These pages list the key dates in the history of the sailing navies of the world.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
01 May
1689
Battle of Bantry Bay. Inclonclusive engagement between an English fleet of 19 ships, under Arthur Herbert, and a French fleet of 24 ships, under François Louis de Rousselet, Marquis de Château-Renault.
1776
William Bligh passed as Lieutenant.
1795
HMS Boyne (98), bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Peyton, Cptn. George Grey, caught fire at Spithead burned and exploded.
1811
HMS Pomone (38), Cptn. Robert Barrie, HMS Unite (40), Cptn. Chamberlayne, and HMS Scout (18), Cptn. Alex. Renton Sharpe, destroyed Giraffe (26) and Nourrise (14) and an armed merchantman in the Bay of Sagone, Corsica. The two French warships blew up and their burning timbers destroyed a Martello tower and caused a shore battery to blow up.
HMS Guerriere (38), Cptn. Samuel John Pechell, stopped the brig USS Spitfire off Sandy Hook in New Jersey and impressed Maine citizen John Diggio.
1815
HMS Penelope (36), Cdr. James Galloway, wrecked on rocks in the St. Lawrence.
02 May
1778
King George visited Portsmouth.
1804
William Bligh appointed Captain of HMS Warrior (74)
1808
HMS Unite (40), Cptn. Patrick Campbell, captured Ronco (16) off Cape Promontoro in the Gulf of Venice.
1809
HMS Spartan (38), Cptn. Jahleel Brenton, and HMS Mercury (28), Cptn. Henry Duncan, cut out 12 vessels from the port of Ceseratico and blew up the castle and magazine.
1811
HMS Dover (38), Lt. Charles Generis (Act)., and HMS Chichester (22), Cptn. William Kirby, wrecked in Madras Roads by a hurricane which arose as they were departing for an expedition against Batavia
1813
Boats of HMS Repulse (74), Cptn. Richard Hussey Moubray, HMS Volontaire (44) , Cptn. Waldegrave, and HMS Undaunted (38), Cptn. Thomas Ussher, cut out 9 vessels from the port of Morgion and destroyed some batteries in the vicinity.
03 May
1710
HMS Suffolk captured Gaillard.
1810
HMS Spartan (38), Cptn. Jahleel Brenton, engaged French Ceres (42), Fame (28), and Achilles (10) and captured Sparviere (8) in Bay of Naples.
1812
HMS Skylark (16), James Boxer, grounded to the west of Boulogne and was burnt to avoid capture
1861
USS Surprise captures Confederate privateer Savannah
04 May
1796
HMS Spencer (16), Cptn. Andrew Fitzherbert Evans, captured French gun-brig Volcan (12)
1805
HMS Seahorse (38), Cptn. Courtenay Boyle, and boats cut out the largest vessel and sank several more of a Spanish convoy at San Pedro.
1806
Boats of HMS Renommee (44), Cptn. Sir Thomas Livingstone, and HMS Nautilus (18), Edward Palmer, cut out Spanish schooner Giganta from under the protection of the guns of Torre de Vieja.
1809
HMS Parthian (10), Richard Harward, captured privateer Nouvelle Gironde (14), M. Lecompte
1811
A French brig of war (18), destroyed in the harbour of Parenzo on the coast of Istria , by HMS Belle Poule (38) Capt. James Brisbane, and HMS Alceste (38), Cptn. Murray Maxwell.
1812
Re-capture of Brig-sloop HMS Apelles (14) near Etaples by HMS Bermuda (10), Alexander Cunningham, HMS Rinaldo (10), Sir W. G. Parker, HMS Castilian (18), David Braimer, and HMS Phipps (14), Thomas Wells.
05 May
1794
HMS Orpheus (32), Cptn Henry Newcome, captured Duguay-Trouin (34) off the Isle of France
1798
HMS Badger (4) and HMS Sandfly gunbrig repulsed 52 gun brigs at Marcon.
1799
HMS Fortune (10), Lt. Lewis Davies, and gunboats captured by Salamine.
06 May
1682
HMS Gloucester (60) wrecked off Yarmouth
1709
HMS Portland (48) re-captured Coventry.
1741
Samuel Hood entered the navy as Captain’s Servant on HMS Romney (48)
1801
Nelson succeeds Parker as Commander-in-Chief, Baltic.
Lord Thomas Cochrane in HMS Speedy (14) captures Spanish xebec frigate El Gamo (32), Cptn. Don Francisco de Torris (Killed in Action), off the coast near Barcelona.
