Hydra, 1838
Type: Survey ship ; 2nd class sloop ; Armament 4
Launched : 13 Jun 1838 ; Disposal date or year : 1870
BM: 817 tons ; Displacement: 1096 tons
Propulsion: Paddle
Machinery notes: 220
Notes:

20 April 1839 Portsmouth, In Harbour.

18 May 1839 Portsmouth, went out to Spithead on Wednesday.

23 May 1839 Portsmouth, towed the Lily into harbour.

23 May 1839 took the Hastings in tow off the Owers Light and brought her up to Spithead where she anchored.

1 Jun 1839 Mate Henry Warren appointed to the Hydra.

15 Jun 1839 At Spithead.

1 Jul 1839 Portsmouth, departed on Thursday for the Mediterranean, touching at Plymouth, where she will be paid advance ; she takes out 40 boys from the flag-ship here, for the Mediterranean fleet.

1 Jul 1839 Mate G. H. Clarks, from the Excellent to the Hydra steam frigate ;

20 Jul 1839 by a vessel arrived from the Mediterranean was reported to be at Gibraltar.

27 Jul 1839 at the anchorage of Bashika, near the Dardanelles.

28 Sep 1839 was reported to be at Constantinople.

12 Oct 1839 Malta the Hydra, which left this port on the 2d, with the despatches and London mail brought by the Hermes from Gibraltar, had arrived Beshika Bay 6 inst.

13 Oct 1839 Malta, it is reported that a malignant fever had appeared among the crews of both fleets at Besika Bay, but with most intensity on board the French vessels.

2 Nov 1839 Lieutenant M. Turner, appointed to the Hydra

4 Nov 1839 Malta, by the Hydra, arrived from Beshika Bay, which she left on the 23d, we learn that the combined squadrons occupy the same position.

11 Nov 1839 Malta, arrived here yesterday from Vourla.

24 Dec 1840 arrived Malta from Vourla following a passage of 59 hours.

8 Mar 1840 Malta arrived from Vourla after a 68 hours passage.

11 Mar 1840 is reported to be at Malta.

14 Mar 1840 Lieutenant James Stopford, promoted to the rank of Commander, and appointed to the Zebra. Commander Edward Stopford, appointed from the Zebra to the Hydra.

3 April 1840 arrived Malta from the coast of Sicily.

10 Apr 1840 Malta, departed for Messina, Palermo, and Naples.

25 May 1840 at Malta.

25 June 1840 leaves Malta for Vourla on the arrival of the London mail of the 6th inst.

29 Jun 1840 arrived in Vourla Bay from Malta.

18 Jul 1840 Smyrna, departed for Constantinople.

16 Aug 1840 Malta, departed for the Levant.

Aug 1840 arrived at Mytelene from Malta on the 16th, and left an the 19th for Alexandria, where she remained until 24th.

9 Sep 1840 arrived Beyrout.

11 Sep 1840 Beyrout, the Cyclops opened fire on troops in the south part of the bay.

12 Sep 1840 Beyrout, Gorgon, Hydra, Cyclops and Phoenix landed marines and Turkish troops at nearby Jouna and the Princess Charlotte, Ganges, Benbow, Edinburgh and Revenge bombarded General Soliman's troops ashore.

14 Sep 1840 Beyrout, The bombardment continued and the allied troops fortified their positions.

25 Sep 1840 Thunderer, Wasp, Cyclops, Gorgon and Hydra departed to take possession of Sidon, and were joined en route by the Stromboli.

26 Sep 1840 operations at Sidon. See www.gazettes-online.co.uk of 17 Nov 1840.

27 Oct 1840 Malta arrived from Beyrout.

Aug - Nov 1840 Capture of Acre and operations on the coast of Syria. Turkish Medals awarded to the Officers and Men employed during the Campaign. 16 Oct 1844 those onboard between 9 Sep - 10 Oct 1840, and at the bombardment of St. Jean D�Acre, on the 3 Nov 1840, will be paid their respective proportions of the grant voted by Parliament for the said services.

