HMS Cameleon (1795) facts for kids

Chamelion (alternative spelling- Cameleon)
Quick facts for kids History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Cameleon
Ordered	13 July 1795
Builder	John Randall, Rotherhithe
Laid down	July 1795
Launched	14 October 1795
Commissioned	27 October -26 December 1795
Honours and awards	Naval General Service Medal with clasp: "Egypt"
Fate	Broken up 1811
General characteristics
Class and type	Diligence-class brig-sloop
Type	18-gun brig-sloop
Tons burthen	318 85⁄94 (bm)
Length	95 ft 1 in (29.0 m) (gundeck) 75 ft 1+1⁄2 in (22.9 m) (gundeck)
Beam	28 ft 32 in (9.3 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft 1 in (3.7 m)
Sail plan	Brig
Complement	121
Armament	16 × 32-pounder carronades 2 × 6-pounder chase guns

HMS Cameleon (sometimes spelled Camelion) was a fast Royal Navy warship. She was a type of ship called a brig-sloop, launched in 1795. She was built quickly using fir wood, which made her less durable than ships made from oak.

Cameleon was known for capturing enemy ships and privateers. She served in the Mediterranean Sea for many years. After a busy career, she was taken out of service in 1805 and broken up in 1811.

Serving in the French Revolutionary Wars

Cameleon began her service in November 1795 under Commander Richard Bennet. Soon after, Commander Richard R. Boyer took command in February 1796. He sailed Cameleon to the Mediterranean.

In November 1796, Cameleon captured two ships: the Gustaf Frederick and the Nostra Senora del Carmen. A few months later, in February 1797, she captured the French ships Elizabeth and Trois Enfants, followed by By Geval.

Chasing Privateers

In March 1798, Cameleon was near Guernsey when she spotted a fast enemy cutter. The wind was light, so the cutter's crew used oars to escape to safety.

The very next day, Cameleon had better luck. She chased and captured a French privateer named Souffleur. Privateers were private ships allowed by their government to attack enemy merchant ships. Souffleur had four guns and a crew of 40. She had already captured four British merchant ships, and their captains were found aboard Souffleur.

The captured British ships were:

• The sloop Peggy, carrying wheat and barley.
• The brig Camilla, carrying cod.
• The Delaval, carrying coal.
• The Betsey, carrying wine.

Commander Boyer sent the captured privateer crew to Portsmouth. He then went after the merchant ships that Souffleur had taken.

Mediterranean Missions

In June 1798, Commander John Stiles became Cameleon's captain. For the rest of the year, she patrolled the seas and protected groups of merchant ships called convoys.

Around October 1798, Cameleon's smaller boats managed to capture the sloop Four Friends from a French harbor. This ship had been captured by the French while sailing from Portsmouth. Sadly, Four Friends was lost in a storm later.

In March 1799, Stiles sailed Cameleon to the Mediterranean. She arrived at Gibraltar and then went to Malta. Her mission was to tell Captain Alexander Ball about a French fleet in the Mediterranean. Ball was leading a naval blockade during the siege of Malta. Cameleon was also supposed to inform Sir Sidney Smith in Alexandria.

Commander Stiles was promoted in June 1799. Lord Nelson wanted Lieutenant Edward Canes to command Cameleon. However, Lieutenant Frederick Lewis Maitland was promoted and given command instead. Maitland commanded Cameleon off the coast of Egypt until January 1800.

Supporting Allies

By April 1800, Lieutenant Samuel Jackson was acting commander of Cameleon. She joined a small group of warships helping Austrian forces besiege the fortress of Savona. The ships' boats guarded the harbor entrance for 41 nights. The hungry enemy soldiers inside the fortress surrendered in May.

Cameleon also shared in the prize money from several captures made by other British ships during this time. For example, she shared in the capture of the St. Rosalia and the Proteus. She also shared in the capture of many Genoese vessels near St Remo and other places.

In June 1800, Commander the Honourable George Dundas took command. Cameleon captured the Genoese brig Anima Purgatoria and the Genoese boat St. Antonio di Padova.

