Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermite was a French sea captain and rear admiral, notable for his involvement in the Glorious First of June and his expedition into the Atlantic in 1805.
Solitaire was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, built by Antoine Groignard and launched in 1774, lead ship of her class. She was captured by the Royal Navy on 6 December 1782, and commissioned as the third rate HMS Solitaire. She was sold out of the Navy in 1790.
Surveillante was an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy. She took part in the Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, where she became famous for her battle with HMS Quebec; in 1783, she brought the news that the war was over to America. She later took part in the French Revolutionary Wars, and was eventually scuttled during the Expédition d'Irlande after sustaining severe damage in a storm. The wreck was found in 1979 and is now a memorial.
Hermione was a 32-gun Concorde-class frigate of the French Navy. Designed for speed, she was one of the first ships of the French Navy to receive a copper sheathing. At the beginning of the Anglo-French War of 1778, she patrolled in the Bay of Biscay, escorting convoys and chasing privateers. She became famous when she ferried General La Fayette to the United States in 1780 in support of the rebels in the American Revolutionary War. She took an incidental role in the Battle of Cape Henry on 16 March 1781, and a major one in the action of 21 July 1781.
The Bourgogne was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Estates of Bourgogne. She was commissioned in 1772, and served in the squadron of the Mediterranean, with a refit in 1775, and another in 1778.
HMS Vengeance was originally the 48-gun French Navy frigate Vengeance and lead ship of her class. She engaged USS Constellation during the Quasi-War, in an inconclusive engagement that left both ships heavily damaged. During the French Revolutionary Wars, HMS Seine hunted Vengeance down and captured her after a sharp action. She was recommissioned in the Royal Navy as the 38-gun fifth rate HMS Vengeance, but the British apparently never returned her to seagoing service. Accounts are divided as to her eventual fate. She may have been broken up in 1803 after grounding in 1801, or continued as a prison ship until 1814.
René Lemarant de Kerdaniel was a French naval officer who rose to the rank of admiral.
Créole was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, a one-off design by Jacques-Augustin Lamothe. The French Navy loaned her to a privateer in 1797. Later, she served in the Brest squadron, took part in Ganteaume's expeditions of 1801 to Egypt, and was involved in the French acquisition of Santo Domingo and briefly detained Toussaint Louverture before he was brought to France. The 74-gun ships HMS Vanguard and HMS Cumberland captured her in Santo Domingo on 30 June 1803. The Royal Navy took her into service but she foundered soon afterwards during an attempt to sail to Britain; her crew were rescued.
Vertu was a 40-gun French frigate designed by engineer Segondat. She served in Sercey's squadron in the Indian Ocean, and in Saint-Domingue. She was captured by the Royal Navy at the end of the Blockade of Saint-Domingue when the island surrendered to the British. After her capture the Navy sailed her to Britain but never commissioned her, and finally sold her in 1810.
The action of 7 June 1780 took place during the American War of Independence between the frigates Hermione and HMS Iris. The ships exchanged fire for one hour and a half before parting. The battle resumed in written form when James Hawker published his account of the battle in a newspaper, which Louis-René Levassor de Latouche Tréville contested heatedly.
The action of 29 July 1782 was a minor naval engagement that took place towards the end of the American War of Independence. The British Royal Navy frigate HMS Santa Margarita captured the 36-gun French frigate Amazone off Cape Henry, but the next day the squadron under Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil intervened and recaptured the frigate.
Milan was a French brig built at Saint Malo, from plans designed by François Pestel that had already served for Curieux in 1800 and for Palinure in 1804. She served in the French Navy for four years before HMS Surveillante and Seine captured her. She became HMS Achates in the Royal Navy and served until after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
Charles Louis du Chilleau de La Roche was a French Navy officer.
Amazone was a 32-gun Iphigénie-class frigate of the French Navy. She was the second ship of the French Navy to receive a copper sheathing in 1778. She served in the War of American Independence under Captain Lapérouse, and later in the French Revolutionary Wars.
Éveillé was an Artésien-class 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1772.
Armand Le Gardeur de Tilly was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence.
Louis Augustin de Monteclerc was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence.
Jean-Marie de Villeneuve Cillart was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence.
Oiseau was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy.
The action of 4 January 1781 was a minor battle of the War of American Independence. A French frigate division, departing Brest, met two British 74-gun ships of the line. The frigates tried to flee their stronger opponents, which gave chase. One of the frigates sacrificed herself to allow the others to escape.
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