Brigs, snows, and sloops beneath the frigate line

What place did snows and brigs have in the Royal Navy?

They were extremely numerous. Their names often depended on rigging, and they formed a large force of smaller vessels beneath frigate size.

A frigate was already a large cruiser compared with the brigs, snows, sloops, and other small vessels below it. Changes to a vessel's rig could also change what people called it, so tidy type counts can mislead. These small craft existed in very large numbers and made up much of the fleet strength below frigate size. The wooden wall included this broad supporting force as well as the ships in the battle line.