French frigate Président (1804)

''Président'' was a 40-gun frigate of the in the French Navy, built to an 1802 design by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. She served with the French Navy from her completion in 1804 until late 1806 when the Royal Navy captured her. Thereafter, she served as HMS ''President''. In 1815 the Navy renamed her ''Piemontaise'', but then broke her up in December.

French service

Originally ordered under the name ''Minerve'', the frigate was renamed as ''Président'' on 24 December 1803.

She took part in L'Hermite's expedition, which led to her capture. Before she was captured, on 6 January 1806 she helped capture the 16-gun sloop .

Capture

In June 1806, Captain Thomas George Shortland took command of . She was the flagship for a squadron under Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Louis. On 27 September, they fell in with ''Président'', Capt. Gallier Labrosse, south of the Isles of Scilly, near Belle Île. ''Président'' had been sailing with the ship of the line , frigate and corvette , but had separated from them on 20 August.

Louis's squadron had sailed to the Bay of Biscay to await the return of Admiral Willaumez from the Caribbean Sea. On spotting ''Président'', the squadron gave chase but the ships of the line were not fast enough to catch her. However, an 18-gun attached to the squadron, , Captain Edward Hawkins, was able to get within firing range. ''Dispatch'' proceeded to harry ''Président'' with her forward guns, forcing ''Président'' to turn towards the nearest British frigate, HMS ''Blanche'', under Captain Sir Thomas Lavie. Seeing ''Président'' turn, Louis ordered ''Canopus'' to fire, even though the range was extreme. Realizing that the rest of the British squadron would arrive shortly, Labrosse struck his colours to ''Dispatch''. ''Président'' had suffered only minor damage and there were no casualties on either side in the action.James (1837) Vol. 4, pp. 265–6.

The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS ''President'' (dropping the accent over the 'e' in her name). The frigate's design was much admired and she served as the model for a number of later frigates, notably the in the Royal Navy.

Cruising

In December 1807, she was commissioned under the command of Captain Adam Mackenzie, sailing for South America on 7 May 1808 after completion conversion for British service at Plymouth. Mackenzie commanded her until 1810, apart from a brief period in 1809, when Captain Charles Schomberg temporarily commanded her off Brazil while Mackenzie temporarily commanded .

In 1810 Captain Samuel Warren took command and on 31 December sailed her for the Cape of Good Hope and thence to the East Indies. In the East Indies she took part in the operations in Java and the rest of the Dutch East Indies. In 1811, ''President'' was attached to the squadron of Admiral Robert Stopford that captured Java. On 31 August the frigates , ''President'', , and were detached to take the seaport of Cheribon. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Java" to all remaining survivors of the campaign.

Returning to the UK in late 1812 or early 1813, ''President'' then served from May 1813 in the Irish Sea, first under Captain Francis Mason, then from April 1814 under Captain Archibald Duff.

On 21 March 1814, ''President'' was in company with the brig-sloop and the gun-brig off Finisterre as they escorted a fleet from Cork to Portugal.''Lloyd's List''. Accessed 13 December 2016.
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Fate

In August 1815, the Royal Navy renamed her HMS ''Piedmontaise'' but broke her up in December of that same year.

Post script

''President'' was the model for three later British 44-gun frigates:
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Citations

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:President
Age of Sail frigates of France
1804 ships
Frigates of the French Navy
Gloire-class frigates
Ships built in France