Editing HMS Defence (1763)

{{Short description|74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy}}
{{Other ships|HMS Defence}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=File:Pocock Glorious First of June1.jpg
|Ship caption=HMS ''Defence'' at the [[Battle of the Glorious First of June]] 1794, dismasted and with severe injury to the hull, by [[Nicholas Pocock]]
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=Great Britain
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Kingdom of Great Britain|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Defence''
|Ship ordered=15 December 1758
|Ship builder=[[Israel Pownoll]], [[Plymouth Dockyard]]
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=31 March 1763
|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 Cape St Vincent (1780)|Battle of Cape St Vincent]]
*[[Battle of Cuddalore (1783)|Battle of Cuddalore]]
*[[Glorious First of June]]
*[[Battle of the Nile]]
*[[Battle of Trafalgar]]
|Ship captured=
|Ship fate=Wrecked, 24 December 1811
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption={{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=43}}
|Ship class={{sclass|Bellona|ship of the line}}
|Ship tons burthen=1,603{{small|{{frac|8|94}}}} ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
|Ship length={{convert|168|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} (gundeck)
|Ship beam={{convert|46|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|21|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship hold depth={{convert|19|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|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 ''Defence''''' was a 74-gun {{sclass|Bellona|ship of the line|0}} [[third-rate]] [[ship of the line]] of the [[Royal Navy]], built by Israel Pownoll and launched on 31 March 1763 at [[HMNB Devonport|Plymouth Dockyard]]. She was one of the most famous ships of the period, taking part in several of the most important naval battles of the [[French Revolutionary War|French Revolutionary]] and [[Napoleonic wars]]. In 1811 she was wrecked off the coast of [[Jutland]] with the loss of almost her entire crew.

==Career==
During the [[American War of Independence]], ''Defence'' served with the [[Channel Fleet]], seeing action at the [[Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)|Battle of Cape St. Vincent]] in 1780. She was sent out to [[India]] in early 1782 as part of a squadron of five ships under Commodore [[Sir Richard Bickerton, 1st Baronet|Sir Richard Bickerton]], arriving too late for the battles of that year. But in 1783 she took part in the last battle of the war, at [[Battle of Cuddalore (1783)|Cuddalore]]. She returned to England at the end of 1785. She was then laid up during the years of peace until the outbreak of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]].
[[File:Ushant, 1794 RCIN 735027.c.jpg|thumb|Situation of the ''Defence'' at the close of the action on 1 June 1794, by [[Robert Dodd (artist)|Robert Dodd]] after Lieut. A. Becher RN.]]
Recommissioned into the Channel Fleet under Captain [[James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier|James Gambier]], she fought at the [[Glorious First of June]] in 1794, distinguishing herself in action against {{ship|French ship|Mucius||2}} and {{ship|French ship|Tourville|1788|2}}, and becoming one of only two British ships to be completely dismasted in the battle. After repairs, she was sent to the Mediterranean, joining Admiral [[William Hotham, 1st Baron Hotham|William Hotham]] in time to take part in the [[Battle of Hyères Islands|Battle of Hyeres]] in July.

''Defence'' was at [[Plymouth]] on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels, [[East Indiamen]], and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands.<ref>{{London Gazette|date=15 September 1801|issue=15407|page=1145}}</ref>

In 1798 she returned to the Mediterranean under Captain [[John Peyton (Royal Navy officer)|John Peyton]], taking part in the [[Battle of the Nile]] in August.

On 1 July 1800, ''Defence'', {{HMS|Fisgard|1797|2}}, {{HMS|Renown|1798|2}} and the {{ship|hired armed cutter|Lord Nelson||6}} were in Bourneuf Bay when they sent in their boats to attack a French convoy at [[Île de Noirmoutier]].{{sfnp|Debritt|1801|loc=Appendix:History of the war page 37}} The British destroyed the French ship ''Therese'' (of 20 guns), a lugger (12 guns), two schooners (6 guns each) and a cutter (6 guns), of unknown names. The cutting out party also burned some 15 merchant vessels loaded with corn and supplies for the French fleet at [[Brest, France|Brest]]. However, in this enterprise, 92 officers and men out of the entire party of 192 men, fell prisoners to the French when their boats became stranded. ''Lord Nelson'' had contributed no men to the attacking force and so had no casualties.{{sfnp|Debritt|1801|loc=Appendix:History of the war page 37}}{{efn|She did share in the head money with an able seaman receiving 3[[shilling|s]] {{frac|11|3|4}}[[pence|d]], and her commander receiving [[£sd|£]]6 8s {{frac|7|1|2}}d, in 1825.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18160|page=1337|date=30 July 1825}}</ref>}}

In 1801, ''Defence'' sailed to the Baltic under Captain [[Lord Henry Paulet]] with Admiral [[Hyde Parker (admiral)|Hyde Parker's]] fleet. She was present at the [[Battle of Copenhagen (1801)|Battle of Copenhagen]], but did not see action as she was part of the reserve under Parker.

