''Amazone'' was a 32-gun ''Iphigénie''-class

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 ...

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 the second ship of the French Navy to receive a

copper sheathing Copper sheathing is a method for protecting the hull of a wooden vessel from attack by shipworm, barnacles and other marine growth through the use of copper plates affixed to the surface of the hull, below the waterline. It was pioneered and d ...

in 1778. She served in the

War of American Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

under Captain Lapérouse, and later in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

Career

''Amazone'' was commissioned in July 1778, in time for the Anglo-French War that had broken out in June. She took part in the

under Captain Lapérouse, and constituted the vanguard of the French squadron that came to support the Continental Army, arriving at Boston on 11 June 1780. On 7 October 1779, ''Amazone'' captured the 20-gun HMS ''Ariel''. On 2 May 1780, she departed Brest with the 7-ship and 3-frigate

Expédition Particulière The Special Expedition (French: ''Expédition Particulière'') was an Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force deployed by Kingdom of France, France to North America to support the United States against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain ...

under Admiral Ternay, escorting 36 transports carrying troops to support the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

in the

. The squadron comprised the 80-gun ''Duc de Bourgogne'', under Ternay d'Arsac (admiral) and Médine ( flag captain); the

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 ...

''Neptune'', under Sochet Des Touches, and ''Conquérant'', under La Grandière; and the 64-gun ''Provence'' under Lombard, ''Ardent'' under

Bernard de Marigny Jean-Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville (1785–1868), known as Bernard de Marigny, was a French- Creole American nobleman, playboy, planter, politician, duelist, writer, horse breeder, land developer, and President of the Louisian ...

, ''Jason'' under La Clocheterie and ''Éveillé'' under Le Gardeur de Tilly, and the frigates ''Surveillante'' under Villeneuve Cillart, ''Amazone'' under La Pérouse, and ''Bellone''. ''Amazone'', which constituted the vanguard of the fleet, arrived at Boston on 11 June 1780. From October to November 1780, she sailed from

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

to Lorient, and from there to the Caribbean. AmazonevSantaMargarita

In the action of 29 July 1782, HMS ''Santa Margarita'' briefly captured ''Amazone'', off

Cape Henry Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Ch ...

, but the next day the squadron under Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil intervened and recaptured the frigate.

Fate

''Amazone'' was wrecked off Penmarch in January 1797. Six of her crew died in the accident.

Citations

References

* * * * * * (1671-1870) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amazone (1778) Iphigénie-class frigates 1777 ships Ships built in France Age of Sail frigates of France Captured ships