Always fun when you can track down something like this!
Ardent was an interesting ship, originally laid down for the East India Company. The French conquest of Holland and the Dutch fleet necessitated a rapid expansion of the Royal Navy, which led in 1796 to the purchase of five East Indiamen under construction, including Ardent. These were the largest merchant ships of the period, and even in that role fairly well armed, often comparable to a naval frigate. Their design was similar to a ship of the line, including two levels of cabins and quarter galleries aft, offering accommodations for prestigious passengers in addition to the ship's captain. As designed only the main deck was armed, what would be the upper gun deck in a ship of the line, carrying in this case 28 18-pounders; there were also lighter guns on forecastle and quarterdeck. The next deck down, near the waterline, was used for accommodations or cargo; it was sometimes called the berth deck and also, a bit confusingly, the gun deck, although by the late 1700s most ships no longer carried guns there*. At any rate, Ardent and her sisters were large enough that this deck was high enough above water to be pierced for guns in her naval role, 28 24-pounders. Eight 9-pounders on the upper decks completed her battery of 64. She was a bit longer than a standard naval 64 which carried 26 guns per deck plus twelve 9-pounders.
* this was where the six 18-pounders were added to John Paul Jones' Bonhomme Richard, another East Indiaman though of French origin.
The previous year the RN had purchased nine other East Indiamen, slightly smaller, so that the lower deck could not be used for guns, so the navy resorted to other means to increase their armament, connecting forecastle and quarterdeck to form a full-length upper deck. For stability reasons this deck carried 32-pounder carronades, shorter, lighter weapons, 26-28 of them for a total of 54-56 guns. One of them, HMS Glatton, had an unusual all-carronade armament, 68-pounders on the lower deck and 42s on the upper.
The converted ships were not considered equal to real ships of the line (most of which were 74s or larger by this time) so they were often employed against the Dutch or the Baltic nations who tended to use smaller ships than the French. Ardent fought at both Camperdown and Copenhagen, where Glatton was also present, commanded by William Bligh of Bounty fame (Bligh was also at Camperdown but commanding HMS Director, 64).
Nelson was unhappy he didn't get to be there - but he'd just gotten his arm shot off - but he was sure pleased with it!
Bringing the