HMS Antelope ( 1703 ) HMS " Antelope " was a 50 - gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy , launched at Rotherhithe on 13 March 1703 . She was rebuilt once during her career , and served in the Seven Years ' War and the American Revolutionary War . Orders were issued on 9 January 1738 for " Antelope " to be taken to pieces and rebuilt according to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Woolwich , from where she was relaunched on 27 January 1741 . Career . On 16 June 1756 , she sailed from England for Gibraltar with Vice Admiral Sir Edward Hawke , 1st Baron Hawke and Rear Admiral Charles Saunders . She arrived there on 3 July with an order to supersede Admiral John Byng . " Antelope " returned to England with Byng , sailing on 9 July and arriving at Spithead on 26 July , where Byng was arrested before being landed on 19 August . His trial started on board " St George " on 27 December . On 30 April 1757 , Captain Samuel Hood took command of " Antelope " . On 15 May , after a short action off Brest , France , the French " Aquilon " , 50 , was driven on to the rocks in Audierne Bay where she was wrecked . Then , on 31 October 1758 , in the Kingroad off Portishead , " Antelope " took , 64 , one of a French squadron returning from Quebec . Not every action was a success . In 1759 , under the command of Captain James Webb , " Antelope " was attached to Commodore William Boys ' squadron , which had been blockading François Thurot in Dunkirk throughout the summer and early autumn . On 15 October , when the squadron had been driven off station during a gale , Thurot made his escape with six frigates and corvettes carrying 1300 troops and sailed to Gothenburg . In 1762 , " Antelope " was stationed in Placentia Bay , Newfoundland , under the command of Commodore Thomas Graves , who was the Colony ' s Naval Governor . A French fleet from Brest , under M . de Ternay , with 1500 troops commanded by the Comte d ' Haussonville , sailed into St . John ' s and captured the town on 24 June . Captain Graves immediately sent word to Commodore Lord Colville at Halifax who joined him in blockading the French , and brought troops over from Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island on 11 September . During a gale on 16 September de Ternay evaded the blockade and , abandoning the troops , sailed back to France . On her way home to England " Antelope " encountered " Marlborough " , under Captain Thomas Burnett , which had sailed from Havana as part of the escort of a convoy of prizes and transports , but had become separated in very heavy weather . She was leaking so badly that her guns had to be thrown overboard and the pumps kept working . " Antelope " took all her people off on 29 November when she started to founder and she was allowed to sink . Later , in 1780 , " Antelope " was again patrolling the Labrador coast and intercepted the American ship " Mercury " . As the vessels came to close quarters , a package was thrown overboard from the latter . One of the sailors on " Antelope " dived from the deck and rescued the package , which contained details of secret negotiations then being conducted between the United States and the United Provinces . Antelope Harbour , Labrador , is named for this incident . " Antelope " was sold out of the service on 30 October 1783 .