HMS Cordelia

HMS Cordelia (1856)

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Name	Cordelia (1856)	Explanation
Type	Sloop
Launched	3 July 1856
Hull	Wooden	Length	151 feet
Propulsion	Screw
Builders measure	579 tons
Displacement	876 tons
Guns	11
Fate	1870	Last in commission	1868
Class		Class (as screw)	Racer
Ships book	ADM 135/104
Career
Date	Event
3 July 1856	Launched at Pembroke Dockyard.
11 April 1857	Commanded (from commissioning) by Commander Charles Egerton Harcourt-Vernon, Australia
(June 1861) - 2 April 1862	Commanded (until paying off at Plymouth) by Commander Francis Alexander Hume, Australia
24 June 1864 - 3 March 1865	Commanded (from commissioning at Plymouth) by Commander John Binney Scott, North America and West Indies (until Scott invalided)
3 March 1865 - 16 September 1867	Commanded by Commander Thomas Alexis De Wahl, North America and West Indies
16 September 1867 - 9 July 1868	Commanded (until paying off at Plymouth) by Commander Charles Parry, North America and West Indies
12 May 1870	Sold to C. Marshall for breaking up at Plymouth.
*Extracts from the Times* newspaper**
Date	Extract
We 22 August 1860	Her Majesty’s sloop Elk, 12, Commander H. Campion, which was paid off at Chatham yesterday, has been in commission upwards of four years, during which period she has seen a great deal of active service both in China and in other distant parts of the world. She was commissioned at Chatham on the 6th of May, 1856, by Commander J. Hamilton, who was succeeded in August, 1858, by Commander Campion, formerly of the Vulcan, 6, [should be: Falcon] on being promoted. The Elk, on leaving England, proceeded to China, and formed one of the squadron engaged in the Chinese waters until the termination of hostilities. The whole of the crew who could be spared formed a portion of the naval brigade under Commodore Stevens [should be Stewart], of the Nankin, 50, and were present at the capture of Canton, and other places. After the discontinuance of operations in the China seas, the Elk sailed from Hongkong for Australia in the month of April, 1858, and after arriving was employed for several months in making a minute search along the coast and through every part of Bass's Straits for Her Majesty's missing ship Sappho, but without success. The Elk left Sydney on the 1st of March for Auckland, which was reached on the 12th of March, just at the time the insurrection was raging in New Zealand. A portion of the crew and several of the ship's guns were landed to form a part of the naval brigade, and the men volunteering for this service were left behind. On the 26th of April the Elk left Auckland for England, at which time the following vessels of Her Majesty were at New Zealand — viz., the Iris, 26, Commodore W. Loring, C.B.; the Pelorus, 21, screw corvette, Commodore F.B.P. Seymour; the Niger, 13, screw steamer, Capt. P. Cracroft; and the Cordelia, 11, screw steamer, Commander C.E.H. Vernon. During the voyage home, and when near the entrance to the river Plate, the ship was caught in a tremendous typhoon, which raged for 48 hours, during which the vessel suffered severely, and it was only by the very best seamanship that vessel and crew were not lost. The Elk, since she has been in commission, has been constantly employed on service, and has sailed over upwards of 132,000 miles. Upwards of 20 of her crew have died from cholera, dysentery, and other causes, exclusive of a number invalided home. The crew have been exceedingly well-behaved, and the infliction of corporal punishment has been very rare. On the crew being paid off yesterday a silver medal, together with a gratuity of 10l., was awarded by the Admiralty to John Turner, captain of the after-guard, for good conduct and long service. The Elk, which is in very good condition, is to be attached to the reserve ordinary at Chatham. Second Lieut. O'Grady and the boatswain of the ship are under arrest, awaiting their trial by court-martial.

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