HMS Cyane (1806) facts for kids
HMS Cyane from stern
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 United Kingdom |
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| Name | HMS Cyane |
| Ordered | 30 January 1805 |
| Builder | John Bass, Topsham, Exeter |
| Laid down | August 1805 |
| Launched | 14 October 1806 |
| Completed | 13 July 1807 |
| Commissioned | March 1807 |
| Honours and awards |
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| Captured | 20 February 1815 |
 United States |
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| Name | USS Cyane |
| Acquired | By capture, 20 February 1815 |
| Commissioned | 1815 |
| Decommissioned | 1827 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1836 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | 22-gun Banterer-class sixth-rate post ship |
| Tons burthen | 53939⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
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| Beam | 32 ft 0+1⁄2 in (9.8 m) |
| Depth of hold | 10 ft 6 in (3.2 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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HMS Cyane was a British Royal Navy warship. She was a 22-gun post ship, which was a type of small frigate. Cyane was built in 1806 near Exeter, England. She was first named Columbine but her name was changed to Cyane in December 1805.
Cyane had an important career serving Britain. In 1847, a special medal was given to any surviving crew members who had fought in two specific battles. On February 20, 1815, Cyane and another British ship, HMS Levant, fought against the American ship USS Constitution. The British ships were outgunned and had to surrender. After this, Cyane became an American ship, USS Cyane. She helped fight against slavery before being taken apart in 1836.
Contents
Early Days and First Missions
Cyane was originally called Columbine, but her name changed in December 1805. She first had 22 long 9-pounder cannons on her main deck. She also had eight 24-pounder carronades and two long 6-pounder guns. Carronades were short, powerful cannons used for close-range fighting.
Captain Thomas Staines took command of Cyane in March 1807. He asked the Navy to change her 9-pounder guns to stronger 32-pounder carronades. Staines also added two brass howitzers to her weapons. Her crew was also increased to 175 officers and sailors.
In September 1807, Cyane helped in battles near Copenhagen, Denmark. After the Danish navy surrendered, Cyane helped block the coast of Zealand. Later, she escorted a group of merchant ships back to Britain. On December 8, Cyane and other British ships captured a Danish ketch called Jeltzomine den Roske.
Adventures in the Mediterranean Sea
On February 23, 1808, Cyane sailed to the Mediterranean Sea. There, her smaller boats captured eight merchant ships. On May 22, she captured a Spanish ship called Medusa near Majorca. Medusa had 12 guns and 80 crew members. This was the last Spanish ship the British captured before Spain joined the fight against Napoleon.
On June 3, 1808, Captain Staines learned that the people of Mallorca wanted to join forces with the British. Staines sailed to Palma and was welcomed warmly. Cyane then spent ten months patrolling Spain's southern coast. Her job was to bother French shore batteries and ships.
Battles in 1809
Cyane then joined Rear Admiral George Martin's fleet near Naples. On May 8, 1809, Cyane captured one bomb vessel and forced another onto the shore near Naples. Two days later, Cyane and another British ship, HMS Alceste, sank two gunboats near Terracina.
On May 14 and 15, the two British ships raided a supply area near Monte Circello. They took as much wood as their ships could carry. While loading, 23 French soldiers deserted and joined the British.
Captain Staines then captured three Martello towers. These were small forts, each with two heavy guns. On May 17, Staines surprised the first tower's guards. He told them he would blow up the tower if they did not surrender. When they hesitated, he fired a warning shot. The scared guards immediately gave up. He used the commander of that tower to convince the next tower to surrender. Staines then blew up both towers. He captured and destroyed a third tower without any British injuries.
On June 26, Cyane faced a big battle. She drove 12 French gunboats into the Bay of Pozzuoli. She also captured two polacres (a type of sailing ship) from under shore batteries. One polacre was carrying French troops. The next morning, a French frigate, Cérès, and a corvette, Fama, tried to leave the bay. Cyane and her allies fought them for an hour and forced them back.
On June 26, the British saw 47 enemy ships. Cyane, HMS Espoir, and gunboats blocked them from entering Naples harbor. The British and Sicilian forces captured 18 heavy gunboats and destroyed four. They also got rid of 15 other armed ships. In total, Cyane and her allies caused the French to lose 37 ships.
During this battle, shore batteries hit Cyanes hull 23 times. Two of her men were killed and seven were wounded. That afternoon, 15 French soldiers surrendered to Cyanes boats. The British then destroyed their four 42-pounder guns. That evening, Cyane fired at French ships in Pozzuoli Bay.
On June 27, Cyane was stuck without wind under another enemy battery. This battery had eight 42-pounder guns and other weapons. After two hours of being fired upon, Captain Staines led a landing party. They spiked the guns (made them unusable) and threw the mortars into the sea. They did this without any British injuries.
That evening, Cyane fought Cérès and Fama again for 90 minutes. She had to stop because she was running out of gunpowder. Captain Staines was wounded, losing an arm. One of his lieutenants also died later from his wounds. Cyane lost two men killed and 17 wounded. The French reported 50 men killed or wounded. Cyane was so damaged that she was sent back to Britain for repairs. She arrived on October 16.
Captain Staines was honored for his bravery. He was made a knight on December 6. The King of the Two Sicilies gave him a special medal. Citizens of the Isle of Thanet also gave him a sword. In 1847, surviving crew members from the battles between June 25 and 27 received a special medal.