1805
Boats of HMS Unicorn (32), Cptn. Lucius Hardyman, took French privateer Tape a bord (4) in the West Indies.
1814
British squadron under Sir James Lucas Yeo of HMS Prince Regent (56), HMS Princess Charlotte (42) and consorts destroyed a fort and captured USS Growler (5) and other vessels at Oswego, Lake Ontario
07 May
1694
Henry Every (also spelled Avery) leads a mutiny aboard the privateer Charles II anchored off La Coruna, Spain.
1709
HMS Postillion (10), wrecked near Ostend
1765
HMS Victory launched
1779
Continental Navy sloop Providence (12), Cptn. John Rathbun, captures British brig Diligent (12) off Cape Charles
1794
HMS Swiftsure (74), Captain Charles Boyles, captured Atalante (36), Cptn. Charles-Alexandre-Leon Durand-Linois
1798
HMS Victorieuse (14), Cptn.Edward Stirling Dickson, captured French privateer Brutus (6), Cptn. Rousel, off Guadeloupe.
1808
Boats of HMS Falcon (14), Lt. John Price (act. Cdr.), captured two sail at Lundholm.
HMS Redwing (18), Thomas Ussher, destroyed seven Spanish vessels and drove some into the surf from a convoy of 12 merchantmen escorted by 7 armed vessels near Cape Trafalgar. only 3 vessels escaped.
08 May
1744
HMS Northumberland (70), Cptn. Thomas Watson (mortally wounded), captured by a French squadron of Content (62) and Mars (64).
1781
HMS Mentor (16), Robert Deans, burnt to avoid capture and HMS Port Royal (18) captured by the Spaniards at Pensacola
1794
HMS Placienta (6) wrecked off Newfoundland
French Patriote (74) captures HMS Castor (32), Cptn. Thomas Troubridge, off Cape Clear
1804
HMS Vincejo (16), John Westly Wright, captured by French flotilla of 6 brigs and 5 luggersoff the mouth of the Morbihan
1807
Boats of HMS Comus (22), Cptn. Conway Shipley, cut out Spanish felucca San Pedro from under the protection of a strong fort and two batteries in the port of Gran Canaria.
1811
HMS Scylla (18), Arthur Atchison, boarded and carried French privateer Canonniere (10), Ensgn. Jean Joseph Benoit Schilds (Killed in Action), and 1 ship of her convoy of 5 off Roscoff.
09 May
1784
HMS Crocodile (24) wrecked in thick fog on Prawle Point, Devon
1795
HMS Melampus (36), Sir Richard Strachan, HMS Diamond (38) Cptn. Sir W. Sidney Smith and another frigate left anchorage in Gourville Bay, Jersey and took convoy of 11 French merchantmen and 2 gun-vessels, Eclair and Crache-Feu.
1812
HMS America (74), Cptn. Josias Rowley, HMS Leviathan (74) Cptn. Patrick Campbell, and HMS Eclair (18), Cptn. John Bellamy, carried the batteries at Languelia and captured or destroyed French convoy of 18 vessels.
1859
HMS Heron (12), William Henry Truscott, foundered between Ascension and Sierra Leone
1864
The Battle of Heligoland. The Danish North Sea Squadron under Cptn. Edouard Suensson, frigates Niels Juel and Jylland, and the corvette Heimdal, defeat an Austrian squadron under Linienschiffskapitän von Tegetthoff, frigates Schwarzenberg and Radetzky, and the 3 Prussian paddle steamer gunboats Preussischer Adler, Blitz and Brasilisk.
10 May
1800
USS Constitution (100), Cptn. Silas Talbot captured French privateer Sandwich (6) from the harbor at Port Plate, Hispaniola.
1808
Start of 5 day engagement between HMS Wizard (16), Abel Ferris, and Requin (16) from off Toulon to Goulette near Tunis.
1862
Confederates destroy Norfolk and Pensacola Navy Yards.
11 May
1762
Cptn. John Jervis (later Eart St. Vincent) HMS Gosport (44) escorting convoy to North America repelled a French squadron, under de Ternay, which was on its way to capture Newfoundland.
1780
Fall of Charleston, SC; three Continental Navy frigates, Boston, Providence, and Ranger, captured and frigate Queen of France sunk to prevent capture
1806
Capture of Capri by English squadron under Sir Sidney Smith.
