HMS Aetna ( 1803 ) HMS " Aetna " was one of the Royal Navy bomb vessel s involved in the attack on Fort McHenry in the Battle of Baltimore and the bombardment of Fort Washington , Maryland in 1814 , during the War of 1812 . In these actions she was commanded by Richard Kenah . Prior to this , " Aetna " participated in the second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807 and the Battle of the Basque Roads in 1809 . In both these actions , she was commanded by William Godfrey . Service history . " Aetna " was the merchant vessel " Success " , that the Admiralty purchased in 1803 . She was commissioned in December 1803 under Commander George Cocks and first served in the Mediterranean . His replacement was Commander Richard Thomas . In December 1805 she came under the command of Captain John Quillam and in February 1807 or so under Commander William Peake , still in the Mediterranean . She was recommissioned in June 1807 under Commander William Godfrey for the Baltic . There she took part in the siege and bombardment of Copenhagen between 15 August and 20 October 1807 , resulting in the capture of Danish Fleet by Admiral Gambier . Battle of the Basque Roads . On 6 April 1809 , " Aetna " , eight fire ship s and a transport with Congreve rocket s , joined Captain Lord Cochrane ' s fleet of frigates , sloops and gunbrigs off the Chasseron lighthouse where it was preparing to attack French warships in the Basque Roads . " Aetna " was the only vessel of her class present . On the night of 11 April " Aetna " , the frigate and the sloop " Foxhound " were stationed near the north - west of the Île - d ' Aix while the fire ships were launched against the enemy . At 11 : 00 on the 13th " Aetna " , , the gun - brigs and the rocket cutters moved up to the mouth of the Charante to fire on the French ships , and " Indienne " which had been driven ashore . " Aetna " split her 13 - inch mortar in the attack . At 16 : 00 the falling tide forced them to return to their former anchorage under fire from shore batteries . By the evening of the 14th she had fired away all her 10 - inch shells , but she did not leave the mouth of the Charente until the 29th . In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the then still surviving participants in the battle the Naval General Service Medal ( NGSM ) with the clasp " Basque Roads 1809 " . Walcheren Campaign . " Aetna " then formed part of the naval force in the Scheldt under the command of Sir Richard Strachan . At 06 : 00 on the morning of 28 July 1809 " Aetna " , together with the whole fleet in The Downs , set sail for Flushing and that evening they anchored about 18 miles from Walcheren . On the 30th they watched the troops go ashore covered by the frigates . The following morning at 11 : 00 " Aetna " , with the rest of the force , opened fire with her two mortars for the first time and fired 42 shells before an officer in a boat came round the various ships about midnight to desire them to desist . On 2 August " Aetna " moved towards the fort at Rammekens and on the 5th she anchored about a mile and a half from Flushing . " Aetna " saw no more action until the 13th when she fired seventy - four 13 - inch shells and thirty - nine 10 - inch at Flushing before the tide turned . When they were able to close again another fifty - two 12 - inch and nine 10 - inch shells were discharged . HMS " Vesuvius " , several gunbrigs and man - of - war launches with 24 - pounders were firing alongside them . There was more firing on the 14th and 15th before a white flag was seen and the town surrendered on the 17th . By the 18th " Aetna " was a little more than 12 miles from Antwerp and a number of officers went ashore for a walk on South Beveland . On the 22nd they dropped down to the town of Doel and fired thirty - five 13 - inch and five 10 - inch shells to deter the French from throwing up a battery . , " Thunder " and " Aetna " threw one shell per hour through the night , but in the morning they found that the enemy had continued work so , until the 26th they fired another 133 shells at the battery . All this time Antwerp was only seven or eight miles away , but still the troops waited , suffering from miasmatic fever and dysentery . On the 29th " Aetna " fired fifteen large shells against the battery and " Thunder " , " Hound " and a brig threw their shells into the enemy troops on the opposite side of the Scheldt . The following day forty - one more shells were fired . During the first week in September South Beveland was evacuated and the fiasco of the Walcheren expedition drew to a close . Defence of Cadiz . " Aetna " was subsequently employed in the defence of Cadiz . On 23 November 1810 " Aetna " , and " Thunder " , with a division of Spanish , and two divisions of British gun - boats , bombarded Fort Catalina at the southern end of the Bay of Bulls , while mortar and howitzer boats threw about 100 shells into French gunboats in the Guadalete river by El Puerto de Santa María . On 24 November the mortar and howitzer boats threw several hundred shells into Santa Maria whilst " Aetna " , " Devastation " and " Thunder " , with part of the Spanish flotilla and the British gunboats drew the fire from Catalina . At the beginning of December " Aetna " burst her large mortar , the fourth time she had done so during the siege . War of 1812 . Potomac River expedition . In April 1814 " Aetna " sailed to America to join the squadron of Vice - Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane . On 17 August the frigate , bombs " Devastation " , " Aetna " , and " Meteor " , the rocket ship , and the dispatch boat " Anna - Maria " were detached under Captain Gordon of to sail up the Potomac River and bombard Fort Washington , about ten or twelve miles below the capital . Contrary winds meant they had to sweep for more than 50 miles over a period of five successive days , and lacking a pilot through Kettle - Bottoms , meant that it took ten days to reach the Fort . On the evening of the 27th they began a bombardment of the fort which continued until the powder magazine exploded . When the British took possession the following morning they found that the Americans had retreated leaving 21 heavy guns and 6 field - pieces - all spiked . On the 29th they accepted the surrender of the town of Alexandria and took possession of 21 seaworthy vessels which were loaded with merchandise and naval and ordnance stores . On 31 August " Fairy " arrived with news that the Americans were mounting guns downstream to oppose the squadron ' s return , so they started back without delay . Unfortunately " Devastation " ran aground , and the Americans tried to destroy her with three fire ships . This attempt was defeated by the British who launched their own boats , drove off the Americans , and towed the fire - vessels to shore . The squadron spent a total of 23 days in the river . In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the then still surviving participants in the battle the NGSM with the clasp " The Potomac 17 Augt . 1814 " . Battle of Baltimore . On 12 September 1814 " Erebus " , " Meteor " , " Aetna " , , , and " Devastation " sailed up the Patapsco River in preparation for an attack on Baltimore , commencing their bombardment of Fort McHenry on the 13th , before being ordered to withdraw on the 14th . Battle of New Orleans . On 19 September 1814 the fleet , including the , , , and " Aetna " , remained at anchor in the Patuxent River until 27th when it moved to the Potomac where shore operations were recommenced from 3 to 14 October , after which the fleet departed for Negril Bay , Jamaica , arriving on 5 November , to prepare for the attack on New Orleans . Disposal . Returning from America , " Aetna " arrived back at Portsmouth on 19 July 1815 , before sailing to Woolwich for disposal .