HMS Cordelia was a Cherokee-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, completed in 1808. Displacing approximately 237 tons, she measured 90 feet 2 inches in length on her main deck, with a beam of 24 feet 7 inches and a draft of 9 feet at the rudder. Her armament consisted of eight 18-pounder carronades on her broadside, complemented by two 6-pounder long guns positioned in her bows. Additionally, she carried a dozen half-pounder swivel guns attached to her upper deck bulwarks and in her fighting tops, providing her with substantial firepower for her size. The vessel was crewed by a complement of 52 officers and men. Constructed by John King at his shipyard in Upnor, her keel was laid in May 1808. She was launched on 26 July 1808 and subsequently fitted out at the Royal Dockyard Chatham, with her commissioning overseen by Master and Commander Thomas Fortescue Kennedy. She was declared complete by 17 November 1808. HMS Cordelia’s service began in the North Sea fleet under Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, where she patrolled Dutch coastal waters. Notably, in July 1809, she participated in the Walcheren Campaign, a large-scale amphibious operation involving 264 warships and 352 transports carrying 44,000 troops, aimed at disrupting French naval access. Following this, her primary duties involved pursuing French privateers and safeguarding merchant shipping along the North Sea, the south coast of England, and as far as Cork. In 1816, she took part in the Bombardment of Algiers, then resumed her patrol duties. After a refit in 1820, she was laid up until 1828, when she was recommissioned and assigned to protect British trade during the Portuguese Liberal Wars at Oporto. Subsequently, she served in the Mediterranean Fleet, patrolling between Gibraltar and Smyrna, before being recalled in 1830. Her later service included a year on the Bermuda station, hunting pirates and slavers in the West Indies and eastern US coast, and finally patrolling the Aegean and Levant regions. Her captain, Charles Hotham, received a splendid sword from the Grand Seignor for his service. In October 1833, while stationed in the Ionian Islands, HMS Cordelia was ordered home, paid off at Chatham, and sold for £400. Her career exemplifies the versatile roles of Cherokee-class brig-sloops during the Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic periods, including patrol, convoy escort, and anti-piracy operations.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.