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Ship Name Histories - Database of
histories of ship names beginning with letter C. |
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Cacheu 
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Name Origin: A small village in Portuguese Guinea. |
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Cacongo
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Name Origin: Cisongo, or hither Congo, a territory on the
northern side of the Lower Congo in Africa, part of which belongs to
Portugal since 1885. |
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Cadmus  |
| Name Origin: In Greek mythology the founder of Thebes. |
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Caesar |
| Name Origin: Caius Julius Caesar, the great Roman conqueror
and statesman, born about 102 B.C, died 44 B.C. He conquered the greater part of the Gaul, and made two
expeditions to Britain. He
defeated Pompey, his rival, at the battle of Pharsalus, and as Dictator
of the Roman Empire introduced innumerable important reforms in all
branches of the administration. The
members of the strict Republican Party, who dealed his making himself
king in name, as he was in fact, murdered him.
During his short Dictatorship he laid the foundations of the
Roman Empire. As an author
he is celebrated for the account he wrote of his Gallic wars, and the
civil war. None of his
other works on a variety of subjects have come down to us. |
Caiman
 |
Name Origin: Cayman, alligator. |
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Calabria 
|
Name Origin: Southernmost province of Italy, the ancient
Bruttium. |
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Calliope
|
Name Origin: In Greek mythology one of the nine Muses; the
Muse of Epic Poetry. |
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Calypso |
| Name Origin: In Homer’s Odyssey a goddess inhabiting the
Island of Ogygia, supposed to have been Malta.
She became enamoured of Odysseus (Ulysses), who was shipwrecked
on her island, and promised him immortality if he would remain and marry
her. Though she succeeded
in retaining him seven years the gods at last ordered her to let him go. |
Calypso
|
Name Origin: In homer’s Odyssey a goddess inhabiting the
island of Ogygia, supposed to have been Malta.
She became enamoured of Odysseus (Ulysses), who was shipwrecked
on her island, and promised him immortality of he would remain and marry
her. Though she succeeded
in detaining him seven years, the gods at last ordered her to let him
go. |
Camaeleon
 |
| Name Origin: Chameleon. |
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Cambrian |
| Name Origin: Inhabitant of ancient Wales the “Britannia
Secunda” of the Romans. “Cambria”
is derived from “Cymry” or “Kymey,” the name by which the Welsh
have always called themselves. |
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Cambridge |
| Name Origin: Capital of the county of that name, and one of
the oldest and most celebrated of the English universities.
It is situated on the river Cam, tributary of the Ouse. |
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Camoxim
 |
Name Origin: Small seaport town situated in the State of Ceara |
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Camperdown |
| Name Origin: Admiral Adam Duncan, Viscount
Duncan of Camperdown; born 1731, died 1804.
His early naval career was uneventful.
Having become Captain in 1761, he commanded the Valiant, bearing
Commodore’s Keppel’s broad pennant, at the reduction of Havannah the
following year. In 1780, still a Captain, and in command of the Monarch, he
took part in Rodney’s victory over the Spaniards under Langara, off
Cape St. Vincent, on January 16th.
Having reached flag rank in 1787, he was promoted Vice-Admiral in
February 1795, and appointed to the command of a squadron destined for
the blockade of the Dutch coast. For
the next years and eight months, with rare and short intervals, he kept
such close watch on that treacherous coast as to completely paralyse the
trade of the Dutch and keep their fleet in port.
When during his temporary absence, to refit at the Nore, the
Dutch at last came out, he promptly returned and fell upon them, and on
October 11th 1797, totally defeated them off Kamperduin (Camperdown),
capturing 9 of their 16 ships of the line.
For these services he was created Baron Duncan of Lundie, and
Viscount Duncan of Camperdown. |
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Canada
 |
Name Origin: Discovered Cabot in 1497, it was taken possession
of by France in 1534, the first settlement being made at Quebec in 1608.
After the British under Wolfe had captured that city in 1759, the
Traty of Paris 1763 ceded the whole of Canada to Great Britain.
Nova Scotia had been ceded by the Traty of Utrecht 1713. |
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Cananea
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Name Origin: Small seaport town situated in the State of San
Paulo |
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Canning
 |
Name Origin: Charles, Earl Canning; born 1812 died 1862.
