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Mercury5363
Nominal Guns28BWAS-1714
NationalityGreat BritainBWAS-1714
OperatorThe Royal NavyBWAS-1714
Ordered1778/01/22BWAS-1714
Keel Laid Down1778/03/25BWAS-1714
Launched1779/12/09BWAS-1714
How acquiredPurpose builtBWAS-1714
ShipyardRotherhithe BWAS-1714
Ship ClassEnterprise ClassBWAS-1714
Designed byJohn Williams BWAS-1714
ConstructorPeter Mestaer BWAS-1714
CategorySixth RateBWAS-1714
Ship TypeFrigate BWAS-1714
Broken Up1814/01BWAS-1714

Dimensions

DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1714
Length of Gundeck120' 9 ¾"Imperial Feet36.8237
Length of Keel99' 10 ½"Imperial Feet30.4419
Breadth33' 9"Imperial Feet10.287
Depth in Hold11' 0 ½"Imperial Feet3.3655
Burthen605 1294Tons BM 

Armament

1779/12/09Broadside Weight = 177 Imperial Pound ( 80.2698 kg) BWAS-1714
Upper Gun Deck24British 9-Pounder
Upper Gun Deck12British 1/2-Pound Swivel
Quarterdeck4British 6-Pounder
Quarterdeck4British 18-Pound Carronade
Forecastle2British 18-Pound Carronade
Crew Complement
Date# of MenNotesSource
1771/01/03200Design Complement 
Commanders
FromToRankNameSource
1779/041781/05CaptainIsaac PrescottBWAS-1714
1781/05/091782/09CaptainWilliam CarlyonBWAS-1714
1782/091782/12CaptainSir Henry Edwin StanhopeBWAS-1714
1783/041786/07CaptainSir Henry Edwin StanhopeBWAS-1714
1788/051790CaptainAugustus MontgomeryBWAS-1714
1795/101797/04CaptainGeorge ByngBWAS-1714
1797/041801CaptainThomas RogersBWAS-1714
1803/04/011805/08CaptainDuncombe Pleydall BouverieBWAS-1714
1805/081807/06CaptainCharles PellyBWAS-1714
1807/061808/11CaptainJames Alexander GordonBWAS-1714
1808/111810/03CaptainHenry DuncanBWAS-1714
1810/051810/06LieutenantWilliam WebbBWAS-1714
1810/061811/11CommanderJohn TancockBWAS-1714
1811/111813/08CommanderClement MilwardBWAS-1714
1813/081814CommanderSir John Charles RichardsonBWAS-1714
Commissioned Officers
FromToRankNameSource
18091809LieutenantWatkin Owen PellTRN5
18091809LieutenantRobert James GordonTRN5
Petty Officers
FromToRankNameSource
1803/07/121804MidshipmanWilliam Bohun BowyerNBD1849
1809/101810/03MidshipmanEdward BlanckleyNBD1849
Crewmen
FromToRankNameSource
1803/05/091803/07/121st Class VolunteerWilliam Bohun BowyerNBD1849
Service History
DateEvent Source
1779/12/09building at Rotherhithe at a cost of £6805.7.0dBWAS-1714
1779/12/09Began fitting at Deptford Dockyard BWAS-1714
1780/02/24Completed fitting at Deptford Dockyard at a cost of £6797.19.0dBWAS-1714
1780/04/06Sailed for NewfoundlandBWAS-1714
1782/12Paid offBWAS-1714
1783/04RecommissionedBWAS-1714
1783/06/27Sailed for Nova ScotiaBWAS-1714
1786/07Paid offBWAS-1714
1787/08Began small repair at Woolwich Dockyard BWAS-1714
1788/01Completed small repair at Woolwich Dockyard at a cost of £5361.0.0dBWAS-1714
1788/05RecommissionedBWAS-1714
1788/05Began fitting at Woolwich Dockyard BWAS-1714
1788/07Completed fitting at Woolwich Dockyard at a cost of £3463.0.0dBWAS-1714
1788/09/12Sailed for the MediterraneanBWAS-1714
1790Paid offBWAS-1714
1795/07Began fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard BWAS-1714
1795/10RecommissionedBWAS-1714
1796/02Completed fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard at a cost of £6151.0.0dBWAS-1714
1798On the Lisbon StationBWAS-1714
1798/01/05Took the Privateer Le Benjamin on the Lisbon Station 
1798/01/15Took the Privateer Les Trois Soeurs on the Lisbon Station 
1798/01/25Took the Privateer La Constance on the Lisbon Station 
1798/06Sailed to NewfoundlandBWAS-1714
1799/02Began fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard BWAS-1714
1799/05Completed fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard at a cost of £6973.0.0dBWAS-1714
1799/06Sailed to NewfoundlandBWAS-1714
1800/02/05Took the Privateer L'Egyptienne off the Isle of Wight 
1800/05/05Sailed to the MediterraneanBWAS-1714
1800/07/31Arrived off AlexandriaBWAS-1714
1801/01/20Took the Unrated Corvette La Sans Pareille in the Mediterranean 
1801/06/27Took the Privateer La Tigre by boat off Venice 
1803/04Re-classed as a 28 gun Sixth RateFloating Battery  
1803/05fitting at Deptford Dockyard BWAS-1714
1805/02/04Took the Unrated Fuerte de Gibraltar  
1806/05/12Sailed for NewfoundlandBWAS-1714
1807/09Sailed with a convoy for NewfoundlandBWAS-1714
1808/03/06Sailed for the MediterraneanBWAS-1714
1808/04/04Present at the Action off Rota 
1808/05/04In action with gunboats off CadizBWAS-1714
1809/04/01The boats of the Mercury, under Lieutenant Watkin Owen Pell, rowed into the port of Rovigno under a heavy fire, and boarded and carried the French gunboat Leda, with a loss of 5 killed and woundedTRN5
1809/04/01Took the Unrated Gunboat Leda port of Rovigno 
1809/04/23Present at the Bombardment of Pesaro 
1809/05/02In company with Spartan , landed men at Cesenatico, seized the town and captured twelve coasters without lossTRN5
1809/05/15A party under Lieutenant Robert James Gordon, destroyed seven coasters in the Italian harbour of RodiTRN5
1809/09/07Took the Unrated Schooner Pugliese cut out from Barletta 
1810/03Paid offBWAS-1714
1810/05RecommissionedBWAS-1714
1810/05Re-classed as a 16 gun UnratedTroop Ship  
1811On the Lisbon StationBWAS-1714
1811/11Commissioned for the Leeward IslandsBWAS-1714
1813/08Commissioned in the Leeward IslandsBWAS-1714
1814/01Broken up at WoolwichBWAS-1714

Sources
IDDescriptionAuthorType
BWAS-1714 British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714 - 1792Rif WinfieldBook
TRN5 The Royal Navy : a history from the earliest times to the present Vol VWilliam Laid ClowesDigital Book
NBD1849 A Naval Biographical Dictionary 1849O'BrienDigital Book
 
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