''Blonde'' was a French 32-gun

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

corvette, built in Bordeaux around 1801 and commissioned in 1803 under François Aregnaudeau. She preyed on British and American commerce, notably destroying the Royal Navy corvette HMS ''Wolverine'', before the frigate HMS ''Loire'' captured her on 17 August 1804.

Privateer

''Blonde'' started her career in June 1803 under François Aregnaudeau, a promising privateer captain noted for capturing several valuable ships off Dartmouth on ''Heureux Spéculateur''.La Nicollière-Teijeiro, p.412.Demerliac, no 2027, p.241Brongniart, p.78 ''Blonde'' had a successful cruise, notably capturing the former

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 ...

brig , by then commissioned as a

whaling ship A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Jap ...

and returning to London from the South Seas Fisheries. On 7 July ''Blonde'' encountered the British privateer , of 18 carriage guns and 50 men. The ensuing engagement lasted an hour and a half before ''Young Nicholas''

struck Struck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adolf Struck Adolf Hermann Struck (1877–1911) was a German sightseer and writer. He is known for his Travel literature, travelogue ''Makedonische Fahrten'' and for surveying the ...

after she had suffered four men killed. Aregnaudeau gave her up to her captain and crew in recognition of their "courageous Conduct", and she arrived at Penzance on the 29th. On 22 July, at ,''Cullands Grove''

National Archives (United Kingdom) The National Archives (TNA; ) is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is the ...

''Blonde'' encountered the under-manned

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

''Culland's Grove'', which

. ''Culland's Grove'' was on her return leg from India and carried a valuable cargo amounting to 2.5 million francs in insurance money. On 24 February 1804, ''Blonde'' departed from

Santander, Spain Santander ( , ; ) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain. It has a population of 172,000 (2017). It is a port city located in the northern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Cantab ...

, and in the following days captured the ships ''Diana'', ''Eclipse'', ''Sally and Rebecca'', ''Rollindson'', and ''Zephir''. On 24 March she encountered an eight-ship convoy escorted by the corvette . Aregnaudeau attacked ''Wolverine'' and forced her to surrender. ''Wolverine'' sank almost immediately after striking. While ''Blonde''s crew was busy rescuing the survivors, the convoy attempted to escape. Still, ''Blonde'' managed to capture two ships, ''Nelson'' and ''Union''. ''Blonde'' then returned to

Pasaia Pasaia () is a town and municipality located in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Autonomous Community of northern Spain. It is a fishing community, commercial port and the birthplace of the famous admiral Blas de Lezo and of the fashion de ...

, having captured a total of eight ships and 228 prisoners.Gallois, vol.2, pp.250

Denis Decrès Vice-Admiral Denis Decrès (18 June 1761 – 7 December 1820) was a French Navy officer who served as Minister of the Navy and the Colonies from 1801 to 1814 and again in 1815. Early career Decrès was born in Châteauvillain, Haute-Marne ...

ordered that the most deserving crew members of ''Blonde'' be honoured; Aregnaudeau received a sword of honour from the merchants of Bordeaux, and on 18 July 1804 he was made a Knight in the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

.La Nicollière-Teijeiro, p.418

Fate

On 16 August 1804, at coordinates , ''Blonde'' encountered the frigate HMS ''Loire''. After a chase of 20 hours, including a running fight of a quarter of an hour, during which the British had one midshipman and five men wounded, and the French lost two men killed and five wounded, ''Blonde''

.James, Naval History of Great Britain - Vol III, p 276 ''Loire'' took her prize in tow to Plymouth where the prisoners were disembarked on 31 August. ''Blonde'' was not commissioned in the Royal Navy.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * (Volume 1 and 2 in a single file) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blonde (1803) 1800s ships Ships built in France Maritime incidents in 1804 Privateer ships of France Captured ships