View source for Wolfe-class ship of the line

{{Short description|Ship of the line class of the Royal Navy}}
{{good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image=Canada (cancelled 1832); Wolfe (cancelled 1831) RMG.ZAZ0138.jpg
| Ship caption=1815 lines of ''Wolfe'' and ''Canada''
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
| Name=''Wolfe''-class ship of the line
| Builders=[[Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard]]
| Operators={{navy|United Kingdom}}
| Class before=[[HMS St Lawrence (1814)|HMS ''St Lawrence'']]
| Class after=
| Cost=
| Built range = 1814–1815
| In service range = 
| In commission range= 
| Total ships planned= 2
| Total ships completed= 
| Total ships cancelled= 2
| Total ships retired=
| Total ships preserved=
| Total ships lost= 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header =
| Header caption =
|Ship type= [[First-rate]] [[ship of the line]]
|Ship tons burthen=2,152 {{small|{{Fraction|40|94}}}} ([[Builder's Old Measurement|bm]])
|Ship length=*{{convert|191|ft|3|in|m|1|abbr=on}} ([[gundeck]])
* {{convert|157|ft|7+5/8|in|m|1|abbr=on}} ([[keel#structural keels|keel]])
|Ship beam={{convert|50|ft|8|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|18|ft|4|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship propulsion= Sails
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship speed=
|Ship range=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=
|Ship armament=
* 36 × 32-pounder long guns
* 76 × [[24-pounder long gun]]s
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''''Wolfe''-class ship of the line''' was a 112-gun [[first-rate]] [[ship of the line]] class of two ships of the [[Royal Navy]]. The class was ordered during the [[arms race]] on the [[Great Lakes]] during the [[War of 1812]] between Britain and America. Built at [[Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard]], the ships were similar in design to their predecessor on [[Lake Ontario]], the 102-gun [[HMS St Lawrence (1814)|HMS ''St Lawrence'']], but also included a [[quarterdeck]] or [[poopdeck]]. The two ships of the class, ''Wolfe'' and ''Canada'', were [[keel laying|laid down]] towards the end of 1814 but had not been completed when the war ended in the following year. Construction was suspended and the ship [[Frame (nautical)|frames]] were left at the dockyard until 1831 and 1832 respectively when they were cancelled.

==Background and design==
Throughout the [[War of 1812]] America and Britain fought for control of the strategically important [[Great Lakes]].{{refn|The lakes had originally been patrolled by the [[Provincial Marine]], but after its poor performance against the initial [[United States Navy]] invasion it had been replaced on the lakes by a [[Royal Navy]] detachment from the [[North America Station]].{{sfnp|Gardiner|1999|p=88}}|group=Note}} As both sides looked to defeat the other an [[arms race]] took place in the construction of warships. This escalated quickly, increasing from 20-gun [[corvette]]s like [[HMS Wolfe (1813)|HMS ''Montreal'']] to 56-gun [[frigate]]s like [[HMS Psyche (1814)|HMS ''Psyche'']].{{sfnp|Gardiner|1999|pp=88–90}} Early vessels on the Great Lakes had been built very shallowly to avoid the numerous [[shoal]]s and [[Bar (river morphology)|bars]], but this negatively affected their sailing characteristics. The new warships built by the [[Royal Navy]] prioritised speed and firepower instead and so were deeper than their forebears, although still shallower than conventional sea-going ships of their types.{{sfnp|Gardiner|1999|p=89}}{{sfnp|Malcolmson|2001|p=112}}

The Royal Navy warships built on the Great Lakes during the war were necessarily adapted in their designs for service in the unique location, but embraced modern design features that the Royal Navy had developed for its sea-going fleet as well. They used the newly fashionable flat [[sheer (ship)|sheers]] and wall sides in their designs, and were [[flush deck]]ed with minimal [[quarter gallery|stern gallerys]].{{sfnp|Gardiner|1999|p=89}}

