HMS Raisonnable ( 1768 ) HMS " Raisonnable " ( sometimes spelt " Raisonable " ) was a 64 - gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy , named after the ship of the same name captured from the French in 1758 . She was built at Chatham Dockyard , launched on 10 December 1768 and commissioned on 17 November 1770 under the command of Captain Maurice Suckling , Horatio Nelson ' s uncle . " Raisonnable " was built to the same lines as HMS " Ardent " , and was one of the seven ships forming the of 1761 . " Raisonnable " was the first ship in which Nelson served . Service history . At the request of Nelson ' s father , Suckling entered the young Horatio Nelson as midshipman into the ship ' s books , though Nelson did not embark until a couple of months after this ( it was not uncommon practise to rate sons of relatives or friends several months before they entered the ship , though Admiralty orders expressly forbade this ) , on 15 March 1771 . " Raisonnable " had been in the process of commissioning at this time , in response to an expected conflict with Spain . However , the war never developed , and " Raisonnable " remained in the Medway as a guard ship . At this time , Suckling took command of the 74 - gun HMS " Triumph " , and took Nelson with him . The ship re - commissioned on 25 May 1771 under Captain Henry St . John , a mere 10 days since paying off as a guard ship , and joined the Channel Fleet . St John was succeeded by Captain Thomas Greaves on 23 January 1773 , and " Raisonnable " paid off at Plymouth on 23 September 1775 . American Revolutionary War . She was again re - commissioned on 25 February 1776 under Captain Thomas Fitzherbert , and despatched to the North American Station . In July 1778 , " Raisonnable " formed part of Lord Howe ' s squadron , which was lying off Sandy Hook . The French Admiral d ' Estaing was nearby with a large fleet , and the two opposing sides were only prevented from engaging in battle by the weather and sea conditions , which forced the two fleets to disperse . Captain Henry Evans took command of " Raisonnable " on 5 December 1778 , and in May of the following year , took part in an assault on Hampton Roads , as part of Commodore Sir George Collier ' s squadron . On 1 June " Raisonnable " was in action on the Hudson River , during which two forts were captured . In August , with Collier embarked , " Raisonnable " sailed to Penobscot , where British forces were under heavy siege . Immediately after arriving , Collier ' s squadron of 7 ships engaged a rebel fleet of 41 vessels , of which 2 were captured , and the rest were either sunk or destroyed to prevent capture . In January 1780 , " Raisonnable " was part of Vice Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot ' s squadron which took part in the siege of Charleston , South Carolina , although " Raisonnable , " along with the 5 other third rates in the squadron , was sent back to New York before the siege began . Captain Evans left the ship on 14 May 1780 . Captain Sir Digby Dent assumed the command on 30 August , and returned the ship to England . Dent transferred to " Repulse " on 16 December , and " Raisonnable " paid off in January the following year . On 11 May 1781 she went into dock , during which time she had her bottom coppered . She was re - launched on 14 January 1782 and placed under the command of Captain Smith Child on 15 May , until 29 August when he shifted to HMS " Europa " . She was commissioned again on 8 January 1782 under Captain Lord Hervey , who paid the ship off at Chatham in August . The American war at this stage was coming to an end , and " Raisonnable " was no longer required by the Navy , and so was laid up in ordinary - a state in which she remained for some ten years . French Revolutionary War . When war with France broke out in 1793 , " Raisonnable , " along with many other vessels , was brought out of ordinary , and made ready for service once more . On 31 January she was re - commissioned under Captain James , Lord Cranstoun . She joined with the Channel Fleet in April , but was back in dock , in Portsmouth this time , on 14 January 1794 . She put to sea again in March , but returned to dock in Portsmouth in September so as her copper might be replaced . She once more re - joined the Channel Fleet on 1 November , and remained on active service until 14 October 1796 , when she was docked at Plymouth for re - coppering . She returned to duty in January 1797 , and during 1799 , Captain Charles Boyles took over the command , and left the ship again , when " Raisonnable " returned to Chatham on 21 January 1800 , for HMS " Saturn " . She was dry docked on 2 April for re - coppering and other repairs , and sailed again on 19 August . Captain John Dilkes became " Raisonnable ' s " commanding officer on 21 January 1801 , and the ship joined the North Sea Squadron . 1801 saw the creation of an alliance between Denmark , Norway , Prussia and Russia , which cut Britain off from the supplies relied upon from the Baltic . " Raisonnable " joined Admiral Sir Hyde Parker ' s fleet sent to attack the Danes at Copenhagen . On 2 April , she took part in the Battle of Copenhagen . After the battle , she was attached to a squadron under Captain George Murray in the " Edgar " , which included one of " Raisonnable ' s " sister ships , HMS " Agamemnon " , to watch the Swedish Navy at Karlskrona . Once the situation in the Baltic was resolved , " Raisonnable " returned to the North Sea , before paying off . When the Treaty of Amiens was signed in March 1802 , " Raisonnable " was docked at Chatham in July and her copper repaired . She was on station at Sheerness once again by the end of December . Napoleonic Wars . War broke out again with France in March 1803 , and " Raisonnable " was by this time under the command of Captain William Hotham . She joined Admiral William Cornwallis and the Channel Fleet , and participated in the blockade of Brest . In September 1804 Hotham was replaced by Captain Robert Barton , who was himself replaced in April 1805 by Captain Josias Rowley . In July 1805 , she was with Admiral Sir Robert Calder ' s squadron off Ferrol , when they fell in with the combined Franco - Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve , and took part in the ensuing Battle of Cape Finisterre . " Raisonnable " remained on blockade duty until sailing from Cork in late 1805 with Commodore Sir Home Riggs Popham ' s squadron , consisting of 9 vessels , including another of " Raisonnable ' s " sister ships , " Belliqueux " , for the Cape of Good Hope . The following campaign saw British troops drive the Dutch out of Cape Town , and the subsequent peace terms handed the Cape dependencies to the British crown . In April 1806 , after receiving news that the people of Buenos Aires were unhappy with Spanish rule , and would welcome the British , Popham sailed with his squadron to the Río de la Plata . Popham was replaced by Rear Admiral Murray , and following a disastrous second attempt to take Buenos Aires , " Raisonnable " returned to the Cape . In 1809 , Captain Rowley commanded a squadron that blockaded Mauritius ( the Isle of France ) and Réunion ( the Isle of Bourbon ) . On 20 September , Rowley , commanding the squadron from HMS " Nereide " , succeeded in taking the town of Saint - Paul , the batteries , a 40 - gun frigate " Caroline " , a 16 - gun brig , and 2 merchantmen , as well as rescuing 2 ships of the Honourable East India Company ( " Streatham " and " Europe " ) . Captain Rowley transferred to HMS " Boadicea " during March 1810 , and Captain John Hatley took over the command , paying the ship off in Chatham at the end of July . Fate . In November 1810 , " Raisonnable " was hulked and converted into a receiving ship , and towed to Sheerness . In March 1815 , she was finally broken up .