HMS Netley was a ship that was launched in 1798 with an experimental design. During the French Revolutionary Wars she spent some years on the Oporto station, where she captured many small privateers. The French captured her in 1806, early in the Napoleonic Wars. They lengthened her and she became the 17-gun privateer Duquesne. In 1807 the British recaptured her and the Royal Navy returned her to service as the 12-gun gun-brig HMS Unique. She was expended in an unsuccessful fire ship attack at Guadeloupe in 1809.
Design Netley was built to a design by Sir Samuel Bentham. She was a modified and somewhat enlarged version of , a smaller version of his Dart-class vessels. Bentham's designs featured little sheer, negative tumblehome, a large-breadth to length ratio with structural bulkheads, and sliding keels. They were also virtually double-ended.
French Revolutionary Wars Netley was commissioned in 1798 under the command of Lieutenant Francis Godolphin Bond. Her first recorded prize occurred on 25 September 1798 when she took the French sloop Clementine.
1799 On 1 May 1799, Netley captured Egyptienne, a French privateer schooner. She was pierced for 14 guns but only carried eight, four of which she had thrown overboard while trying to evade capture. She had only 35 men on board, recently taking four neutral vessels as prizes. Netley had recaptured one of these, a galiot carrying a cargo of wine from Oporto. Netley also recaptured an English brig carrying a cargo of provisions from Cork to Oporto when a French privateer lugger had taken her off Viana the day before.
Next, on 14 June during a cruise out of Oporto, Netley recaptured a brig that had been sailing from Lisbon to Oporto when taken. The next day, Netley took possession of a schooner carrying corn. The day after that, Netley took possession of a second schooner carrying corn. All three vessels were part of a Portuguese convoy from Lisbon that had fallen prey to a French privateer. Lastly, Netley burnt a coaster at Vigo and ran a brig ashore a little north of that.
On 14 October, Netley recaptured a brig that had been sailing from Gibraltar carrying brandy. Netley dropped a boat to take possession of the prize, and immediately set out after her captor. Netley was able to prevent the privateer from entering Bayonne, though Netley had to exchange a few shots with the fort there. Netley captured the privateer, which turned out to be a Spanish schooner from Muros called O'Reilly y Los Tres Amigos. The privateer was armed with four carriage guns and four brass 3-pounder swivel guns, and had a crew of 52 men. Because the number of prisoners exceeded the number of men Bond had left aboard Netley, Bond dropped them off at Oporto and turned them over to the Spanish consul there, who gave Bond a receipt for the men.
On 28 November, Netley was off Lisbon when she sent into port several prizes ahead of her. She was towing the packet ship Walsingham, which was delaying her entry. The prizes included two Spanish privateer luggers she had captured, one on the 14th and one that very day, and another lugger that had captured on the 24th within sight of Netley and that Captain Gower of Castor had requested that Bond take with him to port. Bond also reported that he had recaptured two brigs that had been taken while sailing from Newfoundland.
On 22 December, Netley captured Esperance, of Viana. Espereance was a French privateer lugger, formerly a privateer from Guernsey. She was pierced for 12 gun but only mounting five, and had a crew of 36 men.
The next day Netley encountered and Captain Sir Henry Neale passed on to Bond the information that three convoys had become dispersed along the Portuguese coast and that the vessels had been unable to get into Douro for the previous 20 days. Weather conditions having improved, Bond therefore decided to sail to intercept any prizes attempting to get into Vigo.
On the morning of 24 December, Netley recaptured the Hamburg brig Catharina, which had been sailing from Oporto to Cork Limerick with a cargo of wine and fruit when she was taken. That night, after a short chase, Netley captured a small Spanish privateer lugger. This was Felicidad, of two guns, eight swivels, and 22 men. Before Netley had finished taking her prisoners on board, she spotted another privateer, and the privateer's prize. At 1 a.m. on 25 January Netley retook the bark Dutchess of Gordon which had been transporting 7,600 quintals of salt fish from Newfoundland to Oporto. By 10 a.m., after a short chase, Netley captured the Spanish privateer schooner St Antonio y Animas (alias Aurora). She was armed with six guns and had a crew of 46 men. At the same time, Netley recaptured the privateer's prize, Venus, which had been carrying shot, lead, tin, staves, and the like from London to Oporto. Venus, Humphries, master, was reported to have arrived at Oporto after her recapture.
On 27 December, Netley recaptured three more vessels. One was the English brig Commerce, which was carrying a cargo of salt fish. The second was a Swedish brig that had been carrying iron and deals (fir or pine boards) from Stockholm to Viana before a French lugger had captured her. The third vessel was a Portuguese schooner carrying a cargo of salt. The evening of the next day the weather began to worsen.
1800 On 8 January, Netley had to leave behind near the shore Commerce, which had stayed with her. Commerce had no usable sails, and the wind forced Netley to sail away from the shore. Commerce, Bibbins, master, was again captured. This time her captor sent her into Vigo.LL 21 February 1800, No. 4026.
The next day Netley also encountered the West Indiaman Trojan, which had lost much of her rigging and contact with her convoy. She was attempting to reach Lisbon to refit. Netley stayed with her through almost continuous storms until the 21st, and then saw her into port on the 27th.
At some point Netley recaptured Liberty, Bly, master, which a Spanish privateer had captured off Porto Bar. Netley made a cartel of Liberty and sent her into Bayonne. There Bly rejoined her to sail her for Oporto.
