Siren, a 28-gun, sixth-rate frigate, as built by Henri at Chatham[1]
History
Royal Navy Ensign (1707-1801)Great Britain
NameHMS Siren
Ordered25 December 1770
BuilderJohn Henniker & Co, Chatham
Laid downApril 1771
Launched2 November 1773
Completed5 October 1775 at Chatham Dockyard
CommissionedAugust 1775
FateGrounded and abandoned under fire, 6 November 1777
General characteristics
Class and type28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate
Tons burthen603 40⁄94 bm
Length
  • 120 ft 10 in (36.83 m) (overall)
  • 99 ft 7.5 in (30.366 m) (keel)
Beam33 ft 9 in (10.3 m)
Depth of hold10 ft 9 in (3.28 m)
Sail planFull-rigged ship
Complement200 officers and men
Armament

HMS Siren (or Syren[Note 1]) was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Siren was first commissioned in August 1775 under the command of Captain Tobias Furneaux, her only commanding officer.

Service

She took part in the Battle of the Rice Boats on 2–3 March 1776 on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Province of South Carolina and in the Battle of Sullivan's Island of 28 June 1776 upon Charleston, South Carolina. On 5 June, 1777 she captured "Jammy" off Cape Sambro. Sometime in September, 1777 she captured "Batchelor" off Block Island and sometime in the 1st week of November she captured "Succsess" also off Block Island.[2]

Fate

Siren, escorting a convoy in poor visibility, ran aground at about 6:00 am on 6 November 1777 near Point Judith, along with two other ships. Efforts were made to bring her off, but American forces ashore brought up field artillery and prevented salvage operations. Siren was abandoned with the loss of 2 killed and 5 wounded.[3] [4][Note 2]

Post script

The sloop Mary Ann, which had a diving machine, arrived at Newport, Rhode Island on 24 July 1815. She had retrieved Syren's best bower anchor and a quantity of iron knees.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Spelling during the period was not fixed.
  2. ↑ Some sources have 10 November,[5] but the court martial records and other official documents show 6 November.[4]

Citations

  1. ↑ "Syren/Siren (1773) | Royal Museums Greenwich".
  2. ↑ "Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 11 AMERICAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778 EUROPEAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  3. ↑ David J. Hepper (1994). British warship losses in the age of sail, 1650-1859. Jean Boudriot. ISBN 978-0-948864-30-8.
  4. 1 2 Winfield (2007)
  5. ↑ Robert F. Marx (1987). Shipwrecks in the Americas. Courier Dover Publications. p. 152. ISBN 978-0-486-25514-9.
  6. ↑ 5 August 1815, Providence Patriot, Columbian Phenix (Providence, RI, United States), Volume: 13 , Issue: 30.

Bibliography

  • Robert Gardiner, The First Frigates, Conway Maritime Press, London 1992. ISBN 0-85177-601-9.
  • David Lyon, The Sailing Navy List, Conway Maritime Press, London 1993. ISBN 0-85177-617-5.
  • Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714 to 1792, Seaforth Publishing, London 2007. ISBN 978-1-84415-700-6.
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