HMS Artois (1794)

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ARTOIS 1794 RMG J5555.png
Design of HMS Artois
History
Naval Ensign of Great Britain (1707-1800).svgGreat Britain
NameHMS Artois
Ordered28 March 1793
Cost £20,757 [1]
Laid downMarch 1793
Launched3 January 1794
CommissionedDecember 1793
FateWrecked off Île de Ré, 31 July 1797
General characteristics [1]
Class and type Artois-class fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen996594 (bm)
Length
  • 146 ft 3 in (44.6 m) (gundeck)
  • 121 ft 9+34 in (37.1 m) (keel)
Beam39 ft 2+12 in (12 m)
Draught
  • 10 ft (3 m) (forwards)
  • 15 ft 6 in (4.7 m) (aft)
Depth of hold13 ft 9 in (4.2 m)
PropulsionSails
Complement270
Armament
  • Gundeck: 28 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 12 × 32-pounder carronades
  • Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades

HMS Artois was a fifth-rate Artois-class frigate of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir John Henslow and launched in 1794 at Rotherhithe as the lead ship of her class. She served for the majority of her career in the English Channel under the command of Edmund Nagle in the squadrons of Edward Pellew and John Borlase Warren, notably taking part in the action of 21 October 1794 where she captured the 44-gun frigate La Révolutionnaire almost singlehandedly. She participated in a number of other actions and events including the attempted invasion of France in 1795. Artois continued to serve actively on the coast of France in blockade and patrolling roles, taking a large number of ships as prizes, until she was wrecked with no loss of life off Île de Ré on 31 July 1797 while attempting to reconnoitre the harbour of La Rochelle.

Contents

Construction

Artois was a 38-gun, 18-pounder, fifth-rate Artois-class frigate designed by Sir John Henslow. [1] She and her class were ordered soon after the start of the French Revolutionary War to provide an influx of modern warships for the Royal Navy. [2] Artois was the name-ship of her class and the first to be laid down; of the nine ships of the class seven, including Artois, were built of oak while the final two were built of fir. [2] Artois was an improvement on the 18-pounder frigates of the American Revolutionary War which were found to be too small and that their battery placement made them unstable at sea. [1] To counter this, Artois and her contemporaries built in the 1790s were lengthened forwards to make them faster and more stable. [1] The extra space provided by this expansion made the ships faster but did not stop the issue of violent pitching, which would not be fixed until HMS Active was launched as an improvement to the Artois-class in 1799. [3] Despite this, the class would go on to gain a reputation as 'crack frigates'. [4] They were perfect for their assigned role as frigates on blockade duties, being large enough to fight any French frigate sent to attack them while on station but also fast enough and weatherly enough to be able to stay at their posts no matter the weather type. [5]

Artois was ordered on 28 March 1793 to be built at Rotherhithe by John and William Wells of Wells & Co. [1] She was laid down in the same month and launched on 3 January 1794 with the following dimensions: 146 feet 3 inches (44.6 m) along the gun deck, 121 feet 9+34 inches (37.1 m) at the keel, with a beam of 39 feet 2+12 inches (12 m) and a depth in the hold of 13 feet 9 inches (4.2 m). She measured 996594 tons burthen. [1] The fitting out process for Artois was completed at Deptford on 30 March. [1] In January 1794 Captain Lord Charles Fitzgerald of Artois requested to the Admiralty that a bridle port, a square porthole in the bow that a gun could be placed in, be fitted to assist in chasing ships, however it was deemed unfeasible to fit one on a ship designed without it. [6] On 19 November eight 32-pound carronades were added to the Artois-class ships by Admiralty Order, leading some to describe them as 44-gun frigates in the future. [7] On 20 June 1796 another Admiralty Order saw the ship's crew complement increase from 270 to 284. [7]

