HMS Cornwallis was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 May 1813 at Bombay. She was built of teak. The capture of Java by USS Constitution delayed the completion of Cornwallis as Java had been bringing her copper sheathing from England. On 27 April 1815, Cornwallis engaged the American sloop USS Hornet, which had mistaken the Cornwallis for a merchant ship. Heavily outgunned, the Hornet was forced to throw boats, guns and other equipment overboard in order to escape.