In 1856 he succeeded Lord Dalhousie as Governor General of India,
and after having suppressed the Mutiny of 1857, he became the first
Viceroy of India. He
retired in 1862. |
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Canopo
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Name Origin: A star of the first magnitude in the Southern
Hemisphere. The name was
borne by an Egyptian god, and also by the legendary pilot of King
Menelaus. |
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Canopus |
| Name Origin: Commemorates the capture at the Battle of the
Nile, August 1st 1798, by Sir Horatio Nelson’s squadron, of
the French 80-gun ship Franklin, Captain M, Gillet, bearing the flag of
Rear-Admiral Du Chayla. She
was anchored as sixth ship in the French line and struck about midnight,
after having most gallantly fought the Swiftsure, Orion, Defence and
Leader, and having been set on fire by the debris of the Orient, which
had shortly before blown up close to her.
The Franklin was taken into the Royal Navy, after having been, at
Nelson’s suggestion, renamed Canopus, the name of an ancient Egyptian
city, famous for its temple of Serphis which once stood near the site of
the present town of Aboukir, and from which the canopic mouth of the
Nile derived its name. |
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Capello
|
Name Origin: H. A. Brito Capellio, a
naval officer born in 1839. In
1860 he took part in an exploring expedition in Angola (West Africa).
From 1877 to 1879 he led an expedition through Coango, and in
1885 crossed the African continent from Angola to the Mozambique. |
Capitaine
Cuny |
Name Origin: Army officer, who fell in the attack on Son Tay
in 1883. |
Capitaine
Mehl |
Name Origin: Army officer, who fell in the attack on Son Tay
in 1883. |
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Caprera
|
Name Origin: small island off the
north point of Sardinia, to which Garibaldi retired in 1854, which he
purchased, and where he died and was buried in 1882. |
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Carabina
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Name Origin: Rifle. |
Carabine
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Name Origin: Carbine, small rifle. |
Carabinier
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Name Origin: Mounted soldier armed with a carbine. |
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Carioca
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Name Origin: Small River at Rio de Janeiro, which provides the
capital with drinking water. The
name is the native one for Brazilians born at Rio de Janeiro. |
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Carlo Alberto
|
Name Origin: Charles Albert, king of Sardinia 1831-1849.
He reformed the constitution and was a liberal minded sovereign.
He headed the movement and directed the first war for the
delivery of Northern Italy from Austrian rule.
The present King of Italy is his great grandson. |
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Carnarvon |
| Name Origin: A maritime county of North Wales.
Edward II of England, the first Prince of Wales, was born at
Carnarvon in 1284, and was presented by Edward I to the Welsh as their
Prince. |
Carnot
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Name Origin: This ship
commemorates the name of Lazare Carnot, “the organiser of victory,”
and Sadi Carnot, his grandson, late President of the French Republic.
(1) Lazare N. M. Carnot, born 1753, died 1823.
He served as a young man in the Engineers, then joined the
revolutionary movement, and was a prominent member of the Convention and
one of those who voted for the death of Louis XVI.
He was employed as Government representative at the headquarters
of several of the Republican armies, and in 1793 became the head of the
military Department. In
this capacity he reorganised the whole military system of republican
France, introduced the levie en masse, and was hereby mainly
instrumental in bringing about the successful issue if various
campaigns. A strict
Republican, he opposed Bonaparte’s election to the Consulship for
life, and resigned his post of Minister of War, retiring into private
life. When, after the defeat of Napoleon at Leipzig 1813, France
was threatened with invasion, he offered him his services and undertook
the defence of Antwerp. Napoleon
then created him a count, and gave him the Ministry of the Interior. He opposed Napoleon’s abdication after the battle of
Waterloo, and was banished from France by the bourbons, dying in exile.
(2) M. F. Sadi Carnot, born 1837,
died 1894, grandson of the former.
He was Under-Secretary of State for Public Works in 1878,
Minister of Finance in 1885, and President of the French Republic from
1887 to 1894, when an anarchist at Lyons stabbed him to death.
During his whole public career he was distinguished for his great
integrity and sincerity. |
Caronade
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Name Origin: Carronade, a short large calibre gun throwing a
heavy shot at shorter ranges than the ordinary guns of the period.
