Forever Indefatigable, part 1 : a birthday post for Captain Anteros
Happy Birthday Captain anteros_lmc with many huzzahs and cheers and a gun salute.
A post to celebrate Anteros' birthday with part one of a guide to her favourite frigate:)
This is also a post which hopefully will interest Following Sea friends and members as it is an overview of the immortal Indy herself with some familiar pictures and some new ones, as well as a few highlights in the life of that great frigate.
Author:Nodbear
word length:
Summary : Some aspects of HMS Indefatigable's history with miscellany of original documents, plans and portraits andgratuitous sorry, necessary pictures of Horatio and Archie
Under the cut for recollections of the Indy and her first captain and some of the best of his crew, both fictional:
and historical (see under the cut)
A first rate fifth rate
The Indefatigable is immortalised because CS Forrester chose her to be the ship on which Horatio Hornblower received his midshipman's training- and he chose wisely,for in giving Hornblower the real Edward Pellew as his captain, he was giving him the start that many parents dreamed of for their sons and indeed many young men aspired to on their own behalf- as Lord Spencer, First Lord of the Admiralty wrote in 1795:
For many youngsters joining the Indy was a cause of rejoicing because of the twin factors of her being a fast sailing vessel likely to capture prizes and her captain's formidable reputation as a successful and honourable victor. But of course she did not start out as the frigate of a midshipman's dreams but as a fairly average and somewhat outdated 3rd rate 64 gun ship of the line. She was built at Buckler's Hard in Hampshire in 1784 and until recently the museum there had a cross section model, photographed on a visit some years ago by esteven but which has disappeared in the more annoyingly Nelson-centric display they now have.
One of Esteven's photos of the displays:
Although the Buckler's Hard archive denied knowledge of this model they did come up trumps with a drawing by Henry the master shipbuilder who worked on the Indy, showing some detail of her stern gallery scrollwork when she was built as a 64 with two tiers of aft windows:
It is very lovely but may not have ever have been fitted as The Indy of course was not commissioned until ten years later in 1794, languishing mastless and uncompleted meanwhile.
But in one of those turns that life takes,that what started as an Admiralty cost -cutting experiment and a way of trying to make some use of the now outdated 64 gun warships a decision was made to razee several ships including the Indy, thereby reducing them to 5th rates, but with added strength,armament capability and space qualities that frigates did not usually have.
A page from ADM 3/114, the Admiralty Board minutes of December 1794, contains the official orders for fitting out and victualling the Indy for what became a splendid 22 year service beginning in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Though some may have had faith in this decision in operational terms, what the powers that be could never have guessed was that a legend was about to be created.The midshipmen who served on her in those early years were some of the brightest and best the navy had in its ranks and her officers and men grew to be an exceptionally fine crew and also a kind of family. If Edward Pellew was unquestionably the father of this family, then it could easily be argued that the Indefatigable 'herself' was, in a way, their mother.
The view from the quarterdeck- 'My name is Captain Sir Edward Pellew ..'
and the effect it could have in real life: Nicholas Pateshall,midshipman,writing to his mother in 1796:
We fear nothing while we have this brave commander Sir Edward
two more extracts from ADM3/114 minutes to the Navy Board of December 1794, with the appointment of Edward Pellew as Captain of the Indy (and,by a pleasant coincidence especially for volgivagant,the senior officer in the list of transfers is Cuthbert Collingwood moving to command the Excellent).The second extract is the official registration of the Indy into the navy under the name she already had and with a compliment of 310 men -a number which was subsequently increased because she was of course bigger than many frigates and carried more guns.
The Indefatigable joining the western squadron by John Serres
In that for all the youngsters particularly in was in a frigate in the forefront of actions and storms that they found the alma mater which other young men might have found in school,university or professional training. A way of learning physically, mentally and spiritually what to make of the adventure and adversity of life.
