HMS Roebuck was a fifth-rate ship of the Royal Navy which served in the American and French Revolutionary Wars. Designed in 1769 by Sir Thomas Slade to operate in the shallower waters of North America, she joined Lord Howe's squadron towards the end of 1775 and took part in operations against New York the following year. She engaged the American gun batteries at Red Hook during the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, and forced a passage up the Hudson River in October. On 25 August 1777, Roebuck escorted troopships to Turkey Point, Maryland, where an army was landed for an assault on Philadelphia. She was again called upon to accompany troopships in December 1779, this time for an attack on Charleston. When the ships-of-the-line, which were too large to enter the harbour, were sent back to New York, Admiral Marriot Arbuthnot made Roebuck his flagship. She was, therefore, at the front of the attack, leading the British squadron across the shoal to engage Fort Moultrie and the American ships beyond.
After the American Revolutionary War ended in October 1783, Roebuck underwent repairs at Sheerness and was refitted as a hospital ship. She served in this capacity during the French Revolutionary war and was with the British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis that captured Martinique, Guadeloupe and St Lucia in 1794. Recommissioned as a troopship in July 1799, during the War of the Second Coalition, Roebuck joined the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland and was part of the fleet, under the command of Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell, to which the Dutch surrendered in the Vlieter Incident. Following the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802, Roebuck was paid off and laid up in ordinary at Woolwich Dockyard. When the War of the Third Coalition broke out in May 1803, she was brought back into service as a guardship at Leith, flying the flags of Vice-Admiral Richard Rodney Bligh and then Rear-Admiral James Vashon under whom she later transferred to Great Yarmouth. In March 1806, she became a receiving ship and in 1810 the flagship of Lord Gardner. Roebuck was broken up at Sheerness in July 1811.
Construction and armament
Roebuck was the prototype of the ships, two-deck, fifth-rate ships built to operate in the shallower waters of North America. She was designed by renowned naval architect Sir Thomas Slade in 1769 as an improvement on his Phoenix model, and ordered by the Admiralty on 30 November. Her keel of was laid down in October the following year at Chatham Dockyard.
As built, Roebuck was long at the gundeck, with a beam of and a depth in the hold of . She measured 879 tons burthen. Launched on 24 April 1774 and completed by 4 August 1775, Roebuck cost £18,911.0.6d plus a further £1,749.5.5d for fitting.
Roebuck was built with two rows of windows in the stern, giving the illusion of an extra deck, but behind them was a single-level cabin. The design was eventually phased out for Roebuck-class ships completed after . Most of the remaining ships of the class had a traditional frigate-style stern.
On her lower gun deck, Roebuck carried twenty guns. Her upper deck originally had twenty-two guns but these were later upgraded to guns. There were two guns on the forecastle but the quarterdeck was devoid of armament. When fully manned, Roebuck had a complement of 280 officers and enlisted men. This was increased to 300 in 1783.
Service
American Revolutionary War
First commissioned by Captain Andrew Snape Hamond in July 1775, Roebuck left for North America in September, joining Lord Howe's squadron and taking part in operations against New York the following year. On 25 March 1776, she was cruising alone off Cape Henlopen when she ran aground. She suffered no damage, enabling her crew to get her off and into deep water where she was anchored. The following day, a sail was sighted in the bay and Hamond sent two of the ship's boats to investigate. The craft turned out to be a small American schooner, which the crew abandoned on seeing the British boats approaching. The newly acquired prize and Roebucks tender then pursued and caught two sloops. On 28 March, Roebucks boats were again in action, taking another sloop. In the afternoon, her tender narrowly avoided capture by the American 10-gun sloop . On hearing of the encounter, Roebuck set off in pursuit of the American vessel but was unable to locate her.