HMS Hesper (1809)
| History | |
|---|---|
 UK
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| Name: | HMS Hesper |
| Ordered: | 19 October 1805 |
| Builder: | Benjamin Tanner, later John Cock, Dartmouth |
| Laid down: | June 1806 |
| Launched: | 3 July 1809 |
| Completed: | 30 September 1809 at Plymouth Dockyard |
| Commissioned: | August 1809 |
| Out of service: | Sold 8 July 1817 |
| Honours and awards: |
Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Java" |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 18-gun Cormorant-class sloop |
| Tons burthen: | 424 1⁄94 bm |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 29 ft 8 in (9.0 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 9 ft (2.74 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Sloop |
| Complement: | 121 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Hesper was a British Royal Navy 18-gun ship-sloop of the Cormorant class, launched in 1809 at Dartmouth. Her original builder, Benjamin Tanner, became bankrupt during her construction, so John Cock completed her. In 1810 she was reclassed as a 20-gun sixth rate ship (but without being re-armed); in 1817 she was again re-rated, this time as 26 guns. She served primarily in the Indian Ocean. In 1810 she participated in the Invasion of Isle de France. The next year Hesper participated in the capture of Java, which she followed in 1812 by capturing Timor. She was sold in 1817.
G. Aklom apparently commissioned Hesper in March 1807. However, Hesper was not launched until 1809 and did not actually enter service until 1809. Captain George Hoare was appointed to Hesper in 1809, commissioned her in August and sailed for the Indian Ocean on 9 October. In October 1810 Commander David Paterson took command.
Hesper captured Mouche No.28 on 15 November 1810 near Île Bonaparte (Réunion) as she was carrying dispatches to the Île de France. A boarding party in Hesper's cutter suffered three men wounded while boarding Mouche; French casualties were two men killed and five wounded, one of whom was Mouche No.28's commander. The British recommissioned her for the attack on Île de France.
Hesper was detailed for service with the squadron under Admiral Albemarle Bertie engaged in the invasion of Isle de France (Mauritius). Bertie set Hesper and Cornelia to join the squadron blockading Port Louis. While she was there, she and the government armed ship Emma, Lieutenant B. Street commanding, performed a useful reconnaissance taking soundings at night of the anchorage on the coast, a service for which Bertie commended them. They identified a place in a narrow strait between an islet called the Gunner's Coin and the coast where the fleet could anchor and where boats could land through an opening in the reef. The island surrendered on 3 December. In September 1814 prize money was paid to the officers and crews of the vessels that had been present at the capture of Isle de France.
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