2 Jan 1841 Commander A. Murray, appointed to the Hydra steamer;

26 Jan 1841 arrived at Malta from Marseilles.

28 Jan 1841 Malta, departed for a cruise around the Island, in search of any wrecks, following the recent bad weather, and returned in the evening.

12 Feb 1841 at Malta.

5 Mar 1841 Malta, departed with despatches for the ships at Marmorice, and the Bay of Suda, in the island of Candia.

10 Apr 1841 Lieutenant Arthur Cumming, from the Bellerophon appointed to Hydra, vice Malley, sick.

10 Apr 1841 remains at Suda, Crete.

1 Jun 1841 departed Malta for Gibraltar, with mail for England, and from thence to the West Indies for anti-slavery duties.

8 Jul 1841 arrived Barbadoes.

19 Aug 1841 left Jamaica for Carthagena.

16 Feb 1842 arrived Havannah.

21 Feb 1842 departed Havannah.

1 Mar 1842 departed Port Royal, Jamaica.

5 Mar 1842 arrived Havannah and loaded 87 tons of coal.

6 Mar 1842 observed the Spanish brig Cubano arrive with a slaver which she had detained off Porto Rico.

8 Mar 1842 remained at Havannah to make good repairs to the boilers before departing Havannah for Jamaica.

12 Mar 1842 at Port Royal, Jamaica.

28 Mar 1842 at Port Royal, Jamaica.

5 Apr 1842 departed Jamaica with the squadron for Honduras and Belize to resolve some local political problems.

20 Apr 18422 returned to Jamaica from off Belise in the Gulf of Honduras.

30 Jun 1842 briefly stopped at Port Royal, Jamaica, when en route from Honduras, which she departed with the Illustrious, Spitfire, Fair Rosamond, Charybdis, for Bermuda.

5 Aug 1842 arrived Plymouth from the West Indies.

6 Aug 1842 departed Plymouth for Portsmouth with the party of Royal Marines belonging to the Portsmouth Division, lately paid off from the Wellesley.

7 Aug 1842 arrived Spithead, from the West Indies, last from Plymouth, and departed that evening for Woolwich.

18 Aug 1842 paid off at Woolwich.

1 Oct 1842 on being paid off Quarter-master James Bowen was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and a gratuity of �15, along with a pension of �27 8s. p.a.

6 Jun 1844 detained in Lat. 5� 21' S Long. 11� 31' E., en route from Loango to Havana the Spanish slave vessel Cyrus, Benito Sande, master, with 336 slaves on board, which was sent for adjudication to the British and Spanish Mixed Court of Justice, Sierra Leone and on 29 Jun 1844 sentenced to be condemned.

24 Feb 1845 detained in lat. 5� 28' N. long 1� 57' E., at Popoe, having previously escaped the boats of the Growler, the Spanish slave felucca Huracan, Jaime Guardiola, master, with 70 slaves on board, which was sent for adjudication to the British and Spanish Mixed Court of Justice, Sierra Leone, and on 19 Mar 1845 sentenced to be condemned.

4 Mar 1845 detained in lat. 6� 7' N. long 1� 45' E., some 24 hours after embarking 312 negroes at Popoe, the Spanish slave vessel Pepito, Juan Mas, master, which was sent for adjudication to the British and Spanish Mixed Court of Justice, Sierra Leone, and on 14 Apr 1845 sentenced to be condemned.

30-31 Jul 1845 in lat. 5� 12' N. long. 3� 52' 2" E., off Badagry, captured, after a chase of four hours, the Brazilian brig Africano, Jose Bento da Silva, with 590 slaves on board, out of Lagos, bound to Bahia, departed the 30th inst. This vessel was reputed to be former Sardinian brig "Corribo," purchased by a slave factor at Lagos and despatched to Bahia with a cargo of slaves. She was sent for adjudication to the Vice-Admiralty Court, at Sierra Leone, under charge of Lieutenant Gray and a prize-crew, and was condemned on 8 Sep 1845, when the surviving 497 negroes were emancipated, most of the deaths being occasioned by a quarrel amongst the negroes. 1848 second instalment of prize money due to be paid.

