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HMS ''Sheldrake'' was a Royal Navy 16-gun ''Seagull''-class brig-sloop. She was built in Hythe and launched in 1806. She fought in the Napoleonic Wars and at the Battle of Anholt during the Gunboat War. She was stationed in the mouth of the River Loire in 1814 after Napoleon's abdication to prevent his escape to America. She was sold in 1816. ==Channel Islands== Commander John Thicknesse commissioned ''Sheldrake'' in April 1806 for the Channel Islands.〔Winfield (2008).〕 On 12 October 1806, ''Sheldrake'' was in company with , and the hired armed cutter ''Britannia'' sailing to reconnoiter Saint Malo when they spotted and gave chase to a strange sail near Cape Fréhel.〔 The British squadron chased the vessel, mostly using their sweeps, and at noon caught up with her. She had taken refuge on shore and near the rocks at Bouche d'Arkie (Bay of Erqui), under the protection of the French battery on the hill and some troops and field pieces. Captain Burrowes of ''Constance'' decided to attack. At 2pm a two-hour action began, during which both Burrowes and the French captain were killed. During the battle, ''Constance'' too ran aground. Thickness sent his first lieutenant in boats to take possession of the French vessel after she struck.〔 The French vessel was the frigate-built transport ''Salamander'', armed with twenty-six long 12 and 18-pounder guns and carrying a crew of 150. She had been sailing from Saint Malo to Brest with a cargo of ship timber.〔 A month earlier, ''Constance'', ''Strenuous'' and had run the same ship on shore before leaving her, apparently wrecked. Thicknesse was unable to get either vessel off the rocks. He was, however, able to get many of ''Constance''s officers and crew on board ''Sheldrake''. When her crew abandoned ''Constance'', under heavy fire from shore, they could not set her on fire because of the number of wounded still on board. A party of her crew made a second attempt to retrieve her, but all were killed or captured. Next morning, ''Sheldrake'' destroyed ''Salamander'' by gunfire. At that time Thicknesse saw that the action of the sea had destroyed ''Constance''.〔 Casualties were heavy. ''Sheldrake'' herself had lost one man killed and two wounded. ''Strenuous'' had had five men wounded. The casualty list for ''Constance'' was incomplete because a number of men may have been taken prisoner when they took to the boats or swam ashore. ''Sheldrake'' had about 100 of the crew on board her. Burrowes and eight others were known killed, and four others later died of their wounds. Twelve more aboard ''Sheldrake'' were wounded, two badly. ''Sheldrake''s first lieutenant estimated that he had seen some 30 dead on ''Salamander''. In addition, ''Sheldrake'' had taken nine French wounded aboard, two of whom died. 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 Sheldrake (1806)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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