''Andromaque'' was a 32-gun

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 ...

Career

''Andromaque'' was commissioned in Brest in 1778 and took part in the

American War of 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 ...

. After an overhaul in which she was coppered in April 1780, she captured the British 20-gun

post ship Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the second half of the 18th century and the Napoleonic Wars to describe a sixth-rate ship (see rating system of the Royal Navy) that was smaller than a frigate (in practice, carrying ...

on 4 October 1780, off Tortuga. The French Navy took ''Unicorn'' into service as ''La Licorne''. On 21 April 1781, ''Andromaque'' landed troops for the

Siege of Pensacola The siege of Pensacola, fought from March 9 to May 10, 1781, was the culmination of Spain's conquest of West Florida during the Gulf Coast Campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The siege was commanded by Bernardo de Gálvez, whose near ...

, in the squadron under Monteil. On 20 April 1782, a 10-ship convoy departed Brest escorted by the 74-gun and , and the frigates and ''Andromaque''. At sunset, at the mouth of 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 ...

, the convoy met a British force of three 74-gun ships of the line under John Jervis; in the ensuing

action of 20–21 April 1782 The Third Battle of Ushant or the action of 20–21 April 1782 was a naval battle fought during the American Revolutionary War, between a French naval fleet of three ships of the line protecting a convoy and two British Royal naval ships of th ...

, ''Pégase'' and the 64-gun ''Actionaire'', armed

en flûte ''En flûte'' (French: "as a fluyt") is a French naval expression of the Age of Sail to designate the use of a warship as a transport with reduced armament.Willaumez, p. 294 Some warships, ships of the line or frigates, were occasionally used wi ...

, were captured. ''Andromaque'' was decommissioned in November 1791 and lied in reserve at Rochefort, until June 1793, when she was armed again. Then was then tasked with convoy escort duty between Rochefort and La Rochelle, under Captain Renaudin. She had a battle against a ship of the line and four Spanish frigates.Levot, p. 431 In 1794, ''Andromaque'' cruised in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

under Lieutenant Guillotin. Lieutenant Farjenel took command later that year. In 1795, she crossed the Atlantic to Guadeloupe, and Lieutenant Morel took command. On 22 August 1796, while cruising with a naval division, she sprang a leak and has to detach. She was then chased by the frigate and the brig and beached herself in

Arcachon Bay Arcachon Basin or alternatively Arcachon Bay (, ; ) is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the southwest coast of France, situated in Pays de Buch between the Côte d'Argent and the Côte des Landes, in the region of Aquitaine. The bay covers an ar ...

to avoid capture. The crew jumped overboard and swam to the shore, 20 men drowning to death. The British launched boats whose parties boarded and took prisoner ''Andromaque''s captain, Lieutenant Morel, and four officers, and rescued a number of Portuguese prisoners who had been the crews of two Brazilian ships that her squadron had captured. A boarding party from ''Sylph'' set fire to ''Andromaque'' as they left and she was completely burnt. There are reports that after seizing the entire crew, the British kept only the officers and released the seamen, only to open fire on them as they attempted to return ashore.Guérin, vol.6, p. 110

Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Andromaque Frigates of the Royal Navy Ships built in France Age of Sail frigates of France 1777 ships Nymphe-class frigates Maritime incidents in 1796