HMS Actaeon (1831)
HMS Actaeon (1831)


Royal NavyVessels

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NameActaeon (1831)Explanation
TypeSixth rate   
Launched31 January 1831
HullWooden
PropulsionSail
Builders measure620 tons
Displacement 
Guns16
Fate1889
Class 
Ships book
Note1856 survey ship.
1866 hospital ship.
1870 hulk
Snippets concerning this vessels career
DateEvent
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
DateExtract
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.
Ma 16 April 1860The Third China War.? Preparations have commenced at Hongkong and Shanghai in good earnest. The four vessels from Shanghai which are announced as having sailed under sealed orders comprise Her Majesty?s ships Sampson, Actaeon, Dove, and gunboat Algerine; two of these vessels are well-known surveying vessels, and it is given on good authority that this small expedition is intended to reconnoitre in the Gulf of Pecheli and the mouth of the Peiho. and to take possession of some convenient slip of land which will be serviceable to our troops. A statement is also current that they were despatched to capture some trading junks which had left Shanghai for the Peiho, and supposed to be loaded with arms and ammunition. It is also stated that the Chinese Government are casting heavy guns, and using large quantities of American anthracite coal for this purpose. Guns of the largest calibre have also been imported from the United States. Her Majesty?s ship Imp?rieuse, 51 guns, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Jones, C.B., second in command, left Hongkong for Shanghai on the 22d of February; she took up six boats, each capable of landing 100 men, a large number of tents, and a bridge or pier, which could be made available for landing troops over the mud. She also had on board field-carriages for mounting her 32-pounders, and a large quantity of ammunition and war stores. The British and French naval commanders are engaged at Hongkong in chartering vessels and steamers, organizlng a Chinese coolie corps, and other necessary measures. General Montauban, the French military Commander-in-Chief, had also arrived from France, and the Quartermaster-General of the British Army. From these active operations it may be augured that it is intended to push the expedition north during the present month, in perfect readiness for the decision of Lord Elgin and his French colleague, Baron Gros. The delay in their departure will consequently be a source of great disappointment and anxiety. Nothing of a reliable nature has been heard of the action or intentions of the Court of Pekin, nor of our Ambassador, Mr. Bruce, It Is rumoured that the Taku forts have been dismantled in order to strengthen those at Tien-tin. There have been no further reinforcements from India. The detachment of the 44th Queen?s Regiment, which was announced in our last as having arrived at Singapore, has left that place for Hongkong, in Her Majesty's ship Pearl, and transport Cressy. A portion of the 99th Regiment had arrived at Singapore from Calcutta in the Octavia, towed by the Reynard. The Simoom, with the troops as originally embarked at Portsmouth, had also arrived, and proceeded on to Hongkong with the transports Mars, Octavia, and Jessamine. The Ringdove, Magicienne, Hooghly, and Fury were engaged in towing vessels from the Straits of Malacca up to Singapore. ? London and China Telegraph.
Fr 20 June 1862The 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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