French corvette Diligente (1801)

Last updated
Diligente
Diligente img 3187.jpg
History
Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svgFrance
NameDiligente
Ordered5 December 1800 (to Ozanne's own account)
BuilderBrest
Laid down20 June 1800 (to Ozanne's own account)
Launched7 November 1801
Commissioned23 September 1801
Stricken11 October 1854
FateStruck off 1854
General characteristics
Class and type Diligente-class corvette
Length
  • Gundeck: 33.78 m (110 ft 10 in)
  • Keel:29.885 m (98 ft 0.6 in)
Beam8.45 m (27 ft 9 in)
Draught4.66 m (15 ft 3 in)
Complement114/141
Armament
ArmourTimber

Diligente was a 20-gun corvette of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Built at Brest on private plans by Pierre Ozanne, she was particularly fast. The French Navy adopted the design and copied the plans as late as 1848. Originally armed with 6-pounder guns, she was later rearmed with heavier carronades. She continued in service, off and on, until she was struck in 1854.

Contents

Service history

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

Diligente took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 in Leissègues' squadron, culminating in the Battle of San Domingo.

The frigates Comète, Félicité, and Diligente captured and burned the American vessel Lark, Moore, master, which was sailing from Philadelphia to Jamaica. [lower-alpha 1]

In August 1808 Diligente, captained by Commander Jean-François Lemaresquier, with the corvettes Sylphe and Espiègle, sailed from France with supplies for the island of Martinique. British ships chased the group through the Bay of Biscay and captured Sylphe and Espiègle. [3] Diligente escaped, only to encounter the British sloop Recruit, under Commander (later to be Admiral) Charles Napier, off Antigua. During a hard-fought action lasting three hours, Recruit's mainmast fell, putting her somewhat at Diligente's mercy. However, a lucky shot ignited Diligente's ammunition store, causing some damage. Diligente withdrew and later Lemaresquier justified his action on the grounds that other British naval vessels were approaching, which they were not, and the weight of Recruit's broadside, which was heavier. [4] [5]

On 3 October, Diligente sank the Mexican brig Juliana. Then on 12 November she returned to Lorient. Here she served from 1811 to 1812 as a school ship. On 12 March she was in the harbour at Brest. On 2 December 1812, she accidentally collided with Nestor in the Roads of Toulon. [6]

She may have cruised in the Channel as Derwent reported that on 20 December 1813 she had retaken and sent in the brig Racehorse, from Newfoundland for Teignmouth, that the French corvette Diligente had captured. In 1814 Diligente was paid off.

Bourbon Restoration

After the Bourbon Restoration, Diligente underwent refitting at Brest between 22 August 1820 and 4 January 1821. She was recommissioned with 18-pounder carronades and was reclassified as a corvette aviso (sloop corvette). Then on 21 April she left Brest for the Antilles, Guiana and Newfoundland. By 30 August 1822 she was in the Antilles again.

On 2 November 1822 Diligente left Rochefort for Brazil, not returning to Brest until 27 December 1826. Around 1825 or so she was off the coast of Chile where she took a privateer that had fired a broadside at her. [7]

In 1827 Diligente was again decommissioned for refitting. Then in 1828 she was in the Eastern Mediterranean.

July Monarchy

Under Commandant Garibou Diligente took part in the expedition to the mouth of the Tagus River where a French squadron fought the Battle of the Tagus on 11 July 1831. The French vessels fought their way past the Portuguese forts guarding the mouth of the river and sailed up to Lisbon. There they forced the Portuguese king Dom Miguel to accede to French demands, among them that he recognize the July Monarchy. The French also seized all the military and commercial vessels they could find as reparations.

Then in 1835–36 Diligente was on the Livorno station. On 30 January 1836, she was driven ashore and severely damaged at Livorno. [8] On 26 October 1840 she left Toulon for Alexandria, Egypt. She visited Smyrna in March 1841. Lastly, she was present at Athens during the 3 September 1843 Revolution.

Fate

Diligente was struck off on 11 October 1854.

Notes

  1. The report in Lloyd's List refers to the "brig Diligente". The French Navy had a brig Diligent, but she was not in the area. [2]

Citations

  1. Troude, op. cit., vol. 3, p. 513
  2. Lloyd's List, no. 4061 – accessed 1 February 2014.
  3. "No. 161791". The London Gazette . 3 September 1808. p. 1214.
  4. Woodman (2001), p. 75.
  5. James (1837), pp. 88–9.
  6. Roche (2005), p. 326.
  7. Bowers (1833), p. 216.
  8. "London". The Morning Post. No. 20340. London. 15 February 1836.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Baptiste Perrée</span> 18th-century French naval officer (1761–1800)

Jean-Baptiste Perrée was a French Navy officer and Rear-admiral.

HMS <i>Phoenix</i> (1783) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Phoenix was a 36-gun Perseverance-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The shipbuilder George Parsons built her at Bursledon and launched her on 15 July 1783. She served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was instrumental in the events leading up to the battle of Trafalgar. Phoenix was involved in several single-ship actions, the most notable occurring on 10 August 1805 when she captured the French frigate Didon, which was more heavily armed than her. She was wrecked, without loss of life, off Smyrna in 1816.

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

HMS Avon was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class brig-sloop built at Falmouth and launched in 1805. In the War of 1812 she fought a desperate action with USS Wasp that resulted in Avon sinking on 27 August 1814.

