HMS Portland (1770)
 HMS Portland (1770)
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} Great Britain | |
| Name | Portland |
| Builder | Sheerness Dockyard |
| Commissioned | 25 September 1770 |
| Reinstated | November 1797 refitted as a unrated prison ship |
| Honours and awards | Affair of Fielding and Bylandt |
| Fate | Sold 19 May 1817 to Daniel List for £800 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 1,044 77⁄94 |
| Length | 146 ft (44.5 m) (gundeck) |
| Depth of hold | 17 ft 6 in (5.3 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Armament |
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HMS Portland was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir John Williams, it was first launched on 11 April 1770.[1]
Service
[edit]American Revolution: On 13 February, 1778 she captured sloop "Swallow" 108 Leagues south west of Anguilla.[2]
Issue with privateers
[edit]During the American Revolution, the Portland captured the privateer ship known as the Hammond. This would result in the ship's captain, Thomas Dumaresq and flag officer Admiral James Young getting arrested by the Court of Vice-Admiralty at Antigua due to the tribunal of declaring the privateers as legal even without the proper paperwork. This resulted in a high-profile case surrounding Captain Thomas Dumaresq of the Portland that had the First Lord of the Admiralty, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich and King George III involved. Eventually after a deal between the British government and Antigua, charges were dropped.[3]
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References
[edit]- ^ "British Fourth Rate ship of the line 'Portland' (1770)". threedecks.org. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ "Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 11 European THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778 American: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ Jamieson, A. G. (January 1979). "Admiral James Young and the 'Pirateers', 1777". The Mariner's Mirror. 65 (1): 69–75. doi:10.1080/00253359.1979.10659124. ISSN 0025-3359.