HMS Forester (1806)
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Name: | HMS Forester |
| Namesake: | Forester |
| Builder: | John King, Dover |
| Launched: | 1806 |
| Commissioned: | 1806 |
| Decommissioned: | 1817 |
| Honors and awards: |
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| Fate: | Sold 1819 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Cruizer-class brig-sloop |
| Tons burthen: | 384 26⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 30 ft 7 in (9.32 m) |
| Draught: |
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| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 9 in (3.89 m) |
| Sail plan: | Brig |
| Complement: | 121 |
| Armament: | 16 × 32-pounder carronades + 2 × 6-pounder bow guns |
HMS Forester was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by John King and launched in 1806 at Dover. After a relatively uneventful career she was sold in 1819.
Forester entered service in 1806 under Captain John Richards and was sent to act as a convoy escort for ships sailing to the Baltic. During this service Forester also recaptured a British merchant vessel. Off the Netherlands she captured the smuggler Hiram. In 1808 Forester was caught in a gale in which several vessels were wrecked;Forester was also tasked with burning the frigate Flora, one of the vessels that had been wrecked. Soon afterward Forester escorted a convoy to Gorée and was then refitted at Spithead, subsequently sailing to Corunna.
Forester sailed for the West Indies on 29 August 1808. Operating off Barbados, Forester participated in the invasion of Martinique in January 1809. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded all surviving claimants from the campaign the NGSM with clasp "Martinique".
On 31 May 1809 Richards sent boats from his small squadron under the command of Lieutenant Robert Carr of the gun-brig Attentive to capture a French letter of marque and a schooner from under the protection of four long-guns and 300 soldiers at the Port du Molas. Carr captured the vessels and then landed, spiked the guns, and blew up the French magazine.
Command passed to John E. Watt later in 1809, and under his command Forester also participated in the capture of Guadeloupe in January and February 1810. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Guadaloupe" to all surviving participants of the campaign.
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