French corvette Lawriston (1778)

History
France
Name	Lawriston
Builder	Rangoon [1]
Launched	1778 [2]
Captured	16 February 1782 [2]
General characteristics
Class and type	Corvette
Tons burthen	1000 tons [1]
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Armament	22 guns [2]

Lawriston was a 22-gun corvette of the French Navy.

Career

Originally a ship of the French East India Company, Lawriston was brought into service in the French Navy. ^[2] She took part in the Siege of Pondicherry in 1778.

She was returned to merchant service in June 1781 at Île de France but again requisitioned in December 1781. ^[1]

HMS Isis ^[3] captured her on 16 February 1782, ^[2] during the prelude of the Battle of Sadras. Lawriston was carrying a large part of the field artillery for the French army in the Indian Ocean, as well as two companies of the Légion de Lauzun. Her captain had decided to pray on small merchantmen, and failed to escape in time when the British appeared. ^[4]

Citations

1. Demerliac (1996), p.151, #1297
2. Roche, vol.1, p.276
3. Cunat, p.110
4. Cunat, p.121

References

• Cunat, Charles (1852). Histoire du Bailli de Suffren. Rennes: A. Marteville et Lefas. pp.  447.
• Demerliac, Alain (2004). La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 à 1792 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN   2-906381-23-3.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. p. 276. ISBN   978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC   165892922.