Boreas (28)
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Origin and History
The frigate was built at the Woolwich dockyard and launched on July 29 1757.
During the Seven Years' War, the frigate was under the command of:
- in 1758 and 1759: captain Robert Boyle Walsingham
- in 1760: captain Samuel Uvedale
The frigate was sold out of the navy on June 29 1770.
Service during the War
At the beginning of 1758, the frigate was part of the fleet who assembled at Portsmouth under the command of admiral Edward Boscawen for the expedition against Louisbourg. On February 19, this fleet set sail for Halifax and finally arrived there on May 9. On May 28, the fleet sailed from Halifax and arrived in sight of Louisbourg on June 1. Throughout the siege of Louisbourg, the fleet actively supported the British army and the fortress finally surrendered on July 26. A few weeks after the capture of Louisbourg, Boscawen sailed for Great Britain with a squadron who, on his passage, became separated. On October 27, Boscawen entered the Soundings with part of his squadron, including the Boreas. His squadron met du Chaffault's squadron which was returning from Québec but after a brief cannonade, both fleet separated. On November 1, Boscawen arrived at Spithead.
On July 2 1759, the frigate was part of the squadron of rear-admiral George Brydges Rodney who sailed from St. Helen's to destroy the flat-bottomed boats and the supplies which had been collected at Le Havre for the projected invasion of England. In the afternoon of Tuesday July 3, Rodney arrived in the bay of Le Havre and steered his fleet into the channel of Honfleur. On July 4 at sunrise Rodney began the bombardment of Le Havre and of the flat-bottomed boats. The bombardment lasted for 52 hours until July 6 at 8:00 AM and 1,900 shells and 1,150 carcasses were fired on the town. This attack totally destroyed any French preparations in this town for the invasion of England. Rodney, with some of his frigates, remained off the port of Le Havre for the rest of the year, and captured numerous prizes.
On March 9 1760, the frigate was part of rear-admiral Holmes' squadron who sailed from Gosport to escort a convoy transporting the 68th Foot (approx. 600 men) as reinforcements for the garrison of Guadeloupe Island. The squadron reached at Barbados then sailed for Guadeloupe. On May 7, it anchored in the roads of Basse-Terre one of most important towns of Guadeloupe island. On October 17, the Hampshire (50), the Boreas (28) and the Lively (20) sighted a French convoy sailing from Cap François, escorted by 5 frigates. In the evening, the Boreas engaged the Sirène (30) but was damaged and forced to retire. On October 18, the Boreas renewed her attack on the Sirène who finally surrendered after loosing 80 men killed or wounded. In this engagement, the Boreas lost one man killed and one wounded. In December, the boats of the Boreas, along with those of the Trent (28), captured two French privateers in Cumberland harbour: the Vainqueur (10) also equipped with 16 swivels and manned by 90 men and the Mackau, a small vessel of six swivels and 15 men. The Boreas lost 1 man killed and 5 wounded in this action. Then both frigates advanced on the Guespe (8) of 85 men. The French burnt the vessel to avoid its capture.
To do: more details on the campaigns from 1761 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 28
| ||||||
| Crew | information not available | ||||||
| Length at gundeck | information not available | ||||||
| Width | information not available | ||||||
| Depth | information not available | ||||||
| Displacement | information not available |
References
Blasco, Manuel, British 6th Rates, 3 Decks Wiki
Phillips, M., Michael Phillip's Ships of the Old Navy
N.B.: the section Service during the War is derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