Service

1794

Artois was commissioned under Captain Lord Charles Fitzgerald in December 1793 to serve on the Cork Station. [1] After this Captain Edmund Nagle took command of Artois, but was absent at the beginning of her service, with two temporary captains standing in for him. [4] In April 1794 Artois served at the siege of Bastia under the command of Captain Thomas Byam Martin, where the ships of Admiral Lord Hood's Mediterranean Fleet starved the French garrison out of Bastia. [8] Artois then moved to the English Channel where she was to serve in the Brest blockade squadron of Commodore John Borlase Warren; for a brief period of time she was then commanded by Commander George Byng before Nagle returned to take command of Artois. [Note 1] [1] [10] [11] She would spend the majority of her career stationed with the squadron in and around Audierne Bay. [12]

Le Volontaire

'If they run, why we'll follow, and run them ashore,
And if they won't fight us, what can we do more?'

Ballad relating to the destruction of Le Volontaire. [13]

On 23 August Artois took part in the destruction of the 36-gun frigate Le Volontaire on the Penmarks. [1] [14] The frigate was discovered early in the morning by Warren's squadron comprising Artois and the frigates HMS Arethusa, HMS Diamond, HMS Flora, HMS Diana, and HMS Santa Margarita. [Note 2] [16] The British ships had left Falmouth on 7 August with the intent of hunting a squadron of French frigates known to be around the Isles of Scilly, but found Le Volontaire off Brittany instead. [17] Le Volontaire was forced by the squadron to anchor off the coast to avoid wrecking, and the British ships attacked her to such a degree that she was forced to cut her cables in an attempt to change her positioning. [16] In doing so La Volontaire was driven ashore and after her pumps failed to remove the incoming water her crew abandoned her. [16] The frigate was unrecoverable and stayed there in its disabled state. [17] The same British ships then discovered the 12-gun brig L'Alerte and 18-gun corvette Espion in the nearby Audierne Bay. [1] [16] The two French ships ran themselves aground under the cover of three batteries of guns. [17] They were then boarded by boats from the squadron and fifty-two prisoners were brought off them; the ships also had a large number of men with injuries that made them unmovable, which meant that the British were not able to destroy the ships, instead leaving them and the wounded where they had grounded. [18] The following night the French succeeded in rescuing Espion, but L'Alerte was lost. [19] On 26 August the ships Queen and Donna Maria were recaptured by the squadron in the same area. [20] The squadron continued its patrols, taking the cutter La Quartidi on 7 September and recapturing the Swedish brig Haesingeland on 16 September. [21]

La Révolutionnaire

HMS Revolutionnaire, captured by Artois on 21 October 1794 HMS Revolutionaire Frigate during the internment of Sir Thos. Fremantle 22nd Dec 1829 at Baia Bay Naples RMG PW8021 (cropped).jpg
HMS Révolutionnaire, captured by Artois on 21 October 1794

By October Artois was serving in the squadron of Edward Pellew. [9] [22] On 21 October the squadron, comprising Artois, Arethusa, Diamond, and the frigate HMS Galatea, encountered the French 44-gun frigate La Révolutionnaire sailing off Ushant. [Note 3] [1] [9] [23] The squadron chased La Révolutionnaire which looked to avoid the force, but the superior sailing qualities of Artois allowed her to sail ahead of the rest of the squadron and come up with La Révolutionnaire before she could escape. [9] [24] The squadron then cut La Révolutionnaire off from the coast which she might have sailed towards for assistance, forcing the French frigate to engage Artois. [25] The two frigates fought an engagement of forty minutes in which eight Frenchmen and three Britons were killed, including the lieutenant of marines. [9] Diamond approached the action next and came up behind La Révolutionnaire, threatening to fire into her stern. [19] [25] La Révolutionnaire surrendered to Artois upon the approach of the rest of Pellew's squadron, as the frigate had been launched only a few weeks previously; the raw crew refused to continue fighting and forced the captain to surrender. [Note 4] [9] [19] [26] [27] Pellew reported that the intervention of the rest of the squadron had been unnecessary, and that Artois would have succeeded even if she had been completely unsupported. [25] The French frigate was bought into the navy as HMS Révolutionnaire; Captain Nagle was knighted for his conduct against her and his first lieutenant, Robert Dudley Oliver, was promoted to commander. [9] [28] [22] [29]