It was invented in 1779, and took its name from the Carron
Company in Scotland, by whom the first were cast. |
Carquois
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Name Origin: Quiver. |
Casabianca
|
Name Origin: (1) Louis,
Comte de Casabianca; born 1755, died 1798/
He was Flag Captain to Admiral Bruyes in the Orient at the Battle
of the Nile, and was mortally wounded during the action.
His son, a boy of ten was onboard with him when the Orient caught
fire, and when it was seen that the flames could not be extinguished,
the boy, it is said, refused to abandon the ship with the rest of the
crew, and remained with his father.
They were both killed in the explosion, which destroyed the
ill-fated vessel.
(2) Raphael, Comte de Casabianca, borrn 1738, died 1825, was a
brother of the former, and served in the Army.
In 1794 he was charged with the defence of Calvi in Corsica, and
held if for thirty nine days with a force of 600 men, only capitulating
when the place had been half destroyed by bombardment and he had but
eighty men left. |
Cassard
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Name Origin: Jaques Cassard born 1672, died 1740, a celebrated
privateer in the reign of Louis XVI. During the famine of 1709 he equipped two royal ships at his
own expense, and successfully convoyed a transport of grain to
Marseilles, though he had twice to beat off the attack of a squadron of
five English ships. During
the second fight his ships suffered so much that the transports got into
Marseilles before him, and the Magistrates therefore refused to refund
him his outlays. In 1711 he
again safely convoyed a transport of grain from Constantinople.
His last exploits were in the West Indies, where he successfully
harried the Portuguese and English trade, and captured two small English
men-of-war. Though rewarded for these exploits with the rank of Post
Captain in the Royal Navy, he was left to die in penury. |
Cassini
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Name Origin: Four generations of a celebrated family of
astronomers and cartographers bore this name in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. |
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Cassiopea
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Name Origin: In Greek mythology the wife of Cepheus, king of
the Aethiopians, and mother of Andromeda.
At her death the gods transferred her to the heavens, where she
is represented by the constellation bearing her name. |
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Castelfidardo
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Name Origin: Village in the province of Ancona, where, on
September 18th 1860, the Sardinian troops under Fanti
defeated the Papal troops under Lamoriciere. |
Castor
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Name Origin: In Greek mythology one of the Dioscuri, the twin
brother of Pollux, and son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Leda.
Custor was famous for his skill in training and managing horses.
Zeus, at their death, placed the brothers amongst the stars as
“Gemini.” They were
considered to be the guardian spirits of all seafaring men. |
Castor
 |
| Name Origin: The star a Gemini. |
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Cataluna 
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|
Name Origin: Catalonia, the northern part of Spain to the east
of Aragon along the Mediterranean.
It was formerly an independent principality, and together with
Castille became part of the Spanish monarchy in 1479. |
Catapulte
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Name Origin: Catapult or ballista, an engine of war used in
ancient times, chiefly against besieged cities, foe throwing stones and
other missiles. |
Catinat
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Name Origin: Nicolas de Catinat, one of Louis XIV’s
Marshals; born 1637, died 1712. He
defeated the Duke of Savory, conquered Piedmont, and commanded the
French forces in Flanders, where he captured the town of Ath.
Hampered by orders from the Court, he fought unsuccessfully
against Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1701, and falling into discredit with
the King, retired from the service. |
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Centauro
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Name Origin: Centaur. In
Greek mythology a fierce, dissolute race of beings, half man, half
horse, inhabiting the mountains of Thessaly. |
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Centella
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Name Origin : Sentinel
The Centella was a Ferre Class torpedo boat
launched 1880 - 1882 and discarded around 1910. |
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Centurion |
| Name Origin: Title borne in ancient Rome by the officer
commanding a “century” or company of a hundred men. Sixty centuries made up a legion.
