Goliath / Goliah, 1781
Type: 3rd rate � ; Armament 74
Launched : 1781 ; Disposal date or year : 1815
BM: 1604 tons
Complement: 584
Notes:

Portsmouth 24 Sep 1785 Has come into harbour.

21 Dec 1796 the Tagus. The Mediterranean fleet arrived.

Circa 20 Jan 1797 departed from the Tagus with a Portuguese convoy and was subsequently, 6 Feb., joined off Cape St.-Vincent by a squadron detached from the Channel fleet.

14 Feb 1797 Jervis's action with the Spanish off Cape St Vincent.

31 Mar 1797 departed from Lisbon to blockade Cadiz.

3 Jul 1797 bombardment of Cadiz.

24 May 1798 departed from off Cadiz with a squadron of 10 ships of the line to join Nelson's squadron in the Mediterranean, arriving 7 Jun.

7 Jun 1798 the search for the French fleet.

1 Aug 1798 the preparation for the Battle of the Nile.

1 Aug 1798 Battle of the Nile.

19 Aug 1798 the Zealous, Goliath, Swiftsure, Seahorse, Emerald, Alcm�ne, and Bonne-Citoyenne, leave Aboukir Bay to cruise off the port of Alexandria.

25 Aug 1798 boats of the Goliath capture the French armed ketch Torride from under the guns of the castle of Aboukir.

End of the year 1798 remains stationed off Alexandria.

9 Nov 1799 arrived on the Motherbank (off Ryde IoW) from the Mediterranean for quarantine purposes.

30 Nov 1799 has come into Portsmouth harbour to be paid off.

6 Dec 1799 Portsmouth, is paid off and her crew turned over to the Royal William and Puissant.

Circa 24 Mar to 26 Apr 1800 Lieutenant W. De Busk, from the Goliath, Second Lieutenant, vice Lt. John Price ; and Lieutenant Edward More, First, vice Lt. H. Martin, made Master and Commander.

Circa 1 Aug 1800 Lieutenant William Wilkinson, who was so severely wounded in the ever-memorable battle of the Nile, on board his Majesty's ship Goliath, and who was first Lieutenant of that ship for many months before she was paid of at Portsmouth, succeeds Mr. Browne as first Lieutenant of the Elephant.

25 Jan 1801 at Portsmouth. Sir A. S. Hamond and Sir William Rule arrived here on the 19th, and went off for London on the 22d, after surveying, in company with Commissioner Sir Charles Saxton, the whole of the ships in ordinary ; and ordered the following to be repaired and ready for commission in six weeks at farthest the Brunswick, Bellerophon, Goliath, Vengeance, Vanguard, and Hannibal.

3 Aug 1801 last night the Goliah (sic - a fairly common spelling for this name in those days) went out of harbour to Spithead, having been refitted.

10 Aug 1801 departed Spithead for Plymouth.

12 Aug 1801 arrived Plymouth Sound, the Goliath, Capt Essington, from the Baltic, last from Portsmouth, to refit.

21 Aug 1801 last evening hove in sight off Plymouth Sound, at 8 P.M. the Dreadnought, with the St George, Zealous, Ramillies, Vanguard, and Powerful, and lay to till dark.

21 Aug 1801 last evening stood in off Plymouth Sound the Zealous, hoisted a Dutch ensign, reversed, and fired three guns to leeward, as a signal for the Goliath to join the squadron from Cawsand Bay ; she immediately warped out to the bite of the bay, and this morning at day-break, the whole squadron made sail to the westward, with a fine wind at E. S. E. blowing fresh.

30 Oct 1801 the Goliath, Elephant, Captain, Ganges, and Brunswick arrived off Madeira and departed the same day.

3 Nov 1801 the Falmouth packet Leicester, Steel, arrived Port Royal, Jamaica, where the Santa Margarita, Crescent, Carnatic, Retribution, Topaze, Mosquito/Musquito, and Abergavenny were present. During the Leicester's stay at Port Royal the HM ships Bourdelais, Snake, Echo, Ambuscade, Tisiphone, Calypso, Juno, Sans Pareil, Melampus, Pelican, Captain, Goliah/Goliath, Brunswick, and Elephant arrived there. No officers allowed ashore which caused some disappointment to the trades people.

10 Nov 1801 letters received Plymouth from the Captain, dated off Brest, state, that the following ships, with sealed orders, were detached from the Channel fleet, supposed for Jamaica, viz. Goliath, of 74 guns, Commodore Essington ; the Captain, Ganges, Brunswick, and Elephant.

