Fowey (24)
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Origin and History
The frigate was built by Moody Janverin at Lepe and launched on July 4 1749.
During the Seven Years' War, the frigate was under the command of:
- since November 14 1758 to the end of 1761: captain George Anthony Tonyn
- in 1762: captain Joseph Mead
The frigate was sunk in the Chesapeake Bay by the American and French batteries on October 10 1781.
Service during the War
In February 1759, the frigate sailed from Spithead in Great Britain as part of the fleet destined for the expedition against Québec. The voyage was long and tedious. On April 21, when the fleet finally reached Louisbourg, it was to find the harbour blocked with ice, so that the fleet made for Halifax instead. The fleet finally sailed for Louisbourg in May. Between June 1 and 6, the fleet gradually left the harbour of Louisbourg and sailed for Québec. On June 23, Saunders' fleet made a junction with Durell's squadron at Isles-aux-Coudres. On June 26, the whole British fleet of vice-admiral Saunders was anchored safely off the southern shore of Isle-d'Orléans, a few km below Québec without loosing a single ship. Québec finally surrendered on September 18 1759. At the end of October, vice-admiral Saunders fired his farewell salute and dropped down the Saint-Laurent river with his fleet on his way to Great Britain.
In June 1760, while cruising the home station, the frigate captured a French privateer from Dunkerque.
In June 1761, off the Lizard, the frigate captured the Russian vessel Bayonne (6).
From January to March 1762, the frigate took part in the expedition against Martinique. Then from March to August, she participated to the expedition against Cuba. Off cape Tiberon in Hispaniola, she engaged and captured the Spanish frigate Ventura (26). The Fowey lost 10 killed and 24 wounded in this action.
To do: more details on the campaign from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 24 x 9-pdrs
| ||||||
| Crew | not available | ||||||
| Length at gundeck | 113 ft 6 in | ||||||
| Width | 32 ft | ||||||
| Depth | not available | ||||||
| Displacement | 513 long tons |
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.
