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HMS ''Agamemnon'' was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts. She is remembered as being Nelson's favourite ship, and was named after the mythical ancient Greek king Agamemnon, being the first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. The future Lord Nelson served as ''Agamemnon''s captain from January 1793 for 3 years and 3 months, during which time she saw considerable service in the Mediterranean. After Nelson's departure, she was involved in the infamous 1797 mutinies at Spithead and the Nore, and in 1801 was present at the first Battle of Copenhagen, but ran aground before being able to enter the action. Despite Nelson's fondness for the ship, she was frequently in need of repair and refitting, and would likely have been hulked or scrapped in 1802 had war with France not recommenced. She fought at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, as part of Nelson's weather column, where she forced the surrender of the Spanish four-decker ''Santísima Trinidad''. ''Agamemnon''s later career was served in South American waters off Brazil. Her oft worn-out and poor condition contributed to her being wrecked when in June 1809 she grounded on an uncharted shoal in the mouth of the River Plate, whilst seeking shelter with the rest of her squadron from a storm. All hands and most of the ship's stores were saved, but the condition of the ship's timbers made it impossible to free the ship; her captain was cleared of responsibility for the ship's loss thanks to documents detailing her defects. Recently, the wreck of ''Agamemnon'' has been located, and several artefacts have been recovered, including one of her cannons. ==Construction== ''Agamemnon'' was ordered from the commercial shipbuilder Henry Adams at his Bucklers Hard shipyard on the Beaulieu River on 5 February 1777, to be built to the lines of the , as designed by Sir Thomas Slade. Her keel was laid down in May. She was constructed using timber sourced from the surrounding New Forest. The total cost of her construction was £38,303 15s 4d. She was commissioned on 28 March 1781 under Captain Benjamin Caldwell—a full 13 days before her launch on 10 April.〔Goodwin, ''The Ships of Trafalgar'', p. 122.〕 A painting of the launch of ''Agamemnon'' by Harold Wyllie depicts blue skies and scores of spectators,〔Goodwin, ''Nelson's Ships'', plate between p. 160 & p. 161.〕 despite the ''Hampshire Chronicle'' describing the day as being windy with heavy rain, and with few spectators in attendance.〔 She was named after King Agamemnon, a prominent figure in ancient Greek mythology who participated in the Siege of Troy,〔Deane, ''Nelson's Favourite'', p. 18.〕 and was the first Royal Navy vessel to bear the name. Lord Nelson regarded her as his favourite ship,〔 and to her crew she was known by the affectionate nickname 'Eggs–and–Bacon'.〔Deane, ''Nelson's Favourite'', p. 77.〕 According to an article in ''The Gentleman's Magazine'', her crew renamed her as they did not like the classical names that were in vogue at the Admiralty during this period (the crews of and also 'renamed' their ships, to 'Billy Ruffian' and 'Polly Infamous' respectively, for the same reason).〔Deane, ''Nelson's Favourite'', p. 127.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「HMS Agamemnon (1781)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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