View source for HMS Theseus (1786)

{{short description|1786 Culloden-class ship of the line of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Theseus}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=H.M.S. Theseus Vice Admiral Dacres, in the Hurricane Plate 1.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Theseus'' in the [[1804 Antigua–Charleston hurricane]].
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=[[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Great Britain|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Theseus''
|Ship namesake=[[Theseus]]
|Ship ordered=11 July 1780
|Ship builder=Perry, [[Blackwall Yard]]
|Ship laid down=3 September 1783
|Ship launched=25 September 1786
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated=
|Ship notes=*Participated in:
*[[Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)|Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife]]
*[[Battle of the Nile]]
*[[Siege of Acre (1799)|Siege of Acre]].
*[[Battle of the Basque Roads]]
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Broken up, 1814
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p180">Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 180.</ref>
|Ship class={{sclass|Culloden|ship of the line|3}}
|Ship tons burthen=1660 ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
|Ship length={{convert|170|ft|m|abbr=on}} (gundeck)
|Ship beam={{convert|47|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship draught=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|19|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|Ship propulsion=Sails
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament=*Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns
*Upper gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns
*[[Quarterdeck|QD]]: 14 × 9-pounder guns
*[[Forecastle|Fc]]: 4 × 9-pounder guns
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Theseus''''' was a 74-gun [[third-rate]] [[ship of the line]] of the [[Royal Navy]].

One of the eight {{sclass|Culloden|ship of the line|0}} ships designed by [[Thomas Slade]], she was built at Perry, [[Blackwall Yard]], [[London]] and launched on 25 September 1786.<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p180" />

==Service==
''Theseus'' was the flagship of Rear Admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson]]'s fleet for the 1797 [[Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)|Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife]]. Day to day command was vested in her flag captain [[Ralph Willett Miller]]. The British were defeated in the battle and Nelson was wounded by a musket ball while aboard the ''Theseus'', precipitating the amputation of his right arm.<ref>Mostert, TLUAW p221</ref>

Despite the defeat, morale and good order were retained aboard the ship. In August 1797 ship's surgeon Robert Tainsh reported a mere nine cases of illness aboard, with little incidence of scurvy and a ready supply of antiscorbutics. An outbreak of ulcers was attributed to the overuse of salted provisions and addressed by Miller's insistence on ensuring a supply of onions and lemons as part of daily rations. Also with Miller's approval, the lower deck ports were periodically washed with nitrous acid to reduce the risk of mould, windsails were installed to encourage a flow of fresh air below decks and the crew's hammocks were ordered to be aired three times a week.<ref>Surgeon's Journal, HMS ''Theseus'', August 1797. Cited in Lavery 1998, pp. 524-525</ref>

===Battle of the Nile===
In 1798, ''Theseus'' took part in the decisive [[Battle of the Nile]], under the command of Captain [[Ralph Willett Miller]]. The Royal Navy fleet was outnumbered, at least in firepower, by the French fleet, which boasted the 118-gun [[ship-of-the-line]]  [[French ship Orient (1791)|''L'Orient'']], three 80-gun warships and nine of the popular [[74-gun]] ships. The Royal Navy fleet in comparison had just thirteen 74-gun ships and one 50-gun [[fourth-rate]].<ref>Mostert, TLUAW p266</ref>''Theseus'' had been disguised as a [[first-rate]] ship during the battle.<ref>Warner, Oliver (1960). The Battle of the Nile. London: B. T. Batsford, p109.</ref>

During the battle ''Theseus'', along with {{HMS|Goliath|1781|2}}, assisted {{HMS|Alexander|1778|2}} and {{HMS|Majestic|1785|2}}, who were being attacked by a number of French warships. The French [[French frigate Artémise (1794)|frigate ''Artemise'']] surrendered to the British, with the crew setting fire to their ship to prevent it falling into the hands of the British. Two other French ships [[French ship Heureux (1782)|''Heureux'']] and [[French ship Mercure (1783)|''Mercure'']] ran aground and soon surrendered after a brief encounter with three British warships, one of which was ''Theseus''.<ref>Mostert, TLUAW p267</ref>

