Built as a wooden 3rd Rate ship of the line at the Chatham Drydock, Chatham for the Royal Navy.
01 December 1759 ordered.
15 April 1763 launched under the name HMS RAMILLIES.
Tonnage 1.619 ton (bm), dim. 168.5 x 47ft.
Armament: gun deck 28 – 32pdr., upper deck 30 – 24 pdr. quarterdeck 14 – 9 pdr. and forecastle 4 – 9 pdr. guns.
Crew ?
Could not find anything on her history from completing till 1782.
01 July 1782 Admiral Thomas Graves (1725-1802) got orders in Jamaica to sail with HMS RAMILLIES, CANADA, CENTAUER, VILLE DE PARIS, Le GLORIEUX, L’HECTOR, L’ARDENT, Le JASON, Le CATON and the PALLAS with a large convoy of merchantmen to Great Britain. Six of the warships were French prizes taken during the Battle of the Saints in April 1782.
25 July 1782 the convoy set sail, Admiral Graves flying his flag from the RAMILLIES, she was commanded by Capt. Sylverius Moriarty. Le ARDENT one of the prizes was in a bad state and had to be send back to Port Royal, Jamaica, shortly after leaving this port. The Le JASON did not sail at all due to a shortage of stores and water.
26 August the L’HECTOR lost contact with the convoy and was never seen again.
At the end of August the merchant ships with destination New York parted from the convoy.
08 September the Le CATON sprung a leak, and she was in a bad state, Graves ordered her to sail to Halifax in company of the PALLAS
16 September a storm was brewing, and Graves ordered his ships to be ready for bad weather, most sails were furled and when the storm came, the ships were ready, and with plenty of sea room the ships only had to ride out the storm.
17 September around 3 a.m. the wind suddenly shifted from the E.S.E to N.N.W and blowing with tremendous force from almost the opposite direction.
Heavy rain and pitch dark made visibility poor, and the ships not prepared for this wind shift got in trouble.
The RAMILLIES her mainsail, what kept her steady with her head in the wind was now taken aback with such a force that the mainmast broke off at deck-level and fell into the sea.
Also the mizzen mast broke off half way and only kept by her rigging the mizzen and the mainmast were dragging alongside.
The ship was rolling so badly that her rudder was torn almost from her sternpost, and her tiller bar broke in two. The ship now out of control was pooped by a great wave, and broke on the unprotected stern, broke her stern windows and did flood the aft-cabins under which Graves cabin.
The pumps were manned, and the order was given to cut away the wreckage which was crashing along the starboard side with every roll of the vessel.
The heavy blows of the masts alongside had stripped most of the copper sheathing away and now the seams were exposed to the seas. The caulking in a bad condition was washed out by the waves, and the ship became more and more leaky.
When daylight came the RAMILLIES had six feet of water in the holds and rising despite the constant pumping. The pumps got constantly clogged with the oakum floating out of the seams. Buckets were handed out and everybody had to help in the bucket chain to get water out of the ship.
When daylight strengthened it revealed to the men on board of the RAMILLIES that of the fleet of around 92 ships barely twenty could be counted.
A new tiller was placed and soon as this was done, two small sails were set, one on the foremast the other on the stumps of the mizzen mast. At least she got some steering, and giving RAMILLIES the change to bear away before the wind. Some merchantmen gathered around her, and when needed would give assistance.
The next 24 hours revealed that the water still was rising, and the captain did ask Graves for permission to throw overboard the guns, to lighten the vessel, first he refused, but when the situation worsened he allowed jettisoning the guns and all heavy equipment on board.
The 19th September the weather moderated later in the day, and by the afternoon of the 20th all guns had gone, but water was still rising in the holds.
On the 20th all hope was gone to save the ship, the pumps were useless, and the frames of the ship were given way.
The order was given to abandon the ship, the merchantmen nearby were ordered to send their boats to take off the crew of the RAMILLIES. First the sick and injured crew left the ship.
When the sick and injured men were taken on board the merchantmen, the order was given to lower the boats of the RAMILLIES , and as fast of possible the crew boarded this boats, also some stores were given with the boats for use when she were taken on board the merchantmen.
At 06.00 a.m. that day the rescue operation commenced of the men still on board, on 09.00 a.m. Graves left the RAMILLIES and was brought to the merchantmen BELLE under command of Captain Forster.
At 03.00 a.m. most crewmembers had left the vessel.
Only one boat was still on board needed by the last crewmembers still on board to set the vessel on fire, and when the fire was well burning they left also the vessel. After about 30 minutes the fire had reached the gunpowder and the deck and upperworks blew up in the air.
Over 600 men of the RAMILLIES were saved.
Shortly when everybody was safely on the merchantmen, the storm and squalls renewed, making it impossible to launch a small boat.
Admiral Graves together with 33 of his crew got safely to Cork on board the BELLE where they arrived on 10 October 1782. From there he travelled on the frigate MYRMIDON to Plymouth where he arrived on 10 October 1782.
Admiral Graves lost all his belonging in the loss of the RAMILLIES, and after arrival he was attacked by the press for the loss of the ships under his command.
The stamp design of the Barbuda stamp is taken from a painting by Dodd in the National Museum, Greenwich of the Battle of the Saints in 1782. RAMILLIES is shown on the left.
(So far I could find the RAMILLIES took no part in this battle.)
Barbuda 1975 35c sg224, scott?
St Vincent 1981 60c sg657, scott?
Source: The Mariners Mirror vol. 56/1970 article on the foundering of the RAMILLIES by K.Brown.
Log Book.