1808
HMS Bacchante (22), Cptn. Samuel Hood Inglefield, captured French national brig Griffon (16), Jaques Gautier, near Cape Antonio in Cuba.
1809
HMS Melpomene (38), Cptn. Peter Parker, destroyed a Danish man-of-war cutter at Huilbo, Jutland.
1862
CSS Virginia blown up by Confederates to prevent capture.
12 May
1708
Sir John Leake's Fleet took a French frigate and convoy.
1781
HMS Thetis (32) wrecked off St. Lucia
1796
HMS Phoenix (36), Cptn. Lawrence Halstead, captured Argo (36) in the North Sea.
1797
The mutiny at the Nore begins
1799
HMS Courier cutter engaged a French privateer brig near Winterton.
1806
HMS Pallas (32), Cptn. Lord Cochrane, HMS Indefatigable (44), Cptn. John Tremayne Rodd, and HMS Kingfisher (18), George Francis Seymour, engaged French squadron off Isle of Aix.
Boats of HMS Juno (32), Capt. H. Richardson, and Neapolitan Minerve, Cptn. Vieugna, destroyed batteries at Gaeta.
1808
HMS Amphion (32), Cptn. William Hoste, and boats engaged Baleine at Rosas.
HMS Tartar (32), Cptn. G. E. B. Bettesworth (Killed in Action), and boats engaged at Bergen.
1810
HMS Tribune (36), Cptn. Reynolds, engaged Danish squadron of 4 brigs, under Cmndr Johannes Krieger, outside Mandal, Norway but was forced to withdraw.
1846
U.S. declares war against Mexico
13 May
1793
HMS Iris (32), Cptn. George Lumsdaine, engaged Citoyenne Francaise (32) about 6 leagues from Gibraltar in the first action of the war with a French naval ship.
1796
HMS Salisbury (50) wrecked near San Domingo
1798
Boats of HMS Flora (36) cut out Mondavi,
1807
HMS Cassandra (10), Lt. George Le Blanc, lost by upsetting in a sudden squall off Bourdeaux.
14 May
1741
HMS Wager (24), Cptn. Dandy Kidd, wrecked on the South coast of Chile
1747
First Battle of Cape Finisterre. 14 British ships of the line under Admiral George Anson attack a French 30-ship convoy commanded by Admiral de la Jonquière and capture 4 ships of the line, 2 frigates and 7 merchantmen, in a five-hour battle in the Bay of Biscay.
1757
HMS Antelope (54), Cptn. Alexander Arthur Hood, drove ashore and wrecked Aquilon (50) in Audierne Bay.
1781
HMS Nonsuch (64), Cptn. Sir James Wallace, engaged Actif (74).
1801
Tripoli declares war against the United States
1807
Boats of HMS Spartan (38), Cptn. Jahleel Brenton, repulsed by a polacca off Nice.
1812
HMS Thames (32), Cptn. Charles Napier, and HMS Pilot (18), Cptn. John Toup Nicholas took 29 vessels at Port Sapri, Calabria. Most were destroyed by a gale during the night.
15 May
1673
British fleet under Cptn. Richard Munden re-capture the Island of St. Helena
1759
John Jervis (later Earl St. Vincent) promoted Commander into HMS Scorpion (14).
1771
Midshipman Horatio Nelson transfers to the Triumph (74).
1797
Spithead Mutiny ends
1804
HMS Cruizer (18), John Hancock, HMS Rattler (16), Francis Mason, HMS Penelope (36), Cptn. W. R. Broughton, HMS Antelope (50), Commodore Sir Sidney Smith, and HMS Aimable (32), Cptn William Bolton, engaged Flushing flotilla of 59 vessels (2 praams, 19 schooners and 38 schuyts) off Blankenberg.
1806
HMS Juno (32), Capt. H. Richardson, supported a Neopolitan sortie from Gaeta.
1809
Boats of HMS Tartar (32), Cptn. Jos. Baker, drove ashore and captured a Danish privateer (4) near Felixberg on the coast of Courland.
HMS Mercury (28), Cptn. Henry Duncan, bombarded Rotti.
1813
HMS Bacchante (38), Cptn. William Hoste, bombarded Karlebago and destroyed the fort and other defences.
1828
HMS Parthian (10), George Hotham, wrecked near Marabout Island, Egypt.
16 May
1760
HMS Lowestoffe (28) sunk in a battle with the French in St. Lawrence.