The fourth Centurion built and in 1740
she was the flagship of Commodore George Anson in a squadron of 7 ships
who were brought up to complement by 500 superannuated and Chelsea
out-pensioners, who all died during the voyage. They sailed on Anson's
famous circumnavigation of the world in September 1740. They touched at
Madeira and Port St Julian, and off Cape Horn in March 1741 the squadron
were dispersed by a succession of gales. Scurvy broke out and the
Centurion buried 43 men. She reached Juan Fernandez in June 1741 with 130
men on the sick list, besides having buried 200 men on the passage. Here a
prize was captured, and the squadron set sail for the South American
coast, capturing another prize on the way. They arrived in Payta Bay in
November and surprised the town. Plunder to the value of £32,000 and
other stores were taken; the town was set on fire and six vessels in the
bay were sunk. In May 1742 the Commodore sailed for China. In August the
Centurion anchored off one of the Ladrone Islands and landed 128 sick men,
many of whom died. In November the ship arrived off Macao and wintered. In
April 1743 Anson put to sea in an attempt to capture the large Spanish
galleon trading between Acapulco and Manilla. On June 20th she was sighted
off the Island of Samar, and proved to be the long-sought ship Nuestra
Senora de Cavadonga. An action followed and lasted nearly two hours, at
the end of which the Spaniard struck with a loss of 67 killed and 84
wounded. The Centurion lost only 2 killed and 17 wounded. The cargo of the
prize included nearly one and a half million dollars, besides 36,000
ounces of silver and other merchandise. On July 10th the squadron reached
Canton, and in December sold the prize at Macao. Numerous difficulties
with the Chinese were experienced. In December 1743 the Centurion turned
homewards, and reached Spithead on June 15th 1744. Thus ended Commodore
George Anson's circumnavigation of the globe, a great naval exploring
expedition with war-like objects, carried out with the greatest skill,
patience and perseverance. As the Admiralty declined to confirm Anson's first Lieutenant as
captain, Anson returned his own commission as Rear-Admiral of the Blue,
and went on half pay as a captain for six months. There is not a doubt
that Anson was in the wrong. A change of Government taking place some ten
months afterwards, Anson became a Lord of the Admiralty, and being
promoted to Rear-Admiral of the White received two steps at once. The figurehead of this centurion was a big lion some sixteen feet
high. It was presented to the Duke of Richmond by King George III when the
Centurion was broken up. While serving as an inn sign at Goodwood it was
much admired by King William IV, who begged it from the Duke, and used it
as a staircase ornament at Windsor Castle. The King later on presented it
to Greenwich Hospital, with directions to place it in one of the wards,
which he desired should be called the Anson Ward. It remained there until
1871 when it was removed to the playground of the Naval School, where
owing to the action of the weather it unfortunately crumbled to pieces. At
one time the following lines were inscribed beneath it:-
Stay,
traveller, a while, and view
One who
has travelled more than you;
Quite
round the globe, thro' each degree,
Anson
and I have ploughed the sea.
Torrid
and frigid zones have pass'd
And-safe
ashore arrived at last-
In ease
with dignity appear,
He in
the House of Lords-I here.
In 1746 the Centurion was cut down to a 50 gun ship. In 1747 the
Centurion commanded by Captain Peter Denis, was in an English fleet of 17
ships under the command of Vice-Admiral George Anson, who flew his flag in
Prince George. The French fleet, under Admiral de la Jonquiere, consisted
of 14 men-of-war and a convoy of 24 ships, and was sighted on May 23rd
about 70 miles from Cape Finisterre. The French made off and Anson chased.
A running fight of 3 hours followed, in which 13 French ships were
captured, while a small detached squadron captured six of the French
convoy. Night saved the rest. A topical song of the time expresses in the
following verses the part played by the Centurion:
The
Centurion first led the van, (bis)
And
held 'em till we came up;
Then we
their hides did sorely bang,
Our
broadsides we on them did pour, (bis)
We gave
the French a sower drench,
And
soon their topsails made them lower.
And
when they saw our fleet come up, (bis)
They
for quarters call'd without delay,
And
their colours they that moment struck
O! how
we did rejoice and sing, (bis)
To see
such prizes we had took,
For
ourselves and for George our King.
