Spanish man-of-war in Plymouth, 1818

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demeer
Ships Boy
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Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2022 8:19 pm

Spanish man-of-war in Plymouth, 1818

Post by demeer »

In a Dutch travel journal of a Dutch ship going to Batavia in 1818, a visit of the author is mentioned to a Spanish man-of-war. The text is as follows (in translation)

We go to the inner dock[in Plymouth] to observe a Spanish quarter decker lying there, the St. Salvador, a veritable colossus, for which we had been afforded the opportunity by a permit card from the harbor master. It was the greatest warship of all nations at that time, and well worth the effort. From the boat that took us there we climbed 47 steps to enter the lower battery. The lower cabin had little importance other than the praise and sculpture. In contrast, the upper cabin was very remarkable, it must have been 35 in length and 30 feet in breadth. The floor was inlaid with various kinds of strange wood, resulting in a beautiful carpet. The walls of maghony and Amboinas wood were rich with mirrors and gilt, the pilasters adorned with the statues of Christopher Columbus, as I well remember Vasco de Gama and those nobles whom the Moors expelled from Spain. There were exits to the galleries on either side, and from this one went into another covered gallery called the western corridor, which went round behind the ship, and from which one could have a pleasant view of the sea. The forward cabin or longrohm was painted white, but rich in gilt and crystal work and large enough to dance a few quadrilles at a time. The officers' rooms were also painted in the same way. In the lower and middle batteries the guns had been removed, but only a few remained in the pit and upper battery. However, most of the gun ports were open to let fresh air into the ship. This ship had been taken by the English during the war with Spain in 1809 at Giberalter, where the French were present as an ally of the Spaniards.

I looked in the relevant literature (I think), but I can not find the ship St Salvador. More or less a quarter deck was the Nuestra Señora de la Santísima Trinidad, but it sank after the battle of Trafalgar.

Who can help me with solving the riddle.

With kind regards,


Sjoerd de Meer
curator Maritiem Museum Rotterdam
AvM
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Re: Spanish man-of-war in Plymouth, 1818

Post by AvM »

In 1818 the Russian Ships purchased for Spain vited England.

España 74 (launched 1811 at Arkhangelsk, ex-Russian Nord-Adler, sold to Spain 1818) - Stricken 1821
Alejandro I 74 (launched 1813 at Arkhangelsk, ex-Russian Drezden, sold to Spain 1818) - Stricken 1823
Numancia 74 (launched 1813 at Arkhangelsk, ex-Russian Liubek, sold to Spain 1818) - BU 1823
Velasco 74 (launched 1810 at St Petersburg, ex-Russian Tri Sviatitelei, sold to Spain 1818) - Stricken 1821

Aris's Birmingham Gazette - Monday 05 January 1818

" The Russian squadron at Spithead consists of : the following ships :.—Dresden, 74, Rear-Admiral , Moller; Nord Adler, 74; Neptunus, 74; Troach; swaytitil, 74; Lubet, 14; nercurins, 44; Patrick! er,. 44; and Aftroyele, 44.--Some of the ships ! requiring repairs, aocl being in want of a great Iquantity of water and other supplies, it is suppoa! ed they will be detained nearly a fortnight, when they will sail for Cadiz, where the ships will be I delivered over to the Spanish Government, and I ! the crews will return to Russia in transports. On Thursday, AdmiraLMoller dined with a large 1 party on bolrcl the queen. Charlotte (the flag! ship of Admiral Sir E. Thornbrough) in the harbour, where he was received under a salute, and on Friday morning the Admiral inspected the dock-yard."
Navclio
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Re: Spanish man-of-war in Plymouth, 1818

Post by Navclio »

As usual, the English source garbled some of the Russian names, and the scanner garbled some of the English printing. Using the transliteration system of Tredrea and Sozaev, Russian Warshps in the Age of Sail, these were:

Drezden, 74
Nord-Adler, 74
Neptunus, 74
Trekh Sviatitelei, 74 ["Tryokh" better represents the pronunciation]
Liubek, 74
Merkurii, 44
Patrikii, 44
Avtroil, 44
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