Unfortunately, bad weather cost Netley most of her prizes and some of her crew. Dutchess of Gordon was wrecked near Lisbon. All but one of the people aboard was lost, including Netleys pilot. Two brigs arrived safe, and two others had to take refuge in Vigo, i.e., in an enemy port. The French lugger stranded attempting to cross the bar at Viana, but without loss of life. On 20 February, Netley recaptured the Portuguese vessel Carmo y Diligente.
On 7 March, Netley recaptured a brig from Brazil. Two days later she recaptured a ship from Brazil carrying a cargo of cotton, rice, and the like, and a brig, also from Brazil, with a like cargo. Eight days later, Netley captured the Spanish privateer Pedro Apostle (alias Escariote), of five guns and 37 men.
Next, Netley captured the American brig Nymph on 26 March. Nymph was carrying pilchards from Penzance to Naples. On 18 April Netley captured San Francisco e San Antonio el Lebre.
On 15 May, Netley and the frigate captured the French privateer cutter Vengeance. Vengeance was armed with 15 guns and had a crew of 132 men. The next day Netley captured another privateer, the Spanish lugger Animas el sola (alias Desquite), or Animas Sola el Desquits. At the end of the month, on 29 May, Netley recaptured the "Hambro ship" Junge Lieppe, which was carrying staves and wheat. Two days later Netley recaptured the French privateer lugger Legere. Legere was armed with three guns, had a crew of 40 men, and was on a cruise from Jean de Luz.
In August, Netley made a particularly valuable capture. On 11 August she captured the Spanish ship Reyna Luisa (or Reina Luisa), which was carrying cocoa, wool and £12,000 in bullion from Montevideo to Corunna.
From 7 to 11 September, Netley escorted a convoy safely from Lisbon to Oporto. Then on the 28th, she captured the Spanish privateer Nostra Senora del Carmen La Confianza, of two guns and 26 men. The lugger Nostra Senora del Carmen La Connianza was on a cruise from Vigo. She was armed with two guns and had a crew of 26 men.
Then on 16 October, Netley recaptured the brig Mary, from Dublin, and the Portuguese government 7-gun lugger Lial Invicta Vianna. A French 14-gun privateer had captured both the day before. A Spanish rowboat had cut Mary out from under the guns of Fort Saint John on 14 October. The Portuguese governor had sent Lial Invicta Vianna to retrieve her when they encountered the French privateer which, after an action of half an hour, had captured the Portuguese lugger. Netleys crew returned Lial Invicta Vianna to his Excellency M. Pedro de Millo free of salvage. Mary had been carrying 169 casks of butter and some coals from Dublin to Oporto.
November yielded three more prizes. On the 8th, Netley captured Spanish privateer schooner St Miguel (alias Alerta), from Ponte Vedra. The privateer was armed with nine guns, 6 and 18-pounders, and had a crew of 65 men. That same day, Netley recaptured her prize, the English brig Hunter, which had been carrying fish from Newfoundland to Lisbon. Netley dropped off her boat to recapture the brig, and sailed up alongside St Miguel, dropped anchor, and captured her without a shot being fired.James (1837), Vol. 3, pp.57-8. Lastly, on 18 November Netley sailed from Lisbon and five days later captured the Spanish privateer lugger St Antonio y Animas La Fortuna, of six guns and 34 men.
On 11 December Netley captured St Miguel El Volante, of two guns and 29 men. Then in the next three days Netley retook the brig Speedy, carrying cod fish from Newfoundland, and captured a Spanish coaster carrying wine, and the Spanish privateer schooner Pedro y San Francisco, of three guns and 39 men. These were Bond's last captures. On 11 December he received promotion to commander.
In all, under Bond Netley captured some 45 prizes, including 19 armed privateers. Reina Luisa was valued for purposes of prize money at £24,000. If Bond received the full due the captain of the capturing vessel(s), his share would have been £9,000, or an amount equivalent to over 20 years pay for a senior captain (in rank). This would have been in addition to the prize money for all his other captures.
1801 In January Lieutenant James Mien replaced Bond. On 29 January, Netley sailed with the responsibility of protecting a convoy sailing north from Lisbon. On 3 February she encountered four privateers. She was able to capture one after a chase of two hours. The capture privateer was a Spanish lugger called Santa Victoria. Santa Victoria was armed with six guns and had a crew of 26 men. Netley was unable to catch any of the other privateers because of the necessity of protecting her convoy, which had sighted an enemy vessel to windward.
The next month, on 9 February, Netley was nine leagues SW of Oporto when she captured the Spanish privateer lugger St Francisco de Paula. The privateer was armed with two carriage guns and four swivel guns, and had a crew of 31 men. She was on a cruise out of Pontevedra. Two days later, Netley captured the Spanish privateer San Josef (alias Belos), on a cruise out of Corunna. San Josef was armed with four guns and four swivels, and had a crew of 55 men. That same day Netley recaptured a British brig that had been taken while sailing in ballast from Southampton to Oporto, and a British snow, also sailing in ballast, but from London to Oporto. On the 16th, Netley captured the Spanish lugger Nostra Santa del Carmen, sailing with a cargo of wine and sardines from Vigo to Ferrol. Four days later Netley recaptured the snow Edward and Mary, which had been sailing from Oporto to Falmouth with a cargo of beef, pork, and coals.
Next, Netley shared with and in the capture on 23 June of the Purissima Concepcion. On 17 October Netley captured the Spanish ship Santissima Trinidada (alias Casualidad.