HMS Cornwallis (1805)

HMS Cornwallis was a Royal Navy 54-gun fourth rate. Jemsatjee Bomanjee built the Marquis Cornwallis of teak for the Honourable East India Company (EIC) between 1800 and 1801. In March 1805 Admiral Sir Edward Pellew purchased her from the Company shortly after she returned from a voyage to Britain. She served in the Far East, sailing to Australia and the Pacific COast of south America before returning to India. In February 1811 the Admiralty renamed her HMS Akbar. She captured forts and vessels in the Celebes and Amboyna, and participated in the invasion of Isle de France, and the 1811 invasion of Java. She also served in the West Indies before being laid up at Portsmouth in December 1816. She then stayed in Britain in a number of stationary medical and training capacities until the Admiralty sold her in the 1860s.

Service with the EIC
The EIC had Marquis Cornwallis built for long-range convoy escort duties. As such, she was a spar-decked frigate.

In December 1801, she sailed, together with the Upton Castle (an Indiaman), the Betsey, an armed HEIC brig, some other vessels, and 1000 troops to Daman and Diu to persuade the Portuguese governor to resist any French incursion. The expedition was under the command of Captain John Mackellar, of the Royal Navy, whose own vessel, HMS Terpsichore (1785), was not ready for sea. The governor accepted the British reinforcements, which, as it turned out, were not needed.

Captain Isaac Godsalve Richardson left Bombay on 7 Feb 1803, reaching St Helena on 12 May, and arriving at the Downs on 1 August. On 8 May 1804, Marquis Cornwallis sailed from Portsmouth, still under Richardson's command. She sailed via St Helena to Bombay, where the company intended for her to remain. She was convoying the Marquis of Ely, the Marchioness of Exeter, the Lord Nelson, the Bruswick, the Princess Charlotte, the Marquis of Wellesley, and the Ann.

East Indies, Pacific and Indian Oceans
In 1805 Admiral Pellew purchased her for £68,630, and commissioned her "immediately". Commander Charles James Johnson took command in February 1806. She then served off Bombay and engaged in the long-distance blockade of Isle de France (now Mauritius).

On 11 November 1806, HMS Sceptre (1802) and Cornwallis sailed into Saint Paul's Bay, on Île Bonaparte, in an attempt to cut out vessels there, which consisted of the French frigate Sémillante, three other armed ships and twelve captured British ships. (The eight ships that were prizes to Sémillante had a collective value of ₤1.5 million.) They fired on the French and took fire in return. However, when the slight breeze failed, Sceptre and Cornwallis found themselves unable to maneuver. They therefore left without having accomplished anything, but apparently also without having suffered damage or losses.

In February 1807, Cornwallis was ordered to Australia. She reached Port Jackson by sailing through the Bass Strait, which made her the first Royal Navy ship to traverse the strait. After visiting Port Jackson, Cornwallis sailed to New Zealand and subsequently crossed the Pacific Ocean to the Juan Fernández Islands in the vain hope of finding enemy shipping.

Off Valparaiso, an accidental explosion caused serious damage and a number of casualties aboard the frigate, but she was still able to raid Spanish settlements in the region, capturing a number of sheep and pigs and a few small vessels on the Peruvian coast. In September, Cornwallis raided Spanish settlements and shipping near Panama and subsequently visited Acapulco and Hawaii before returning to Madras. During this voyage, on 14 December Captain Johnston sighted and named the islands at Johnston Atoll. It is unclear if any territorial claim was made to the discovery at the time.

In 1808, command passed to Captain Fleetwood Pellew. In 1808, Cornwallis, in company with Sceptre, engaged and damaged Sémillante, together with the shore batteries whose protection she had sought.

In 1809 Captain Christopher Cole took command. When he moved to HMS Caroline (1795), William Augustus Montagu replaced him. Montagu then engaged in a number of operations in the Dutch East Indies, attacking forts on islands in the Celebes and Amboyna.

