Porcupine (16)
Hierarchical Path: Seven Years War (Main Page) >> Navies >> British Navy >> Porcupine (16)
Origin and History
The ship was a sloop of war.
During the Seven Years' War, the sloop was under the command of:
- in 1759: commander John Jervis
Service during the War
In 1756, the ship was part of a small squadron stationed at Minorca. When a French amphibious force invaded Minorca, this squadron managed to escape the French fleet on April 23, leaving the harbour after bringing in about ten captured French merchant vessels. It arrived at Gibraltar on May 2.
In February 1759, the sloop of war 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. On June 27 at 6:30 AM, the ships of the line Centurion (60) and Pembroke (60) along with the sloop of war Porcupine (16) anchored at the south-western point of Isle-d'Orléans, reconnoitring the French positions around Québec. During the night of July 8 to 9, the sloop, along with the armed ship Boscawen (16) escorted the boats transporting British troops from Isle d'Orléans to L'Ange-Gardien, a little on the north shore below the Montmorency fall. 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 the bomb vessel Racehorse (8) and the sloop Porcupine, under commander John Macartney, to winter at Québec.
To do: campaigns from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 16
| ||
| Crew | ??? | ||
| 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
Fortescue J. W., A History of the British Army, Vol. II, MacMillan, London, 1899, pp. 291-295
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
