HMS Amazon was a 38-gun fifth-rate Amazon-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under several notable naval commanders and played a key role in the Battle of Copenhagen under Edward Riou, who commanded the frigate squadron during the attack. After Riou was killed during the battle, command briefly devolved to John Quilliam. Quilliam made a significant impression on Horatio Nelson, who appointed Quilliam to serve on the flagship HMS Victory. Amazon passed to William Parker, who continued the association with Nelson with service in the Mediterranean and participation in the chase to the West Indies during the Trafalgar Campaign. Amazon went on to join Sir John Borlase Warren's squadron in the Atlantic and took part in the defeat of Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois's forces at the action of 13 March 1806. During the battle, she hunted down and captured the 40-gun frigate Belle Poule.
His Majesty's frigate Amazon, arriving off Dover, by Thomas Luny
Design of Amazon and Hussar
1801 engraving of Amazon's first commander Edward Riou
Amazon at Copenhagen, 1801
Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
The Battle of Copenhagen of 1801, also known as the First Battle of Copenhagen to distinguish it from the Second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807, was a naval battle in which a British fleet fought and defeated a smaller force of the Dano-Norwegian Navy anchored near Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. The battle came about over British fears that the powerful Danish fleet would ally with France, and a breakdown in diplomatic communications on both sides.
Battle of Copenhagen by Nicholas Pocock
Where the Battle of Copenhagen harbour occurred in 1801, and where Roskildefjord is located. It could have been hazardous for the Royal Navy to sail into the fjord, which is very narrow
Sketch of the battle
The Battle of Copenhagen. Painting by Christian Mølsted. (view from a floating battery)