Richmond (32)
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Origin and History
The frigate was built by John Buxton at Deptford and launched on November 12 1757.
During the Seven Years' War, the frigate was under the command of:
- since April 5 1757 until December 1757: captain Alexander Schomberg
- from September 1758 to at least June 1759: captain Thomas Hankerson
- from 1759 to April 1760: captain George Hamilton
- from April 1760 to at least August 1761: captain Elphinstone
The frigate was captured by the French fleet of comte de Grasse in the Chesapeake bay on September 11 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. From June 1 to 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. On July 1 1759, the frigate, along with the Trent (28) and Sutherland (50), drove back 6 French gunboats who were trying to stop Monckton's force from erecting batteries at Pointe Lévis. On July 8, the frigate, along with the Sutherland (50) and a bomb vessel took their stations before the camp of the chevalier de Lévis, who, with his division of Canadian militia, occupied the heights along the Saint-Laurent just above the Montmorency Fall. Here they shelled and cannonaded him all day; though, from his elevated position, with very little effect. The town finally surrendered on September 18. 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. However, he also left captain lord Colville in command of a small squadron, including several frigates (maybe this one), in North America.
By February 6 1760, the frigate was in Halifax Harbour.
On January 23 1761, while cruising off the coasts of Flanders, the frigate searched for the French frigate Félicité (32) a British vessel. She briefly came to contact around 11:00 PM but the French frigate escaped. On January 24 at 10:30 AM, both frigates ran ashore during an engagement. The French crew escaped while the British destroyed the Félicité. During summer, the frigate captured the French privateer Faucheur (6) off the coast of Norway.
To do: more details on the campaign from 1762 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 32
| ||||||
| Crew | approx. 210 men | ||||||
| Length at gundeck | 127 ft (39 m.) | ||||||
| Width | 34 ft (10 m.) | ||||||
| Depth | 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m.) | ||||||
| Displacement | 646 long tons |
References
Blasco, Manuel, British 5th 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.
