View source for HMS Alligator (1787)

{{short description|Enterprise-class Royal Navy frigate}}
{{other ships|HMS Alligator}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:Enterprize (1774), Siren (1773), Fox (1773), Surprize (1774), Acteon (1775), Medea (1778), Serpine (1777), Andromeda (1777), Aurora (1777), Sibyl (1779), Brilliant (1779), Pomona (1778), Crescent (1779), Nemesis (1780), RMG J6317.png
|Ship caption=Plan showing the quarterdeck and forecastle of the ''Alligator''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name=HMS ''Alligator''
|Ship ordered=7 May 1782
|Ship builder=Philemon Jacobs, [[Sandgate, Kent|Sandgate]]
|Ship laid down=December 1782
|Ship launched=18 April 1787
|Ship acquired=
|Ship completed=By 18 July 1790
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours=[[Naval General Service Medal (1847)|Naval General Service Medal]] with clasp "Egypt"<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=21077|pages=791–792|date=15 March 1850}}</ref>
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Sold on 21 July 1814
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=<ref name="Winfield232"/>
|Ship class= 28-gun [[Enterprise class frigate|''Enterprise''-class]] [[sixth rate]] [[frigate]]
|Ship tons burthen=599<small>{{frac|42|94}}</small> [[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]]
|Ship length=*{{convert|120|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (overall)
*{{convert|99|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}} (keel)
|Ship beam={{convert|33|ft|7+1/2|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|11|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|Ship complement=200
|Ship armament=*Upper deck: 24 × 9-pounder guns
*[[Quarterdeck|QD]]: 4 × 6-pounder guns + 4 × 18-pounder [[carronade]]s
*[[Forecastle|Fc]]: 2 × 18-pounder carronades
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Alligator''''' was a 28-gun [[Enterprise class frigate|''Enterprise''-class]] [[sixth rate]] [[frigate]] of the [[Royal Navy]]. She was originally ordered during the [[American War of Independence]] but was completed too late to see service during the conflict. Instead she had an active career during the [[French Revolutionary Wars|French Revolutionary]] and [[Napoleonic Wars]].

Commissioned during the last few years of peace prior to the outbreak of war with France, ''Alligator'' served in British waters, making trips as far afield as the Mediterranean and the North American coast. During the period of conflict that began in 1793, ''Alligator'' spent a considerable amount of time in the [[West Indies]] under a number of commanders, and was effective in anti-[[privateer]] operations. Despite this she was laid up for a period starting in 1795, and was reduced to a 16-gun [[troopship]] in 1800. Further service followed in the West Indies, supporting the fleet and army movements around the islands, and taking part in the capture of several French frigates. She was again laid up, and as the end of hostilities approached, was deemed surplus and was sold in 1814.

==Construction and commissioning==
''Alligator'' was one of the third batch of ''Enterprise''-class ships to be ordered by the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]], with the contract to build her being awarded to Philemon Jacobs, of [[Sandgate, Kent|Sandgate]] on 7 May 1782.<ref name="Winfield232">{{cite book |last=Winfield |title=British Warships of the Age of Sail |page=232}}</ref> She was laid down there in December 1782 and launched on 18 April 1787.<ref name="Colledge">{{cite book |last=Colledge |title=Ships of the Royal Navy |page=11}}</ref> With there being no immediate need for a large number of ships in the navy after the end of the war with America, ''Alligator'' was gradually completed between 20 April 1787 and 18 July 1790, at first at [[Deptford Dockyard]] and then at the civilian yards of Randall & Co, at [[Rotherhithe]].<ref name="Winfield232"/> She cost a total of £2,771 with £4,330 spent on fitting costs and expenses incurred at Deptford.<ref name="Winfield232"/> She commissioned under her first commander, Captain [[Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet|Isaac Coffin]] in June 1790.<ref name="Winfield232"/><ref name="Tracy84">{{cite book |last=Tracy |title=Who's who in Nelson's Navy |page=84}}</ref>

