The colonial despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871
HMS Fisgard, 1819-1879
HMS Fisgard was a 46-gun frigate-class vessel, launched from Pembroke Dockyards, England, on
July 8, 1819.1 It was dismantled in the late 1870s, having sailed for over 60 years.2 In 1843 Captain John Alexander Duntze took the bridge and sailed it to the northwest
Pacific shores.3
According to a despatch sent by the officers in charge of Fort Victoria, the Fisgard anchored in the waters before the Fort in May of 1846, with orders to remain on the
coast until relieved. This imposing multi-gun vessel contributed to a growing British
military presence on the coast at the time.