The French lost 700 killed and wounded, and the English 520,
including one captain killed. Specie to the value of £300,000 was taken
from the prizes. This victory was valuable if not brilliant. Vie-Admiral
Anson was created a Peer and the captured men-of-war were all added to the
British Navy. In June 1751 the Centurion, flying the broad pennant of Commodore
the Hon. Augustus Keppel, proceeded to Algiers, and smoothed over some
difficulties with the Dey. The story goes that the Dey angrily expressed
surprise that the King of Great Britain should have sent a beardless boy
to treat with him. Keppel replied: "Had my master supposed that
wisdom was measured by the length of the beard, he would have sent your
Deyship a he-goat." After threatening Keppel with death, the Dey
consented to treat. In 1754, the Centurion, Captain the Hon. Augustus
Keppel, in company
with the Norwich, escorted to North America a large number of troops,
destined to assist the colonials in the suppression of the Indians, who
with France behind them as moral support, were rising against the English
whites. In 1759 the Centurion, commanded by Captain William Mantell, was in
a fleet of 49 ships besides transports under Vice-Admiral Charles Saunders
with his flag in Neptune. They left Spithead on February 17th and, having
secured pilots by a ruse, they anchored a few miles below Quebec on June
26th with nearly 10,000 troops. On June 28th the French sent down seven
fireships and two firerafts, but these were grappled and towed clear by
the activity of the seamen. On September 13th under cover of the guns of
the Centurion, the troops were landed and attacked Quebec. The seamen
assisted with guns. On this day both General Wolfe and the Marquis of
Montcalm, the English and French Commanders-in-Chief of the troops were
mortally wounded. After some fighting the French retired. Additional ships
were brought up to bombard, and on the 17th the enemy offered to
surrender. On the 18th Vice-Admiral Saunders was one of the signatories to
the surrender. In May 1762 the Centurion, commanded by Captain James Galbraith, was
in the English fleet proceeding to Havana against the Spaniards, which
consisted of 53 ships, besides storeships, hospital ships and transports,
with 15,000 troops. Admiral Sir George Pocock, with his flag in Namur, and
George, Earl of Albemarle, were the naval and military
Commanders-in-Chief. On May 27th the fleet of 200 sail in all stood away
for the Old Strait of Bahama, which was safely navigated by marking the
dangerous shoals and reefs with boats. During the passage two Spanish
ships were captured. On June 6th the fleet arrived off Havana, and while a
feint was made elsewhere the troops were landed under cover of the guns of
the fleet. Moro was bombarded, although the Spaniards made a most gallant
defence, Havana fell, and the British took complete possession on August
14th 1762. Specie and stores to the value of three million pounds were
captured; thirteen Spanish men-of-war were destroyed, three were sunk, and
two on the stocks were burned. While on the passage to Havana some ships
were detached and captured two ships in the harbour of Mariel. The British
lost 1790 killed and wounded. The division of the prize money caused some
heartburning. It worked out as follows: Admiral £123,000, captain £1600,
petty officer £17, seaman or marine £4. In 1769 the Centurion was broken up at Chatham.
The seventh “CENTURION” was an 80-gun ship,
launched at Pembroke in 1844. She
was of 2590 tons, and carried a crew of 750 men.
Her length , beam, and draught were 190ft., 57ft., and 19ft.
The “Centurion” was fitted with a screw and engines of 400
horse-power in 1856. In
1870 the “Centurion” was sold for £8200.
The eighth “CENTURION” was a
14-gun twin-screw battleship, launched at Portsmouth in 1892.
She was of 10,500 tons, 13,214 horse-power, and 18 knot speed.
Her length, beam, and draught were 360ft., 70ft., and 25ft.
In 1900 the “Centurion,” commanded by Captain John R.
Jellicoe, and flying the flag of Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hobart Seymour,
took part in the third China War or “Boxer Riots.”
Sir Edward Seymour was the senior flag-officer of the Eight
Nationalities assembled in the Far East, and as such presided over their
Councils. On June 9th
a detachment from the “Centurion” proceeded in a Naval Brigade of
mixed nationalities, 2000 strong, with 19 guns, for the relief of
Peking, under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Seymour.
This expedition went through some very severe fighting, and
suffered a loss of 2 officers and 63 men killed, and 20 officers and 210
men wounded before withdrawing. Captain
Beyts, R.M.A., of the “Centurion,” was killed, and Captain John. R.
Jellicoe, who behaved with great gallantry, and 4 other officers of the
same ship were wounded. From
June 26th to July 11th, a detachment of officers
and men from the “Centurion” assisted in the capture and defence of
Tientsin, and during this period lost 5 killed and 14 wounded.
In August the “Centurion” contributed a number of officers
and men to a British Naval Brigade, which advanced to the final and
satisfactory relief of Peking, with 20,100 troops under
Lieutenant-General Sir Alfred Gaselee.
In 1910 this “Centurion” was sold at Portsmouth for £26,200.
The ninth “CENTURION” is a 10-gun
turbine battleship, launched at Devonport in 1911.
She is of 25,000 tons, 30,000 horse-power, and 21 knots speed.
