Burford (70)
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Origin and History
The ship was built at Chatham and launched in 1757.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in 1759: captain James Gambier
The ship was sold in 1785.
Service during the War
In August 1757, the ship joined the fleet assembling at Spithead under the command of sir Edward Hawke. On September 8, this fleet sailed. It escorted 45 transports carrying more then 7,000 foot for an expedition against an undisclosed French port of the Atlantic coast. The raid was finally intended against Rochefort but failed lamentably. On October 6, the expeditionary force, returned home with no tangible results.
At the beginning of 1758, the ship 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.
At the beginning of January 1759, the ship was among the fleet assembled at Carlisle Bay in Barbados under commodore John Moore for the planned expedition against the Martinique and Guadeloupe islands. On January 13, the whole British force sailed for Martinique Island. On January 15, the fleet lay off the bay of Fort Royal (actual Fort de France). On January 18, after an unsuccessful attempt of the land troops to capture Fort Royal, the British fleet proceeded to Saint-Pierre, the second town in Martinique. On January 19, the attack of the coastal batteries failed and commodore Moore decided to redirect his efforts against the island of Guadeloupe. On January 22, the British fleet reached Basse-Terre. On January 23, the ship was part of the squadron sent against a 12 guns battery while other vessels bombarded the citadel and town of Basse-Terre which were almost entirely destroyed. On January 24, British troops landed and occupied the town. Until March 11, most of the fleet remained idle in front of Basse-Terre. Moore then transported most of the land forces to Fort Louis before falling back to Prince Rupert's Bay in the Island of Dominica, in order to cover Basse-Terre and the British Leeward Islands from the threat of the newly arrived French squadron. The island of Guadeloupe finally capitulated on May 1. On November 20, the ship, which had sailed back to Great Britain, was present at the decisive battle of Quiberon who eliminated any serious threat from the French navy for the rest of the war.
To do: campaigns from 1760 to 1763
Characteristics
| Guns | 70
| ||||||
| Crew | 520 men (in 1759) | ||||||
| Length | ??? | ||||||
| Width | ??? | ||||||
| Depth | ??? | ||||||
| Displacement | ??? |
References
Anonymous, A Complete History of the Present War, from its Commencement in 1756, to the End of the Campaign, 1760, London, 1761, pp. 227-232
Blasco, Manuel, British 3rd Rates, 3 Decks Wiki
Wikipedia, "List of ships of the line of the Royal Navy"
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
