to be the brig Cadry, a prize to Piémontaise.[lower-alpha 4] Montagu put a prize crew on board Cadry and sent her into Madras. Terpsichore herself returned to Point de Galle.[29]

A report from Île de France stated that the principle damage to Sémillante was due to an explosion in a room near the magazine, during the action. To reduce risk, the crew flooded the magazine; without usable powder, Sémillante had no choice but to attempt to break off the action with Terpsichore and return to port. Sémillante reportedly had five men killed and six wounded, including Motard, who may have had to have his arm amputated.[30] It is not clear from the report how many casualties were due to the action and how many to the explosion. Sémillante was so seriously damaged that the French removed her armament and decommissioned her on 10 July.

During this action the future French Admiral Charles Baudin was severely wounded, losing an arm. Baudin recounts, in his memoirs, the kindnesses showed to him by an Englishwoman, wife of Captain Skene, master of the Gilwell, a prize Sémillante had taken earlier.[31]

Terpsichore was refitted, and remained in the Indian Ocean until she returned to Britain with a convoy.[1] On 15 February 1809 she sailed from Point de Galle with HMS Culloden escorting a fleet of 15 East Indiamen bound for England.

On 14 March, off Mauritius, a gale developed. Four of the ships, Bengal, Calcutta, Jane, Duchess of Gordon, and Lady Jane Dundas, parted company with the main convoy. They were never heard of again.