Ship Modelers Database
HMS Agamemnon (1781)
Wrecked
HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the Ardent-class design by Sir Thomas Slade. She is best remembered as Horatio Nelson's favourite ship, having been his command during the French Revolutionary War, and was the first Royal Navy vessel to carry the name.
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Resources
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- Three Decks: British Third Rate ship of the line 'Agamemnon' (1781)Website
Detailed database entry with precise dimensions, armament by date, commanders list, and service history useful for scale-accuracy reference.
- Wikipedia: HMS Agamemnon (1781)Website
Overview article covering construction, service history, battle honours, and the ship's 1809 wrecking and later wreck survey.
History
Specifications
Built by the commercial shipwright Henry Adams at Bucklers Hard on the Beaulieu River, using timber from the surrounding New Forest, at a total cost of £38,303 15s 4d. She measured 160 feet along the gundeck with a beam of about 44 feet 4 inches, a depth in hold of around 19 feet, and burthen of 1,384 tons, carrying a crew complement of 500. Her armament comprised 26 24-pounders on the gundeck, 26 18-pounders on the upper gundeck, 10 4-pounders on the quarterdeck, and 2 9-pounders on the forecastle.
Service history
Launched on 10 April 1781, Agamemnon served in the American War of Independence, fighting at the Battle of Ushant (1781) and the Battle of the Saintes (1782). Under Nelson's command from January 1793 she served extensively in the Mediterranean, taking part in the sieges of Toulon and Calvi (where Nelson lost the sight of his right eye) and the battles of Genoa and the Hyères Islands in 1795. She later fought at the Battle of Copenhagen (1801), the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) as part of Nelson's weather column where she helped force the surrender of the Spanish four-decker Santísima Trinidad, and the Battle of San Domingo (1806), before being wrecked in Maldonado Bay off Uruguay on 16 June 1809.
Notable facts
Nicknamed "Eggs-and-Bacon" by her crew, the ship was reportedly praised by Nelson as the finest vessel he ever sailed in. Her wreck was located in 1993 and subsequent expeditions led by Mensun Bound recovered artefacts including a silver seal inscribed with Nelson's name and one of her 24-pounder guns.