Her length, beam, and draught were 555ft., 89ft., and 28ft. |
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Ceram 
|
Name Origin: Serang one of the
largest of the Molucca Islands. |
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Cerberus
 |
Name Origin: (Victoria)-In Greek mythology the dog guarding
the entrance to Hades, represented with three heads and a serpent’s
tail. Orpheus charmed him
by the magic of his lyre, and Hercules fought him and dragged him to the
upper world. |
|
Cerberus
|
Name Origin: In Greek mythology the
watchdog guarding the entrance to Hades.
He is represented with three heads and a serpent’s tail. |
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Chaimite
|
Name Origin: Name of a kraal in Portuguese East Africa, where
Gungunhana, king of the Vatuas, was taken prisoner by Mousinho de
Albuquerque in 1895. The
latter afterwards became governor of Portuguese East Africa. |
|
Challenger |
The sixth Challenger
was a Hermes class cruiser launched 1902 and scrapped 1920.
The seventh Challenger was a survey ship launched
1931 and scrapped 1954.
The eighth Challenger was a diving vessel, launched
1981, laid up 1994 and sold 1998. |
|
Champion |
|
The fifth “CHAMPION”
is a 14-gun screw corvette, launched at Glasgow in 1878.
She is of 2380 tons, 2300 horse-power, and 13 knots speed.
Her length, beam, and draught were 225ft., 44ft., and 19ft.
In August 1891 the “Champion,” commanded by Captain Frederick
St. Clair, co-operated with some American, French, and German vessels in
landing men at Valparaiso in order to protect the consulates during a
Chilian revolution. The
officers of the international parties placed themselves in front of the
muzzles of some machine guns with which the president-elect had intended
to decimate the civilian populace. After
some years service in the training squadron the “Champion” became a
strokers’ training-ship at Chatham. The sixth
“CHAMPION” is a
turbine light cruiser, laid down at Messrs.
Hawthorn Leslie’s yard on the River Tyne in 1913. |
Chamois
|
|
|
Champlain
|
Name Origin: Samuel de Champlain, French Governor of Canada
and founder of Quebec; born 1567, died 1635. |
Chang
 |
|
Name Origin: Spread. |
| Chapman
|
| Name Origin: Frederick Henrikaf Chapman, distinguished naval
architect of English extraction; born 1721, died 1808.
He first applied the parabolic method in ship construction.
To the present day most sailing ships in the Swedish Navy are
built from his designs. He
was the author of a standard work of its time, Architectura Navalis.
In 1783 he was appointed Admiral superintendent of Carlskrona
Dockyard. |
|
Charger |
The third Charger
was a Charger class destroyer, launched 1894 and scrapped 1912. The
fourth Charger is an Archer class
patrol craft, launched 1986. |
Charlemagne
|
Name Origin: Charles the Great; born 742, crowned at Rome on
Christmas Day 800 as the first Emperor of the “Holy roman empire,”
died 814. He was the
founder of a great Frank empire, which fell to pieces after his death. It had included France, Western and Southern Germany, Italy,
and the North of Spain. Alike
distinguished as a conqueror, legislator, and administrator, he became
after his death the centre of a whole cycle of romances. |
Charles
Martel |
Name Origin: Grandfather of Charlemagne, and “Major-domo”
(Regent) of France for the effeminate kings of the House of Clovis.
He defeated the invading hordes of Saracens at the battles of
Tour and Narbonne, whence his surname Martel, i.e. Hammer-the hammer
that crushed the infidels. He
died 741. |
| Charlotte
|
| Name Origin: Hereditary Princess of Saxe Meiningen, born 1860,
eldest daughter of the late Emperor Frederick and the late Empress,
Princess Royal of Great Britain and Ireland. |
|
Charybdis |
|
Name Origin: In Homer’s Odyssey Charybdis and Scylla were
two sea-monsters, dwelling on opposite sides of a narrow strait.
Charybdis, who dwelt under a cliff, three times a day sucked down
the waters of the sea and threw them up again, causing whirlpools fatal to
all passing craft. Odysseus
(Ulysses) successfully passed between these two monsters, but Scylla, who
had six long necks and mouths with treble rows of teeth, snatched six men
off his ship. The name was
later given to the “races” of rapide in the Straits of Messina.
