HMS Meleager (1785)
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Name: | HMS Meleager |
| Namesake: | |
| Builder: | Greaves & Nickolson, Frindsbury, Kent |
| Launched: | 1785 |
| Fate: | Wrecked, 9 June 1801 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Fifth-rate frigate |
| Tons burthen: | 682 48⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 35 ft 1 in (10.69 m) |
| Depth: | 12 ft 2 in (3.71 m) |
| Armament: | 32 guns |
HMS Meleager was a 32-gun frigate that Greaves and Nickolson built in 1785 at the Quarry House yard in Frindsbury, Kent, England. She served during the French Revolutionary Wars until 1801, when she was wrecked in the Gulf of Mexico.
Admiral Sir Charles Tyler took command of Meleager in 1790.
In 1793 Lieutenant Thomas Masterman Hardy served aboard her. Meleager was among the vessels that shared in the capture, on 5 August 1793, cf the Prince Royal of Sweden. Also, on 16 November she and Romulus captured the French gunboat Ca Ira.
In 1794 Sir George Cockburn commanded her. In early 1794 she was among the British vessels present when Sir David Dundas captured the town of San Fiorenzo (San Fiurenzu) in the Gulf of St. Florent in Corsica. There the British found the French frigate Minerve on 19 February 1794, and were able to refloat her. They then took her into service as a 38-gun frigate under the name St Fiorenzo. Meleager shared in the prize money for both St Fiorenzo and for the naval stores captured in the town.
In April Juno captured the Mars (3 April) and Aurora (15 April) in the presence of Courageux, Berwick, St George, and Meleager.
Next, she took part in the Raid on Genoa (14 March 1795), and the Fight at Hyeres (12 May 1795). Meleager was among the vessels that shared in the prize money for the Ça Ira, Censeur, and Expedition (formerly Speedy), captured during or after the raid on Genoa. The British returned Speedy to service. Around this time Meleager was among the vessels that shared in the capture of the Genoese vessel Fortuna and the tartane Concezione. They also captured the Genoese and Venetian polacres and luggers Madona del Grazzie e Consolazione, Volante de Dio, Madona del Grazzie de Padua, Buena Forte and another small vessel.
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