HMS Leda, launched in 1800, was the lead ship of a successful class of forty-seven British Royal Navy 38-gun sailing frigates.

Leda was wrecked at the mouth of Milford Haven in 1808, Captain Honeyman was exonerated of all blame, as it was a pilot error.

[2] On 12 March 1801, Leda recaptured the slave ship Bolton,[3] Captain Watson, a 20-gun letter of marque that had sailed from Demerara for Liverpool some six weeks previously in company with Union and Dart.

These two vessels were also slave ships and letters of marque, all carrying valuable cargoes of sugar, coffee, indigo and cotton.

Next, Bolton had the misfortune to meet the French privateer Gironde, which was armed with 26 guns and had a crew of 260 men.

Gironde captured Bolton in an hour-long fight that killed two passengers and wounded Watson and five men.

Cæsar had been sailing from Bristol to Lisbon with a cargo of sundries when the French privateer Laura had captured her.

[6] Because Leda served in the navy's Egyptian campaign (8 March to 8 September 1801), her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty issued in 1847 to all surviving claimants.

When the war with France recommenced, Honeyman was put in charge of a small squadron of gun-brigs off Boulogne.

[8][a] Five days after that, Leda, Amelia, Raisonable and Gelikheid were in company at the capture of the Dutch ship Twee Vrienden.

After two and a half hours of cannonading, Admiral Mitchell succeeded in driving one sloop and the brig, which was armed with twelve 32-pounder guns, on the rocks.

Admiral Mitchell had one gun dismounted, suffered damage to her mast and rigging, and had five men wounded, two seriously.

[13] At the end of July 1804, a boarding party under Lieutenant M'Lean took Leda's boats to mount an unsuccessful attack on a French gunvessel in Boulogne Roads.

Honyman immediately ordered Fury, Harpy, Railleur, Bruiser, Gallant, Archer, Locust, Tickler, Watchful, Monkey, Firm, and Starling to intercept.

After a fight of about two hours, Starling and Locust had captured seven armed schuyts in an action within pistol-shot of the shore batteries on Cap Gris Nez.

At 3:30 a.m. on 1 November, near Rocas Atoll at 3°51′27″N 33°48′57″W / 3.85750°N 33.81583°W / 3.85750; -33.81583, Leda sighted breakers and fired a gun, the signal to tack, herself barely missing the danger.

[17] The British fleet, including Leda, arrived in Table Bay on 5 January 1806 and anchored off Robben Island.

At eight o'clock on the morning of 4 December, some 4 leagues (19 km) off Cap de Caux, Leda sighted a privateer lugger making for the French coast, as well as a brig that appeared to be her prize.

After six hours Leda succeeded in capturing the lugger, which turned out to be the brand new vessel Adolphe, under the command of Nicholas Famenter.

[29] A court martial held on board HMS Salvador del Mundo in the Hamoaze acquitted Honeyman and his crew of all blame.