The 3rd “CHARYBDIS” was a 17-gun screw
corvette, launched at Chatham in 1859.
She was of 2250 tons, 1400 horse-power , and 11 knots speed.
Her length, beam, and draught were 200ft., 40ft., and 20ft.
In May 1874, in company with two other vessels, the “Charybdis,”
commanded by Captain Thomas Edward Smith, proceeded up the Lingie River
near Malacca, which was a focus of piratical activity.
Some stockades were burned at Bukit Tiga, and the River Lingie was
reopened to the trade with the rich tin mines in the interior.
In September 1874 the “Charybdis,” with the “Hart” in
company, took part in an expedition to the Indian River and composed some
differences between the rulers of Johore and Pahang.
In November 1874 the “Charybdis,” with the “Hart” in
company, took part in an expedition to the Lukit River to intervene in
serious disputes which had arisen between the Rajah of Sungei Ujong and
one of his feudatories named Bandar.
It was decided to support the Rajah, and a small naval brigade of
73 officers and men were landed with troops on November 26th.
After some grief fighting the Malay feudatory abandoned Campayang,
and escaped into the bush. One
sailor was mortally wounded and 50 of the enemy’s coolies were killed.
Search parties were sent out invarious directions, but they failed
to catch Bandar, who did not surrender until some weeks later.
In 1880 this vessel was handed over to the Canadian Government as a
training ship, and in 1884 she was sold at Halifax.
The fourth “CHARYBDIS”
is a 10-gun twin-screw cruiser, launched at Sheerness in 1893.
She is of 4360 tons, 9000 horse-power, and 19 knots speed.
Her length, beam, and draught were 320ft., 49ft., and 19ft. In 1896 the “Charybdis,” commanded by Captain John McQuhae, was
one of a squadron of six ships which was specially commissioned as a reply
to a congratulatory telegram from the German Emperor to President Paul
Kruger on the occasion of Dr. Jameson’s raid.
The ships were called the Particular Service Squadron, and were
commanded by Rear-Admiral Alfred Taylor Dale with his flag in
“Revenge.” In December
1902 the “Charybdis,” flying the broad pennant of Commodore R.A.J.
Montgomerie, was at the head of a combined English and German fleet which
established a blockade of the Venezuelan coast which they divided between
them for the purpose. This
retaliatory measure was taken on account of outrages on British ships and
subjects for which no satisfaction could be obtained.
Nine Venezuelan gunboats or small craft were seized by the boats of
the fleet, and two were taken to sea and sunk.
Presidents Castro immediately imprisoned all British and German
subjects, but he was forced to release them by the American Consul.
A British merchant ship was seized by the mob at Puerto Cabello,
but the “Charybdis” at once proceeded to the place, and having
released the ship, bombarded the fort.
After an eight weeks blockade the Venezuelans consented to
arrangements, that brought the blockade to a conclusion, Commodore
Montgomerie having acted with great tact and firmness throughout.
A small Italian force also assisted in the blockade. |
Chasseloup
Laubat |
Name Origin: (1)
General Marquis Francois de Chasseloup Laubat, born 1754, died 1833.
A distinguished engineer under Napoleon I, he directed amongst
others the sieges of Colberg, Danzig, and Stralsund, and fortified
Peschiera, Mantua and Alessadnria.
He was Engineer in Chief during the campaign in Russia in 1812.
On the fall of Napoleon he went over to the Bourbons, and was
created a Marquis and Peer of France.
(2) The son of the above; under the Second Empire he was twice
Minister of Marine, a post he filled with great distinction.
He was subsequently governor General of Algeria. |
Chasseur
|
Name Origin: Literally, “hunter”; but in this case it
means “rifleman” in the military sense. |
Chateau
Renaud |
Name Origin: The Marquis of Chateau Renaud, born 1637, died
1716. He began his career
in the Army, but entered the Navy in 1661.
He rose to be “Chef d’Escarde” in 1673, and as such
blockaded the Texel and fought De Ruyter.
In 1677, with a squadron of 6 ships, he chased a Dutch squadron
of 16 sail under Evertsen into Cadiz.
He served under Tourville at the bombardment of Algiers in 1688,
and was then sent to Ireland with reinforcements for James II, fighting
the English fleet in the battle of Bantry Bay 1689. The
following year he commanded with signal success the van of Tourville’s
fleet in the battle of Bevezieres (Beachy Head), having previously
brought the Toulon fleet to Brest. In 1694 he fought under Tourville in the Mediterranean
succeeding him at his death as vice Admiral,.