Happy Birthday Anteros from Ned and his sons afloat:)
Part 2 about the Indy's adventures and
Part 3 about her later days
coming sometime:)
A post to celebrate Anteros' birthday with part one of a guide to her favourite frigate:)
This is also a post which hopefully will interest Following Sea friends and members as it is an overview of the immortal Indy herself with some familiar pictures and some new ones, as well as a few highlights in the life of that great frigate.
Author:Nodbear
word length:
Summary : Some aspects of HMS Indefatigable's history with miscellany of original documents, plans and portraits andgratuitous sorry, necessary pictures of Horatio and Archie
Under the cut for recollections of the Indy and her first captain and some of the best of his crew, both fictional:
and historical (see under the cut)
A first rate fifth rate
The Indefatigable is immortalised because CS Forrester chose her to be the ship on which Horatio Hornblower received his midshipman's training- and he chose wisely,for in giving Hornblower the real Edward Pellew as his captain, he was giving him the start that many parents dreamed of for their sons and indeed many young men aspired to on their own behalf- as Lord Spencer, First Lord of the Admiralty wrote in 1795:
For many youngsters joining the Indy was a cause of rejoicing because of the twin factors of her being a fast sailing vessel likely to capture prizes and her captain's formidable reputation as a successful and honourable victor. But of course she did not start out as the frigate of a midshipman's dreams but as a fairly average and somewhat outdated 3rd rate 64 gun ship of the line. She was built at Buckler's Hard in Hampshire in 1784 and until recently the museum there had a cross section model, photographed on a visit some years ago by esteven but which has disappeared in the more annoyingly Nelson-centric display they now have.
One of Esteven's photos of the displays:
Although the Buckler's Hard archive denied knowledge of this model they did come up trumps with a drawing by Henry the master shipbuilder who worked on the Indy, showing some detail of her stern gallery scrollwork when she was built as a 64 with two tiers of aft windows:
It is very lovely but may not have ever have been fitted as The Indy of course was not commissioned until ten years later in 1794, languishing mastless and uncompleted meanwhile.
But in one of those turns that life takes,that what started as an Admiralty cost -cutting experiment and a way of trying to make some use of the now outdated 64 gun warships a decision was made to razee several ships including the Indy, thereby reducing them to 5th rates, but with added strength,armament capability and space qualities that frigates did not usually have.
A page from ADM 3/114, the Admiralty Board minutes of December 1794, contains the official orders for fitting out and victualling the Indy for what became a splendid 22 year service beginning in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Though some may have had faith in this decision in operational terms, what the powers that be could never have guessed was that a legend was about to be created.The midshipmen who served on her in those early years were some of the brightest and best the navy had in its ranks and her officers and men grew to be an exceptionally fine crew and also a kind of family. If Edward Pellew was unquestionably the father of this family, then it could easily be argued that the Indefatigable 'herself' was, in a way, their mother.
The view from the quarterdeck- 'My name is Captain Sir Edward Pellew ..'
and the effect it could have in real life: Nicholas Pateshall,midshipman,writing to his mother in 1796:
We fear nothing while we have this brave commander Sir Edward
two more extracts from ADM3/114 minutes to the Navy Board of December 1794, with the appointment of Edward Pellew as Captain of the Indy (and,by a pleasant coincidence especially for volgivagant,the senior officer in the list of transfers is Cuthbert Collingwood moving to command the Excellent).The second extract is the official registration of the Indy into the navy under the name she already had and with a compliment of 310 men -a number which was subsequently increased because she was of course bigger than many frigates and carried more guns.
The Indefatigable joining the western squadron by John Serres
In that for all the youngsters particularly in was in a frigate in the forefront of actions and storms that they found the alma mater which other young men might have found in school,university or professional training. A way of learning physically, mentally and spiritually what to make of the adventure and adversity of life.
Happy Birthday Anteros from Ned and his sons afloat:)
Part 2 about the Indy's adventures and
Part 3 about her later days
coming sometime:)