Chilean frigate O'Higgins (1816)

O'Higgins was a Chilean frigate famous for her actions under Captain Lord Cochrane.

For other ships with the same name, see Chilean ship O'Higgins.
Model of the frigate O'Higgins from the Museo Naval y Marítimo of the Chilean Navy
History
Russia
NamePatrikii
BuilderShipyard in Arkhangelsk
Launched3 July 1816
FateSold to Spain
Spain
NameMaría Isabel
Acquired17 August 1817
Captured20 October 1818
FateCaptured by Chile in Talcahuano
Chile
NameO'Higgins
NamesakeBernardo O'Higgins
CommissionedOctober 1818
RenamedMaría Isabel (1823)
FateSold to Argentina
Argentina
NameBuenos Aires
NamesakeBuenos Aires
Commissioned1826
FateSank 1826
General characteristics
Class and typeSpeshniy-class frigate
Tons burthen1220 (bm)
Length48.6 m (159 ft 5 in)
Beam12.7 m (41 ft 8 in)
Draft3.9 m (12 ft 10 in)
PropulsionSail
Crew288-430 men
Armament40-50 guns

Russian career

The ship was launched in Russia in 1816, as the Speshni-class frigate Patrikii ("Патрикий"). To save time and money, the Russians built her of pine and larch. In 1817 the Russians sold her to Spain, which renamed her María Isabel.

Spanish career

In 1818 María Isabel sailed under Captain Dionisio Capas with a convoy to the coast of Peru. There the First Chilean Navy Squadron, under the command of Manuel Blanco Encalada, captured her at Talcahuano.

Chilean career

The Chileans renamed the ship O'Higgins after Bernardo O'Higgins, the South American Independence leader and first Chilean head of state.

O'Higgins was Thomas Cochrane's flagship when he commanded the Chilean navy during the Freedom Expedition of Perú.

When San Martín was wrecked in the bay of Chorrilos, Peru, in July 1821, Cochrane shifted his flag from San Martín back to O'Higgins. [1]

Cochrane also sailed O'Higgins to Acapulco.

On 8 June 1823, O'Higgins suffered severe damage when she collided with the Chilean ship Lautaro in the Bay of Paraíso during a gale.[2][3]

During 1823, after a conservative coup on 28 January 1823 deposed O'Higgins, the new government under Ramón Freire renamed the frigate María Isabel again.[4]

Argentine career

She was sold to Argentina on 1 April 1826 and refitted in Valparaíso and renamed Buenos Aires, but she never reached Buenos Aires. She sank rounding Cape Horn.[5]

See also

Citations
  1. Lloyd's List №5648.
  2. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (5844). 7 October 1823.
  3. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (5847). 17 October 1823.
  4. Website of the Chilean Navy O´Higgins, fragata (1º) Archived 2010-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 28. January 2011
  5. Gerardo Etcheverry, Principales naves de guerra a vela hispanoamericanas, retrieved 28 January 2011

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