The battle was a success for the Royal Navy, as well as for the career of Admiral Nelson. It cut supply lines to the French army in Egypt, whose wider objective was to threaten [[British India]].  The casualties were heavy; the French suffered over 1,700 killed, over 600 wounded and 3,000 captured. The British suffered 218 dead and 677 wounded. Nine French warships were captured and two destroyed. Two other French warships managed to escape. ''Theseus'' had five sailors killed and thirty wounded, included one officer and five [[Royal Marines]].<ref>Mostert, TLUAW p268</ref>

===Siege of Acre===
[[File:St. John Of Acre, Defended by the English, 2d May 1799 V&A SP.476 2008BV5698.jpg|thumb|''Theseus'' (on the left) defending St. John Of Acre, 2 May 1799]]
''Theseus'' played a less successful role in the 1799 [[Siege of Acre (1799)|Siege of Acre]], under the command of Captain Ralph Willett Miller. On 13 May 1799 she reached the nearby port of Caesarea, and Miller ordered the ship readied for action in bombarding Acre the following morning. A large quantity of ammunition was brought to the deck for use by the ship's guns, including more than 70 18-pound and 36-pound shells. At 9.30am on the 14th, the ammunition was accidentally ignited while the ship was under way. The resulting explosion set fire to the deck, mainmast and mizzen mast, and killed Miller and 25 other men. Another 45 crew members were injured.<ref name="Grocott">Grocott 1997, pp. 74-75</ref>

Flames quickly spread between ''Theseus''{{'}} decks, and a second detonation of ammunition stores destroyed the poop and quarterdecks and toppled the main mast over the starboard bow. A further ten men were killed before the fire was brought under control, leaving the ship unserviceable for the Acre campaign.<ref name="Grocott"/>

===Later service===
Four years later a refitted ''Theseus'' took part in the [[Blockade of Saint-Domingue]] in 1803, under Captain [[John Bligh (Royal Navy officer)|John Bligh]]. 
[[File:H.M.S. Theseus Vice Admiral Dacres, after a Hurricane which happened in Septr 1804, in the West Indies. Plate 4 RMG PU6030.tiff|thumb|''Theseus'', seen after she was caught in a [[1804 Antigua–Charleston hurricane|Hurricane]] off San Domingo between 4 and 11 September 1804. ''Theseus'' and {{HMS|Hercule|1798|6}} were badly damaged, but eventually survived to reach [[Port Royal]] on 15 September]]
[[File:Capt J. Beresford leading the British squadron in HMS Theseus. 02379 0608.jpg|thumb|Capt J. Beresford leading the British squadron in ''Theseus'' on 24 February 1809]]
She also took part in the [[Battle of the Basque Roads]] in 1809. [[Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald|Lord Cochrane]] initiated a daring attack, led by [[fire ship]]s and other explosive vessels, in an attempt to cause chaos among their target, an anchored French squadron. Many of the French ships were subsequently run aground due to the havoc that this attack caused. The enemy squadron would probably have been completely destroyed had the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral [[Lord Gambier]], not hesitated over necessary decisions, such as to deploy the main fleet which instead lay in wait for their orders. Thus the remnants of the French escaped destruction.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}}

''Theseus'' was broken up at [[Chatham, Kent|Chatham]] in 1814.<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p180" />

==In popular culture==
In the [[Patrick O'Brian]] novel ''[[Master and Commander]]'', Capt. [[Jack Aubrey]] is said to have served aboard HMS ''Theseus'' early in his career.

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

==References==
* {{cite book | last = Grocott| first = Terence|title = Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Eras | publisher = Chatham Publishing| year = 1997|isbn=1861760302}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Lavery|editor-first=Brian|title=Shipboard Life and Organisation, 1731-1815|date=1998|volume=138|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=1840142286}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lavery |first=Brian |year=1983 |title=The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |isbn=0-85177-252-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mostert |first=Noel |year=2007 |title=The Line Upon A Wind |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. |isbn=978-0-393-06653-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/lineuponwindgrea00most }}
* {{wikicite|id=Warner|reference=[[Oliver Warner|Warner, Oliver]] (1960). ''The Battle of the Nile.'' London: B. T. Batsford.}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|HMS Theseus (1786)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theseus (1786)}}
[[Category:Ships of the line of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Culloden-class ships of the line]]
[[Category:1786 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built by the Blackwall Yard]]