On 11 February, 1805 she made contact with [[USS Constitution]] off Portugal 36.44 North.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://ibiblio.org/anrs/docs/E/E3/nd_barbarywars_v05p02.pdf |title=Naval Documents related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers Volume V Part 2 of 3 September 7 1804 through April 1805 |pages=343 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |via=Ibiblio |access-date=10 May 2025}}</ref> 

In 1805 she saw action again at the [[Battle of Trafalgar]], where under Captain [[George Johnstone Hope]], she captured the {{ship|Spanish ship|San Ildefonso||2}} and fought the {{HMS|Berwick|1775|2}}, suffering 36 casualties.

''Defence'' was one of the British ships in support of the 1809 [[Walcheren Campaign]] which was intended to capture [[Vlissingen]] (Flushing) and [[Antwerp]] in the Netherlands.

==Loss==

She ran aground on 24 December 1811 off the west coast of [[Jutland]], Denmark. She was under the command of Captain D. Atkins and in the company of {{HMS|St George|1785|2}}, under Rear-Admiral [[Robert Carthew Reynolds]], and {{HMS|Cressy|1810|2}}, when a hurricane and heavy seas came up. ''St George'' was [[Jury rigging|jury-rigged]] and so Atkins refused to leave her without the admiral's permission. As a result, both were wrecked near [[Ringkøbing]]. ''Cressy'' did not ask for permission and so avoided wrecking.{{sfnp|Gosset|1986|p=81}}

[[File:Lastcruise.jpg|thumb|The last cruise]]
''Defence'' lost all but 14 of her crew of 597 men and boys, including her captain.{{sfnp|Gosset|1986|p=81}} ''St George'' too lost almost her entire crew, including the admiral. Most of the bodies that came ashore were buried in the sand dunes of [[Thorsminde]], which have been known ever since as "Dead Mens Dunes."{{sfnp|Gosset|1986|p=81}} The Danish authorities quickly ordered [[Broder Knud Brodersen Wigelsen|Lieutenant Wigelsen]], the [[Receiver of Wreck]], to the area.

==Captain Atkins and his culpability for the loss==
Captain David Atkins is first noted as a [[midshipman]] under Captain [[Erasmus Gower]] in {{HMS|Edgar|1779|6}} in 1780–81. For two years commencing in 1792, he was 3rd lieutenant with Gower in {{HMS|Lion|1777|6}} under Gower.  John Barrow later claimed Atkins while on ''Lion'' was a navigator, "showing skill in lunar observations way beyond his years".<ref name="Bates"/> He followed Gower onto {{HMS|Triumph|1764|6}} and was [[first lieutenant]] on ''Triumph'' from 1794. He was promoted [[Captain (Royal Navy)|captain]] in 1798; in 1801, he was promoted to captain; and thence to [[flag captain]] to Gower on [[HMS Princess Royal|''Princess Royal'']]. In 1805 {{HMS|Seine}} was captained by him.<ref name="Bates"/> In 1809, he commanded ''Defence'' in the [[Walcheren Expedition]].<ref name="Bates">{{cite book |first1=David |last1=Bates |first2=David I. |last2=Gower |location=Pomona, Queensland |title=Champion of the Quarterdeck: Admiral Sir Erasmus Gower (1742-1814) |publisher=Sage Old Books |isbn=9780958702126|year=2017}}{{cite web|last1=Atkins|first1=David|title=David Atkins biography|url=https://www.sageoldbooks.com/egap/ab.html#Atkins|publisher=[[Sage Old Books]]|accessdate=4 April 2018|ref=DAtkins}}</ref><ref name=Tracy>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-vqQ49SRhiEC&dq=David+Atkins+HMS+Defence&pg=PA60 |pages=60–62|title=The Naval Chronicle: 1811-1815 |volume=5 |first1=Nicholas |last1=Tracy |isbn=9780811711111 |date=1998|type=Hardcover |location=London; Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, USA |publisher=[[Chatham Publishing]], [[Stackpole Books]] |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Clowes">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TR5EAAAAYAAJ&dq=David+Atkins+Royal+Navy+officer&pg=PA498 |page=498 |title=The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present |volume=5 |authorlink1=William Laird Clowes |authorlink2=Clements Robert Markham |authorlink3=Alfred Thayer Mahan |authorlink4=Herbert Wrigley Wilson |first1=William Laird |last1=Clowes |first2=Clements Robert |last2=Markham |first3=Alfred Thayer |last3=Mahan |first4=Herbert Wrigley |last4=Wilson |year=1900 |publisher=S. Low, Marston}}</ref><ref name="Gilly">{{cite book |title=Narratives of Shipwrecks of the Royal Navy Between 1793 and 1857 Compiled Principally from Official Documents in the Admiralty 
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJEG6Sk3I9IC |edition=3rd |year=1864 |publisher=[[Longman|Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts and Green]]  |language=English |first1=William Stephen |last1=Gilly |authorlink1=William Stephen Gilly  |page=376}}</ref><ref name="Mackenzie">{{cite book |title=The Trafalgar Roll: Containing the Names and Services of All Officers of the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines who Participated in the Glorious Victory of the 21st October 1805, Together with a History of the Ships Engaged in the Battle |first1=Robert Holden |last1=Mackenzie |authorlink1=Robert Holden Mackenzie |isbn= 0719120330 |orig-year=1913 |type=Hardcover |year=1969 |publisher=[[Cornmarket Press]] |location=London |pages=179, 182, 185}}</ref>{{excessive citations inline|date=March 2021}}