1795

After this Artois returned to the command of Commodore Warren and his squadron. [9] On 18 February 1795 the squadron of Artois, Galatea, Arethusa, and Warren's frigate HMS Pomone encountered a French convoy of twenty ships protected by the frigate Néréide off Oléron. [30] The squadron pursued the convoy up the Pertuis d'Antioche towards Île-d'Aix; while the tide forced the British to halt the attack before they reached Aix, they captured one ship, three brigs, two luggers, one sloop, and an 8-gun schooner. [30] As well as this ten brigs and a lugger were destroyed; the convoy had been carrying food and clothing for the French military. [30] [31] The squadron was very busy in February and March, and including those taken on 18 February the squadron took the ships Le Pierre, Le Petit Jean, Le Deux Freres, La Liberte, Le Adelaide, L'Aimable, La Coureause, L'Aimable Madelaine, La Pacquebot de Cayenne, and La Biche between 13 February and 2 March. [21] [32] A strange sail was sighted on 15 April by the squadron, and the signal to give chase given; Artois caught her first, proving it to be the 26-gun corvette Le Jean Bart. [33] On 16 April Artois and Galatea similarly took the 16-gun sloop Expedition, which had previously been a British packet ship, and the ship Maria Francis Fidilla off Rochefort, and Artois on her own captured two sloops with cargoes of fish. [10] [33] [34]

Between June and October she participated in the failed French émigré invasion of France at Quiberon. [1] [9] As such Artois was present in the fleet at the Battle of Groix on 23 June, where she shared in the capture of the three French ships-of-the-line Alexander, Formidable, and Tigre, despite not participating directly in the action that occurred when the British and French fleets came upon one another while on separate missions. [35] The British fleet under Lord Bridport had been convoying the invasion force to France, and Artois was part of a force of three ships-of-the-line and six frigates under Warren guarding the fifty-ship convoy conveying the Comte de Puisaye's émigré force of 2,500 men. [36] [37] The troops were successfully landed on 27 June and Warren's squadron went on to occupy Île d'Yeu, but after a series of reversals against French revolutionary soldiers the entire force was evacuated to England, with Artois and the other ships providing covering fire to the escaping Royalists. [38] [39]

1796

After the failure of this enterprise, Artois returned to her usual duties of blockade and patrols; on 6 March 1796 the ship Sultana was captured, and a day later Nancy also. [40] On 20 March she was sailing with the frigates HMS Anson, Pomone, and Galatea off Pointe du Raz when they discovered a French convoy of seventy ships. [41] [42] The convoy was guarded by the frigates Prosperine, Unite, Coquille, and Tamise, and the corvette Cigogne. [41] Artois and Pomone quickly took four of the convoy ships; one ship and three brigs. [43] These were Illier, Don de Dieu, Paul Edward, and Felicite. [40] The convoy turned away from the squadron, and as the British ships drew closer the French brought their warships together and passed the British in line as they went in the other direction, exchanging fire and heavily damaging Galatea. [43] The British then began a concerted effort to follow the convoy and break through its ranks in a line of battle as it fled towards Brest but failed to bring it to action again, only taking the 28-gun armed store ship Etoile which had been at the rear of the convoy. [Note 5] [41] [1] [43] The four French frigates and the corvette all escaped under the cover of night, while the majority of the convoy took shelter under the protection of some coastal gun batteries. [44] Commodore Warren in Pomone was criticised for not doing more to press his advantage against the convoy, in all taking only six of the ships. [41] The squadron took the ships La Marie, L'Union, La Bonne, and a brig between 7 and 13 April. [40] Finding continued success, Artois took Pacific on 14 May, Lodoiska on 22 May, and Fantasie on 25 May, and the chasse-marées Charlotte and Veronique on 16 August. [45]

