HMS Romulus was a 44-gun ship of the Royal Navy. She was captured by the French Navy in the Chesapeake Bay during the American Revolutionary War and taken into French service as Romulus. She was later razeed to become the frigate Résolution,[2] and served in an exploration voyage to China under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux.
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} Great Britain | |
| Name | HMS Romulus |
| Builder | Adams, Bucklers Hard[1] |
| Laid down | July 1776[1] |
| Launched | 17 December 1777[1] |
| In service | 19 February 1781[1] |
| Captured | 19 February 1781 by Éveillé, Gentille, Surveillante and Guêpe.[1] |
 France | |
| Name | Romulus |
| Acquired | By capture, 19 February 1781[1] |
| Fate | Technical hulk in Isle de France[Note 1] in June 1789[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 700 tonnes[1] |
| Length | 43.9 metres[1] |
| Beam | 11.5 metres[1] |
| Draught | 5.2 metres[1] |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Armament | 50 guns of various weights of shot |
A model of this ship is to be found on display in the NT property Snowshill Manor, Broadway, Gloucestershire.
British career
editHMS Romulus served under Captain George Gayton in the British squadron off America during the American Revolutionary War.[1]
On 19 February 1781,[1] the 64-gun Éveillé, along with the frigates Surveillante and Gentille, and the cutter Guêpe, captured her in Chesapeake Bay.[1]
French career
editRear-Admiral Sochet-Destouches recommissioned Romulus under her old name in his squadron. In September 1781, she ferried troops to Annapolis for the Siege of Yorktown, in a division under Le Saige de La Villèsbrunne.[1]
In 1784, Romulus was razeed into a frigate and renamed to Résolution. In 1786, she took part to an exploration voyage to China under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, along with the corvette Subtile. The squadron reached Macao on 7 February 1787, two days after Lapérouse had left.[1]
Fate
editIn 1788, Résolution was decommissioned in Brest and in June 1789, she became a hulk at Isle de France[Note 2][1]
Notes
editCitations
editReferences
edit- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, 1671 - 1870. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. pp. 325–6. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.