AH-WR-1462

HMS Bermuda

Sloop-Of-War · United Kingdom · Lost 1808 · The Bahamas

A Royal Navy sloop built of Bermuda cedar that wrecked on Memory Rock while chasing a prize ship across the Little Bahama Bank in 1808.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Interpretive Reconstruction, drawn to convey the vessel's era, type and general form. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

HMS Bermuda, lead ship of her class and built of Bermuda cedar, was commissioned in October 1805 for service on the North America and West Indies stations. On the night of 22 April 1808 she struck a reef at Memory Rock on the Little Bahama Bank while searching for a Portuguese vessel reported to be carrying a valuable cargo. Her crew went on to capture that ship, Conceicao, the next morning, but Bermuda herself could not be freed and was salvaged and abandoned over the following weeks. A court martial blamed the loss on an unusually strong current.

Vessel

Built: 1805
Builder: Not established
Yard: Bermuda
Material: Wood
Length: 107 ft
Beam: 30 ft
Tonnage: 399
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Royal Navy

Loss

Date: April 22, 1808
Cause: Grounding
Location: Memory Rock, Little Bahama Bank, Bahamas
Water: Little Bahama Bank, Bahamas
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Commander William Henry Byam

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: Not established
Accuracy: Position not established
Nearest: Memory Rock, Little Bahama Bank
Region: The Bahamas

Memory Rock is a named hazard on the Little Bahama Bank, but a verified wreck position is not established in the sources reviewed.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)

The precise wreck position and present condition of the site are not established in the sources reviewed.

Rif Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817
Build, class, dimensions, and armament.
John Marshall, Royal Naval Biography (1828)
Command history and narrative of the loss and the capture of Conceicao.
David Hepper, British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail 1650-1859
Date, location, and court martial finding on the cause of loss.