HMS Venom (1794)

HMS Venom was a captured in the Caribbean in 1794 that Admiral Sir John Jervis purchased.[4][lower-alpha 1] The Royal Navy commissioned her as a gunbrig under the command of Lieutenant Thomas H. Wilson. In March and April 1794, she participated in the capture of Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadeloupe.[5] Jervis's expedition restored monarchist rule. The French counter-attacked and recaptured Guadeloupe on 2 June. Jervis and General Sir Charles Grey, the army commander, landed a force to recapture the island but the reinforced French garrison repulsed the British expedition, which withdrew.[6]

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Venom.

Venom
History
Great Britain
NameVenom
Acquired1794, by capture
Honours and
awards		Naval General Service Medal with clasp "17 Mar. Boat Service 1794"[1]
FateDelisted 1799 or 1800
General characteristics [2]
Tons burthen12842⁄94 (bm)
Length
  • 65 ft 1 in (19.8 m) (overall)
  • 47 ft 1 in (14.4 m) (keel)
Beam22 ft 8 in (6.9 m)
Depth of hold9 ft 0 in (2.7 m)
Complement45
Armament4 x 4-pounder guns + 4 x 18-pounder carronades
NotesAlthough some sources report that Venom was the French Navy tartane Génie that Commodore Horatio Nelson captured at Oneglia on 31 May 1796,[3] this is clearly incorrect as Venom was already two years into her service with the Royal Navy by that time.

Venom was deleted from the lists in 1799 or 1800. After commanding Venom, Wilson assumed command of the hired armed lugger Lark on 21 April 1800.[7]

Prize money: The London Gazette published details for four tranches of prize and head money payments for Jervis's campaign. In all some 36 ships qualified: HMS Asia, Assurance, Avenger, Boyne, Beauleau, Blonde, Bull Dog, Ceres, Dromedary, Experiment, Irresistible, Inspector, Nautilus, Quebec, Roebuck, Rattlesnake, Rose, Retort, Santa Margarita, Solebay, Seaflower, Terpsichore, Ulysses, Undaunted, Vengeance, Veteran, Vesuvius, Winchelsea, Wooolwich (sic), and Zebra. So did six gunboats: Spiteful, Teazer, Tickler, Tormentor, Venom, and Vexor.

Year Martinique St Lucia Guadaloupe All three
Captain's share
1795[8] £150 0s 1+3⁄4d £24 10s 1+1⁄2d £29 10s 3+1⁄4d £203 11s 4+3⁄4d
1797[9] £29 6s 8+1⁄2d £12 9s 1+1⁄4d £9 7s 2+1⁄4d £51 3s 0d
1800[10] £695 16s 8+1⁄4d £10 7s 6+1⁄4d £71 0s 3+1⁄4d £777 4s 6+3⁄4d
1806[11] £51 4s 2+1⁄2d £5 12s 0d £12 12 6+1⁄4 £69 8s 8+3⁄4
Total £926 7s 9d £52 14s 9d £122 10s 3d £1102 7s 8+1⁄4d
Seaman's share
1795[8] £0 15s 4+3⁄4d £0 2s 5+1⁄4d £0 3s 0d £1 0s 10d
1797[9] £0 3s 0d £0 1s 3d £0 0s 11+1⁄4d £0 5s 2+1⁄4d
1800[10] £3 5s 9+1⁄4d £0 0s 11+1⁄2d £0 6s 8d £5 13s 4+3⁄4d
1806[11] £0 4s 10d £0 0s 6+1⁄4d £0 1s 2d £0 6s 6+1⁄4d
Total £4 9s 0d £5 2s 0d £0 12s 7+1⁄4d £10 11s 7+1⁄4d

In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "17 Mar. Boat Service 1794" to all surviving claimants from the action at Fort Royal Bay, Martinique during which the boats of Venom, and others, captured the French frigate Bienvenue, and other vessels.

Notes
  1. It has so far not been possible to identify the origins of this brig from readily available online resources.

Citations
  1. "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 246.
  2. Winfield (2008), p. 336.
  3. Winfield & Roberts (2015), pp. 277–8.
  4. "NMM, vessel ID 378301" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol iv. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  5. "No. 13661". The London Gazette. 20 May 1794. p. 470.
  6. "No. 13694". The London Gazette. 16 August 1794. pp. 841–842.
  7. Marshall (1833), pp. 217–8.
  8. "No. 13824". The London Gazette. 20 October 1795. p. 1090.
  9. "No. 14043". The London Gazette. 5 September 1797. p. 862.
  10. "No. 15245". The London Gazette. 5 April 1800. p. 339.
  11. "No. 15976". The London Gazette. 18 November 1806. p. 1511.

References
  • Marshall, John (1833). "Wilson, Thomas Henry" . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. 4, part 1. London: Longman and company. p. 217–218.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.
  • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.

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