==Interwar years==
Coffin commissioned ''Alligator'' during the period of tensions known as the [[Spanish Armament]] and commanded her over the three years leading up to the outbreak of war with [[Revolutionary France]]. At one point, while ''Alligator'' was anchored at [[the Nore]], one of her crew fell overboard. Coffin jumped into the water to rescue him, and succeeded in recovering the man before he drowned, but in doing so experienced a serious rupture while carrying out the rescue, that would dog him in later life.<ref name="DNB217">{{cite book |chapter=Coffin, Sir Isaac (1759-1839)|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | year=1893 |volume=36|page=217}}</ref><ref name="Clarke10">{{cite book |last=Clarke|title=The Naval Chronicle |page=10}}</ref> From the Nore Coffin moved to [[Spithead]], and then to [[Ceuta]], where ''Alligator'' briefly carried the flag of Admiral [[Philip Cosby]]. Superseded by the arrival of {{HMS|Fame|1759|6}}, ''Alligator'' was sent to cruise off Western Ireland.<ref name="Clarke10"/> In 1792 Coffin sailed to Canada and returned carrying [[Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester|Lord Dorchester]].<ref name="Tracy84"/> ''Alligator'' then underwent a refit at Deptford for £2,895 and recommissioned in December 1792.<ref name="Winfield232"/>

==French Revolutionary Wars==
From February 1793 her commander was Captain William Afleck, who served briefly in the [[North Sea]], achieving success against French [[privateer]]s in the region. On 12 February 1793 he captured the ''Sans Peur'', followed by the ''Prend Tout'' on 21 February.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=13757|page=212|date=3 March 1795}}</ref> Afleck left Britain bound for the [[Leeward Islands]] on 18 March 1793.

He stopped at [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], where the schooner {{HMS|Diligent|1790|2}} joined him. From there they sailed, with three transports carrying an artillery detachment and 310 troops primarily from the [[King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster)|4th Regiment of Foot]], all under the command of Brigadier General [[James Ogilvie (British Army officer)|James Ogilvie]], to [[St Pierre and Miquelon]] on 7 May. They captured Saint Pierre on 14 May without firing a shot. They also captured 18 small vessels carrying fish, and two American schooners with provisions and naval stores.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=13542|page=554|date=29 June 1793}}</ref> {{HMS|Trepassey|1789|2}} joined them a day later and then sailed to Miquelon to complete the conquest. Prize money for the capture of the islands was paid in October 1796.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=13940|page=966|date=11 October 1796}}</ref>

On 11 December 1793, ''Alligator'' captured the French ship ''Triomphant'' in St Marks Bay, in the island of Hispaniola.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15515|page=992|date=14 September 1802}}</ref> Next, ''Alligator'' captured the French 14-gun ''Liberté'' near [[Jamaica]] on 28 March 1794. On 14 June, ''Alligator'' was among the vessels that participated in the capture of [[Port-au-Prince]]. In October that year command passed to Captain Thomas Surridge.<ref name="Winfield232"/> Captain Thomas Afleck succeeded Surridgein January 1795, and paid ''Alligator'' off the following month.

''Alligator'' was laid up at Portsmouth for five years, until being refitted there as a 16-gun [[troopship]] between February and March 1800. She was recommissioned in February under Captain George Bowen, under whom she took part in operations off Egypt during the [[Napoleonic Campaign in Egypt|French campaign there]]. While supporting the landing of troops in [[Abu Qir Bay]] had one man killed and three wounded.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15362|page=497|date=5 May 1801}}</ref> On 17 July she recaptured the ''Anchor''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16457|page=340|date=19 February 1811}}</ref> Because ''Alligator'' served in the navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] authorised in 1850 to all surviving claimants.{{#tag:ref|A first-class share of the prize money awarded in April 1823 was worth [[£sd|£]]34 2[[shilling|s]] 4[[pence|d]]; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 3s 11½d. The amount was small as the total had to be shared between 79 vessels and the entire army contingent.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=633 |issue=17915|date=3 April 1823}}</ref>|group=Note}}

Captain [[Philip Beaver]] took over command in May 1802. He remained ''Alligator''{{'}}s captain until she was recommissioned in May the following year under Commander [[Charles Richardson (Royal Navy officer)|Charles Richardson]].<ref name="Winfield232"/>