30 Nov 1801 the Ganges, Brunswick, Elephant, Captain and Goliath, ships of the line, and frigate Ambuscade arrived at Port Royal from the Channel fleet in a month and 4 days. The Ambuscade departed Port Royal 7 Dec 1801 and arrived Spithead 19 Jan 1802.

19 Jan 1802 arrived Spithead the Ambuscade, 36, Captain the Hon. John Colvill, from Jamaica. She sailed from Port Royal on the 7th of December, and left there R.-Adm. Montagu, in the Sans Pareil, with H.M. ships Carnatic, Abergavenny, Crescent, Melampus, Juno, Circe, Bourdelais, and Tisiphone. The following ships were also there, having been detached from the Channel fleet, and arrived at Port Royal on the 26th of November, viz. Goliath, Elephant, Captain, Ganges, and Brunswick.

Circa 25 May 1802 Captain Essington, of the Goliath, apptd to the Sans Pareil.

Circa 13 Jul 1802 Captain C. Brisbane, apptd to the Goliath.

Circa 19 Dec 1802 remained at Port Royal, Jamaica, the Goliath, Santa Margaritta, Woolwich, and Gypsey, when the Falmouth packet Aukland departed Port Royal for England.

13 Jan 1803 when the Falmouth packet Leicester arrived at Port Royal, Jamaica, she found lying there the Leviathan, 74 ; Bellerophon, 74 ; Vanguard, 74 ; Elephant, 74 ; Desiree, 40 ; and sloops Shark, Pelican and Racoon ; the De Ruyter arriving on the 17 Jan, with the 87th Regt., from Curacoa, and on the 21st the Theseus, 74 ; Cumberland, 74 ; Goliath, 74 ; and Ganges, 74, from a cruise.

13 Apr 1803 Lt C C Dobson, RM, of the Goliath, court martialled on board the Ganges at Port Royal, for ungentlemanlike behaviour, and the charges being proved was dismissed the Goliath.

14 Apr 1803 Capt O Fitzgerald, RM, of the Goliath, was court martialled on board the Ganges at Port Royal, for charges brought against him by Lt B Kent, for sending him a challenge, for treating him with contempt and disrespect, and for defrauding the wardroom mess ; charges 1 and 2 being in part proved he was dismissed from the Goliath, and rendered incapable of ever serving on full pay in the RM forces.

23 Apr 1803 resulting from the court martials the Flag Officer on board the Leviathan, Adm J T Duckworth, at Port Royal, felt it necessary to observe that it appeared that discipline had broken down in the wardroom of the Goliath, particularly regarding Lt Kent, RM's irregular conduct, and made it known that he felt that the First Lieutenants on all the ships under his command would be held responsible for ensuring that good order and officerlike behavour &c were maintained, and that any breaches should be reported to captains and commanding officers, or otherwise answer for his neglect at a court martial.

2 May 1803 the Goliath, Theseus, and Hercule were reported to be cruising off Cape Francois in early May, the Bellerophon having returned to Port Royal.

14 May 1803 letters are received at Plymouth, reporting the arrival of the Hercule, Capt Ferris, at Guadaloupe on 5 Apr, from Plymouth, and expects to depart shortly for Jamaica. The letters also advise that the Blenheim has recently been ashore and had to throw 18 guns overboard to get off, and has gone to Martinique. The Elephant, Vanguard, and Bellerophon, 74s, and the frigate Desiree, were reported to be at Jamaica. The Goliath, Cumberland and Theseus were on a cruise, as were the Tartar, Shark and Echo, off the North of Jamaica, and the Calypso off Cape Tiberon.

28 Jun 1803, captured the 16-gun ship-corvette Mignonne, subsequently added to the British navy under her French name.

30 Jul 1803 Goliath, 74, and Calypso, 14, separated from their convoy off the Western Isles when a gale dispersed the convoy in lat 44, long 32.

21 Aug 1803 arrived in the Downs with a convoy from Jamaica and other parts of the West Indies, most of which had dispersed to the River.

25 Aug 1803 departed the Downs for Portsmouth.

26 Aug 1803 arrived Spithead from Jamaica, last from the Downs, and confirms the loss of the Calypso, run down by a vessel in her convoy on 30 July, every soul on board having perished.

