Powerful was launched on 3 April 1783 at
Blackwall Yard,
London, In 1785, her crew included John Lyddiard, an American
prisoner of war forcibly enlisted into the Royal Navy in 1778, during the
American Revolutionary War. In July 1785, Lyddiard wrote to the United States ambassador to Britain,
John Adams, to secure his release. In response to an appeal by Adams, the British government ordered Lyddiard's release. After a period of time "in ordinary" and a refit at Plymouth
Powerful was recommissioned in 1790. However, prize money was later awarded to the crew of
Powerful for two ships; the French East Indiaman
Countess of Trauttmansdorff captured on 1 August 1793, and for the British ship
George of Liverpool, recaptured on 28 January 1794. Captain
William O'Bryen Drury assumed command of
Powerful in August 1795, She was also one of several ships of the fleet that received prize money for the capture of the French privateer
Franklyn on 1 November 1796. 1797, by Nicholas Pocock On 11 October 1797
Powerful took part in Duncan's defeat of a Dutch fleet in the
Battle of Camperdown. As the second ship in Vice Admiral
Richard Onslow's leeward division she followed in breaking the enemy line and was heavily engaged thereafter. In the aftermath of the battle she reported 88 casualties; eight seamen and two marines killed, and four officers and 74 seamen and marines wounded. She later received her share of the £120,000 in prize money awarded for the captured enemy ships. In 1798
Powerful joined a squadron in the Mediterranean under Admiral
Earl St. Vincent, and was mainly employed in operations off
Cádiz, being awarded her share of prize money for the capture by the squadron of numerous prizes between February and October 1798. From 1800
Powerful, under the command of Captain Sir
Francis Laforey, served in the Baltic, Mediterranean, and the West Indies up until the
Peace of Amiens. She received her shares of prize money as part of a squadron in the Baltic commanded by Vice Admiral
Charles Pole that captured the
Mary on 8 September 1801, and the
Exporteur and
Wussa Orden on 17 September 1801. Captain
Robert Plampin assumed command of her in August 1805.
Head money was paid for
Henriette in January 1814. In the
action of 9 July 1806, disguised as an
East Indiaman, and together with the sloop
Rattlesnake, she captured the French privateer
Bellone, which had been a serious threat to British trade.
Powerful also took part in Pellew's
raid on Batavia of 27 November 1806, and the subsequent
raid on Griessie in early December 1807, which effectively eliminated Dutch naval forces in the Pacific. The following year
Powerful returned to England under the command of Captain Charles James Johnston, where despite her poor material condition she was pressed into service during the
Walcheren Campaign.
Powerful was finally paid off at Chatham in October 1809. ==Fate==