1803
Britain declares war on France and Nelson appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet.
1807
HMS Dauntless (22), Christopher Strachey, surrendered to the French at Danzig after grounding.
1811
USS President (58), Commodore John Rodgers, engaged HMS Little Belt (20), Cptn. Arthur Bingham, off Cape Hatteras.
1813
Boats of HMS Berwick (74), Cptn Edward Brace, and HMS Euryalus (36), Cptn. Charles Napier, took or destroyed 20 vessels at Cavalarie Bay near Toulon.
1820
USS Congress becomes first U.S. warship to visit China.
17 May
1756
HMS Colchester (50), Cptn. Lucius O'Brien, and HMS Lyme (20), Capt. Edward Vernon, engaged Aquilon and Fiddle off Brittany
1795
HMS Thetis (38), Cptn. Hon. Alexander Cochrane, and HMS Hussar (28), Cptn. John Poer Beresford, engaged 5 French flutes Normand, Trajan, Prévoyante, Hernoux, and Raison off Cape Henry, Chesapeake Bay. Raison (18) and Prévoyante (24) were taken.
1800
HMS Railleur (20), Cptn. J. Raynor, and HMS Lady Jane (8), William Bryer, foundered in the English Channel.
1809
HMS Goldfinch (10) engaged Mouche.
1813
Boats of HMS Apollo (38), Cptn. Bridges W. Taylor, and HMS Cerberus (32), Cptn. Thomas Garth, took a vessel near Brindisi.
18 May
1709
HMS Falmouth (50), Cptn. Walter Ryddell, defended a convoy against 4 French vessels off Scilly
1759
HMS Thames (32) and HMS Venus (32) took Arethuse (36), Marquis Vandrenil, near Audierne Bay
1775
Benedict Arnold captures British sloop George at St. Johns, Quebec, and renames her Enterprise, first of many famous ships with that name
1777
HMS Beaver (14), Cptn. Jones, took American privateer Oliver Cromwell (24), Cptn. Harman, off St. Lucia.
1803
HMS Doris (36), Cptn. R. H. Pearson, captured French lugger Affronteur (14), Lt. Marce Dutoya, off Ushant.
1807
HMS Cassandra (10), Lt. George Le Blanc, foundered off Bordeaux
1808
HMS Rapid (12) ,Lt. Henry Baugh, sunk by batteries in the River Tagus while attempting to cut out two merchantmen.
1809
HMS Standard (74), Cptn. Askew Hollis, and HMS Owen Glendower (36) captured the island of Anholt.
19 May
1652
English fleer under Robert Blake fire on Maarten Tromp's Dutch fleet off Dover starting the First Anglo-Dutch War
1692
Start of Battle of Barfleur, and destruction of ships at La Hogue. A French fleet of 44 ships of the line, under Comte Anne Hilarion de Tourville, engaged an Anglo-Dutch fleet of 82 ships of the line, under Edward Russell.
1745
HMS Superb (60), Commodore Warren, captured Vigilante (58) in Bight of' Louisbourg
1759
George Rodney promoted Rear-Admiral.
1780
British fleet under George Rodney engaged French fleet under Comte de Guichen in the West Indies.
1808
HMS Virginie (38), Cptn. Edward Brace, captured Dutch frigate Guelderland (36), Colonel de mer Pool.
1814
HMS Halcyon Sloop (18), John Marshall, wrecked on reef of rocks in Annatto Bay, Jamaica.
1835
HMS Challenger (28) wrecked on coast of Moquilla, Conception, Chile.
20 May
1756
Battle of Minorca. French fleet under la Galissonnière defeat British fleet under John Byng
1797
HMS Oiseau (36), Cptn. Charles Brisbane, engaged one of two Spanish frigate off the mouth of the Rio de la Plata.
1800
HMS Cormorant Sloop (24), Cptn. Hon. Courtenay Boyle, wrecked on a shoal near Rosetta, coast of Egypt.
1801
Four US warships sent to Mediterranean to protect American commerce under Commodore Richard Dale
1811
HMS Astrea (36), Cptn. Charles Marsh Schomberg, HMS Phoebe (36), HMS Galatea (36), Cptn. Woodley Losack, and HMS Racehorse (18), James De Rippe, engaged 3 large French frigates, full of troops off Foul Point, Madagascar. Renommee surrendered but Clorinde and Nereide escaped.