Sir Edmund Nagle, who commanded Artois for almost all her service William Corden the Elder (1797-1867) - Sir Edmund Nagle (1757-1867) - RCIN 406492 - Royal Collection.jpg
Sir Edmund Nagle, who commanded Artois for almost all her service

Andromaque

On 22 August Artois was in company with the same squadron of ships and the brig-sloop HMS Sylph off the mouth of the river Gironde, when the French frigate Andromaque came into sight attempting to enter the river. [46] Andromaque had been cruising in a squadron with two other frigates and a corvette, but had left their company after springing a leak. [47] Galatea was closest to the enemy and began a chase of it, followed by Pomone and Anson, while Artois and Sylph were sent to investigate the appearance of two other strange sails. [48] The chase continued through the night, and by 4 a.m. on 23 August Galatea and Andromaque were only one mile offshore. [48] At day break Artois and Sylph came into sight, having ascertained that the strange sails were neutral American merchants, and at 5:30 a.m. Andromaque attempted to make her escape from the squadron, but at 6 a.m. she ran herself aground close to Arcachon, losing all her masts. [48] Artois, Galatea, and Sylph sent their boats in to take control of the unresisting frigate; before they reached it many of the ship's crew jumped into the rough seas rather than be captured, while the rest were able to walk from the stranded frigate to the coast once the tide had gone out. [49] In the evening of 23 August boats from Sylph set fire to Andromaque which then exploded. [49]

On 2 November Artois and Warren's squadron were in company with the fleet of Lord Bridport when she took the 12-gun privateer Le Franklin off Ushant after a chase alongside the frigate HMS Thalia. [1] [50] [51] In December Artois began a string of successes, taking a brig and the chasse-marées Le Providence and La Maria Theresa on 11 December, a Spanish brig on 14 December, and another Spanish brig Divina Pastora on 17 December. [45]

1797

The activity of Artois's squadron continued into 1797, taking Le Jean Amie on 15 February, Nordzee on 16 March, and recapturing the whaler Mary on 25 April. [45] On 16 July a French convoy of fourteen ships guarded by the frigate La Calliope and two corvettes was discovered and chased by Warren's squadron, comprising the same ships as last noted and the cutter Dolly. [52] [53] The corvettes succeeded in escaping into Audierne Bay, but La Calliope was unable to run from the squadron and was made to engage it. [52] In order to escape destruction La Calliope cut away her masts and ran herself aground on the Penmarks early in the morning of 17 July. [53] To stop the French from removing the stores from La Calliope, Anson and Sylph bombarded the stranded ship while Artois and Pomone watched from further out to sea. [52] [53] La Calliope broke up on the rocks on 18 July. [52]

Fate

On 31 July 1797 Artois was wrecked on a sandbank near the Ballieu rocks on the north-west coast of Île de Ré. [54] She had been attempting to reconnoitre the harbour of La Rochelle; the entire crew was saved by Sylph. [Note 6] [1] [10] [9] The pilot and master of Artois were condemned for their negligence in causing the wreck. [56]

