Guest - That's new to me about frigates being 'armed almost exclusively with carronades'. This was true of many sloops (unrated vessels of fewer than 20 guns), but frigates retained their long gun armament (usually 12 or 18-pdrs), supplemented by carronades on the forecastle and quarterdeck, and often a pair of long guns on the forecastle as bowchasers. The American carronade-armed Essex came to a sticky end because she was armed on the gun deck with carronades.

The 38 gun RN frigates were armed with 18-pdrs and could not really compete with the larger 44 gun American frigates with 24-pdrs, which is why the Royal Navy rapidly built similar vessels (of pitch pine) and cut down three smaller third rates to make them into big frigates. Magestic, involved in the capture of USS President was one such. Endymion was a (built as) fourth rate frigate with 24pdrs, usually rated as a 44, and a 1795 copy of the French Pomone taken the previous year.

Might I heartily recommend David Lyon's 'The Sailing Navy List - all the ships of the Royal Navy, built, purchased or captured 1688 - 1860' published by Conway Maritime Press in 1993 at 60 of our English Pounds. Actually I've just noticed that my copy was in a limited edition of 1000 copies, but hopefully there's another printing. Thie title says it all - full details of everything bigger than a ship's boat.

HuwG - pretty close on ratings:

Third rates had 60 to 84 guns, but 64s were becoming rate at this time.

Fourth rates were very confusing. They had 40 to 60 guns, usually on two decks, but the very large 44 to 50 gun frigates with 24pdrs (similar to the big American frigates) were fourth rates. 44 gun frigates armed with 18 pdrs were fifth rates.

Fifth rates were frigates with 32 to 44 guns and sixth rates were ships of 20 to 30 guns, but only 28s were frigates. Smaller ships were just 'sixth rates' or 'post ships'. The French term 'corvette' only came into use in the Royal Navy after this period.

I concur with EBarnacle about ratings. It was sometimes possible to appoint a Master and Commander to a 20 gun ship by simply reclassifying it as a sloop. It would still have its original armament (nobody was daft enough to reduce its fighting power). Just the same a 'post ship' of 20 guns could become a sloop of 18 guns just by calling it so. It was then a command for a post captain.

The system also shows how many more 98 gun second rates there were than 100 gun first rates. If you rated the ship as a first rate you had to have additional officers, and pay them all slightly more! You could save some money by having them as second rates! HMS Victory was at various times a first rate and a second rate. Boyne and Union were later ships (1801) built to the same design but often rated 98 gun second rates.

Sorry to go on a such length, but the Sailing Royal Navy has been a passion of mine for at least 40 years.

Les