HMS Amazon ( 1799 ) HMS " Amazon " was a frigate of the Royal Navy . She served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under several notable naval commanders and played a key role in the Battle of Copenhagen under Captain Edward Riou , when Riou commanded the frigate squadron during the attack . After Riou was killed during the battle , command briefly devolved to First - Lieutenant John Quilliam . Quilliam made a significant impression on Rear - Admiral Horatio Nelson who appointed him to serve on the flagship , and " Amazon " passed to William Parker , who continued the association with Nelson with service in the Mediterranean and participation in the chase to the West Indies during the Trafalgar Campaign . She went on to join Sir John Borlase Warren ’ s squadron in the Atlantic and took part in the defeat of Charles - Alexandre Léon Durand Linois ' s forces at the Action of 13 March 1806 . During the battle , she hunted down and captured the 40 - gun frigate " Belle Poule " . " Amazon " continued in service for several more years , being active in combating raiders and privateer s , before being withdrawn from active service in late 1811 . She was retained in ordinary until several years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars , when she was broken up . Construction and commissioning . One of two ships built to a design by Sir William Rule , " Amazon " was ordered from Woolwich Dockyard on 27 April 1796 and laid down there that month . She was launched on 18 May 1799 and quickly put into service , having cost £33 , 972 to build , including fitting her out . She was commissioned in May 1799 under her first commander , Captain Edward Riou . British waters and the Baltic . Riou and the " Amazon " served initially in the English Channel , capturing the French privateer " Bougainville " on 14 February 1800 . She was out of Saint Malo , mounted eighteen 6 - pounder guns , and had a crew of 82 men under the command of Pierre Dupont . The next day , she collided with " Amazon " and eventually sank , with the loss of one man drowned . Riou and " Amazon " were then assigned to Sir Hyde Parker ' s expedition to the Baltic in 1801 , to compel the Danes to abandon the League of Armed Neutrality . Riou worked closely with Parker ' s second - in - command , Rear - Admiral Horatio Nelson , and Captain Thomas Foley in the lead - up to the Battle of Copenhagen , and Nelson duly appointed Riou commander of the frigates and smaller vessels , instructing Rious to deploy his ships in support of the main fleet . As the battle began , several of Nelson ' s ships of the line ran aground on shoals in the harbour , forcing the improvisation of a new plan of attack . As Nelson ' s ships engaged their Danish counterparts , Riou took his frigates in to harass the Trekroner Fort and blockships . Although the frigates were heavily outmatched and dangerously exposed , they maintained the engagement for several hours . The ships suffered heavy casualties , and a splinter hit Riou on the head . At 1 . 15 pm , Parker was waiting outside the harbour with the reserve and raised a signal ordering Nelson to withdraw . Nelson acknowledged the signal but ignored it , while Nelson ' s second in command , Rear - Admiral Thomas Graves , repeated the signal but too did not obey it . Riou now found himself in a difficult position . Too junior an officer to risk disobeying a direct order , he remained in action for a further half an hour before reluctantly giving the order for his small squadron to withdraw . Withdrawing forced his ships to turn their sterns to the Danish guns , exposing their most vulnerable area . When and then withdrew , this reduced the thick cloud of gunsmoke that was helping to obscure the British ships and left " Amazon " exposed to the full force of the Danish guns . Lieutenant - Colonel William Stuart , commanding the soldiers of the 48th Regiment , recorded that Riou was killed : Command of the " Amazon " devolved to her first lieutenant , John Quilliam , who completed the withdrawal . Nelson went aboard the badly damaged " Amazon " after the battle and asked Quilliam how he was doing . Quilliam replied ' Middlin ' , a response that apparently amused Nelson and may have contributed to Nelson ' s subsequent appointment of Quilliam as first lieutenant aboard . Parker and Nelson . Mediterranean . Command of the " Amazon " then passed to Captain Samuel Sutton , who was succeeded the following year by Captain William Parker . Under Parker , " Amazon " captured the 16 - gun privateer " Felix " on 26 July 1803 , and survived a brush with a French fleet off Cape Capet on 2 May 1804 . " Amazon " was one of the ships to take part in the Trafalgar Campaign the following year , serving with Nelson in the Mediterranean . On one occasion in December 1804 Nelson ordered Parker to bring a consignment of live bullocks to supply the fleet off Toulon . The " Amazon " was a notably smart ship , and had just been repainted , so presumably the instruction to convert his ship into a floating farmyard was not received with much enthusiasm . Parker duly returned with a shipment , prompting Nelson to enquire with gentle humour ' Well , Parker , of course you would not dirty the " Amazon " for much for anything ; have you brought a dozen and a half , or a dozen ? ' Parker had in fact brought sixty bullocks and thirty sheep , prompting Nelson to promise a reward for his good service . Parker and the " Amazon " remained with Nelson after the division of the Mediterranean commands left the Spanish coasts under the supervision of Sir John Orde . Nelson suspected that Orde was intercepting his despatches and commandeering Nelson ' s frigates to use himself . Nelson therefore ordered Parker not to stop for any of Orde ' s ships if this was possible . Parker attempted this but was intercepted by . He was however able to convince the " Eurydice " s commander , William Hoste , to turn a blind eye and having delivered his despatches to Lisbon , acted on Nelson ' s hint that he was not expected back until February by carrying out a cruise that netted him several prizes worth a total of £20 , 000 . Orde complained about the ' poaching ' taking place on his station , but the prize money went to Parker and Nelson . West Indies and Atlantic . " Amazon " went on to join Nelson in the chase to the West Indies and back during the Trafalgar Campaign . During the voyage across the Atlantic , Nelson wanted to pass on specific instructions to his captains about how he wished to engage the French , but did not want to lose time by ordering his ships to heave to . Instead he gave the plans to Parker , who was described by Pulteney Malcolm as the ' best frigate captain in the service ' , and Parker sped along the line in " Amazon " , delivering the instructions so efficiently that the fleet lost ' hardly a yard of ground ' . Once more in European waters after the fleet ' s return , " Amazon " captured the Spanish privateer " Principe de la Paz " off Ushant on 17 September 1805 . " Principe " was armed with twenty - four 9 - pounder guns and four swivels . Her crew of 160 men , under the command of Captain François Beck , were principally French . She had been out five weeks and had captured the packet " Prince of Wales " from Lisbon , and the letter of marque " Lady Nelson " , which had been sailing from Virginia to Glasgow . Part of " Lady Nelson " s crew was aboard " Principe " , as was a considerable amount of specie . " Amazon " was back in the Atlantic in 1806 , this time as part of Sir John Borlase Warren ’ s pursuit of Jean - Baptiste Philibert Willaumez . When Warren ' s fleet unexpectedly encountered a separate French fleet under Charles - Alexandre Léon Durand Linois , " Amazon " became involved in the resulting Action of 13 March 1806 . During the battle she hunted down and captured the 40 - gun frigate " Belle Poule " in a running engagement . The " Amazon " lost four killed and five wounded during the engagement , while the " Belle Poule " lost six killed and 24 wounded . " Amazon " captured the 14 - gun privateer " Général Pérignon " on 21 January 1810 , and Captain John Joyce succeeded Parker as captain in May . Joyce captured the 14 - gun privateer " Cupidon " on 23 March 1811 . Fate . In December 1811 " Amazon " was laid up at Plymouth . She paid off the following year and saw out the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars in Ordinary . HMS " Amazon " was finally broken up at Plymouth in May 1817 .