Prizes

Vessels captured or destroyed for which Artois's crew received full or partial credit
DateShipNationalityTypeFateRef.
23 August 1794Le Volontaire Flag of France.svg French36-gun frigateDestroyed [1]
23 August 1794 L'Alerte Flag of France.svg French12-gun brigDestroyed [1]
26 August 1794Queen Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg BritishMerchant vesselRecaptured [20]
26 August 1794Donna Maria Flag of Spain.svg SpanishMerchant vesselRecaptured [20]
7 September 1794Le Quartidi Flag of France.svg FrenchCutterCaptured [21]
16 September 1794Haesingeland Flag of Sweden.svg SwedishMerchant vesselRecaptured [21]
21 October 1794 La Révolutionnaire Flag of France.svg French44-gun frigateCaptured [1]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigDestroyed [31]
18 February 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchLuggerDestroyed [31]
13 February-2 March 1795Le Pierre Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
13 February-2 March 1795Le Petit Jean Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
13 February-2 March 1795Le Deux Freres Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
13 February-2 March 1795La Liberte Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
13 February-2 March 1795Le Adelaide Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
13 February-2 March 1795L'Aimable Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
13 February-2 March 1795La Coureause Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
13 February-2 March 1795L'Aimable Madelaine Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
13 February-2 March 1795La Pacquebot de Cayenne Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
13 February-2 March 1795La Biche Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [32]
15 April 1795Le Jean Bart Flag of France.svg French26-gun corvetteCaptured [32]
16 April 1795Expedition Flag of France.svg French16-gun sloopCaptured [10]
16 April 1795Maria Francis Fidilla Flag of Spain.svg SpanishMerchant vesselCaptured [33]
16 April 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant sloopCaptured [34]
16 April 1795Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant sloopCaptured [34]
23 June 1795 Alexander Flag of France.svg French74-gun ship-of-the-lineCaptured [35]
23 June 1795 Tigre Flag of France.svg French74-gun ship-of-the-lineCaptured [35]
23 June 1795 Formidable Flag of France.svg French74-gun ship-of-the-lineCaptured [35]
6 March 1796Sultana Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [40]
7 March 1796Nancy Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [40]
20 March 1796L'Etoile Flag of France.svg French28-gun armed store shipCaptured [1]
20 March 1796Illier Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [43]
20 March 1796Don de Dieu Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigCaptured [43]
20 March 1796Paul Edward Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigCaptured [43]
20 March 1796Felicite Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigCaptured [43]
20 March 1796Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [41]
7–13 April 1796La Marie Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [40]
7–13 April 1796L'Union Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [40]
7–13 April 1796La Bonne Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [40]
7–13 April 1796Not recorded Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant brigCaptured [40]
14 May 1796Pacific Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [45]
22 May 1796Lodoiska Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [45]
25 May 1796Fantasie Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [45]
16 August 1796Charlotte Flag of France.svg FrenchChasse-maréeCaptured [45]
16 August 1796Veronique Flag of France.svg FrenchChasse-maréeCaptured [45]
23 August 1796 Andromaque Flag of France.svg French32-gun frigateDestroyed [49]
2 November 1796Le Franklin Flag of France.svg French12-gun privateerCaptured [1]
11 December 1796Le Providence Flag of France.svg FrenchChasse-maréeCaptured [45]
11 December 1796La Maria Theresa Flag of France.svg FrenchChasse-maréeCaptured [45]
14 December 1796Not recorded Flag of Spain.svg SpanishMerchant brigCaptured [45]
17 December 1796Divina Pastora Flag of Spain.svg SpanishMerchant brigCaptured [45]
15 February 1797Le Jean Amie Flag of France.svg FrenchMerchant vesselCaptured [45]
16 March 1797Nordzee Flag of the navy of the Batavian Republic.svg DutchMerchant vesselCaptured [45]
25 April 1797Mary Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg BritishWhalerRecaptured [45]
17 July 1797La Calliope Flag of France.svg French28-gun frigateDestroyed [1]