The arms race continued, and culminated in the construction of [[three-decker|three-decked]] [[first-rate]] [[ships of the line]] for service on [[Lake Ontario]]. The first of these was the 102-gun ship of the line [[HMS St Lawrence (1814)|HMS ''St Lawrence'']], designed by [[shipwright]] William Bell at [[Amherstburg Royal Naval Dockyard]].{{sfnp|Malcolmson|2001|pp=110–112}} ''St Lawrence'', while designated as a normal ship of her type, was highly dissimilar to the extant British first rates. Being planned for service in a [[freshwater]] lake, the design of ''St Lawrence'' did not include the large amount of storage space other ships required for drinking supplies. This resulted in ''St Lawrence'' being smaller and more shallow in [[draft (hull)|draught]] than other first rates, although she still incorporated the sharp and somewhat deep [[hull (ship)|hull]] that Great Lakes warships had switched to for the increase in speed. The ship also had an unusually rounded [[bow (ship)|bow]], and was more similar in outline to a [[spar-deck]]ed frigate than a ship of the line.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Gardiner|1999|p=89}}

Despite much controversy over the design, ''St Lawrence'' was completed in October 1814.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Gardiner|1999|p=89}} As soon as she was ready for sea the ship tilted the balance of power on Lake Ontario towards the British to such a degree that the American [[squadron (naval)|squadron]] ended its operations on the lake and anchored at [[Sackets Harbor, New York|Sackets]] where it stayed for the rest of the war, only performing minor patrols with its smaller warships.{{sfnp|Malcolmson|1998|pp=308–309}}{{sfnp|Bamford|2007|p=91}}

The arms race on the Great Lakes continued after the construction of ''St Lawrence'', and the American shipyards began a first rate construction program of their own. Two 120-gun ships of the line, [[USS New Orleans (1815)|USS ''New Orleans'']] and [[USS Chippewa (1814)|USS ''Chippewa'']], were begun, and the British in turn ordered two more ships of the size of ''St Lawrence'' to be built later in 1814.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Gardiner|1999|p=89}}{{sfnp|Bamford|2007|p=127}} The new British ships were designed by Thomas Strickland, a shipwright who had been sent from England to assist in the first rate program.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Malcolmson|2001|p=113}} His design was in most characteristics similar to ''St Lawrence''. Unlike the former ship which was flush decked, the two new first rates had a [[quarterdeck]], or [[poopdeck]], included in their design so that a [[flag officer]] could be accommodated on board.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Gardiner|1999|p=89}} The two ships were named ''Wolfe'' and ''Canada'', with the former being the name ship of the class.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}

==Construction and armament==
''Wolfe'' and ''Canada'' were both ordered in 1814 to be built at [[Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard]], and [[keel laying|laid down]] in the same year after the end of the sailing season. They were also known respectively as ''Ship No. 1'' and ''Ship No. 2''.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Malcolmson|1997|p=426}} Great Lakes ships were mostly built without the use of proper [[Knee (construction)|ships knees]] because of a lack of suitable [[timber]], but alternative methods had been developed in other [[Royal Dockyard]]s and taken up at Kingston.{{sfnp|Gardiner|1999|p=89}} While the majority of warships were built with [[oak]], the timber shortage meant that the kits of wood brought together for the construction of the ''Wolfe''-class ships were both [[fir]].{{sfnp|Bamford|2007|p=133}} The ships were constructed to the following dimensions: {{convert|191|ft|3|in|m|1}} along the [[gun deck]], {{convert|157|ft|7+5/8|in|m|0}} at the [[keel#structural keels|keel]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|50|ft|8|in|m|1}} and a depth in the [[Hold (compartment)|hold]] of {{convert|18|ft|4|in|m|1}}. They were to measure 2,152 {{small|{{Fraction|40|94}}}} [[tons burthen]]. The crew complement is not recorded; ''St Lawrence'' had one of 700.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}

The ''Wolfe''-class ships were laid down to hold 112 [[long guns]]. While the exact distribution of these guns throughout the ships and their [[deck (ship)|decks]] is not recorded, thirty-six of them were to be 32-pounder long guns and seventy-six of them [[24-pounder long gun]]s.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}} Both ships were built with 104 [[gun port]]s.{{sfnp|Malcolmson|1998|p=327}} Naval historian Don Bamford records that the ships were in fact planned to hold 120 guns, similar to ''New Orleans'' and ''Chippewa''.{{sfnp|Bamford|2007|p=159}}