Per the Colonial Gazette of 14 Feb 1846, information has reached us from the west coast of Africa, that the Hydra, steam-sloop, Commander Young, has captured a slaver, on board of which were 1100 slaves. We believe this is the largest number that has ever been captured on board of one vessel. The bonus to the captors will be considerable. Reports are prevalent of some severe visitations of fever among the squadron ; none have reached us other than that some cases of an ordinary nature have appeared on board the Styx, steam-sloop, Commander Hornby, at Ascension, on the 20th of December; to which, however, the master, Mr. Richard L. Rundle, and seven seamen, have fallen victims. The ship has been very fortunate in having captured three slavers; viz. the Regevereder and Espiza (empty) and the Isabel, with 352 slaves on board, it is supposed that the three prizes will give the commander �400, and the officers and crew according to their ratings in proportion. When ordered to Ascension they were so reduced from sickness and prize crews, that, with the exception of the boatswain, the commander was the only officer who was doing duty, with nine men in one watch, and eleven in the other; the men are now in the hospital, doing well. It is supposed Captain Hornby will invalid, and return to England, having suffered severely from fever.

24 Feb 1845 detained the felucca Huracan, Jaime Guardiola, master, 13 Sep 1846 detained the slave vessel Amelia, which was sent for adjudication to the Vice-Admiralty Court at St. Helena and sentenced to be condemned. 1848 tonnage bounty and proceeds of vessel and stores, due to be paid.

30 Sep 1846 detained the slave vessel Isabel, which was sent for adjudication to the Vice-Admiralty Court at St. Helena, and sentenced to be condemned. 17 Jul 1848 tonnage bounty and proceeds of ship and cargo, due to be paid.

1847 defeated an attempt to retake a prize slaver at Bahia - see p. 366 at www.archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory06clow

20 Dec 1848 SE Coast of America

1849 capture of the armed slaver Unaio by the ship's boats off the south-east coast of America - see p. 367 at www.archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory06clow

14 Jul 1849 detained in lat. 24� 33' S. Long. 45� 45' W. the slave vessel Fidalga.

3 Oct 1853 It is reported in Sydney that the dangerous ridge of rocks extending from Cape Receif, upon which the "Emily Smith" struck on her last voyage to Algoa Bay is now being surveyed by this ship

8 Feb 1854 at sea in lat. 15� 54' S., long. 41� E., when steering for Mozambique closed a schooner which eventually hoisted a Portuguese ensign and after a while was able to visit the vessel which proved to be the government vessel "4th of April."

20 Mar 1854 is reported to be cruising in the Mozambique Channel on behalf of the slave trade and is due back at Simon's Town in April.

23 Apr 1856, Present at Fleet Review, Spithead ; Commander Morris

9 Jun 1858 Commissioned at Sheerness.

12 Aug 1858 At Deal. departed for the westward.

25 Aug 1858 departed Spithead for the West Coast of Africa, touching at Teneriffe, where the American slaver the Nancy was at anchor, discharging her cargo of rum, tobacco and plank, before sailing for the South Coast (i.e. the Congo and Angola) for slaves.

22 Sep 1858 when 50 miles from Sierra Leone a sail was sighted and chased. She was not displaying any colours and had altered her course a number of times for no apparent reason, so an officer was sent over to ascertain her nationality, and from her papers it transpired that she was the French vessel Chance, from Marseilles. An offer was made to note the visit in the ship's log, but this was declined. And, yet, as usual, out of absolutely nothing, the French master, via his local Vice-Consul, attempts to make an international incident out of it ! He sails during the dusk and into the night without colours and wonders why he's stopped, that in a region infested with slave traders !! One gets the feeling it was deliberate, and that he was intent on wasting other people's time in order to satisfy his own .... and importance.....or rather lack of.

2 Oct 1858 at Sierra Leone.

16 Aug 1859 returned to England from the West Coast of Africa.

1860 North America and West Indies station.

1864 Surveying duties on the Mediterranean Station. Reports of Fevers onboard. Number of Cases of Disease and Injury.