Later, in August, Maitland was again in command of Cameleon. She captured a Corsican privateer called Providence, which had two guns and 23 crew members. Sixteen days later, Cameleon chased a Spanish ketch (a type of boat) ashore and burned it.

The Egypt Campaign

By December 1800, Commander James Dalrymple was acting commander. However, Maitland returned to command Cameleon for the important British expedition to Egypt.

On March 1, 1801, about 70 British warships, including Cameleon, anchored near Alexandria in Abu Qir Bay. They were carrying 16,000 troops. Their goal was to defeat the French forces in Egypt. Bad weather delayed the landing, but on March 8, the troops were brought ashore. French shore batteries fired at them, but the British pushed them back. During the landing, Cameleon was anchored close to shore and had one sailor wounded.

The British army then defeated the French at the Battle of Alexandria. The Siege of Alexandria followed, and the city fell in September 1801. Because Cameleon was part of this campaign, her crew later received the "Egypt" clasp on their Naval General Service Medal.

In September, Cameleon's smaller boats, led by Lieutenant Richard Spencer, captured a Spanish felucca (a type of boat) near Tarragona. The felucca had two guns. They tried to get two other feluccas, but enemy soldiers on the beach fired at them, so they had to leave the other boats.

In May 1802, Lieutenant Thomas Staines was promoted to Commander and given command of Cameleon. During a short period of peace, Cameleon helped keep communications open between Malta and Naples.

Napoleonic Wars

When the Napoleonic Wars began, Cameleon joined Nelson's fleet off Toulon in June 1803. Nelson sent her to Barcelona to gather information about Spain's plans regarding Britain. She returned to the Toulon blockade in August.

Cameleon then went back to her usual patrol area. She captured nine merchant ships and a French packet boat. One of these was a polacre (a type of sailing ship) that Cameleon captured from under the guns of batteries near Genoa. This fight cost Cameleon one man killed and seven wounded.

Between August 1803 and March 1804, Cameleon captured several more ships, including the St. Spiridion and the Jeune Adelaide.

In August 2003, Cameleons boats tried to capture five ships near Rimasol, but they were unsuccessful and ten men were wounded. On another occasion, Cameleons boats, working with those of Niger, successfully captured a settee (another type of boat) from Alassio.

Capturing the Renard

In November 1803, Cameleon was part of Nelson's squadron near Corsica. Commander Staines spotted an armed schooner (a small, fast ship) escorting a transport ship. He sent out Cameleon's boats, and they captured the schooner, which was the French naval vessel Renard. Renard had 12 guns and a crew of 80 men. Another British ship, Stately, chased and captured the transport brig, named Titus, which was carrying 96 troops.

The British Navy later used Renard as a warship.

From November 1803 to August 1804, Cameleon patrolled the coast between Genoa and Marseilles. She chased a large corvette and a brig back to their safe harbor. During this time, she captured 10 more vessels, destroyed one, and helped capture three others.

Later Service

From December 1804 to April 1805, Cameleon protected merchant ships trading in the eastern Mediterranean. She escorted a large convoy from that area to Gibraltar.

In June 1805, while Cameleon was stuck without wind, a group of Spanish gunboats approached. However, when a breeze came up, they left.

Cameleon then worked with Beagle. At one point, Cameleon sailed safely through enemy fire from shore batteries while scouting near Ascombrera Island. Later, near Carthagena, Cameleon spotted a Spanish guard ship escorting six merchant vessels. The Spanish ships were too well armed and fought off Cameleon's boats, causing five British casualties.

Cameleon's last adventure happened on August 15. She had to throw her guns and supplies overboard to escape from a large Spanish 74-gun ship. Just as the Spanish ship was getting close, Cameleon and Beagle saw four unknown ships in the distance. The British ships made signals as if these were British warships. This made the Spanish ship turn back to its harbor, with Beagle and Cameleon chasing it.

The End of Cameleon

Cameleon was taken out of service at Portsmouth in September 1805. The Navy offered her for sale in September 1810. Cameleon was finally broken up (taken apart) at Portsmouth in April 1811.