Battle of New Orleans.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

HMS St. Lawrence-- Part 1: "Monster" Ship of the Lake


From Wikipedia.

Since I am on the subject of shipwrecks off Kingston, Ontario, on Lake Ontario, I will now turn attention to the "Monster" ship of the lake, the HMS St. Lawrence.

Stats:  2,304 tons, 184'2" length, 52'7" beam.  Crew of 700.  Mounted 112 guns:  thirty-two 32-pdrs. carronade, thirty-six 24-pdr. long guns, twenty-eight 32-pdr. long guns.

It was the only Royal Navy ship of the line ever launched on the Great Lakes.  Its arrival ended all naval action on Lake Ontario as the American fleet dared not challenge it.  Britain had won the naval arms race.

As powerful as it was, the St. Lawrence never went into battle.  It was laid up after the war and finally sold in 1832 to private interests and later sunk and is now a popular dive site.

--Brock-Perry

No comments:

Post a Comment