French brig Voltigeur (1804)

Last updated

Voltigeur
Pelican (captured 1806) RMG J4447.jpg
Pelican (captured 1806)
History
Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg France
NameVoltigeur
Ordered18 April 1804 (contract)
BuilderDanet (Antwerp)
Laid downJune 1803
Launched7 September 1804
Completed24 September 1804
Captured26 March 1806
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svgUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Pelican
Acquired26 March 1806 by capture
FateSold 16 April 1812
General characteristics [1] [2]
Class and type Palinure-class brig
Displacement280 tons (French)
Tons burthen3284⁄94 (bm)
Length
  • 95 ft 9 in (29.2 m) (overall);
  • 76 ft 4+1⁄2 in (23.3 m) (keel)
Beam28 ft 5 in (8.7 m)
Depth of hold8 ft 1+1⁄2 in (2.5 m)
Sail planBrig
Complement
  • French service:120
  • British service:121
Armament
  • French service: 16 × 6-pounder guns
  • Later: 14 × 24-pounder carronades + 2 × bow chasers (6 or 8-pounder)
  • British service: 14 × 32-pounder carronades + 2 × 6-pounder [bow chasers

The French brig Voltigeur was a Palinure-class brig launched in 1804. The British captured her in 1806 and renamed her HMS Pelican. She was sold in 1812.

Contents

Capture

In late 1805, the sister ships Phaeton and Voltigeur, both armed with 16 guns and having crews of 120 men and 115 men, were under the command of Lieutenants de vaisseau Louis-Henri Saulces de Freycinet and Jacques Saint-Cricq. They cruised the coasts of Schleswig-Holstein before they set sail for Santo Domingo. On 24 March, a little south-east of Puerto Rico, they encountered Reindeer and exchanged fire for about four hours before nightfall ended the encounter. [3] During that engagement the French vessels had suffered damage and possibly casualties. They then sailed towards Curacoa. )

Two days later, on 27 March 1806, Pique, under the command of Captain Charles B.H. Ross, was sailing from Santo Domingo to Curacoa when she encountered two French navy brigs. At 1pm, Pique began firing at long range, and by 2pm had caught up with them. After an intensive cannonade that lasted some 20 minutes, Pique was able to send a boarding party aboard one of the two French vessels. A terrible struggle ensued before the French vessel struck. The French crew had concealed themselves under sails and in the wreckage, emerging once the boarding party arrived and subjecting it to a devastating fusillade that killed or wounded most of the boarding party. Ross then sent over more men, before returning to the chase of the second brig. [4] After the exchange of several more broadsides, the second French vessel struck. [3] The two French brigs were Phaeton and Voltigeur.

Pique had one man wounded during the chase, and nine men killed and 13 wounded during the boarding of Phaeton. Ross estimated that the French vessels had lost half their crews dead and wounded. [3] Later reports suggested that although French casualties on Phaeton had been heavy, those on Voltigeur were slight.

The British took Phaeton into service as Mignonne, and Voltigeur as Pelican. [1] [lower-alpha 1] In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Pique 26 March 1806" to all surviving claimants from the action. [5]

British service

The British commissioned Pelican under Commander William Ward. [1] She then sailed to Portsmouth.

Pelican participated in the capture of Copenhagen. [lower-alpha 2] Before the battle, on 19 August, Pelican captured the Danish merchant vessel Christian Tonder. [7] Then after the battle, on 10 September, Pelican was in company with Defence and Comus at the capture of the Danish merchant vessel Fredeus Forsward. [8] Pelican and Comus were together on 29 September, with Defence in sight, at the capture of the Danish merchant vessel Elizabeth Vonder Pahlen. [9] The same three British warships were together on 2 October at the capture of the Danish vessel Anna Catharina. [10] Lastly, on 4 November Pelican captured the Danish brig Charlotta Amelia. [11]

On 26 October 1807, Tsar Alexander I of Russia declared war on Great Britain. The official news did not arrive there until 2 December, at which time the British declared an embargo on all Russian vessels in British ports. Pelican was one of some 70 vessels that shared in the seizure of the 44-gun Russian frigate Speshnoy (Speshnyy), then in Portsmouth harbour. The British seized the Russian storeship Wilhelmina (Vilghemina) at the same time. [12] The Russian vessels were carrying the payroll for Vice-Admiral Dmitry Senyavin’s squadron in the Mediterranean. [13] [lower-alpha 3] Between 20 March and 13 June 1807 Pelican was in Portsmouth, undergoing refitting. [1]