==Cancellation==
[[File:Commodore's House in the Naval Yard, Kingston, Upper Canada, July 1815.jpg|[[Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard]], 1815, by [[Emeric Essex Vidal]]. The incomplete hulls of ''Wolfe'' and ''Canada'' are visible in the middle background|thumb]]
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Ship name
!Builder
!Ordered
!Laid down
!Suspended
!Cancelled
!Fate
!Ref.
|-
|''Wolfe''
|rowspan=2|[[Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard]]
|rowspan=2|1814
|rowspan=2|1814
|rowspan=2|1815
|1831
|Destroyed by storm 31 July 1832
|rowspan=2|{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}
|-
|''Canada''
|1832
|[[Ship breaking|Broken up]] 
|}
When the War of 1812 ended in February 1815 the arms race on the Great Lakes abruptly stopped and the need for more ships was removed.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Malcolmson|2001|p=113}} The two ''Wolfe''-class ships were not finished, but their wooden [[Frame (nautical)|frames]] had been completed. The Royal Navy commander on Lake Ontario, [[commodore (Royal Navy)|Commodore]] [[James Lucas Yeo|Sir James Yeo]], cancelled several ongoing shipbuilding projects in around late February, but ordered that work on ''Wolfe'' and ''Canada'' be continued.{{sfnp|Malcolmson|1998|p=312}}{{sfnp|Malcolmson|1998|p=319}} Construction was suspended rather than cancelled in March, and the shipbuilding facilities at the dockyard were reduced.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Malcolmson|2001|p=113}}{{sfnp|Houghton|2017|p=20}} Had the war continued into 1816 all five first rates constructed on the Great Lakes would have been completed, leading to what historian [[Donald R. Hickey]] describes as "five of the most powerful warships in the world...concentrated within thirty-five miles of each other...on an inland lake with no access to the sea".{{sfnp|Hickey|2012|p=195}}

In 1817 the [[Rush–Bagot Treaty|Rush-Bagot Agreement]] was signed, severely limiting the number of warships the two sides could keep on the lakes, with only one each allowed on Lake Ontario.{{sfnp|Bamford|2007|p=128}} The various naval facilities on the lakes became at most [[supply depot]]s. This left the Royal Navy's part-built warships in [[ship graveyard]]s.{{sfnp|Malcolmson|2001|p=113}} The frames of ''Wolfe'' and ''Canada'' were left on the [[stocks (shipyard)|stocks]] at Kingston for another fifteen years and never completed.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Malcolmson|2001|p=113}}{{sfnp|Bamford|2007|p=92}} In the 1830s the dockyard began to be dispersed with. ''Wolfe'' was officially cancelled in 1831 and ''Canada'' followed her in 1832. The frame of ''Wolfe'' was then destroyed in a storm on 31 July, and ''Canada'' was [[ship breaking|broken up]] on the stocks.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=30}}{{sfnp|Malcolmson|2001|p=113}}

==Notes and citations==
===Notes===
{{reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Bamford|first=Don|year=2007|title=Freshwater Heritage: A History of Sail on the Great Lakes, 1670–1918|location=Toronto|publisher=National Heritage Books|isbn=978-1-897045-206}}
* {{cite book |last=Gardiner|first=Robert|year=1999|title=Warships of the Napoleonic Era|location=London|publisher=Chatham|isbn=1-86176-117-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Hickey |first=Donald R. |author-link=Donald R. Hickey |date=2012 |title=The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict |location=Urbana, Illinois |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |isbn=978-0-252-07837-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Houghton|first=John|year=2017|title=The Navies of the World 1835–1840|location=Melbourne|publisher=Inkifingus|isbn=978-0-646-57760-9}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Malcolmson |first1=Robert |date=1997 |title=HMS St Lawrence: The Freshwater First-Rate |url= |journal=The International Quarterly Journal of the Society for Nautical Research |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=419–433 |doi=10.1080/00253359.1997.10656663 |access-date=}}
* {{cite book |last=Malcolmson|first=Robert|year=1998|title=Lords of the Lake: The Naval War on Lake Ontario, 1812–1814|location=London|publisher=Chatham|isbn=1-86176-112-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Malcolmson|first=Robert|chapter=Part II: War on the Great Lakes|title=The Naval War of 1812|editor=Robert Gardiner|year=2001|location=London|publisher=Caxton Editions|isbn=1-84067-3605}}
* {{cite book |last=Winfield |first=Rif|title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ge8kCwAAQBAJ|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|publisher=Seaforth|year=2008|isbn=978-1-78346-926-0}}
{{refend}}

[[Category:Ships of the line of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ship classes of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Great Lakes ships]]