1813
HMS Algerine Schooner (10), Lt. Daniel Carpenter, wrecked Galapagos Roads, West Indies.
1815
Commodore Stephen Decatur, USS Guerriere, sails with 10 ships to suppress Mediterranean pirates' raids on U.S. shipping
1844
USS Constitution sails from New York on round the world cruise.
21 May
1762
HMS Active (28), Cptn. Herbert Sawyer, and HMS Favorite, Cptn. Pownall, took Spanish Hermione off Cape St. Vincent.
1800
Boats of HMS Minotaur (74), Cptn. Thomas Louis, & consorts cut out a galley La Prima, Cptn. Patrizio Galleano, from Genoa.
1809
HMS Black Joke lugger engaged French Corvette Mouche.
22 May
1681
HMS Kingfisher (46) engages seven Algerine pirates.
1798
USS Ganges (24), Cptn Richard Dale, is the first US warship to set sail since independance
1801
Nelson created Viscount Nelson of the Nile and Burnham Thorpe.
1810
Boats of HMS Alceste (38), Cptn. Murray Maxwell, captured four feluccas, drove two on the rocks at Agaye.
1812
HMS Northumberland (74), Cptn. Henry Hotham, and HMS Growler (12), Lt. Hugh Anderson, drove ashore and destroyed French frigates Arianne (44) and Andromaque (44) and brig Mameluke (18) off Port Louis.
23 May
1792
George Rodney died
1798
HMS Braak Sloop (14) foundered in Delaware Bay.
1799
HMS Les Deux Amis Sloop wrecked in Great Chine, Isle of Wight.
1809
A Danish flotilla of 20 gunboats, under Lt. Cmdr Ulrich A. Schønheyder, engaged a large British convoy in the "Storebælt" (Great Belt) escorted by 5 ships-of-the-line and 2 frigates.
1811
HMS Sir Francis Drake (32), Captain George Harris, captured of 14 Dutch gun-vessels off Java.
HMS Amazon (38), Cptn. Parker, captured the French privateer brig Cupidon (14)
1850
America sends USS Advance and USS Rescue to attempt rescue of Sir John Franklin's British expedition, lost in Arctic.
24 May
1779
Black Prince, owned by Irish and French smugglers, is commissed as an American privateer through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin.
1808
HMS Swan (10), Lt. Mark Robinson Lucas, destroyed Danish cutter (8) at Bornhohn.
HMS Astræa (32), Cptn. Edmund Heywood, wrecked on a reef off Anegada in the Virgin Islands.
1810
HMS Fleche Sloop (16), George Hewson, wrecked on the Shaarhorn Sand, off Newark, Elbe.
HMS Racer (12), Lt. Daniel Miller, wrecked on the coast of France
25 May
1768
James Cook promoted to Lieutenant and given command of the bark, HMS Endeavour.
1795
HMS Thorn , Cdr. Robert Otway, captured Courier National in the West Indies.
1801
Boats of HMS Mercury (28), Cptn. T Rogers, re-took and brought out Bulldog from Ancona but had to abandon her.
1811
Tamatave and French frigate Nereide surrendered to HMS Astrea (36), Cptn. Charles Marsh Schomberg.
1812
HMS Hyacinth (26), Cptn. Thomas Ussher, HMS Termagant (18), Cptn. Gawen William Hamilton, and HMS Basilisk (14), Lt. George French, silenced the fortress and destroyed a small privateer at Almunecar.
1814
Boats of HMS Elizabeth (74), Cptn. Leveson Gower, took Aigle off Corfu.
26 May
1758
HMS Dolphin (24), Captain Benjamin Marlow, and HMS Solebay (28), Captain Robert Craig, engage Marechal de Belleisle (44), François Thurot.
1811
Boats of the HMS Sabine sloop (18), George Price, captured privateers Guardia De Via, Canari and Madina in the roadstead at Chipiona.
HMS Pilot (18), John Toup Nicholas, destroyed and captured a number of vessels at Stongoli.
HMS Alacrity (18), Nisbet Palmer, captured by French corvette Abeille (20) off Bastia, Corsica.
27 May
1793
HMS Venus (32), Cptn. Jonathan Faulknor, engaged La Proserpine (36).
HMS Hyaena (24), Cptn. William Hargood, taken by French Concord (40) in the West Indies .
1796
HMS Suffisante (14), Cdr. Nicholas Tomlinson, captured Revanche (12).