Pelican then returned to the West Indies where on 29 March 1808 Cerberus, in company with Lilly, Pelican, Express, Swinger and Mosambique, sailed from Marie-Galante to attack the island of La Désirade. They arrived on 30 March and sent in a landing party of seamen and marines from the vessels of the squadron, all under the overall command of Captain Sherriff of Lily. As the boats approached they exchanged fire with a battery of 9-pounder guns covering the entrance to the harbour. The ships' guns silenced the battery and the French surrendered. [15]

In June 1808 Commander Isaac Morrison replaced Ward. In December Commander Edward A’Court replaced Morrison. [1] On 9 December 1809, Redpole was some nine leagues from Beachy Head when she sighted two luggers. She gave chase and after a fight captured one. While this was going on Pelican came on the scene and chased the second lugger, but without success. The captured lugger was the Grand Rodeur, four days out of Dieppe. She was armed with 16 guns and had a crew of 80. [16]

In 1809 Pelican was in the western hemisphere, where she detained the President, Burgeis, master, which was sailing from Boston to Cuba. [17]

Fate

Pelican was paid off in 1810. She was put up for sale on 27 November 1811, [18] and sold at Deptford on 16 March 1812. [1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Some subsequent reports state that Phaeton became Mignonne, which is correct, and that Voltigeur became Musette, which is incorrect. [4]
  2. ↑ An able seaman received £3 8s 0d in prize money. [6]
  3. ↑ An able seaman on any one of the 70 British vessels received 14s 7½d in prize money. [14]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Winfield (2008), p. 317.
  2. ↑ Winfield & Roberts (2015), p. 215.
  3. 1 2 3 "No. 15927". The London Gazette . 10 June 1806. p. 731.
  4. 1 2 James (1837), Vol. 4, pp. 226-7.
  5. ↑ "No. 20939". The London Gazette . 26 January 1849. p. 241.
  6. ↑ "No. 16275". The London Gazette . 11 July 1809. p. 1103.
  7. ↑ "No. 16498". The London Gazette . 22 June 1811. p. 1158.
  8. ↑ "No. 16512". The London Gazette . 10 August 1811. p. 1576.
  9. ↑ "No. 16540". The London Gazette . 12 November 1811. p. 2200.
  10. ↑ "No. 16511". The London Gazette . 6 August 1811. p. 1555.
  11. ↑ "No. 16255". The London Gazette . 9 May 1809. p. 665.
  12. ↑ "No. 16276". The London Gazette . 15 July 1809. p. 1129.
  13. ↑ Tredrea & Sozaev (2010), pp. 198 & 391.
  14. ↑ "No. 16195". The London Gazette . 25 October 1808. p. 1460.
  15. ↑ "No. 16144". The London Gazette . 10 May 1808. p. 661.
  16. ↑ "No. 16323". The London Gazette . 9 December 1809. pp. 1973–1974.
  17. ↑ Lloyd's List 31 March 1809, №434.
  18. ↑ "No. 16539". The London Gazette . 9 November 1811. p. 2169.

Related Research Articles

HMS <i>Pomone</i> (1805) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Pomone was a 38-gun Leda-class fifth rate of the Royal Navy launched in 1805. She saw action during the Napoleonic Wars, primarily in the Mediterranean while under the command of Captain Robert Barrie. She was wrecked off The Needles, part of the Isle of Wight, in 1811. The wreck is a Protected Wreck managed by Historic England.

HMS <i>Reindeer</i> (1804) Brig-sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Reindeer was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Samuel & Daniel Brent at Rotherhithe and was launched in 1804. She was built of fir, which made for more rapid construction at the expense of durability. Reindeer fought in the Napoleonic Wars before succumbing in 1814 to the guns of USS Wasp during the War of 1812.