He brought home the great silver fleet from Havannah in 1702, but
chased into Vigo by a superior English squadron, was there attacked on
October 12th by Admiral Rooke, and forced to destroy those of
his galleons, which were not captured.
He became Marshal of France 1703, and died as Lieutenant General
of Brittany. |
|
Cheerful |
The third Cheerful
was a Mermaid class destroyer, launched 1897, and mined in 1917. The
fourth Cheerful was
an Algerine class minesweeper, launched 1944, scrapped 1963. |
|
Chelmer |
Name Origin: River in Essex.
It rises in the northwest of the county, near the source of the
Blackwater, and flows past Chelmsford into the estuary of the latter. |
Chen
|
|
Name Origin: Star |
Chen-Tao
|
|
Name Origin: To commands the waves. |
|
Cherwell |
Name Origin: River rising in the southwest of Northamptonshire;
it joins the Thames at Oxford, after flowing past Banbury.
(Pronounced Charwell, which was the old spelling.) |
Chevalier
|
Name Origin: Knight |
Chidori
 |
| Name Origin: The dotterel plover. |
Chihaya
|
| Name Origin: The name of a hill fortified by the celebrated
Kusunoki Masashige, famed in Japanese history. |
|
Childers
|
Name Origin: (Victoria)-The Right
Hon Hugh Childers; born 1827, died 1896.
In 1850 he went to Australia, where he soon became a member of
Victoria Government. As Finance Minister in 1852 he was instrumental in founding a
University at Melbourne. Returning
to England in 1857, he acted as Agent General for the Colony, and was
elected into Parliament three years later.
He subsequently held the officers of First Lord of the Admiralty,
Secretary for War, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Home Secretary. |
Chimere
|
Name Origin: Chimera, a fabulous monster of Greek mythology
which was slain by Bellerophon. It
was supposed to have had a lion’s head and forepart, a goat’s body,
and a dragon’s tail. |
Chin-Yen
|
| Name Origin: Literally, “Guardian of the remote regions.”
The word is the Japanese rendering of Chen-Yuen, which was the
name, the vessel born in the Chinese Navy.
She was one of the spoils of the war of 1894-5. |
|
Chioggia
|
Name Origin: an island and town in the Venetian lagoon. |
|
Chiri
|
Name Origin: A river in the Portuguese territory of Goa in
India. |
Chitose
|
| Name Origin: A thousand years. |
Chiyoda
|
| Name Origin: Literally, “The field of a thousand
generations,” a fanciful title bestowed in ancient times on the old
castle in Yedo, which was occupied by the Shoguns, on the site of which
stands nowadays the Imperial Palace. |
Cho-Kai
|
| Name Origin: Literally, “Sea of the birds.”
It is the name of a mountain in Ugo province, 7000 feet high. |
|
Christiaan Cornelis
|
Name Origin: A sailor, one of the crew of a small merchant
ship which had been captured by a French privateer in 1794.
He succeeded in recapturing her on July 31st. |
Chu-Tai
|
Name Origin: The safety of the Chu Provinces (“Chu” is the
general name for the provinces of Hu-Nan and Hu-Peh, which are situated
on the south and north respectively of the Tong-Ting Lake). |
Chu-Tung
|
Name Origin: Chu’s equality. |
Chu-Yu
|
Name Origin: Chu’s
possession. |
|
Cigno
|
Name Origin: In Greek mythology Cignus, the son of the King of
Liguria, was changed into a swan and placed amongst the stars by Apollo,
when the latter saw his grief at the loss of his friends Phaeton,
Apollo’s son. |
Cigogne
|
Name Origin: Stork. |
|
Circe |
Name Origin: In Homer’s Odyssey the daughter of the sun god
Helios (Apollo). She lived
in the island of Aeaea, where by magic arts she transformed all who
became her guests into beasts. Odysseus
resisted and vanquished her charms, inducing her to release her captives
and restore them to human form. |
Circe
|
Name Origin: In homer’s Odyssey the daughter of the sun god
Helios (Apollo). She lived
in the island of Aeaea, where by magic arts she transformed all who
became her guests into beasts. Od | |
