View source for HMS Somerset (1748)

{{short description|Ship of the line of the Royal Navy}}
{{other ships|HMS Somerset}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
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|Ship image='Grafton' (1750); 'Somerset' (1748); 'Northumberland' (1750); 'Orford' (1749); 'Swiftsure' (1750); 'Vanguard' (1748); 'Buckingham' (1751) RMG J3149.png
|Ship image size=
|Ship caption=''Somerset''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=[[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]
|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name=HMS ''Somerset''
|Ship ordered=4 September 1746
|Ship builder=Chatham Dockyard
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=18 July 1748
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
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|Ship fate=Wrecked, 2 November 1778
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p173">Lavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p173.</ref>
|Ship class=[[1745 Establishment]] 70-gun [[third rate]] [[ship of the line]]
|Ship tons burthen={{convert|1436|LT|t|1}}
|Ship length={{convert|160|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} (gundeck)
|Ship beam={{convert|45|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|19|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship sail plan=[[Full-rigged ship]]
|Ship propulsion=Sails
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament=*70 guns:
*Gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs
*Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs
*Quarterdeck: 12 × 9 pdrs
*Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
[[File:AttackBunkerHill.jpg|thumb|''Somerset'' participates in the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]]]
'''HMS ''Somerset''''' was a 70-gun [[third-rate]] [[ship of the line]] of the [[Royal Navy]], built at [[Chatham Dockyard]] to the draught specified by the [[1745 Establishment]], and launched on 18 July 1748.<ref name="Lavery, SoLv1 p173" /> She was the third vessel of the Royal Navy to bear the name. ''Somerset'' was involved in several notable battles of the [[Seven Years' War]] and the [[American Revolutionary War]]. She was wrecked in a storm in 1778 when she ran aground off of [[Provincetown, Massachusetts|Provincetown]], on [[Cape Cod]], Massachusetts.

==Seven Years' War==
HMS ''Somerset'' saw action at the capture of the [[fortress of Louisbourg]] and Cape Breton Island during the Seven Years' War (a theatre known in the United States as the [[French and Indian War]]). In 1758, a British expedition under General [[Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst|Jeffery Amherst]] besieged the fortress at Louisbourg, beginning on 8 June. The British had 39 ships with about 14,000 sailors, and a further landing force of 12,870 soldiers. The fortress was defended by 10 French ships with 3,870 sailors, and another 3,920 soldiers inside the fortress itself. The 48-day siege by Admiral [[Edward Boscawen]] and General Amherst ended with the French surrender on 26 July, clearing the way for a British expedition to sail up the [[Saint Lawrence River]] to take [[Quebec City]] the following summer.<ref name=CCNS />

The expedition against Quebec City, led by General [[James Wolfe]], was landed by a force that included HMS ''Somerset''. The British were victorious at the [[Battle of the Plains of Abraham]] on 13 September 1759 giving Britain control of [[Canada]] and North America's Atlantic seaboard.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Battle of Quebec 1759|url=http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-of-quebec.htm|publisher=British Battles|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218174313/http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-of-quebec.htm|archive-date=18 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==American Revolutionary War==
HMS ''Somerset'' went on to play a well documented part in the American Revolutionary War, where she served from 1774 to 1776 and again from 1777 up until her loss in 1778.

===Battle of Lexington and Concord===
Events might have unfolded differently on the night of 18 April 1775 had the duty watch of HMS ''Somerset'' been more alert. Colonel [[Paul Revere]] had set out that night to ride to [[Lexington, Massachusetts|Lexington]] to warn two prominent Colonial leaders, [[Samuel Adams]] and [[John Hancock]], that their lives might be in danger. Having departed [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] by rowboat to cross the [[Back Bay]] into [[Charlestown, Massachusetts|Charlestown]], he narrowly avoided being noticed by HMS ''Somerset'', which was anchored there.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fischer|first1=David Hackett|title=Paul Revere's Ride|date=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-977965-9|page=[https://archive.org/details/paulreveresride00fisc/page/262 262]|url=https://archive.org/details/paulreveresride00fisc|url-access=registration}}</ref> Had he been stopped, the militias of many towns would not have arrived in [[Concord, Massachusetts|Concord]], and the next day's [[battle of Lexington and Concord]] might have had a different outcome. As it was, ''Somerset's'' gun crews were able to keep rebel forces from following the retreating British troops to Charlestown on the evening of 19 April.<ref name=CCNS />

