Talk:HMS Resolution (1779)

Two different ships?

How, if Resolution was destroyed by the British after they recaptured her, was she subsequently purchased by the Moravian Church? Also, the article should make clear that she wasn't actually lost in 1797 but instead captured by the Spanish. Parsecboy (talk) 19:18, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

One ship or two? Destroyed or not? We're drifting into original research here (hence the ambiguity in the article which quite rightly sticks to facts that can be cited and draws no inferences) but what are the chances of two British cutters named Resolution being captured by the Spanish and retaken by the British in the space of five years? She must have been British originally otherwise she'd have been called Resolución (Spanish), Résolution (French) or similar.

The Moravian Brethren were meticulous record keepers. They owned and operated a series of twelve ships during the 156 years between between 1770 and 1926 (see Moravian Church mission ships). For most of these the primary reference provides at least tonnage and often much more. For Resolution it has only a parenthetical aside:

(The Resolution had been purchased in 1802, when the Harmony was sold. We cannot trace any information about the Resolution, apart from the fact that she had been a Spanish vessel, had been captured and sold as a prize. She was bought by the Society, either from the Navy, or from the captain who had been awarded the prize. She was employed in the Labrador service until 1808.)

— E Wilson (Editor), with the Harmony to Labrador, page 16

Very evasive wording.

But here's the kicker. The Moravian's and HMS Apollo (1799) (the ship that recaptured Resolution) had previous form, albeit in her prior incarnation as HMS Apollo (1794):

In 1797, the Harmony was mercifully preserved from capture on her passage home. Having sailed from Hopedale on the 22nd of September, she reached Stromness in the Orkneys on the 10th of October. Here she found the Apollo frigate, Captain Manley, destined to convoy the Hudson’s Bay ships home. Two of the latter arrived on the 11th at Stromness, but the third being still missing and not arriving up to the 25th, the Apollo proceeded in quest of her; and after some days fell in with a French frigate, cruising for the Hudson’s Bay ships, which she attacked and compelled to strike. This frigate had been discovered by the Harmony, in a moonlight night, some days previous to her arrival at Stromness, a few miles to the south, and it is to be considered as a merciful interposition of God’s providence, that she was not perceived by the enemy and captured. During the Apollo’s absence, the third ship arrived; and on the 23rd of November, the whole convoy left Stromness, and reached the Thames in safety. Captain Manley of the Apollo honoured the missionaries with a visit, and showed them every kind attention.

— E Wilson (Editor), with the Harmony to Labrador page 14 & 15

Coincidence? I'd guess not. -Arb. (talk) 23:57, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

It's difficult to see any reliable source justifying more than the first two sentences under this article's subject. It seems quite likely that there are three unrelated ships described here. The captured Spanish sloop was called La Resolución [1] and there seems no evidence that she was ever commissioned as a British warship (noting her recorded early destruction). For the Moravian vessel, there is no evidence shown that she was formerly a warship, let alone a British one. Several merchant ships named Resolution were taken as prize prior to 1802; though none appear to have been Spanish, but the belief by the Moravians that she had been so may be erroneous. Davidships (talk) 17:00, 19 March 2014 (UTC)