27 Aug 1803 came into Portsmouth harbour.

1 Oct 1803 it has been reported at Portsmouth that Capt Brisbane and the crew of the Goliath, since their return from Jamaica, have been unremitting in fitting out ships in Portsmouth Harbour, and tomorrow morning are taking out of harbour the Princess Royal.

Circa 24 Oct 1803 went out of Portsmouth harbour to Spithead.

Circa 12 Nov 1803 The Goliath, which was to take the next convoy to the Mediterranean, has been replaced by the Argo, whilst she's to await the delivery of sealed orders.

13 Nov 1803 departed Spithead, with sealed orders, the Goliath, Capt Brisbane, reputedly for Bantry Bay.

Circa 7 Jul 1804 the Defiance, Capt Durham, has returned to Portsmouth, from off Rochefort, where the Temeraire, Goliath, Minotaur, and Aigle remained under Sir R Calder, blockading that port.

Circa 11 Aug 1804 Capt C Brisbane, of the Goliath, arrived Portsmouth from off the Ferrol, in a cutter, with dispatches for Their Lordships in London.

11 Nov 1804 due to bad weather arrived Torbay the Ville de Paris, Adm Cornwallis, San Josef, Princess Royal, Temeraire, Impetueux, Goliath, Britannia, Plantagenet, Thunderer, and another unnamed 6 ships of the line, but by the time this paper reaches the streets, on the 19th inst., will no doubt have returned to sea.

1 Dec 1804 the Hampshire Telegraph reports that the Venerable was lost last Saturday, having got underweigh with the rest of the fleet, from Torbay, but missed stays and went ashore on a reef of sunken rocks, and bilged almost immediately. The accident is said to have occurred as the man fishing for the anchor fell overboard, and in lowering a boat to save the man, another 2 men fell overboard. The ship was then hove to, to save them, and in the dark of the night drifted on shore, and having lost way were unable to lay off shore. The Goliath, Impetueux, and cutter Frisk, rescued all the officers and men barring 8, who could not be accounted for : boats were sent from Plymouth to rescue the stores, but she was already a total loss by the time they arrived.

12 Dec 1804, at Brixham, it is reported that the Channel Fleet had arrived, including the : Ville de Paris, Prince George, Defiance, Britannia, Windsor Castle, Plantagenet, Goliath, Princess Royal, Thunderer, Courageaux, Dragon, and Warrior, joining the Atlas, Temeraire, and Nemesis, which were here.

16 Dec 1804 R.-Adm O'Brien Drury hoisted his flag on board the Princess of Orange, and sailed as the second in command on the command on the Coast of Ireland. The Princess Royal, Goliath, and Thunderer from the Channel Squadron, and the Raisonable, Capt Barton, from Spithead, are to reinforce the squadron.

May 1805 Channel Fleet

14-15 Aug 1805 Camilla chased the French brig-corvette Faune, and was joined on the 15th by the Goliath, when the corvette was taken.

15 Aug 1805 joined by the Raisonable when the French frigate Topaze and two ship-corvettes were sighted and chased, the Goliath capturing the ship-corvette Torche.

26 Jul 1807 departed as a part of a fleet of 38 vessels for Copenhagen and was present from 15 Aug - 20 Oct 1807 for the siege and bombardment of Copenhagen and capture of Danish Fleet by Adm. Gambier.

May - Oct 1808 in the Baltic with a fleet under V.-adm Sir J Saumarez.

19 Aug 1808 chased by the Russian fleet in Hango bay.

30 Aug 1808 joined the Centaur, Implacable and Swedish fleet blockading the Russians in the port of Rogerswick.

� 1812-13 Majestic, Goliath, and Saturn were cut down, fore-and-aft, to the clamps of the quarterdeck and forecastle. Each ship was allowed to retain her first-deck battery of 28 long 32-pounders, and, in lieu of her 28 long 18-pounders on the second deck, she received an equal number of 42-pounder carronades, besides two long 12-pounders as chase-guns, making 58 guns on two flush decks, with a net complement of 495 men and boys.

Portsmouth 25 Jul 1813 arrived from the Downs.

Portsmouth 9 Aug 1813 departed with the West Indies convoy.

Falmouth 15 Aug 1813 arrived with a convoy for the West Indies ; to call at Cork.

1 Jul 1814, arrived Halifax, from the Chesapeake.

Portsmouth 14 Aug 1814 departed for the Downs.

Deal 15 Aug 1814 arrived from Portsmouth, and has departed for the River.

Chatham 3 Oct 1814 Is to be paid off here.