Revere's exploits led to HMS ''Somerset’s'' immortalisation in [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]]'s poem '[[Paul Revere's Ride (poem)|The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere]]':
<blockquote>
:Then he said 'Good-night!' and with muffled oar
:Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
:Just as the moon rose over the bay,
:Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
:The ''Somerset'', British man-of-war;
:A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
:Across the moon like a prison bar,
:And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
:By its own reflection in the tide.
</blockquote>

===Battle of Chelsea Creek===
''Somerset'' was the backdrop to another brief but important incident during the war, the [[Battle of Chelsea Creek]]. On the night of Saturday 27 May 1775, HMS Armed Schooner ''[[HMS Diana (1775)|Diana]]'', under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Graves, ran aground in [[Chelsea Creek]] while attempting to keep Americans from driving British livestock from [[Noddle's Island]] in [[Boston Harbor]], at which point the American rebels set fire to the ship. HMS ''Somerset's'' tender, ''Britannia'' (under the command of Thomas Graves' brother Lieutenant John Graves), was able to rescue the ''Diana's'' company.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beck|first1=Derek W.|title=The War Before Independence: 1775–1776|date=2016|publisher=Sourcebooks|isbn=9781492633105|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILDkCwAAQBAJ&q=HMS+Somerset+Diana+Chelsea+Creek&pg=PT30}}</ref>

Lt Thomas Graves went on to serve under [[George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney|Lord Rodney]] at the [[Battle of the Saintes]], eventually becoming Rear Admiral Sir [[Thomas Graves (admiral)|Thomas Graves]] and Nelson's second-in-command at the [[Battle of Copenhagen (1801)|Battle of Copenhagen]]. He was permanently scarred by the burns he received at Noddle's Island. He was a cousin of Admiral [[Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves]] who would command at the [[Battle of the Chesapeake]] in 1781 and the nephew of Admiral [[Samuel Graves]].<ref>{{cite DNB |first=John Knox |last=Laughton |wstitle=Graves, Thomas (1747?-1814) | volume=22 |pages=440–441}}</ref>

===Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill)===
Shortly after those events, HMS ''Somerset'' served as the flagship of Admiral Samuel Graves at the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]. Boston, under British control since 1768, was under siege by between 8,000 and 12,000 militia. On the night of 16 June 1775, several thousand militia forces began occupying the strategically important Charlestown Peninsula and fortified Breed's Hill, a position from which they would be able to bombard the British in Boston. At dawn, [[HMS Lively (1754)|HMS ''Lively'']] was first to spot the new fortification and the ship opened fire, temporarily halting the Americans' work. Admiral Graves, in HMS ''Somerset'', awoke to the sound of gunfire he hadn't ordered. He ordered it stopped, only to reverse his order when he saw the works. He ordered all 128 guns in the harbour to open fire on the American position. The broadsides proved largely ineffective, since the ships were unable to elevate their guns sufficiently to reach the hilltop. The position was eventually taken by British troops, ferried across the bay under protection of the navy's guns, but at considerable cost in the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moran|first1=Donald N.|title=The Battle of Bunker Hill|url=http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/bunkerhillbattle.html|publisher=Sons of Liberty Chapter|access-date=10 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308065305/http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/bunkerhillbattle.html|archive-date=8 March 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Loss==
In the autumn of 1777, HMS ''Somerset'' took part in the [[Siege of Fort Mifflin]] in which the British successfully captured the river forts on the [[Delaware River]].<ref>McGuire, Thomas J. ''The Philadelphia Campaign, Volume II'', Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2007. p 205</ref> HMS ''Somerset’s'' luck ran out at the end of 1778. She was battered by gales in August. While pursuing a French squadron, she ran aground in a 2 November 1778 gale on [[Peaked Hill Bars]] off Provincetown, Massachusetts.<ref name=CCNS/> By the time the ''Somerset'' wrecked, Cape Codders had already suffered greatly due to the [[Boston Port Act|British blockade of Boston]] that began in 1774.<ref name=newenglandhist>{{cite web|title=Tiny Militia Captures Crew of Huge British Warship HMS Somerset|date=3 November 2015 |url=http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/tiny-militia-captures-crew-of-huge-british-warship-hms-somerset/|publisher=New England History Society|access-date=10 September 2016}}</ref> Commercial fishing and whaling were virtually shut down. Some local people had engaged in privateering and smuggling along the coast, while others turned to the land for subsistence. When the giant ''Somerset'' wrecked on the Cape, there likely was a strong emotional reaction by the local populace.  According to the official account of the ship's captain, George Ourry, only 21 men were lost during the wreck.<ref name=CCNS>{{NPS|url=http://www.nps.gov/caco/historyculture/upload/Somersetrack.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718025218/http://www.nps.gov/caco/historyculture/upload/Somersetrack.pdf|archive-date=2013-07-18|title=The Wreck of the ''HMS Somerset (III)'': British Man-of-War, 1746-1778}}</ref>