Accounting for blame for the loss is conflicted.  Some say he followed HMS ''St George'' onto the reef. As published by Brenton 3 Brenton (1837) ''Naval History of Great Britain'' the ''St George'', bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds, ran ashore. Ostensibly, when told of this, Atkins asked whether the admiral had made the signal giving him leave to part company. Hearing a denial, Atkins said: "I will never desert my Admiral in the hour of danger and distress." ''Defence'' ran aground and was overcome by a breaking sea. The breakup led to loss of 593 men, her full complement being 597.<ref name="Bates"/> One of the survivors said that "At half-past twelve the captain told Mr. Baker he would not wear till the St. George did, but would stay by her."<ref>''The Naval Chronicle'', Vol 28 p 210</ref>

On the other hand, the ''Annual Register'' (Vol 54), however, states that "HMS ''Defence'' was the first ship to run aground and that HMS ''St George'' (flagship) immediately let go its anchor but that the ship swung around on her cable and also went aground as a result." This account was corroborated by an account printed in ''[[Gentleman's Magazine]]'' in 1812.  In the incident, "HMS ''St George'' was also destroyed, with the loss of 838 lives, including Reynolds."<ref name="Bates"/> Given [[Fog of war|the fog of war]] and passage of time, this historical debate may never be conclusively resolved.<ref name="Bates"/>

Atkins' body was buried with full [[Military honours]] by the Danes.<ref name="Bates"/>

{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book | last=Debritt | first=J. | title=A Collection of State Papers Relative to the War Against France Now Carrying on by Great Britain and the Several Other European Powers ... | publisher=J. Debrett | series=A Collection of State Papers Relative to the War Against France Now Carrying on by Great Britain and the Several Other European Powers | year=1801 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93TH7PIHIIcC }}
* {{cite book|first1=William Patrick |last1=Gosset |year=1986 |title=The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900 |publisher=Mansell |isbn=0-7201-1816-6 }}
* {{cite book |first1=Rif |last1=Winfield |title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates |publisher=Seaforth Publishing|year=2008 |isbn=978-1-86176-246-7}} 
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|HMS Defence (1763)}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050327073647/http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/ships/html/sh_025600_hmsdefence1.htm Ships of the World] (via archive.org)
* http://strandingsmuseet.dk
* [[:da:Thorsminde|Thorsminde]] on Danish Wikipedia

{{1811 shipwrecks}}
{{Coord|56.3583|N|8.1|E|source:kolossus-dewiki|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Defence (1763)}}
[[Category:Ships of the line of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Bellona-class ships of the line]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the North Sea]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1811]]
[[Category:Ships built in Plymouth, Devon]]
[[Category:1763 ships]]