H.M.S. St. Jean D'Acre in the Tagus at Lisbon

Named for the great Syrian coastal fortress assaulted and captured by the Royal Navy in 1840, H.M.S. St. Jean D'Acre was originally ordered as a pure sailing ship in 1844 but never begun and cancelled the following year. Re-ordered with auxiliary steam power in February 1851, she was laid down at Devonport that June and launched in March 1853 at a cost of £107,561. A large two-decker measured at 3,258 tons, she was 238 feet long with a 55½ foot beam and mounted 101 guns of varying calibre, notably 36-8in. muzzle-loaders on her lower deck. Fitted with 600nph. Penn engines, she achieved just over 11 knots on her trials and became a highly regarded ship throughout her career. Initially attached to the 'Western Squadron', she then enjoyed the rare distinction of serving with both the Baltic and Black Sea fleets in 1855 during the two quite separate phases of the Crimean War. Her final overseas posting was to the Mediterranean Fleet (1859-61) and this painting depicts her last call when homeward bound in February 1861 under Captain Thompson. Thereafter paid off and laid up in reserve, she was sold to Castle's shipbreakers in 1875.