On 17 January, Montagu and Cornwallis attacked a Dutch fort at Boolo Combo in Bouthian Bay in the Celebes. Montagu, under a flag of truce, had requested permission to water his ship. When the Dutch commander refused, the British landed a small force of 100 men from the European Madras regiment. The 30 or so Dutch troops and 200 local troops quickly gave up the fort, but continued to snipe from the woods. The British burnt 11 small vessels (20-50 tons each), and the public buildings, took the ammunition, and spiked the eight 9-pounder guns and two brass field pieces there. The action cost the British one man killed, and nine wounded, including the captain commanding the landing force, who was lightly wounded.

then on 1 February Montagu spied a brig taking shelter under the guns of Manippa. He sent in three boats which brought the brig out. The British suffered no casualties despite coming under heavy small arms fire from the fort. Montagu took the cargo of foodstuffs off the brig to feed his crew, and then burnt the vessel. There were no British casualties

In February 1810, the British attacked Amboyna. In the campaign, Cornwallis captured the ship Mandarine, of 16 guns and 66 men, Captain Besman, on 3 February after a chase of four hours. Madarine had been out for four weeks but had captured nothing. Cornwallis suffered only one man wounded in the action. Mandarine then served as a tender to Cornwallis.

On 1 March Cornwallis chased a Dutch man-of-war brig all day until she took refuge in a small bay on the north side of the island of Amblaw. The wind being light and variable, and night approaching, Montagu sent in Cornwallis's boats, under the command of Lieutenant Henry John Peachy. After rowing all night, they captured the Dutch brig Margaritta Louisa, under Captain De Ruyter on 2 March. Margaritta Louisa was pierced for 14 guns but carried only eight, and a crew of 40 men. Margaritta Louisa had left Surabaya nine days earlier with 20 to 30,000 dollars for Ambonya, and supplies for Ternate. In the boarding, the British had one man seriously wounded and four men lightly wounded; the Dutch lost one man killed and 20 wounded.

On 28 March Cornwallis and Dover shared in HMS Samarang (1807)'s capture of the Dutch brig Recruiter.

In late 1810, Cornwallis was deployed with Albemarle Bertie's squadron that forced the surrender of Isle de France. William Fisher took command in December 1810 after Montagu was selected from among the captains assembled for the invasion and reassigned to lead a naval brigade in support of the British Army forces' ground offensive. For the next four years Cornwallis remained in the Indian Ocean under various commanders.

On 29 June 1811 HMS Salsette (1805) captured the slaver Expedition off Mauritius. The prize crew took the ship and the slaves on her to the Portuguese colony of Goa because selling slaves was illegal in British India, but not Goa. Salsette shared the prize money with the crews of HMS Drake (1808) and Cornwallis.

Between 4 August and 19 September 1811, Akbar participated in the capture of Java. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Java" to all surviving claimants from the campaign.

Akbar was paid-off in July 1812. Then in February 1813 she was at Woolwich Dockyard for conversion to a store ship. In the spring of 1813, Captain Archibald Dickson was appointed to command Akbar. Between March and December she was converted to a frigate.

On 15 May 1814, Akbar captured the Indian Lass.

Captain Charles Bullen took command in November 1814. Rear-Admiral Griffiths made her his flagship on the Bermuda station in 1815.

The court martial of captain, officers and men of HMS Cyane (1806) for the loss of their vessel took place on board Akbar at Halifax on 28 June 1815. Then on 11 August Akbar and HMS Arab (1812) captured the Hannah.

Fate
Akbar was laid up at Portsmouth in December 1816, but the next year was fitted as a troopship. Then between June and December 1824 she was fitted to serve as a quarantine ship for Pembroke. In September 1827 she was moved to LIverpool to serve as a lazaretto. She became a training ship in 1852 and a quarantine ship again around 1858. She was sold in 1862 or 1869.

Notes, ctations, and references

 * Notes


 * Citations


 * References;
 * Hardy, Horatio Charles (1811) A register of ships, employed in the service of the Honorable the United East India Company, from the year 1760 to 1810: with an appendix, containing a variety of particulars, and useful information interesting to those concerned with East India commerce. (Black, Parry, and Kingsbury).
 * Marshall, John (1823-1835) Royal naval biography, or, Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains, and commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers at the commencement of the present year 1823, or who have since been promoted ... (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown).
 * Marshall, John (1823-1835) Royal naval biography, or, Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains, and commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers at the commencement of the present year 1823, or who have since been promoted ... (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown).