HMS Druid ( 1783 ) HMS " Druid " was a 32 - gun " Hermione " - class fifth - rate frigate of the Royal Navy , launched in 1783 at Bristol . She served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars , capturing numerous small prizes . One of her commanders , Captain Phillip Broke , described " Druid " as a " point of honour ship " , i . e . , a ship too large to run but too small to fight . He and his biographer ' s view was that it was a disgrace to use a ship like her as a warship . She was broken up in 1813 , after a thirty - year career . Career . " Druid " entered service in 1783 under the command of Captain John MacBride . He was succeeded the following year by Captain George Byron , who commanded her off Land ' s End . Captain Joseph Ellison replaced Byron in 1785 , and remained in command for the next ten years . " Druid " served as a Royal escort between 1785 and 1788 , returning to service in 1791 after a period paid off and under refit . " Druid " and the smugglers . On 31 January 1788 a boat belonging to " Druid " captured the smuggler ' s lugger " Revenge " in Cawsand Bay . The lugger , under the command of a Henry Carter , belonged to Guernsey and was bringing in alcohol and other prohibited goods . Before " Druid " ' s boat could board the lugger , the smugglers fired on it . In the subsequent action , the smugglers killed one of " Druid " s crew and wounded seven . By the time the boarding party reached the lugger , the master and ten crewmen had fled . The British Government offered a pardon to any smuggler , other than the master , giving information leading to the arrest of two other smugglers , and also offered a reward of ₤200 to anyone providing information leading to the arrest of two or more smugglers . French Revolutionary wars . " Druid " sailed to Jamaica in April 1792 and , with the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 , returned to operate in home waters . At some point in 1793 she was in company with when they captured the French merchant vessels " Vaudrieul " and " Diare " . " Druid " herself also captured the " Dauphin " . In June she captured the French 12 - gun privateer " Esperance " in the English Channel . In late 1793 " Druid " served in a small squadron under the command of Sir James Saumarez in the frigate , together with the brig and the hired armed cutter " Lion " . They convoyed some transports with troops for Jersey and Guernsey , and their picked up pilots for Admiral MacBride . On 28 November Saumarez detached " Lion " to take the pilots to MacBride . Around 7 December Saumarez took his two frigates and the brig to the Isles of Bréhat . As they were maneuvering to attack some French vessels resting there , which escaped , " Druid " hit a rock , damaging herself . Saumerez sent her and " Liberty " into Plymouth for repairs . In early 1794 , " Druid " was in company with , , and when " Flora " captured the French sloop " Viper " . " Viper " was a new sloop of 18 guns and was captured outside of Havre de Grace . Also in 1794 , " Druid " was part of a frigate squadron that escaped from the 50 - gun French " Scévola " and " Brutus " . In 1795 Captain Robert Carthew Reynolds replaced Ellison , but was himself replaced the same year by Captain Richard King . King convoyed merchant ships to and from Portugal until early 1797 , when " Druid " participated in the operations against the French Expédition d ' Irlande . On 7 January she helped and capture the " Ville de Lorient " . " Ville de Lorient " was a frigate , armed en flute , i . e . , she had reduced armament to permit her to serve as a transport . She was carrying 400 hussars to join the rebels in Ireland , together with weapons and supplies . " Druid " also shared with and in the capture of the French privateer " Eclair " . " Unicorn " was the actual captor . " Eclair " was armed with 18 guns and had a crew of 120 men . King then moved to another ship , with command of " Druid " transferring to Captain ( acting ) Edward Codrington . " Druid " was paid off in March 1797 . On 5 November 1796 " Druid " was in company with , and when they captured the Spanish ship " Adriana " . " Druid " was fitted out as a 16 - gun troopship between February and April 1798 under the command of Commander Edward Abthrorpe . On 14 May she sailed from Margate to take part in Sir Home Popham ' s failed attack on Ostend . The British troops landed and destroyed some sluices and locks to block gunboats and transports at Flushing from joining an invasion of Britain . However , high surf prevented the retrieval of the troops , and the landing party suffered 60 men dead and wounded , and 1134 captured . The captives included John MacKellar of the frigate and his boat crew . The sluices were repaired within weeks . " Druid " sailed to the Mediterranean in 1801 to support operations in Egypt . Because " Druid " served in the navy ' s Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September , her officers and crew qualified for the clasp " Egypt " to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 for all surviving claimants . The next year " Druid " sailed to the West Indies . " Druid " came under the command of Commander Charles Ross in 1802 , returning to Britain later that year to be paid off . Napoleonic Wars . A period of repair and refit began in 1804 which saw her returning to service as a 32 - gun fifth rate in April 1805 under the command of Captain Philip Broke . " Druid " operated from Ireland and soon afterwards captured the privateer " Prince Murat " on 2 February 1806 after a chase of 90 miles . " Prince Murat " , under the command of M . Rine Murin , was five days out of Lorient without having made any captures . She was armed with eighteen 6 - pounder guns and had a crew of 127 men . " Druid " sent " Prince Murat " into Plymouth . On 1 May 1806 " Druid " chased the French brig corvette " Pandour " , bound for France from Senegal , 160 miles into Rear Admiral Charles Stirling ' s squadron where she was brought to ; " Druid " had to share the prize money with Stirling ' s entire squadron and so earnt relatively little for the long chase . " Pandour " was under the command of M . Malingre and had a crew of 114 men . She had been armed with eighteen 6 - pounder guns , but her crew had thrown two of the guns overboard during the chase . Stirling instructed Broke to bring her into Plymouth , where they arrived on 9 May . About the same time " Druid " chased a large frigate into the Passage du Raz , near Brest . She was probably the " Topaze " . Due to missed communication between " Druid " and , " Topaze " escaped . Next , Broke caught up with the Guernsey privateer " Providence " with a view to pressing some of her crew . However , when he heard how she had held off a French privateer off Bilbao , he did not take any of " Providence " s crew . During this cruise " Druid " captured a neutral vessel with a Prussian cargo , which made her a legitimate prize . Then Broke chased the Guernsey privateer cutter " Hope " for some 76 hours before he was able to catch her and impress some seamen from her . Lastly , he sailed " Druid " northwest of Ireland to intercept the returning Greenland whalers . He was able to impress 12 - 20 seamen from the whalers to add to " Druid " s crew . Broke was then appointed to in June 1806 but his replacement , Captain John R . Bennett , came aboard " Druid " on 31 August . Therefore , when " Druid " captured the " Swanen " on 2 July , she was still under Broke ' s command . Captain Donald H . Mackay then replaced Bennet . On 14 February 1808 , " Druid " captured the Danish brig " Catharina " . Captain Sir William Bolton took command later in 1808 . On 19 March 1809 " Druid " captured the schooner " Belle Hortense " . On 25 June " Druid " captured the French private ship of war " Jenny " and her cargo . On 13 November " Druid " captured the French navy brig " Basque " , armed with 16 guns with a crew of 112 men under the command of Lieutenant de Vaisseaux Liscourt . She had been sailing from Bayonne to Guadaloupe , with flour and other stores . On 23 November " Druid " brought a French brig , that may or may not have been the " Basque " , into Cork . " Druid " had sighted three strange sails at night . There being no wind , Bolton sent out three boats , admonishing the officers to take care and to attack if any of the vessels should be a French warship . Unfortunately , the officers did not heed the warning and went in seriatim , with their quarry killing or capturing their crews . Bolton was unaware of what had happened . The French vessel then took to her sweeps . Next morning Bolton followed her with his sweeps , but again lost her that night . By chance , on the second morning he encountered her again , and this time there was enough of a breeze that he could catch her after a chase . When he did , the newspaper accounts report that he found that she was a large privateer . He also was able to recover those of his men who had been taken prisoner . Apparently , " Druid " had lost 10 men killed and wounded , in addition to the 17 prisoners that he recovered . The two brigs that had been with the French vessel on the first night had long escaped . In August 1810 Captain Sir John Lewis assumed command , sailing " Druid " for the Mediterranean on 28 August . In May 1811 Captain John Searle took command , followed the next month by Captain Abel Ferris . " Druid " then sailed for the Mediterranean on 12 June . In May 1812 Captain Francis Stanfell took command in the Mediterranean . Between the end of 1811 and early 1812 , " Druid " supported the British capture of Tarifa , near Cadiz . Fate . By 1813 " Druid " had returned to home waters and was under Captain William King . She was broken up at Woolwich in November 1813 .