HMS ''Donegal'' was launched in 1794 as ''Barra'', a

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently de ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. She was renamed ''Pégase'' in October 1795, and ''Hoche'' in December 1797. The British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

captured her at the

Battle of Tory Island The Battle of Tory Island (also known as the Battle of Donegal, Battle of Lough Swilly or Warren's Action) was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwest c ...

on 12 October 1798 and recommissioned her as HMS ''Donegal''.

Capture

''Hoche'' took part in the French attempt to land in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, in the west of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, to support the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The m ...

. She formed the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of an expedition under

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart (; 1757 – 1842) was a French Navy officer and privateer. He was related to the noted Admiral Maximin de Bompart. He took part in the American War of Independence as a young officer. He later captained the ''Em ...

, consisting of ''Hoche'' and eight

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s, and transporting 3,000 French troops. Aboard ''Hoche'' was

Wolfe Tone Theobald Wolfe Tone, posthumously known as Wolfe Tone (; 20 June 176319 November 1798), was a revolutionary exponent of Irish independence and is an iconic figure in Irish republicanism. Convinced that, so long as his fellow Protestantism in ...

, the leading figure in the

Society of United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...

. The ships were chased by a number of British

s after they had left the port of Brest on 16 September. Despite throwing them off, they were then pursued by a fleet of larger ships under the command of

Sir John Borlase Warren. Both sides were hampered by the heavy winds and gales they encountered off the west coast of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, and ''Hoche'' lost all three of her topmasts and had her mizzensail shredded, causing her to fall behind. The French were finally brought to battle off Tory Island on 12 October 1798. The battle started at 07:00 in the morning, with Warren giving the signal for to steer for the French line and attack ''Hoche'' directly. ''Hoche'' then came under fire from . The next three British ships into action, the frigates , and , all raked the isolated ''Hoche'' as they passed before pressing on sail to pursue the French frigates, now sailing towards to the south-west. With ''Hoche'' heavily damaged, Bompart finally surrendered at 10:50 with 270 of his crew and passengers killed or wounded, giving his sword to Lieutenant Sir Charles Dashwood. Wolfe Tone was later recognised and arrested.

In Royal Navy service

Off Cadiz

The captured ''Hoche'' was towed by the ''Doris'' to

Lough Swilly Lough Swilly () in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords ...

, County Donegal, Ireland; taken into service and renamed HMS ''Donegal'', after the action in which she had been captured. She spent 1800 in

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, and in 1801 came under the command of Captain Sir Richard Strachan, with William Bissell as her first lieutenant from 1801 until December 1805. ''Donegal'' was initially deployed in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, but following the outbreak of hostilities with Spain, she was assigned to watch the French squadron at Cadiz. Whilst on this station, she spotted and gave chase to the large 42-gun Spanish frigate ''Amfitrite'' in November 1804. After pursuing her for 46 hours, ''Amfitrite'' lost her mizzen-top-mast and ''Donegal'' subsequently overhauled her. The engagement lasted only eight minutes, ''Amfitrite'' surrendered and after being searched, was found to be laden with stores and carrying dispatches from Cadiz to

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

and

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Pulteney Malcolm. She then accompanied Vice-admiral Nelson in his pursuit of the combined fleets across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and back. She was not present at

Trafalgar Trafalgar most often refers to: * The Battle of Trafalgar (1805), fought near Cape Trafalgar, Spain * Trafalgar Square, a public space and tourist attraction in London, England Trafalgar may also refer to: Places * Cape Trafalgar, a headland in ...

, but was able, on 23 October, to capture the partially dismasted Spanish

first rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at least ...

which had escaped Trafalgar, but had been ordered to sea again to attempt to recapture some of the British prizes. ''Donegal'' was then part of a squadron off Cadiz under Vice-admiral John Duckworth, when news reached him that two French squadrons had sailed from Brest in December 1805. Duckworth took his squadron to

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

to search for them, eventually sighting them off

San Domingo Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

on 6 February 1806. Duckworth organised his ships into two lines, the weather line consisting of , and , while the lee line consisted of , , ''Donegal'' and . The lines moved to attack the French ships and the

Battle of San Domingo The Battle of San Domingo was a naval battle of the War of the Third Coalition fought on 6 February 1806 between squadrons of First French Empire, French and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British ships of the line off the southern ...

broke out. ''Donegal'' initially engaged the ''Brave'' with several broadsides, forcing her to surrender after half an hour. Captain Malcolm then moved his position to fire a few broadsides into the ''Jupiter'' before sending a boarding party aboard her. The crew of ''Jupiter'' then surrendered her. Captain Malcolm then directed the frigate to take possession of ''Brave''. After the battle, ''Donegal'' had lost her fore-yard and had 12 killed and 33 wounded.