French frigate <i>Sibylle</i> (1792)

Sibylle was a 38-gun Hébé-class frigate of the French Navy. She was launched in 1791 at the dockyards in Toulon and placed in service in 1792. After the 50-gun fourth rate HMS Romney captured her in 1794, the British took her into service as HMS Sybille. She served in the Royal Navy until disposed of in 1833. While in British service Sybille participated in three notable single ship actions, in each case capturing a French vessel. On anti-slavery duties off West Africa from July 1827 to June 1830, Sybille captured numerous slavers and freed some 3,500 slaves. She was finally sold in 1833 in Portsmouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Troude's expedition to the Caribbean</span> Naval operation of the Napoleonic wars

Troude's expedition to the Caribbean was a naval operation by a French force under Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude during the Napoleonic Wars. The French squadron departed from Lorient in February 1809 in an attempt to reach and resupply the island colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, then under invasion from a British expeditionary force. The force arrived much too late to affect the outcome of the successful invasion and took shelter from a British squadron in the Îles des Saintes, where they were blockaded by part of the British invasion fleet, led by Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane. Two weeks after the French ships arrived, British troops invaded and captured the Saintes, constructing mortar batteries to bombard the French squadron. With his position unsustainable, Commodore Troude decided to break out.

HMS <i>Recruit</i> (1806) Brig-sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Recruit was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in 1806 at Sandwich, Kent. She is best known for an act of pique by Commander Warwick Lake, who marooned a seaman, and for an inconclusive but hard-fought ship action under Commander Charles John Napier against the French corvette Diligente. She captured a number of American vessels as prizes during the War of 1812 before being laid up in 1815 and sold for breaking up in 1822.

HMS <i>Juno</i> (1780) Frigate of the Royal Navy

HMS Juno was a Royal Navy 32-gun Amazon-class fifth rate. This frigate served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

French corvette <i>Sylphe</i> (1804) Abeille-class brig-corvette of the French Navy

Sylphe was an Abeille-class 16-gun brig-corvette of the French Navy. The class was built to a design by François Pestel. The British captured her in 1807 and took her into the Royal Navy as HMS Seagull, but apparently never used her in any capacity. She was sold in 1814.

HMS Electra was a 16-gun brig-sloop. She was built by the Enterprise Ethéart, Saint-Malo, as the French Curieux-class brig Espiègle and launched in 1804. She was armed in 1807 at Saint Servan. The British frigate Sybille captured her on 16 August 1808. There was already an Espiegle in the Royal Navy so the Navy took the vessel they had just captured into service as HMS Electra, her predecessor Electra having been wrecked in March. Electra captured one American privateer before she was sold in 1816.

French frigate <i>Iphigénie</i> (1777)

Iphigénie was a 32-gun Iphigénie-class frigate of the French Navy, and the lead ship of her class. She was briefly in British hands after the Anglo-Spanish capture of Toulon in August 1793 but the French recaptured her December. The Spanish captured her in 1795 and her subsequent fate is unknown.

HMS <i>Alacrity</i> (1806) Brig-sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Alacrity was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by William Rowe at Newcastle and launched in 1806. She served in the Baltic and was at the capture of Copenhagen in 1807. She captured a large privateer before herself falling victim to a French man-of-war in 1811 in an action in which her captain failed to distinguish himself. She then served in the French navy until she was broken up in 1822.

Jean-François Lemaresquier was a French naval officer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Tagus</span>

The Battle of the Tagus was a naval engagement that took place on 11 July 1831 at the mouth of the Tagus river, in Portugal. A French fleet attacked and subdued Portuguese fortifications at the entrance of the Tagus, with the aim to strong-arm the government of Miguel I into recognising the newly established Kingdom of the French. The damage to the forts defending access to the Tagus and the arrival of French warships at Lisbon forced the Portuguese to cave in and comply with French demands.

French frigate <i>Junon</i> (1786)

Junon was a 40-gun Minerve-class frigate of the French Navy.

HMS <i>Childers</i> (1778) Brig-sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Childers was a brig-sloop of the British Royal Navy, initially armed with 10 carriage guns which were later increased to 14 guns. The first brig-sloop to be built for the Navy, she was ordered from a commercial builder during the early years of the American War of Independence, and went on to support operations in the English Channel and the Caribbean. Laid up for a time after the end of the American War of Independence, she returned to service shortly before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars. She had an active career in both the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, capturing numerous French privateers and during the Gunboat War participated in a noteworthy single-ship action. The navy withdrew her from service at the beginning of 1811, at which time she was broken up.

HMS Diligent was the French naval brig Diligent, launched in 1800, that HMS Renard captured in 1806. The Royal Navy took her into service under her existing name, which it later changed, first to Prudente, and then to Wolf. During her two years of active duty with the Royal Navy she captured two small privateers. Wolf was laid up in 1808 and sold in 1811.

French corvette <i>Départment des Landes</i> (1804)

Départment des Landes was a corvette of the French Navy, launched in 1804. She was damaged in 1814 and subsequently decommissioned. She was finally broken up around 1829-30.

Nicolas Touffet was a French naval officer.

HMS <i>Melpomene</i> (1794) Frigate of the French and Royal Navy (1788-1815)

HMS Melpomene was a 38-gun frigate of the Royal Navy. Originally a French vessel, she was captured at Calvi on 10 August 1794 and first saw British service in the English Channel, where she helped to contain enemy privateering. In October 1798, she chased a French frigate squadron sent to find the French fleet under Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart, that was routed at the Battle of Tory Island and in August 1799, she joined Andrew Mitchell's squadron for the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland.

HMS Saint Pierre was launched in 1803 at Bordeaux as Saint Pierre, intended for use as a slave ship. The Department of Eure purchased her and donated her to the French government, which, however, found her unsuitable and returned her to her owner. The French Navy later requisitioned her between July and September 1805 as a storeship and renamed her Diligente. She was at Martinique in February 1809 when the British Royal Navy captured the island. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Saint Pierre.

References