''Inconstant'' was a , one of 32, launched in 1811 for the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. In 1815,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

used her to escape from exile on

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

. In the 1820s she took part in the war with Spain and later served on the Brazil station. She also served on the

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label= French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas ...

station. She was broken up at Brest in December 1843.

History

''Inconstant'' was built to plans by

Jacques-Noël Sané Jacques-Noël Sané (18 February 1740, Brest – 22 August 1831, Paris) was a French naval engineer. He was the conceptor of standardised designs for ships of the line and frigates fielded by the French Navy in the 1780s, which served during the ...

, with Jean-Baptiste Marestier supervising construction. The contract for her construction was signed with St André in April 1809, but was cancelled on 28 January 1810 when she was only ths complete. The Navy then completed ''Inconstant''s construction.

Early service

Between 11 November and 29 December 1811 ''Inconstant'' was at

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Cornette de Venancourt. then between 27 August and 11 September 1812 she was at

Porto Ercole Porto Ercole () is an Italian town located in the municipality of Monte Argentario, in the Province of Grosseto, Tuscany. It is one of the two major towns that form the township, along with Porto Santo Stefano. Its name means "Port Hercules". ...

and Portoferraio. She was at Portoferraio on 26 September 1813. On 18 January 1814 she was again at Livorno.

Napoleon and the Elban Navy

Following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, the victorious allies exiled Emperor

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

to Elba after his forced abdication in 1814. He arrived at Portoferraio on 30 May 1814. He was allowed to keep a personal guard of six hundred men and a small navy. ''Inconstant'' left Toulon on 24 April 1814 to carry Napoleon from St Tropez to Elba, but at Napoleon's insistence, that task fell to the frigate . Still, ''Inconstant'' sailed to Elba on 25 May 1814 and three days later she was enrolled in his navy. Her role was to maintain his communications with Livorno. For most of her time with Napoleon, ''Inconstant'' was under the command of Lieutenant François-Louis Taillade. She transported Napoleon and 40 troops for the re-occupation and fortification of the islands of

Pianosa Pianosa () is an island in the Tuscan Archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. It is about in area, with a coastal perimeter of . Geography In Roman times the island was named ''Planasia'' (plain) because of its flatness – its highest poin ...

and

Palmaiola Palmaiola is an islet located in the middle of Piombino Channel, at from Elba and from Piombino; it is part of the comune of Rio Marina and is wholly owned by the State. Geography In the 14th century it was named ''Insulam Palmarole'' becau ...

. In addition to transporting passengers and mail between Elba and Italy, with her crew augmented by 50 soldiers, she cruised against Barbary pirates. On 6 January 1815 a gale drove ''Inconstant'' on shore. She was gotten off, with much difficulty five days later, only to have another storm again drive her ashore, this time causing even more damage. Napoleon temporarily relieved Taillade of command, replacing him with a man named Jean François Chautard. Taillade returned to (shared) command in time for Napoleon's departure from Elba. On 26 February 1815, Napoleon used ''Inconstant'' to escape from exile in Elba. Between 26 February and 1 March 1815 she ferried Napoleon and his generals between Elba and Golfe Juan. After Napoleon's defeat in the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoratio ...

, The French navy reintegrated ''Inconstant'' in March 1815. ''Dryade'' escorted her to Toulon on 24 May.

Return to French naval service

The French navy rebuilt ''Inconstant'' at Toulon between September 1822 and her relaunching on 14 March 1823. She then took part in the Spanish expedition in 1823, which restored the monarchy in Spain and put an end to the Trienio Liberal. ''Inconstant'' notably recaptured the merchantman ''Nativité'', from Marseilles, on 26 June. Between 7 April 1823 and 26 November, ''Inconstant'' was at Toulon, and then sailed on a mission to Brazil. She was under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Abel Aubert du Petit-Thouars. ''Inconstant'' was on the Brazil station from 10 December 1823 to 6 March 1826. In August 1824 ''Inconstant'' sailed from Rio de Janeiro to Sâo Salvador and then to

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the ...

, where she took up station. By this time Dupetit Thouars had received promotion to ''capitaine de frégate''. By 2 June 1825 ''Inconstant'' was back at Rio de Janeiro.''Fonds Marine'', p.607. She returned from Brazil and then was at the ''

École navale École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'' (Naval School) from 1827 to 1829. From 1 February 1829 to 9 January 1832 ''Inconstant'' was on a cruise that took her from Brest to Newfoundland and Brazil. She then underwent a refit in 1834. ''Inconstant'' left Saint Louis, Senegal on 6 February 1835 for France, ferrying officers of ''Africain''. On 8 December 1835 ''Inconstant'' departed Brest, bound for Cayenne. She grounded in the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

on 10 January 1836 but managed to refloat herself. ''Inconstant'' was stationed at

from 1838 to 1840.

Fate

''Inconstant'' was condemned on 17 August 1842. She was broken up in dry dock № 6 at Brest, starting on 4 December 1843.

External links

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inconstant (1811) 1811 ships Brigs of the French Navy