1813
Boats of HMS Apollo (38), Cptn. Bridges W. Taylor, and HMS Cerberus (32), Cptn. Thomas Garth, took 3 gunboats at Faro.
28 May
1672
Battle of Solebay. A Dutch fleet of 75 ships, under Lt.-Admirals Michiel de Ruyter, Adriaen Banckert and Willem Joseph van Ghent, surprised an Anglo-French fleet of 93 ships, under The Duke of York and Vice-Admiral Comte Jean II d'Estrées, at anchor in Solebay. HMS Royal James (102) was destroyed by a fireship and the Earl of Sandwich was drowned. HMS Royal Katherine (84), Cptn. John Chichely, struck but was recaptured. The Dutch Jozua was destroyed, Stavoren was captured, and a third ship blew up.
1708
British squadron, under Charles Wager, of HMS Expedition (70), Cptn. Henry Long, HMS Kingston (60), Cptn. Simon Timothy Bridges, HMS Portland (50), Cptn. Edward Windsor, and HMS Vulture fireship (8), Cdr. Caesar Brooks, engaged Spanish treasure fleet, under José Fernández de Santillán , of eleven merchant ships (some armed), and seven escorting warships San José (64), Cptn. Santillán, San Joaquín (64), Cptn. Villanueva, Santa Cruz (44), Cptn. de la Rosa, Concepción (40), Cptn Francis, Carmen (24), Cptn Araoz, French Le Mieta (34) and French Saint Sprit (32) off Cartagena. San José blew up, Santa Cruz was taken and Concepción beached itself on Baru Island where the crew set the ship alight. The rest escaped.
1793
HMS Phaeton (38) Cptn. Andrew Snape Douglas, captures the French Prompte (20) off the coast of Spain
1803
HMS Minotaur (74), Cptn. C. J. M. Mansfield, HMS Thunderer (74), Cptn. William Redford, and HMS Albion (74), Cptn. John Ferrier, captured French frigate Franchise (34), Capt. Jurien, near Brest.
1808
Boats of HMS Fawn (18), Hon. George Alfred Crofton, cut out a large Spanish privateer schooner and three merchant ships at Porto Rico.
1812
HMS Menelaus (38), Cptn. Peter Parker, engaged French frigate Pauline and brig Ecureuil off Toulon.
1813
USS Essex (36), Cptn. David Porter, and prize capture five British whalers
29 May
1719
HMS Blandford (20), Cptn. Erasmus Phillips, foundered in the Bay of Biscay with the loss of all on board.
1758
HMS Dorsetshire (70) and HMS Achilles (60), Cptn. Hon. Samuel Barrington, took French Raisonnable (64).
1781
Colonial frigate Alliance (36), Cptn. John Barry, captures HMS Atalanta (14), Cdr. Sampson Edwards, and HMS Trepassy (14), Cdr. James Smyth (Killed in Action), off Nova Scotia.
1794
HMS Carysfort (28), Cptn. Francis Laforey, re-captured HMS Castor (32) off Land's End.
1797
Boats of HMS Lively (20) and HMS Minerve (38), Cptn. George Cockburn, cut out Mutine (14) from the roads of Santa Cruz, under command of Thomas Masterman Hardy.
1807
HMS Jackall Gun-boat (14), Lt. Charles Stewart, captured by the French after going ashore near Calais.
30 May
1781
HMS Crescent (28), Lt. John Bligh (act.), taken by Gloire (40) and Friponne (36)
1798
HMS Hydra (38), Cptn. Sir Francis Laforey, and consorts destroyed Confiante (36)
1814
US Navy gunboats capture three British boats from HMS Montreal and HMS Niagara on Lake Ontario near Sandy Creek, NY
31 May
1696
HMS Lizard (24), Cptn. Joseph Welby, was lost off Toulon
1803
HMS Resistance (36), Cptn. Hon. Philip Wodehouse, wrecked on Cape St. Vincent
1805
Bombardment of HMS Diamond Rock commenced.
1808
HMS Redwing (18), Thomas Ussher, took two sail at Tarifa.
1809
HMS Topaze (38), Cptn. A. J. Griffiths, took four vessels and destroyed five at St. Maura, Albania.
HMS Unique (12) used as a fireship in Guadeloupe.
Apr
*Dates of events prior to September 1752 may be quoted differently in some countries as both the Julian and Gregorian calendars were in use by countries. Calendars were regularised when Britain passed the Calendar Act of 1751 An Act for Regulating the Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use.