Notes

  1. Marshall describes Artois as a 44-gun frigate here. [9]
  2. Marshall and the London Gazette report describe the destroyed frigate as la Felicité of 40 guns, but the actual la Félicité was of 32 guns and was not captured until 1809. [15] [14]
  3. See Action of 21 October 1794.
  4. The captured crew of La Révolutionnaire were sent to at first Portchester Castle and then Norman Cross Prison before mostly being exchanged in May 1799. [24]
  5. Winfield describes Etoile as a frigate instead of an armed store ship. [1]
  6. Artois may have been chasing a French frigate at the time of her grounding. [55]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Winfield, British Warships, p. 345
  2. 1 2 Winfield, British Warships, p. 344
  3. Gardiner, Heavy Frigate, pp. 54-5
  4. 1 2 Wareham, Frigate Captains, p. 178
  5. Gardiner, Heavy Frigate, p. 56
  6. Gardiner, Heavy Frigate, p. 76
  7. 1 2 Gardiner, Heavy Frigate, p. 33
  8. Heathcote, British Admirals of the Fleet, p. 167
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Marshall, Royal Naval Biography, p. 277
  10. 1 2 3 4 Phillips, Artois (38) (1794). Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  11. Marshall, Royal Naval Biography, pp. 655-6
  12. Clarke and McArthur, Naval Chronicle, p. 342
  13. Henderson, The Frigates, p. 31
  14. 1 2 "No. 13921". The London Gazette . 13 August 1796. p. 771.
  15. Marshall, Royal Naval Biography, p. 213
  16. 1 2 3 4 Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 486
  17. 1 2 3 James, Naval History vol. 1, p. 233
  18. Clowes, Royal Navy, pp. 486-7
  19. 1 2 3 Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 487
  20. 1 2 3 "No. 13741". The London Gazette . 13 January 1795. p. 48.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "No. 13815". The London Gazette . 19 September 1795. p. 973.
  22. 1 2 Urban, Gentleman's Magazine, p. 469
  23. Brenton, Naval History vol. 1, p. 223
  24. 1 2 Chamberlain, Napoleonic Prison, p. 24
  25. 1 2 3 Duncan, British Trident, p. 283
  26. James, Naval History vol. 1, p. 235
  27. Henderson, The Frigates, p. 32
  28. Brenton, Naval History vol. 1, p. 224
  29. James, Naval History vol. 1, p. 236
  30. 1 2 3 Duncan, British Trident, p. 334
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "No. 13757". The London Gazette . 3 March 1795. p. 206.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "No. 13810". The London Gazette . 1 September 1795. p. 907.
  33. 1 2 3 "No. 13773". The London Gazette . 25 April 1795. p. 379.
  34. 1 2 3 "No. 13815". The London Gazette . 19 September 1795. p. 974.
  35. 1 2 3 4 "No. 13888". The London Gazette . 30 April 1796. p. 408.
  36. Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 266
  37. Clarke and McArthur, Naval Chronicle, p. 343
  38. Clowes, Royal Navy, pp. 266-7
  39. Clarke and McArthur, Naval Chronicle, p. 348
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "No. 13931". The London Gazette . 17 September 1796. p. 885.
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 465
  42. Clarke and McArthur, Naval Chronicle, p. 350
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 James, Naval History vol. 1, p. 356
  44. James, Naval History vol. 1, p. 357
  45. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "No. 14041". The London Gazette . 29 August 1797. p. 839.
  46. James, Naval History vol. 1, p. 381
  47. James, Naval History vol. 1, pp. 381-2
  48. 1 2 3 James, Naval History vol. 1, p. 382
  49. 1 2 3 James, Naval History vol. 1, p. 383
  50. Schomberg, Naval Chronology, p. 119
  51. "No. 13953". The London Gazette . 19 November 1796. p. 1117.
  52. 1 2 3 4 Clowes, Royal Navy, p. 507
  53. 1 2 3 James, Naval History vol. 2, p. 95
  54. La Barre, French Coasting Pilot, p. 78
  55. Laughton, 'Nagle, Sir Edmund', ODNB
  56. Gosset, Lost ships, p. 146

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Coquille was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class, and launched in 1794. The Royal Navy captured her in October 1798 and took her into service as HMS Coquille, but an accidental fire destroyed her in December 1798.

French frigate <i>Pomone</i> (1787) 40-gun frigate of the French Navy launched in 1785

Pomone was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, launched in 1785. The British captured her off the Île de Batz in April 1794 and incorporated her into the Royal Navy. Pomone subsequently had a relatively brief but active career in the British Navy off the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of France before suffering sufficient damage from hitting a rock to warrant being taken out of service and then broken up in 1803.

Admiral Sir Lawrence William Halsted GCB was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

His Majesty's Hired armed lugger Duke of York served the Royal Navy from 14 October 1794 to 2 January 1799 when she foundered in the North Sea. She was of 574494 tons (bm) and was armed with eight 4-pounder guns.

