Spanish frigate Hermione
 The British warships Favourite and Active capturing Hermione by Richard Wright | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} Spain | |
| Name | Hermione |
| Home port | Cádiz |
| Captured | 31 May 1762 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | 26-gun frigate |
| Armament | 26 × 9-pounder guns |
Hermione was a 26-gun frigate of the Spanish Navy designed by a British shipwright at Cádiz.[1] Opinions differ on the age and provenance of this ship. Some claim it to have been the Hermione bought in 1730.[2] Others believe it to have been the Hermione constructed in the Arsenal de la Carraca, Cádiz in 1752.[3][4]
Notable incidents
[edit]The ship fired several broadsides into the privateer Antigallican when held at Cádiz in 1756 at the beginning of the Seven Years' War, at that time armed with 32 nine-pounders.[5][6]
Hermione engaged Captain Herbert Sawyer's frigate, the 28-gun HMS Active, and the 18-gun sloop-of-war Favourite under Captain Philemon Pownoll, off the coast of Spain near the port of Cádiz in the action of 31 May 1762.[7][8] The British captured Hermione, with the capture being notable for the size and value of the bounty seized and the subsequent prize money awarded, possibly the largest ever in a single haul.
William Cole, on a visit to his friend Horace Walpole, noted the suicide of Walpole's neighbour, Isaac Fernandez Nunez, in the summerhouse of Cross Deep House, following Nunez's ruin as insurer of Hermione.[9][10]
Hermione features in a picture by Richard Wright, dated November 1762, depicting the capture and dedicated to the victorious captains by the artist.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Wright, R. (1 November 1762). "View of the Hermione" (print). Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ "Historia de las embarcaciones menores de la Real Armada. Historia de Fragatas (por letra H)" [History of vessels under the Royal Navy. History of Frigates (by letter H).] (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ "Hermione (1752)" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ Winfield, et al., pp. 230–231
- ^ The Annual Register, Or, A View of the History, Politics, and Literature for the Year 1762. 1763. p. 97. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
- ^ "Historical Chronicle - August 12 1762". The Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 32. 1762. p. 387.
- ^ Laughton, J. K.; Gwyn, rev. Julian. "Sawyer, Herbert". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Wareham, Tom. "Pownoll, Philemon". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription, Wikipedia Library access or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Sabor, Peter (2013). Horace Walpole: The Critical Heritage (reprint, revised ed.). Routledge. p. 244. ISBN 9781136172106.
- ^ "Cole visits Walpole". 30 October 1762. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
Bibliography
[edit]- Winfield, Rif; Tredrea, John M; García-Torralba Pérez, Enrique & Blasco Felip, Manuel (2023). Spanish Warships in the Age of Sail 1700—1860: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5267-9078-1.