Augusta (60)
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Origin and History
The ship was built at Deptford and launched in 1736.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- 1755: captain Saltern-William Willet
- from 1756 to 1759: captain Arthur Forrest
The ship was broken up in 1765.
Service during the War
In October 1757, the ship was part of captain Forrest's squadron which had been sent by rear-admiral Thomas Cotes to intercept a French convoy that would soon leave Cap-François (actual Cap-Haïtien) for France. On October 21, Forrest's squadron engaged a French squadron in the combat of Cap-François. The British ships were so badly damaged that they had to return to Jamaica for repair. The Augusta lost 9 killed and 29 wounded. The French convoy seized this opportunity to set sail for France. On November 24, captain Forrest, in the Augusta, was despatched by rear-admiral Cotes to cruise off Gonave for two days. He proceeded up the bay between the islands of Ganave and Saint-Domingue (actual Haïti) with a view to cut out a rich fleet, under convoy of two armed merchant frigates. On November 25, Forrest stood in-shore and disguised his ship with tarpaulins and hoisted Dutch colours. At 5:00 pm, seven sail were seen standing to the westward, but in order to avoid suspicion, the Augusta made sail away from them until dark, when all sail was crowded in pursuit. At 10:00 pm, two ships were seen ahead, one of which fired a gun and the other made sail in-shore for Leogâne bay. Shortly afterwards, eight sail were seen to leeward, close under Petit Goâve. The Augusta was very soon alongside the ship which had fired a gun, when captain Forrest hailed the stranger and cautioned her captain, on pain of being sunk, not to give the smallest alarm; at the same time the lower-deck ports were opened, to carry the threat into execution. The ship submitted without opposition and, having taken her crew out, captain Forrest put a lieutenant and 35 men into the prize, with directions to stand in for Petit Goâve to intercept any of the ships which might make for that port. The Augusta then made sail after the body of the convoy and, by dawn of day was in the midst of them, firing at all in turns. The French ships returned an ineffectual fire for some little time but three of the largest having stuck, they were employed by captain Forrest to pursue the remainder. Only one small snow escaped. By the able measures of captain Forrest, a valuable convoy of nine ships (total: 3,070 tons, 112 guns and 415 men) fell into his hands. The captured ships were:
- Mars (22) 500 tons and 108 men
- Théodore (18) 650 tons and 70 men
- Solide (12) 350 tons and 44 men
- Marguerite (12) 350 tons and 51 men
- Saint-Pierre (14) 300 tons and 40 men
- Maurice le Grand (12) 300 tons and 36 men
- Flore (12) 300 tons and 35 men
- Brillant (10) 200 tons and 20 men
- Mannette (no gun) 120 tons and 12 men
To do: campaigns of 1758 to 1763
Characteristics
| Guns | 60
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| Crew | ??? | ||||||
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| Depth | ??? | ||||||
| Displacement | ??? |
References
This article contains some texts from the following books which are now in the public domain:
- Allen, Joseph; Battles of the British Navy, published by Henry G. Bohn, 1852
- Anonymous, A Complete History of the Present War, from its Commencement in 1756, to the End of the Campaign, 1760, London, 1761, pp. 285-286
- Clowes, Wm. Laird, The Royal Navy – A History from the Earliest Time to the Present, Vol. III, Sampson Low, Marston and Company, London: 1898, pp. 164-166
Other sources
Blasco, Manual, 3 Decks British 4th Rate
Castex, Jean-Claude, Dictionnaire des batailles terrestres franco-anglaises de la Guerre de Sept Ans, Presse de l'université Laval, Québec: 2006, pp. 42-45
Phillip, Michael, Ships of the Old Navy
