HMS Tay (1813) facts for kids
Drawing of the Tay, 1813
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 United Kingdom |
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| Name | HMS Tay |
| Namesake | River Tay |
| Ordered | 18 November 1812 |
| Builder | Balthazar Adams, Bucklers Hard, Hampshire |
| Laid down | April 1813 |
| Launched | November 1813 |
| Fate | Wrecked 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Cyrus-class post ship |
| Tons burthen | 455 12⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
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| Beam | 29 ft 10 in (9.1 m) |
| Depth of hold | 8 ft 6+1⁄8 in (2.6 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 135 |
| Armament |
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The HMS Tay was a British warship launched on November 28, 1813. It was a 20-gun ship, meaning it carried 20 cannons. The Tay had a very short life at sea, and it's mostly remembered for how it was wrecked in 1816 off the coast of Mexico.
Life at Sea
After being built, the Tay was kept in a special reserve fleet at Portsmouth, England. From October to November 1814, it was prepared for active duty. Captain William Robilliard became its first commander in August 1814. The ship then had some changes made in early 1815, and Captain Robert Boyle took command in February.
In June 1815, the Tay was part of a group of British ships that captured a French ship called Panther. The Panther was sailing from Martinique to France when it was taken by the British.
Commander Samuel Roberts was promoted to a higher rank, called post captain, on June 13, 1815. He took over command of the Tay on January 24, 1816. Captain Roberts then sailed the Tay to the Jamaica Station, which was a naval base in the Caribbean Sea.
The Shipwreck
The Tay was sailing from Havana, Cuba, to Campeche, Mexico, when disaster struck. At 1 a.m. on November 11, 1816, lookouts on the ship saw waves breaking ahead. This was a sign of shallow water or a reef, even though a few minutes earlier, the water had been very deep.
Even though the helmsman tried to turn the ship, the Tay crashed sideways into a coral reef. It hit the reef two more times before tilting over and filling with water. The crew quickly fired distress signals, cut down the masts, launched lifeboats, and started pumping water out of the ship.
When daylight came, they saw a rocky reef nearby. However, when they tried to reach it, the boats filled with water, and one passenger, a Spanish person, sadly drowned. Eventually, the crew used a raft to get to the rocks. They then pulled a strong rope, called a hawser, to the rocks, which the rest of the crew used to escape the sinking ship. The next day, the crew used the boats to save food and supplies from the wreck. They set up a camp on a nearby island. Lieutenant Henry Smithwick then took one of the Tay's small boats to the mainland to find help.
Spanish Encounter
On November 18, a Spanish patrol ship called Valencey arrived, along with a smaller schooner named Zaragozana. After the Spanish sailors made sure all the British crew were safe on the island, they demanded that Captain Roberts and his crew give up their weapons and any money they had.
Captain Roberts agreed, saying that he and his men were "prisoners of war." The Spanish accepted this. They then took supplies and food from the Tay wreck. They also recovered about $350,000 in money. The Zaragozana then took the Tay's crew away.
The Tay had crashed on the east side of Scorpion Reef (also known as Arrecife Alacranes). This reef is a group of islands in the Gulf of Mexico, off the northern coast of Yucatán, Mexico.
The British Navy held a special hearing, called a court martial, for Captain Roberts and his crew. This took place on the ship Salisbury in Port Royal, Jamaica, starting on February 21, 1817. The hearing lasted 18 days, not counting Sundays. It looked into three main things: how the Tay was lost, if Captain Roberts was right to surrender, and how some of the crew behaved.
The court decided that Captain Roberts, his officers, and the crew were not to blame for the loss of the Tay. They said the ship was lost because of a strong ocean current and that Roberts had taken every possible safety step. The court also praised the officer on duty, acting Lieutenant William Henry Gearey, for his quick and proper actions when the dangerous waves were first seen.
Regarding the surrender, the court again found Roberts and his crew not guilty. They explained that the ship's cannons could not be used, its gunpowder storage was flooded, and most of the crew were on the island without weapons. Also, the Spanish had tricked and captured the British boats and their crews. Because of this, the British could not defend themselves. The court said that the Spanish acted in a very unfriendly way, leaving no choice but to lower the British flag. Every officer agreed with this decision. The court fully approved of Captain Roberts's actions and found him, his officers, and crew innocent of any blame.
During the time the crew was on the island, there were some problems with discipline. The court sentenced 14 sailors and marines to receive between 50 and 200 lashes for things like drinking too much and taking items from the wreck. A young officer, Midshipman Hilkitch Head, was found guilty of breaking into cabins and taking papers and money. His punishment was in two parts. First, he was taken to the deck of a naval ship, had his uniform removed, and was dismissed from the Navy. Second, he was sentenced to six months alone in a special prison called the Marshalsea.
After the Wreck
When Captain Roberts left for Britain, merchants in Kingston, Jamaica, gave him a special message. They expressed their great respect for him and their anger at the Spanish officer who had taken advantage of the situation. They admired Captain Roberts's good judgment during the difficult time and regretted that he was leaving their naval station.
Roberts sailed to England on March 17 as captain of a transport ship called Lady Hamilton. After returning to England, Roberts went to Waterford, where he was born. There, some important local people held a special dinner to honor him. On January 31, 1823, Roberts took command of another ship, the sloop Egeria. He sailed her to the West Indies and Havana, returning to England in July 1825.
It was reported that in October 1818, the Spanish government returned the money they had taken from the Tay.