In April 1803, however, ''Alligator'' was sailing from Gibraltar to Britain in company with {{HMS|Dragon|1798|2}} and the store ship [[Prévoyante (1793)|''Prevoyante'']] when they sighted two French [[ships of the line]] off [[Cape St. Vincent]]. The French ships veered off rather than engage the British vessels.<ref>''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 9, p.337.</ref> Later that year ''Alligator'' went out to the Leeward Islands and on 27 September was one of a number of ships that captured the 18-gun Dutch ship {{HMS|Hippomenes|1803|2}} at [[Demerara]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15649|pages=1661–1663|date=26 November 1803}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|''Alligator'' was among the vessels that in July 1811 shared in a grant of £6000, which was the first portion of the "booty, etc.", taken at Demarara, Essquibo, and Berbice.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16505|page=1329|date=16 July 1811}}</ref> The second grant, of £3000, was paid in March 1812.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16581|page=455|date=7 March 1812}}</ref> The fourth and final payment occurred in July 1815. A first-class share of the prize money was worth [[£sd|£]]74 2[[shilling|s]] 6[[pence|d]]; a fifth-class share, that of an able seaman, was worth 12s 4¼d.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=17037|page=1366|date=8 July 1815}}</ref>|group=Note}}

==Napoleonic Wars==
Commander Robert Henderson was in command between 1804 and 1805, during which time ''Alligator'' was one of several ships to chase down and capture the 32-gun ''Proserpine'' at [[Surinam (Dutch colony)|Surinam]] on 6 May 1804.<ref name="Winfield232"/>

''Alligator'' formed part of Commodore [[Sir Samuel Hood, 1st Baronet|Samuel Hood's]] squadron at the capture of [[Suriname|Surinam River]] in 1804. The squadron consisted of Hood's flagship {{HMS|Centaur|1797|2}}, [[Hector (1784)|''Pandour'']], {{HMS|Serapis|1782|2}}, {{HMS|Unique|1804|2}}, {{HMS|Hippomenes|1803|2}}, [[Earl of Mornington (1799 ship)|''Drake'']], and transports carrying 2000 troops under [[Brigadier-General]] Sir Charles Green.<ref name=LG15712>{{London Gazette|issue=15712|date=19 June 1804|pages=761–762}}</ref> Both British and Dutch casualties were light.<ref name=LG15712/><ref>James (1837), Vol. 3, pp.288-90.</ref>{{#tag:ref|In February 1808, the members of the British force shared in a grant of £32,000, representing part of the proceeds from the capture of Surinam.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16121|pages=273–274|date=20 February 1808}}</ref> A second grant of £16,000 followed in November.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16199|page=1524|date=8 November 1808}}</ref>|group=Note}}

In November, ''Alligator'' recaptured from a French privateer the Danish brig ''Hoff'', which was carrying a cargo of slaves.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15794|page=436|date=2 April 1805}}</ref> On 24 June 1805, ''Alligator'' captured the Spanish brig ''Santo Chritle'', which was carrying brandy from Spain to Havanna.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=15896|page=294|date=4 March 1806}}</ref>

Henderson was succeeded by Commander Augustus Collier in 1806, who returned her to the Leeward Islands. There in March 1806 she came under the command of Captain Hugh Pigot.

==Fate==
Captain Robert Bell Campbell replaced Pigot from 1807.<ref name="Winfield232"/> Campbell returned ''Alligator'' to Britain, where she was laid up at [[Plymouth]] in April 1807. She was offered for sale there on 21 July 1814 as the Napoleonic Wars drew to a close.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=16915|page=1395|date=9 July 1814}}</ref> She was sold that day for the sum of £1,760.<ref name="Winfield232"/><ref name="Colledge"/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Note}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite Colledge2006}}
* {{cite book |first=James Stanier|last=Clarke|author-link=James Stanier Clarke|title=The Naval Chronicle|year=1805|publisher=J. Gold|location=London|volume=12}}
* {{cite book |first=J. K. |last=Laughton|author-link=J. K. Laughton|chapter=Coffin, Sir Isaac (1759-1839)|title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1893 |volume=36}}
* {{cite book | last = Winfield| first = Rif|title = British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates | publisher = Seaforth| year = 2007|isbn=978-1-86176-295-5}}
{{refend}}
* Robert Gardiner, ''The First Frigates'', Conway Maritime Press, London 1992. {{ISBN|0-85177-601-9}}.
* David Lyon, ''The Sailing Navy List'', Conway Maritime Press, London 1993. {{ISBN|0-85177-617-5}}.
* Rif Winfield, ''[[British Warships in the Age of Sail]], 1714 to 1792'', Seaforth Publishing, London 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-84415-700-6}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

{{Enterprise class frigate}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alligator (1787)}}
[[Category:Sixth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Kent]]
[[Category:1787 ships]]