French frigate <i>Gracieuse</i> (1787)

Gracieuse was a 32-gun Charmante-class frigate of the French Navy. Renamed to Unité in 1793, she took part in the French Revolutionary Wars. The Royal Navy captured her in 1796 off Île d'Yeu and brought her into British service as HMS Unite. She was sold in 1802

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action of 21 October 1794</span> Minor naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars

The action of 21 October 1794 was a minor naval engagement between Great Britain and France fought off the Breton coast of France during the second year of the French Revolutionary Wars. French frigates had been raiding British Atlantic trade routes with considerable success since the outbreak of the war, and in response the Admiralty had formed a frigate squadron to patrol the French Channel and Atlantic coasts in search of French raiders. On 13 October 1794, the large, modern and powerful 40-gun French frigate Révolutionnaire under the command of Captain Antoine René Thévenard sailed from Le Havre for a raiding cruise against British trade routes in the Atlantic. Eight days later, while rounding the Breton headland of Ushant about 25–30 nautical miles (56 km) out to sea, Révolutionnaire encountered the British frigate squadron, commanded by Commodore Sir Edward Pellew, which had secured a number of victories over French raiding frigates during the previous two years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action of 12 May 1796</span> Minor naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars

The action of 12 May 1796 was a minor naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars between a squadron of British Royal Navy frigates and a frigate and four smaller ships of the Batavian Navy. The British squadron had been detached on the previous day from the British North Sea fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan, which was cruising off the Batavian fleet anchorage at the Texel, while the Batavian squadron was returning to the Netherlands from the Norwegian coast where it had been sheltering since suffering defeat at the action of 22 August 1795 the previous year. As the Batavian squadron neared the Batavian coast, the British squadron under Captain Lawrence Halstead attacked.

Andromaque was a 32-gun Nymphe-class frigate of the French Navy.

Hired armed lugger <i>Valiant</i>

His Majesty's hired armed lugger Valiant served the Royal Navy on a contract from 5 May 1794 to 10 November 1801. She was of 109 9094 tons (bm), and was armed with eleven 3-pounder guns.

HMS Janus was the Dutch fifth-rate Argo, built at the dockyard of the Amsterdam Admiralty, and launched in 1790. HMS Phoenix captured her on 12 May 1796. The British Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Janus. She was a receiving ship by 1798 and in Ordinary by 1807. The Navy sold her in 1811.

HMS <i>Pearl</i> (1762) Royal Navy frigate, in service 1762–1832

HMS Pearl was a fifth-rate, 32-gun British Royal Navy frigate of the Niger-class. Launched at Chatham Dockyard in 1762, she served in British North America until January 1773, when she sailed to England for repairs. Returning to North America in March 1776, to fight in the American Revolutionary War, Pearl escorted the transports which landed troops in Kip's Bay that September. Much of the following year was spent on the Delaware River where she took part in the Battle of Red Bank in October. Towards the end of 1777, Pearl joined Vice-Admiral Richard Howe's fleet in Narragansett Bay and was still there when the French fleet arrived and began an attack on British positions. Both fleets were forced to retire due to bad weather and the action was inconclusive. Pearl was then despatched to keep an eye on the French fleet, which had been driven into Boston.

HMS <i>Triton</i> (1796) Experimental frigate of the Royal Navy in service 1796–1814/20

HMS Triton was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy designed by James Gambier and launched in 1796 at Deptford. Triton was an experimental ship and the only one built to that design; she was constructed out of fir due to wartime supply shortages of more traditional materials and had some unusual features such as no tumblehome. Her namesake was the Greek god Triton, a god of the sea. She was commissioned in June 1796 under Captain John Gore, with whom she would spend the majority of her active service, to serve in the Channel in the squadron of Sir John Warren.

HMS <i>Sylph</i> (1795) Brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, in service 1795-1811

HMS Sylph was a 16-gun Albatross-class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy designed by William Rule and launched in 1795 at Deptford Dockyard. Her namesake was the air spirit sylph. She commissioned in August 1795 under Commander John Chambers White, who would have her until the end of 1799. She was later commanded by Charles Dashwood.

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