Off the French coast

She remained under the command of Pulteney Malcolm, and was stationed off Finisterre throughout 1807. She then became the flagship of Rear-admiral Eliab Harvey, and was later placed under the command of Rear-admiral Richard Keats in the Channel. ''Donegal'' was at

Spithead Spithead is an eastern area of the Solent and a roadstead for vessels off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast, with the Isle of Wight lying to the south-west. Spithead and the ch ...

in 1808 and over a period of five days from 1 August Captain Malcolm oversaw the disembarkation of Sir Arthur Wellesley's army at Mondego Bay. ''Donegal''’s first-lieutenant James Askey acted as the beach-master during the landings. On 23 February 1809 ''Donegal'' was part of a squadron under Rear-Admiral Stopford, when they chased three enemy frigates into the Sable d'Olonne, leading to the

Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne The Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne was a minor naval battle fought on 23 February 1809 off the town of Les Sables-d'Olonne on the Biscay Coast of France between a French Navy squadron of three frigates and a larger British squadron of ship of the ...

. was able to anchor within half a mile of them, whilst ''Donegal'' and had to anchor further out because of their deeper draughts. Their combined fire eventually forced two of the frigates to run ashore, whilst ''Donegal'' suffered one man killed and six wounded in the engagement. By April 1809 ''Donegal'' was sailing with Admiral James Gambier's fleet in the Basque Roads. During the Battle of the Basque Roads, ''Donegal''s first-lieutenant James Askey commanded the

fire ship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the ad ...

''Hercule'' in the attack on the French fleet, with the assistance of

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

Charles Falkiner, also of ''Donegal''. ''Donegal'' was commanded by acting-Captain Edward Pelham Brenton when she sailed for Cadiz on 24 July 1809, carrying the ambassador to the Junta at

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

, Marquess Richard Wellesley, brother of Sir Arthur Wellesley. She arrived on 1 August, shortly after the

Battle of Talavera The Battle of Talavera (27–28 July 1809) was fought just outside the town of Talavera de la Reina, Spain some southwest of Madrid, during the Peninsular War. At Talavera, a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley combined with a Spanish ...

, and after the failure of Richard Wellesley's mission, returned him to Britain in November. On her arrival, Captain Malcolm resumed command of ''Donegal''. On 6 November 1810, ''Donegal'' captured the French privateer

lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or more masts. Luggers were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively ...

''Surcouf'' off Cape Barfleur. ''Surcouf'', of 14 guns and 53 men, was one day out of Cherbourg and had made no captures. The hired armed lugger ''Sandwich'' shared in the prize money arising from the capture, as well as s capture on 17 October of the privateer ''Vengeur''. ''Donegal'' too shared in the proceeds of the capture of ''Vengeur'', suggesting ''Donegal'', ''Revenge'', and ''Sandwich'' were all in company. On 13 November 1810, the frigates and ''Niobe'' attacked two French frigates ( ''Elisa'' and ''Amazone''), which sought protection under the shore batteries near

Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue () is a Communes of France, commune in the Manche Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. It is particularly known for being a major site of fortifications des ...

. ''Revenge'' and ''Donegal'' arrived two days later and together the four ships fired upon the French for as long as the tide would allow. The operation cost ''Donegal'' three men wounded. ''Élisa'' was driven ashore and ultimately destroyed as a result of this action; ''Amazone'' escaped safely into Le Havre.

Fate

''Donegal'' spent most of 1811 off

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, before being reduced to ordinary at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

later that year. She was later moved and spent 1814 in ordinary at Chatham. After the end of the Napoleonic era, she was refitted and brought back into service as a flagship, serving well into the 1830s; ''Donegal'' was eventually broken up in 1845.

Notes

References

* *Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line – Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen (2015) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donegal (1798) 1794 ships Téméraire-class ships of the line Ships of the line of the French Navy Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Captured ships Ships built in France