Captain Ourry was forced to walk under guard to [[Providence, Rhode Island]], where he was exchanged for two American officers. The officers and crew, numbering over 400, were escorted to Boston.<ref name=newenglandhist/> Towns along the route provided militia to escort and support the prisoners. A tremendous amount of scarce war material was chopped or pried away from the wreck by local residents before the state put a guard over what remained. Eleven 18-pound and five 9-pound cannon and powder were entrusted to Colonel Revere to be used in fortifying [[Castle Island (Massachusetts)|Castle Island]] in Boston Harbor. Salvage of the ''Somerset's'' cargo was dangerous and difficult.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sheedy|first1=Jack|last2=Coogan|first2=Jim|title=Cape Cod Voyage: A Journey Through Cape Cod's History and Lore|date=2001|publisher=Harvest Home|isbn=978-0-9672596-2-8|pages=132–134|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R60RMDGZmFYC&pg=PA132}}</ref> Provisions in the lower hold were only accessible for a few hours a day at low tide. Severe winter storms in December finally broke apart the remains of the ship, moved it closer to shore, and eventually buried it under tons of sand at an area known locally as Dead Man's Hollow. It took several more months of bitter court proceedings to sort out who owned what in the aftermath of salvage operations.

The ''Somerset's'' wreckage has been partially exposed, albeit briefly, only three times since 1788 – in 1886, 1973 and 2010 – by storm currents that caused part of the wreckage to be uncovered.  In 2010 the [[National Park Service]] commissioned a digital survey using 3D imaging technology to accurately record the exposed timbers that were visible.<ref name="2010uncovering1">{{cite news|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/11/british_warship_hms_somerset_iii_resurfaces_off_cape_cod/|title=British warship Somerset resurfaces off Cape Cod: Officials order 3-D rendering of sunken boat|last1=Geisler|first1=Stephanie|last2=McBride|first2=Hannah|date=11 April 2010|publisher=[[Boston Globe]]|access-date=12 April 2010}}</ref> It was estimated that only the lower ten percent of the ship remains, buried once again under the sand.  The ''Somerset'' is protected under international law, and is the sovereign property of the United Kingdom.<ref name=CCNS />

==Remembrance==
The National Park Service preserves some of the large timbers from the wreck. In 2005, the park superintendent presented a few pieces of the ''Somerset'' to the commander and crew of the British navy's modern HMS ''[[HMS Somerset (F82)|Somerset (IV)]]''.<ref name=CCNS /> HMS ''Somerset'' is remembered by a historical re-enactment society in Boston, called 'His Majesty's Ship ''Somerset{{'}}''.

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650–1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. {{ISBN|0-85177-252-8}}.
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
The third HMS ''Somerset'' is the subject of the book ''HMS Somerset, 1746–1778. The Life and Times of an Eighteenth Century British Man-o-War and Her Impact on North America'', Marjorie Hubbell Gibson, Abbey Gate Press, 1992, currently out of print.

== External links ==
* {{cite web| url=http://www.hmssomerset.com/| title=Ship's Company of His Majesty's Ship ''Somerset'' (re-enactment group)| access-date=28 January 2008| archive-date=22 May 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522122725/http://www.hmssomerset.com/| url-status=dead}}
*[http://provincetown-ma.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=874  1778 – Wreck of the ''Somerset'']. Retrieved 13 August 2008.

{{1745 Establishment ships|1745}}

{{Coord|42.039|-70.061|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset (1748)}}
[[Category:Ships of the line of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Massachusetts coast]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1778]]
[[Category:1748 ships]]