HMS Victoriam

HMS Victoriam
Rating: 3rd-rate

Class: Wenden-Class Ship of the Line

Date of Commission: May 3rd 1723

Shipyard: Royal Naval Shipyards, Belfast

Guns: 72

Crew: 650

Status: In commission.

History:
After completion, christening, and trials of the "Victoriam" near belfast the ship was assigned to a flotilla enroute to the Caribbean. Command was assigned to a veteran Captain of the fleet Sir Richard Morehouse. He was a hard disciplinarian and drilled his crew constantly, the men of the ship became some of the best performing sailors attached to the Caribbean Admiralty. The ship was then dispatched on a very dangerous mission to apprehend some Rum-Runners who had been making a deserted island 20 kns south-southwest of St Johns. their base of operations. When the ship arrived they fould the island empty. Captain Morehouse dispatched longboats and marines to investigate, even going ashore himself. This proved to be a very poor decision on his part. While walking through the jungle on the island he fell into an airshaft the Rum Runners had cut in a cave that ran far below the island where they stored their product. The Captain died of the wounds sustained by the fall, but his last words were "At least we found the rum." The ship was placed in dock at St Johns until a new Captain could be found. The local Magistrate there informed the Admiralty that a Retired Post Captain currently was living on St Johns, and had plantations there. The Admiralty contacted Thomas Fenix and asked him to come out of retirement to command this fine vessel, and so he did.

Captains:

 * 1720-1723: Sir Richard Morehouse
 * 1723-present: Captain Thomas Fenix