HMS Actaeon

HMS Actaeon (1831)

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Name	Actaeon (1831)	Explanation
Type	Sixth rate
Launched	31 January 1831
Hull	Wooden
Propulsion	Sail
Builders measure	620 tons
Displacement
Guns	16
Fate	1889
Class
Ships book
Note	1856 survey ship. 1866 hospital ship. 1870 hulk
Snippets concerning this vessels career
Date	Event
25 November 1830 - 4 September 1834	Commanded by Captain Frederick William Grey, Mediterranean
17 November 1834 - 1838	Commanded by Captain Lord Edward Russell, South America
14 August 1838 - 1842	Commanded by Captain Robert Russell, South America
(January 1843)	Out of commission at Plymouth
14 December 1844 - 11 February 1848	Commanded by Captain George Mansel, west coast of Africa
1 August 1856 - 29 December 1857	Commanded by Commander William Thornton Bate, Coast of China and Tartary (until he was killed while serving with the Naval Brigade on shore during bombardment of Canton during the second Anglo-Chinese war)
30 December 1857 - 24 September 1858	Commanded by Captain Robert Jenkins, coast of China and Tartary
24 September 1858 - 19 June 1862	Commanded (until paying off at Portsmouth) by Commander John Ward, coast of China and Tartary
*Extracts from the Times* newspaper**
Date	Extract
Sa 8 December 1849	Portsmouth, Dec. 6. In Port and Fitting In the Harbour. - The Victory and Illustrious flag-ships, the Excellent gunnery ship; the Blenheim steam-guard-ship; the Eurydice, stripping to pay off; the Contest, fitting out; the Rolla apprentices' brig, laying up for the winter; the Fairy and Elfin, and Portsmouth yachts; the Flamer packet from Holyhead, and the Echo tug. In Dock. - The Britannia, 120; the Dauntless, 24; the Fantome, 16; the Lily, 16; the Fox, 42; the Devastation, and the Birkenhead steam frigates. In the Basin. - The Princess Charlotte, 104; the Actaeon, 26; and the Sprightly and the Bee steam-vessels. In the Steam Basin, - The Ajax, 60; the Penelope, 22; the Sidon, 26; the Victoria and Albert royal yacht; the Urgent , the Pike, the Asp, and the Blazer. Building. - The Royal Frederick, 120 [subsequently cancelled and later completed as Frederick William]; the Prince of Wales, 120; the Princess Royal, 90; the Argus, and the Furious steam sloops.
Fr 20 June 1862	The Actaeon, surveying frigate, Capt. John Ward, was paid out of commission at Portsmouth yesterday, under the superintendence of Capt. H. Broadhead, commanding the steam reserve at the port, and the crew were granted the ordinary leave of absence. This ship was commissioned in August, 1858, for Commander W. Thornton Bate, then on surveying service in China. After the death of Capt. Bate at the bombardment of Canton the Actaeon was engaged in the survey of the Canton River until August, 1858, when Capt. Jenkins was succeeded in the command by Commander John Ward, and the ship sailed for the North and the Coast of Tartary (Manchooria), returning to Canton in the end of December of the same year. In February, l860, she sailed for the Gulf of Pecheli in company with Her Majesty's ships Sampson, Algerine, and Dove; surveyed Ta-lien-whan Bay and part of the gulf as a rendezvous for the combined fleets of England and France. She was afterwards engaged with the Dove tender, Cruizer, Algerine, Leven, and Slaney in completing the survey of the whole coast of the gulf of Pecheli and the north coast of Shantung. The Actaeon's next labours were in surveying the lower part of the Yangtze river, above Shanghae. In May, 1861, she sailed for Japan, and on arrival there continued surveying, assisted by the Dove, Algerine, and Leven, until December, when she returned to Hongkong, and finally sailed for England on the 9th of January, 1862.

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