HMS Druid was a 32-gun Hermione-class fifth-rate frigate of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1783 at Bristol. She served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, capturing numerous small prizes. One of her commanders, Captain Philip Broke, described Druid as a "point of honour ship", i.e., a ship too large to run but too small to fight. He and his biographer's view was that it was a disgrace to use a ship like her as a warship. She was broken up in 1813, after a thirty-year career.

HMS Bold was a 14-gun Archer-class gun-brig of the Royal Navy built at Blackwall Yard. She took part in several minor actions and captured some prizes before she grounded in 1811 and was broken up shortly thereafter.

HMS <i>Persian</i> (1809) Brig-sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Persian was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by Daniel List and launched at Cowes in 1809. She captured two privateers before she wrecked in 1813.

HMS Nemesis was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The French captured her in 1795 at Smyrna, but in 1796 a squadron led by Barfleur brought her out of the neutral port of Tunis. Throughout her career she served under a number of commanders who would go on to have distinguished careers. She was converted to a troopship in 1812 and was sold in 1814.

HMS Comus was a 22-gun Laurel-class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1806. In 1807 she took part in one notable single-ship action and was at the capture of Copenhagen. In 1815 she spent six months with the West Africa Squadron suppressing the slave trade during which time she captured ten slavers and freed 500-1,000 slaves. She was wrecked in 1816 with no loss of life.

HMS Linnet was originally His Majesty’s revenue cutter Speedwell, launched in 1797, that the Royal Navy purchased in 1806. Linnet captured a number of privateers before the French frigate Gloire captured her in 1813. The French sold or transferred her to the Americans, who operated her as the privateer Bunkers Hill. In March 1814 the British recaptured her, but did not return her to service.

HMS Harrier was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop launched in 1804. She took part in several notable actions before she was lost in March 1809, presumed foundered.

The French brig Phaeton was a Palinure-class brig launched in 1804. The British captured her in 1806 and renamed her HMS Mignonne. In 1807 they renamed her HMS Musette. She was sold in 1814.

HMS Alphea was built of Bermudan pencil cedar as a cutter and launched in 1804. Later she was converted to a schooner. She captured a number of small prizes before September 1813 when she blew up in a single-ship action with the loss of her entire crew.

HMS <i>Orestes</i> (1805) Brig-sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Orestes was a 16-gun brig-sloop of the Seagull class of the British Royal Navy, launched in October 1805. She served during the Napoleonic Wars, primarily in the North Sea and the Channel, where she captured three privateers. The Navy sold her in 1817.

HMS Milbrook was one of six vessels built to an experimental design by Sir Samuel Bentham. After the Royal Navy took her into service in her decade-long career she took part in one notable single-ship action and captured several privateers and other vessels, all off the coast of Spain and Portugal. She was wrecked off the coast of Portugal in 1808.

HMS Pert was the French privateer Bonaparte, a ship built in the United States that HMS Cyane captured in November 1804. The Royal Navy took Bonaparte into service as HMS Pert. Pert was wrecked off the coast of what is now Venezuela in October 1807.

During the period of the Napoleonic Wars, the British Royal Navy twice employed a vessel named His Majesty's hired armed cutter Albion, though these are probably the same vessel:

HMS Earnest was launched at Leith in 1805 as one of 48 later Archer-class gun brigs for the British Royal Navy. During her naval career Earnest captured five small privateers and numerous merchant vessels. In 1816 the Admiralty sold her and she became the merchantman Earnest. She continued to sail and was last listed in 1850.

HMS <i>Monkey</i> (1801) Brig of the Royal Navy

HMS Monkey was launched in 1801 at Rochester. She served in the Channel, North Sea, and the Baltic, and was wrecked in December 1810.

HMS Growler was a Archer-class gun-brig built for the British Royal Navy and launched in 1804. She captured several French privateers and one Danish privateer, and took part in two actions that earned her crew the Naval General Service Medal (NGSM). She was sold in 1815.

HMS <i>Minerva</i> (1805) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Minerva was a 32-gun fifth-rate Thames-class frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1805 at Deptford. Her namesake was the Roman goddess Minerva.

HMS Conflict was launched in 1805. She captured a number of vessels, including privateers, and participated in several major actions. She disappeared in November 1810 with the loss of all her crew.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.