In October 1809, Captain Valentine Collard took over command of Cyane.
Later Commands
On January 23, 1810, Cyane sailed with a group of ships to South America. Captain Edward Pelham Brenton replaced Collard in May.
Captain Francis Collier commanded Cyane from September 1810 to February 1812. He served with her in the Mediterranean, the English Channel, and the West Indies. In December 1810, Collier offered Cyane's boats to help burn a French frigate, Elize, that had run aground. The British succeeded without losses.
In early 1812, a sailor named Oakey hit Captain Collier. Oakey was sentenced to death. However, Captain Collier asked for mercy. The Prince Regent agreed, and Oakey's sentence was changed to transportation (being sent away). This surprised Oakey, who was very grateful.
Captain Thomas Forrest and French Frigates
From May 1812, Captain Thomas Forrest commanded Cyane in the Jamaica area. On July 11, she captured the French privateer Serene. A privateer was a private ship allowed to attack enemy ships. In September, she captured three American ships: Morningstar, Peru, and Whim.
On January 16, 1814, Cyane was with the large British ship HMS Venerable and her captured French brig, HMS Jason. Cyane spotted two 44-gun French frigates, Alcmène and Iphigénie. Venerable joined the chase. Venerable captured Alcmène after a fight.
Jason and Cyane chased Iphigénie and fired at her, but they were outgunned and had to stop. Cyane kept chasing Iphigénie for over three days until Venerable could catch up. On January 20, 1814, after a four-day chase, Venerable captured Iphigénie. The French ship threw her anchors and boats overboard to try to escape. The British took both French frigates into their navy.
This action also led to the award of the Naval General Service Medal in 1847 for any surviving crew members.
In 1814, Captain Gordon Falcon took over command of Cyane.
The Battle with USS Constitution
On February 20, 1815, Cyane, commanded by Captain Falcon, and the 20-gun HMS Levant were near Madeira. Around 1 PM, Cyane saw a strange ship. She thought it was an American frigate, so she quickly sailed towards Levant. The other ship was USS Constitution.
The captain of Constitution, Charles Stewart, knew that the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, ending the War of 1812. However, the war was still officially on until the treaty was approved by both countries.
Even though they knew they were outgunned, Captain Douglas of Levant decided to fight. He hoped to damage Constitution enough to protect two valuable British convoys nearby.
Just after 6 PM, Cyane was on Constitution's front left side, and Levant was on her back left side. Cyane and Levant exchanged many cannon shots with Constitution for about half an hour. But Stewart, the American captain, was very skilled and outmaneuvered both British ships. After Levant pulled away for repairs, Constitution focused her fire on Cyane.
During this time, Cyane had six men killed and 13 wounded out of her crew of 145 men and 26 boys. She also had five feet of water in her hull and so much damage to her masts and ropes that she could not be steered. She soon had to strike her colors, which means lowering her flag to surrender.
Constitution's second officer came aboard Cyane as the prize master (the officer in charge of a captured ship). Constitution then chased Levant. Levant tried to fight again, but seeing Cyane defeated, she tried to escape. Constitution quickly caught her and, after more cannon fire, Levant also surrendered.
Stewart stayed with his captured ships overnight to make repairs. Constitution had very little damage, though she had twelve 32-pound British cannonballs stuck in her hull. The Americans took their prisoners to Santiago in the Cape Verde Islands. They left quickly when British ships were spotted. Cyane sailed one way and Levant another.
Captain Sir George Collier in HMS Leander saw them on March 11 and recaptured Levant. However, Cyane successfully escaped. She arrived in New York on April 10. A prize court (a special court for captured ships) decided she belonged to the US Navy, and she was renamed USS Cyane.
Captain Falcon and his crew were later judged for the loss of Cyane. The court found them innocent, saying they had done their best against a much stronger enemy.
American Service
USS Cyane sailed off the west coast of Africa from 1819 to 1820. She also served in the West Indies from 1820 to 1821. Her job was to protect the Liberian colony and stop piracy and the slave trade. She was one of the first ships to do this important work.
While off Africa in 1820, Cyane captured six ships involved in the slave trade. Two of these, Esperanza and Endymion, were American ships breaking US laws against the slave trade.
Several important Americans served on USS Cyane. In 1819, Matthew Calbraith Perry joined her. In 1820, President James Monroe ordered Cyane, under Perry's command, to escort a ship called Elizabeth to Africa. This ship carried the first group of freed slaves that the American Colonization Society was helping to resettle in Africa.
In March 1825, Captain Jesse Duncan Elliott took command of Cyane. Uriah P. Levy, a Sephardic Jew who later became a high-ranking officer, served as her second lieutenant. While on Cyane, Levy became very popular. He saved an American sailor who had been forced to serve in the Brazilian Navy. This brave act impressed the Emperor of Brazil, Dom Pedro I. The Emperor ordered that no US citizen should ever be forced into the Brazilian Navy again. Pedro even offered Levy a high rank in the Brazilian Navy, but Levy politely refused.
End of Her Journey
USS Cyane was stored at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She sank there in 1835. She was brought up and taken apart the next year, in 1836. Her captured British flag was once displayed at the U.S. Naval Academy but was later moved for preservation.
Images for kids
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White Ensign of HMS Cyane
