On 29 August 1782, HMS Royal George sank. This sinking is remembered as one of the worst maritime miscalculations of all time.
Background
HMS Royal George was a first-rate ship that was completed in 1756 to see action in the Seven Years’ War. During the war, Royal George proved itself to be a valuable warship.
After the war ended in 1763, Royal George was docked for 14 years until it would be needed for the next war: The American Revolution.
Although the British primarily fought the American Revolution in North America, they also had trouble with France and Spain back in Europe at the same time. Thus, ships such as Royal George were held near Britain to hold off any attacks. British warships were also stationed in case of an attack on Gibraltar (which did come).
Resupply and Repair
On the day of the accident, Royal George had returned to Portsmouth to resupply. It received fresh troops and a crew, along with fresh supplies to aid in the ongoing war.
As the ship resupplied, most of its crew remained on board. Estimates claim that around 1,200 people were aboard Royal George as it sat in the port. Among these people included 200-300 visiting relatives of the crew, 60 children, and 100-200 prostitutes soliciting to the crew.
Royal George also needed a few repairs before it could set sail again. Though the ship was full of passengers, the crew decided to begin repairs anyway.
Work was needed to be done on the ship’s hull, therefore it would need to be heeled. This required intentionally upsetting the ship’s center of gravity to bring one side of the hull out of the water. The crew began by rolling the starboard cannons toward the center of the ship.
The Accident
But there was one problem: the crew had failed to account for several casks of rum that had been loaded onto the port side, which was now very low. The additional weight was too much and Royal George rolled over too far.
As the ship continued to roll farther and farther, it’s carpenter informed the lieutenant of the watch, Monin Hollingberry, that the ship was going too far. The carpenter insisted that Hollingberry needed to sound the drums to halt the repairs. Hollingberry ignored the carpenter’s request, twice.
The carpenter then rushed over to the ship’s captain, Martin Waghorn, who had been aboard Royal George. The carpenter warned Waghorn of the impending danger. This time, Waghorn listened, and ordered the cannons to be moved back to starboard. However, it was already too late.
Royal George took on water at tremendous speed, and sank before most of the crew could realize what was going on. Any onlookers from the land would have missed the sinking if they had glanced away for even a minute or two. Several spectators ashore were astonished at how fast the ship sank, which had soon after hit the seabed.
Of the 1,200 people aboard, 900 perished with Royal George, including all but one of the children. Captain Waghorn and the carpenter managed to survive, as they had been standing on the top deck when the ship sank.
Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt had not been as lucky. He had been writing in his quarters below deck when the ship went under. The extreme rush of water made his door impossible to open, and he perished with the ship.
Conclusion
Many historians largely blame Hollingberry for this disaster, as a good lieutenant of the watch would have been alert enough to see the signs of danger and sound the drums.
During the court trial that took place following the sinking, the judge ultimately acquitted the officers, most of whom had perished. The judge claimed that Royal George was already in a “general state of decay of her timbers”. A memorial was soon after set up nearby the port in remembrance of this maritime disaster.
The sinking of Royal George was considered to be the worst maritime disaster in history until the sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912. It is still remembered as a tragic story of how a single miscalculation led to the death of 900 people. Britain had also lost one of its greatest warships, at a time when it needed ships the most for the ongoing war.
