The first HMS Leander was a 44-gun ship used in the demanding cruising and distant-station role associated with frigates. After the Battle of the Nile, a French 74 captured her while she carried Nelson's dispatches; Russian and Ottoman forces later recovered her at Corfu. In the 1806 Leander Affair she fired on Americans, after which she returned to Halifax as a flagship and later served in the West Indies. Renamed Hygeia in 1813 and sold in 1817, she completed roughly 37 years of service. Her long, hard career illustrates why cruising ships often wore out faster than ships of the line.
Chapter · 9:56-16:36
The first Leander from the Nile to Corfu
The 1780 Leander serves on distant stations, fights at the Battle of the Nile, and is captured while carrying Nelson's dispatches.