
Alistair Laird
Department Director
£2,000 - £3,000
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One of the four successful 'Amazon' class frigates designed by Sir William Rule in 1794, Emerald was built by Thomas Pitcher at Northfleet and launched on 31st July 1795. Completed at Woolwich that October, she was first commissioned under Captain Berkeley and sent to the Mediterranean in January 1797 where she enjoyed a remarkably active career, seeing action against both French and Spanish ships-of-war on many occasions. Ordered to the West Indies early in 1801, she was soon in action off St. Lucia and later took part in the capture of that island, Tobago, the Dutch West Indies and finally Surinam. Sent home for repairs in 1806, she then returned to the Mediterranean where she saw further action before a brief cruise to Guadeloupe where she captured the French 16-gun Fanfaron in November 1809. Laid up after her final action – the capture of the 18-gun French privateer Augusta in the English Channel on 6th April 1811 – she became a receiving ship at Portsmouth in 1822 until broken up there in 1836.