HMS Constant (1801) facts for kids
class="infobox " style="float: right; clear: right; width: 315px; border-spacing: 2px; text-align: left; font-size: 90%;"
|} HMS Constant was a special kind of small warship called a gun-brig. She was part of the Royal Navy (Britain's navy) and was launched in 1801. Her job was to fight against the French during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Constant sailed to many different places. She was in English waters, the Baltic Sea, the Caribbean Sea, and off the coast of Spain. During her 15 years at sea, she captured at least seven enemy ships. The Royal Navy sold Constant in 1816.
Building the Constant
Waterfront at Deptford, where Constantwas built in 1801.
Constant was one of ten gun-brigs ordered in December 1800. They were all built using a design by Sir William Rule, a Navy expert. These gun-brigs were needed to help the Royal Navy hunt down small French privateers. Privateers were like private warships that attacked merchant ships. The gun-brigs also helped protect Britain if France tried to invade.
Constant had two masts and was rigged like a brig. This means her sails were set up in a certain way. She was about 80 feet (24.4 meters) long from front to back. Her keel, the main support along the bottom, was about 66 feet (20.1 meters) long.
She was also quite shallow, drawing only about 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 meters) of water. This allowed her to operate close to shore. Even though she was small, she carried many powerful guns called carronades. She had two large ones at the front and ten smaller ones along her sides.
The ship usually had a crew of 35 sailors. This included a Navy Lieutenant, a sailing master, and other officers and seamen. She also carried 15 Royal Marines. This brought the total number of people on board to 50.
Constant began her service in May 1801 under Lieutenant James Bremer. For the next two years, she stayed in English home ports. In April 1803, she sailed to Scotland to patrol the North Sea. Her mission was to find privateers that were trying to attack British whaling ships.
In August 1803, Lieutenant John Stokes took command of Constant. He stayed with her for the next ten years. Under his command, Constant first patrolled the English Channel and the Dutch coast. In 1806, she captured at least five Dutch merchant ships. These ships were then sold, and the money was shared as "prize money" among the crew.
In 1808, Constant was sent to the Baltic Sea to protect groups of merchant ships, known as convoys. After some repairs, she returned to Channel patrols.
On September 5, 1810, Constant was with a larger ship, HMS Surveillante, off the Loire River in France. They saw a French merchant convoy. The British ships chased them, forcing one brig to hide close to shore. French cannons on the shore protected the brig.
The water was too shallow for the big ship, Surveillante, to get close. So, her smaller boats were sent to attack the brig. Constant also moved closer to support the attack. Her crew exchanged fire with French soldiers on the beach. The British captured the brig without any injuries.
In January 1809, Constant was pushed ashore during a storm in Sweden. Luckily, she was refloated, repaired, and put back into service.
Constant's last capture happened on April 21, 1813. While in the Caribbean, she found and captured a French privateer ship called L'Olympe. After this, Constant returned to England.
Later in 1813, she operated off the coast of Spain. In July and August, Constant was part of a group of ships that helped in the siege of San Sebastián. A siege is when an army or navy surrounds a place to try and capture it. Because the water was shallow, only smaller ships like Constant could get close enough to fire their guns at the town's defenses. Years later, a special medal was given to all sailors who took part in this siege.
On October 13, 1813, another British ship, HMS Telegraph, destroyed a French brig called Flibustier. Flibustier tried to escape during a stormy night, but Telegraph chased her. When Constant and another British ship arrived, the French crew set their ship on fire and escaped to shore. The Flibustier then blew up.
In March 1814, Constant was helping to escort a fleet of ships from Ireland to Portugal. In May, she helped return the captain and crew of a British mail ship, Little Catherine, to England. This ship had been captured by an American privateer.
Constant was later taken out of service at Chatham Dockyard. Her captain and crew were then moved to other ships.
What Happened to Constant
After being taken out of service, Constant was left at Chatham Dockyard. Her guns and masts were removed. In 1815, the war with France officially ended with the Treaty of Paris. Because the war was over, Constant was no longer needed by the Navy. She was sold at Chatham Dockyard on February 15, 1816, for £600.
| History | |
|---|---|
 Royal Navy |
|
| Name | Constant |
| Ordered | 30 December 1800 |
| Builder | John Dudman, Deptford Dockyard |
| Laid down | January 1801 |
| Launched | 28 April 1801 |
| Completed | 10 June 1801 |
| Commissioned | May 1801 |
| Decommissioned | February 1816 |
| Honours and awards |
Naval General Service Medal with clasp "St. Sebastian" |
| Fate | Sold 15 February 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Archer-class gun-brig |
| Tons burthen | 17924⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 22 ft 7 in (6.88 m) |
| Draught | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Depth of hold | 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
| Sail plan | brig-rig |
| Complement | 50 |
| Armament | 2 × 18 or 32-pounder bow carronades + 10 × 18-pounder carronades |
