HMS Mars (1794)

Date: 1794 [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surnames/tags: ships Miltary_and_War

HMS Mars was built at Deptford in 1794, carrying 74 guns she was also a somewhat lazy sailer. Having served gallantly in the action off Brest in 1795 she was involved in the Nore Mutiny of 1797 when her officers, including her Captain, Alexander Hood, were forced ashore by the crew. In 1798 she took part in the action which captured the 74 gun Hercules taking severe losses of 70 killed or wounded. Among the dead was Captain Hood.

During the next several years she was the flagship of the squadrons blockading Rochefort and Brest and was present at the Battle of Trafalgar under her captain, George Duff. Again Mars took severe punishment and again her captain was killed. She went back to blockading Rochefort.

In northern waters she took part in the bombardment of Copenhagen and the taking of the Danish fleet in 1807 then served in the Baltic before returning to home waters. After the war she became a receiving hulk in Portsmouth and was broken up in 1823.

Officers, Warrant Officers and crew at the Battle of Trafalgar
HMS Mars

Rank	First Name	Last Name	Pay Book	Date joined	Nationality	Birth Place	Age	Wikitree
Captain	George	Duff	SB507	-	British	Banff	41	killed Duff-1047
1st Lieutenant	William	Hennah	SB39	-	-	-	-	-
Lieutenant	James	Black	SB276	-	-	-	-	wounded
Lieutenant	Benjamin	Patey	SB38	-	British	Plymouth	23	Patey-124
Lieutenant	Edward William	Garrett	SB565	12 Sep 1804	-	-	-	wounded
Lieutenant	George L	Decoeurdoux	SB37	-	-	-	-	-
Lieutenant	William H T	Boyce	SB658	11 Mar 1805	-	-	-	-
Lieutenant	Charles	Holmes	SB139	26 Feb 1805	-	-	-	-
Midshipman	Alexander Dundas Young	Arbuthnot	SB504	-	British	Forton, Hampshire	16	Arbuthnot-1944
Midshipman	George Edward	Patey	SB445	-	British	Stonehouse	16	Patey-128
Captain RM	Thomas	Norman	ML121	-	-	-	-	-
Lieutenant RM	Robert	Guthrie	ML149	25 Apr 1805	-	-	-	-
Master	T	Cooke	-	-	-	-	-	wounded
Surgeon	James	Torkington	SB696	29 Apr 1805	-	-	-	-
Carpenter	William	Cook	SB46	4 Apr 1803	-	-	-	-
Boatswain	John	Bunt	SB2	-	-	-	-	-
Gunner	Anthony	Collis	-	11 Oct 1799	-	-	-	-
Purser	E	Hatfull	SB473	-	-	-	-	-
Master's Mate	Alex	Duff	SB523	1 Sep 1804	British	Edinburgh	20	killed
Volunteer	Thomas	Duff	-	20 Sep 1804	British	Edinburgh	-	-
Volunteer	Norwich	Duff	SB717	8 Aug 1805	British	Edinburgh	14	Duff-1046

NB

• Benjamin Patey had 8 brothers in the Navy. They were the sons of a gunner.
• Thomas Duff held his brother, Alex, in his arms as he died.
• Norwich Duff was the son of the Captain, George Duff.

Sources

• Trafalgar ancestors [1]
• " The Trafalgar Companion " Mark Adkin, Aurum Press 2005 ISBN 1 84513 0189
• Wikipedia [2]