HMS Arrow was a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy that the Admiralty purchased in 1796. during the French Revolutionary Wars she participated in many actions, including one that resulted in her crew qualifying for the Naval General Service Medal.

Arrow and her sister ship Dart were "Two experimental vessels designed by Samuel Bentham, Esq., at that time inspector-general of his majesty's naval works.

They proved to be stiff vessels and swift sailers, but it was found necessary to add some dead wood to their bottoms, in order to make them stay better.

Not knowing exactly what characteristic designation to give the Arrow and Dart, we have merely named them: they must be considered, especially when their force is compared with that of the two or three classes next above them, as extraordinary vessels for sloops of war, but as such only they ranked.

[3][5] On 1 June 1797 Arrow captured two French merchant vessels, Jeune Albe and Sept Freres.

[8] Next, Arrow was among the many British vessels that shared in the capture, on 28 August, of the Dutch hulks Drotchterland and Brooderschap, and the ships Helder, Venus, Minerva, and Hector, in the New Diep.

[12] On 9 September Vice-Admiral Mitchell detached Arrow and Wolverine to attack a ship and a brig belonging to the Batavian Republic and anchored under the Vlie at the entrance to the Texel.

Arrow had to lighten ship and the following day they crossed over the Flack abreast of Wieringen and saw the enemy in the passage leading from Vlie Island towards Harlingen.

[14] In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasps "Arrow 13 Sept 1799" and "Wolverine 13 Sept. 1799" to any survivors of the two crews that claimed them.

Arrow was also involved in the wreck and attempted salvage of HMS Lutine, which sank on 9 October 1799 carrying a large cargo of gold.

On 25 July 1800 Nemesis was part of a squadron that also included Terpsichore, Prevoyante, Arrow, and the hired armed lugger Nile.

The squadron encountered the Danish frigate HDMS Freja, which was escorting a convoy of two ships, two brigs and two galliots.

[5] In February Arrow recaptured Betsey, of Montrose, which had been sailing from Riga to Shoreham when a French privateer had captured her.

He had to resort to sending one of his officers in a Customs House cutter into the Channel to impress seamen from vessels sailing there.

He had no sooner succeeded in assembling a crew than the Lords of the Admiralty drafted the majority of the men Vincent had gathered and put them into a troopship sailing for the West Indies.

[26] Arrow called in at Gibraltar, Malta, Sicily, Naples, Sardinia, Turkey, Corfu, Zante and the neighboring isles, Venice, Trieste, Fiume, and Smyrna, as well as many smaller places.

The wind was blowing too hard for Arrow to be able to stop and remonstrate with the fort's commander, but when she reached Constantinople Vincent complained to the British Minister, Alexander Stratton.

[26] On 3 June, Vincent sent in his boats under the command of Lieutenant Cuthbert Featherstone Daly to cut out the French privateer Actif from under the cliffs at Fano island, at the entrance to the Adriatic and belonging to the then neutral self-governing federation of the Septinsular Republic (Heptanesos or Seven Islands).

[28] This action led Lord Nelson to write a letter to Vincent, dated 28 July, on HMS Victory at sea.

[29] By late August it was clear that the Malta Yard could not repair the many defects in Arrow that had accumulated, particularly with respect to her water tanks, which were integral to her hull.

[32] At Malta, Vincent received instructions to take the merchant vessels gathered there to England, once some merchantmen arrived from Smyrna to join the convoy.

[f] Between 19 and 22 January, bad weather off the coast of Spain caused the convoy to separate into two parts, one with Arrow and the other with Acheron.

[32] The French frigates Hortense and Incorruptible were cruising off the coast of Algeria when on 1 February, they engaged a convoy, destroying seven ships.

When it became clear that the strange vessels were French frigates, Arrow threw off the tow to the brig Adventure, (which had been leaking and which the British destroyed to prevent her falling into enemy hands).

Also, the French were carrying a large number of troops who harassed the British with small arms fire whenever the vessels closed.

The court martial of Farquhar, his officers, and men, for the loss of their vessel took place on Royal Sovereign in Palma Bay, Sardinia.

Eventually, Admiral Lord Nelson was able to arrange a cartel brig to return the British prisoners to Gibraltar.

[32] The court martial of Vincent and his crew for the loss of Arrow convened on 17 June aboard Gladiator at Portsmouth.

At the request of Lloyd's, the Chairman of the association of Merchants Trading to South of Europe provided Vincent with the sum of £477 10s, and a proportionate amount to Farquhar, for them to procure clothing and necessities for their officers and crew, who had lost everything when they were captured and their vessels were destroyed.

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