HMS Hornet ( 1794 ) HMS " Hornet " was a 16 - gun ship - rigged sloop of the " Cormorant " class in the Royal Navy , ordered 18 February 1793 , built by Marmaduke Stalkart and launched 3 February 1794 at Rotherhithe . " Hornet " saw most of her active duty during the French Revolutionary Wars . During the Napoleonic Wars she served for about six years as a hospital ship before being laid up in 1811 and sold in 1817 . Service . " Hornet " was commissioned in March 1794 under Commander Christmas Paul . On 26 June 1794 she fired a salute to the King and Queen while they were visiting Portsmouth . " Hornet " shared with , , , and in the capture of the " Lust en Vlyt " on 22 August . " Hornet " was then paid off February 1795 and recommissioned under W . Lakin . In January 1796 Commander Robert Larkan sailed her in Home waters . On 4 February 1796 " Hornet " was in company with the hired armed cutter " Grand Falconer " when they recaptured the Portuguese brig " Diana " . Next , on 17 May , " Hornet " capture the French transport " Emilie " . Then in November 1796 , Captain John Nash replaced Larkan . On 10 March 1798 the Admiralty published a list of six vessels that , under Captain Henry Lidgbird Ball , and " Hornet " had captured off Gorée : " Daedalus " and letters of marque " Ellis " and " St Ann " shared , by agreement , in the capture of the " Quaker " ( December 1797 ) and the " Ocean " ( January 1798 ) . " Hornet " was refitted for £3 , 554 at Portsmouth in June and July 1799 . In August " Hornet " was part of the British fleet that captured the Dutch fleet in the Vlieter Incident . Nash then sailed " Hornet " to the West Indies . In 1800 she accompanied a convoy to the West Indies . While at Guadeloupe in October , a boat from " Hornet " attempted to press some men off the " New Ceres " , whose crew resisted , killing " Hornet " s second lieutenant , and wounding another crewman . The next day " Hornet " tried again , this time in force , but all the crew except the chief mate and steward had disappeared . Captain Nash turned the two men over to the civil authorities . On 27 November 1800 , " Hornet " captured the French privateer " Femme Divorcee " . On 16 October " Hornet " captured the French privateer " Mahomet " . On 15 January 1801 , the 20 - gun , Captain Richard Matson , 18 - gun ship - sloops and " Hornet " , Captains Henry Matson and John Nash , and the ( a schooner serving as a tender ) , were at an anchor in the harbour of the Îles des Saintes . The British observed a convoy of French coasters , with an armed schooner as escort , sailing towards Vieux - Fort , Guadeloupe . At midnight the " Garland " , together with two boats from each of the other three vessels , attempted to cut out the convoy . However , all of the convoy , but one , were able to shelter under the guns of Basse - Terre . The British were able to take the one French vessel that had anchored near Vieux - Fort . On 17 January , boats from " Hornet " , together with boats from " Daphne " , set out to cut out a ship moored under the protection of shore batteries at Trois - Rivières , Guadeloupe . This was the " Eclair " , a schooner that had recently sailed from Rochefort . " Eclair " was of 145 tons , had a crew of 45 men , and was armed with four long four - pounder guns and twenty 1½ - pounder brass swivels , though she was pierced for 12 guns . A party from the " Garland " succeeded in taking " Eclair " the next day . Fire from the schooner killed two men and wounded another . The French lost one seaman killed , two drowned , and her captain , first and second lieutenants , and six men wounded . The British took her into service as the 10 - gun . In March , " Hornet " participated in Rear Admiral Duckworth ' s successful attack on the islands of St . Bartholomew and St . Martin . On the 23 March , " Hornet " and the 16 - gun hired armed brig " Fanny " , later joined by 14 - gun , attempted to capture two privateers , a brig and a schooner , but were unsuccessful though they chased the privateers for some 24 hours . The 32 - gun frigate , " Hornet " and " Drake " stayed at St . Martin to secure the island and to embark the garrison on 26 March , while the rest of Duckworth ' s force went on to St Thomas . The proceeds of the property seized at St . Bartholomew , St . Martin , St . Thomas , and St . Croix , between 15 March and 17 April was paid out in January 1804 . At some point thereafter , " Hornet " was in company with when they captured the Spanish vessel " Aguilla " . In August 1802 " Hornet " came under the command of Lieutenant Robert tucker . Next month Commander Peter Hunt replaced Tucker . In June 1803 , " Hornet " was in Commodore Samuel Hood ' s squadron at the capture of St . Lucia . The squadron , including " Hornet " went on to capture Tobago on 25 June . On 3 September " Hornet " captured a Dutch ship , whose name was not recorded , which was carrying 410 slaves . Then in September Hood went on to take the colonies of Demerara and Essequibo from the Batavian Republic . On 20 September " Hornet " , the schooner and 200 troops entered the Demerara River and took possession of Fort William Frederick . At the capitulation , the British took over the Batavian Republic ' s sole warship there , . In 1804 Commander John Lawrence took command of " Hornet " . Fate . Paid off in 1804 from active service , the " Hornet " was fitted at Plymouth between September 1804 and July 1805 for the Medical Military Staff , and was commissioned in June 1805 under Lieutenant Charles William as a hospital ship in the Isles of Scilly . She was paid off from this service and laid up at Plymouth Dockyard in May 1811 . On 30 October 1817 she was sold to a Mr Bailey for £920 . Notable personnel . From November 1795 to September 1797 , Richard Spencer , a future hero of the Napoleonic Wars and Australian pioneer , served as a midshipman on " Hornet " .