# Hospital Ships in the Sailing Navies



## Jim MacIntyre (Mar 11, 2006)

The following article was shared with me recently by a friend, Ed Leaf. 
Ed is a master modelbuilder and does extensive research on the ships. 
I asked if I could submit his article in our forum and it is reproduced here with his permission. 

Hospital Ships in the Sailing Navies. 
In the course of reading a history of the naval battle the "Glorious First of June', I found reference to a hospital ship. My curiosity was aroused, and I did a little research. I found that hospital ships were not that uncommon in the era of sailing navies.

The first recorded instance of sailing navy hospital ships that I found is that in 431 BCE the Greeks equipped a trireme named 'Therapetia' as a hospital ship. The Romans also had at least one hospital ship named 'Aesculepius'. Date unknown. Early in the 13th century during the 4th Crusade Pope Honorius III sent a ship equipped as hospital transport to Jerusalem. There were seven hospital ships in the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Starting in the 18th century the British began using hospital ships. They had a hospital ship named 'Goodwill' in the Mediterranean. Date unknown. In 1741 there were two hospital ships at the British attack on Cartagena, and in 1794 there was a hospital ship, name unknown, in the British fleet at the 'Glorious First of June'. 

In 1797 a hospital ship named 'Dolphin' was part of Nelson's squadron in the Mediterranean Sea. This ship would have originally been a 44 gun 5th rate launched in 1781 and broken up in 1817. (In 1799 she was commanded by Josiah Nebit, Nelson's incompetent stepson). Presumably she was one of the seven hospital ships the Royal navy is recorded as having had in 1800, but by 1805 she was no longer on the list. 
There is also reference to a 'Charon' hospital ship which was at Palermo Sicily in August 1799. No other information is available at this time. 

In 1805 the RN had six hospital ships as follows :

'Argonaut', a 64 gun ship taken from the French (originally known as the 'Jason') in 1782. IN 1797 she was a hospital ship moored in the Medway. In 1882 she was moved to Chatham still as a hospital ship and in 1831 she was broken up. 

'Caton', a 64 gun ship taken from the French in 1782. It was on board this ship on 25 July 1798 that Nelson's arm was amputated after the disatrous expedition against Santa Cruz. Another source says the operation was performed aboard the flagship 'Theseus', but the case for 'Caton' is more persuasive.

'Experiment'., a 44 gun ship built in England in 1784. In 1794 she was still in action as a warship. Evidence suggests that in 1802 she was at Malta as a hospital ship.

'Matilda', as 24 gun ship taken from the French in 1794 (or 1805?). She had been a privateer. 

'Prince Frederick', a 64 gun ship taken from the Dutch in 1796.

'Sussex', a 90 gun ship built in England in 1756.

Obviously there is considerable information available about British hospital ships in the Napoleonic era. However, the same is not true of other nations. More research is required. 

Tobias Smollett, later a notable author who was surgeons mate on a British hospital ship commented that not surprisingly, the conditions on board these ships were appaling. I suspect that the real purpose of these ships was to take seriously wounded men off the men-of-war so that they would not be in the way, rather than to give serious treatment. 

British hospital ships had nurses in board. However they had a very bad reputatioon and were frequently discharged for prostitution, drunkenness and helping seamen to desert. 

The first American hospital ship was USS 'Interpid', 1803. No other information available at this time. 

Note : in view of the importance given to shipboard medicine in the Patrick O'Brien novels, it seems strange that there is no mention of the hospital ships. Surely Stephen Maturin would have been interested, even involved.


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## DAVIDJM (Sep 17, 2005)

very interesting thread,
I dont know if you can get it there but i have a book 
HOSPITAL SHIPS AND AMBULANCE TRAINS 
by Lt Colonel JOHN H PLUMRIDGE OBE RAMC (retd)
print in Great Britain by Seeley Service & Co in 1975.
priced then £6.95

It mentions some the above ships and others from france but it is mainly for the first world war.


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## Jim MacIntyre (Mar 11, 2006)

Hello David
Appreciate your comment which I have passed on to Ed. The book is still available through Amazon/Abebooks at a variety of prices from mid 30's to in excess of dlrs 100. The subject of hospital ships came up when we met recently, he had a model of HMS Surprise, half planked. Knowing I was a fan of Patrick O'Brien he was showing me in the model where Maturins 'surgery' was, and we got to talking about hospital ships. 
I thought it would be an interesting thread.
cheers 
Jim Mac


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