French Frigate Astrée (1809)

''Astrée'' was a 44-gun of the French Navy, launched at Cherbourg in 1809. In December of the next year she captured HMS ''Africaine''. The Royal Navy captured ''Astrée'' in 1810 and took her into service under her French name, rating her as a 38-gun frigate, but then in 1811 recommissioned her as HMS ''Pomone''. She served during the War of 1812 and was broken up in 1816.

French service

''Astrée'' took part in the campaign in the Indian Ocean under Commander René Lemarant de Kerdaniel, serving with Hamelin's squadron. She also was present in the final stages of the Battle of Grand Port.

A few days later, on 30 August, ''Astrée'' recaptured the 1-gun schooner-aviso ''Mouche No. 23'', which HMS ''Nereide'' had captured 2 June.

''Astrée'' came to be part of a squadron under Pierre Bouvet, who had assumed command of the French squadron at Grand Port after Duperré was wounded, and had been promoted to ''capitaine de frégate''. The squadron also comprised as a flagship, and the sloop .

Capture of HMS ''Africaine''

On 12 September 1810, Bouvet's squadron intercepted HMS ''Africaine'' (commanded by Commodore Corbett) off Saint-Denis, as the frigate , the sloop and the brig were sailing from the bay of Saint-Paul. Bouvet lured the British into pursuit.

At midnight Bouvet sent ''Astrée'' forwards, creating the impression that ''Iphigénie'' was to slow ''Africaine'' down to allow the rest of the squadron to flee. At 3 am, ''Astrée'' regained her place at the rear of the squadron. The weather, which had been rough, improved somewhat, and in the moonlight ''Astrée'' suddenly found herself at gun range of ''Africaine''.

A gunnery duel followed immediately, which damaged ''Astrée''s rigging. She closed in to ''Iphigénie'' with ''Africaine'' in close pursuit. ''Africaine'', her guns still trained at ''Astrée'', soon found herself under fire from ''Iphigénie''. After half an hour of exchanging fire at point-black range, an exchange in which the French had the upper hand, the British attempted a boarding, which ''Iphigénie'' easily eluded. The boarding attempt gave ''Astrée'' an opportunity to rake ''Africaine''s bow. At 4:30, ''Africaine'' struck her colours.

All officers of ''Africaine'' had been killed or wounded in the action, save for Colonel Barry, and only 69 men were uninjured. Bouvet was given Corbett's dagger, which he kept ever since. The French abandoned ''Africaine'' and the next day recaptured her.

On 3 December 1810, the Île de France fell to the British. The ships moored at the island were surrendered, including ''Iphigénie'', ''Bellone'' and ''Astrée''. The British took ''Astrée'' into service as a 38-gun fifth rate and renamed her HMS ''Pomone'' on 26 October 1811, the previous having been wrecked earlier in the month.

British service

''Pomone'' underwent repairs at Portsmouth from November 1811 to April 1812. She was commissioned under Captain Robert Lambert in February 1812. At some point Captain Francis William Fane took command, and on 23 May 1812 sailed her for Newfoundland. On 4 August ''Pomone'' recaptured ''Kitty'', which the American privateer had captured five days earlier. ''Pomone'' then sent ''Kitty'' into Newfoundland.

Captain Philip Carteret took command of ''Pomone'' in December 1812.

On 26 May 1813, ''Pomone'' recaptured two Spanish vessels ''El Correv Diligente de Carraccas'' and ''Nostra Senora de los Desemperados''. She apparently shared the salvage with ''Tuscan'' and some three other vessels.

Early on the morning of 21 October 1813, ''Pomone'' was in the Bay of Biscay repairing damage following a gale in which she had lost her fore-yard. By chance she fell in with a ship under jury masts that proved to be a French frigate.Marshall (1827), Supplement, Part 1, pp.76–8.

Carteret was about to attack when another vessel, which also appeared to be a frigate, and a brig flying French colours, emerged from the haze, followed by three more indistinct vessels. To avoid hazarding ''Pomone'', Carteret got well to windward of them. However, when the wind cleared in the afternoon it was discovered that they were all merchantmen except for the frigate under jury masts and the second frigate.

Carteret moved to attack the second frigate but she turned out to be a large Portuguese East Indiaman, which the French had taken and the British retaken. Carteret then sailed for four days in a fruitless search for the frigate under jury masts before he was able to find out that ''Andromache'' had captured her on 23 October. She was , and the Royal Navy took her into service as the troop transport HMS ''Trave''.

An anonymous letter from "The Pomone's Ship's Company" was passed to the admiral at Lisbon asserting with respect to Carteret that "he had run from a French frigate". Carteret asked for a court martial to clear his name. The court martial took place at Plymouth on on 31 December. When no one could be found to offer testimony against him, Carteret summoned those he suspected, plus one quarter of the ship's company chosen by lot. After the board had examined the witnesses it acquitted Carteret of all blame.

After service in the North Sea and the waters around France, ''Pomone'' sailed to the east coast of the United States to serve during the War of 1812.

On 6 December 1813 as ''John and James'', Crosby, master, was returning from Chili with 1000 barrels of oil, ''Pomone'' captured her and sent her into Bermuda. Around that time ''Pomone'' also captured several more American vessels, including the sloop ''Grampus'', and the schooners ''Anne'', ''Primrose'', ''Sally'', and ''Enterprise''.

With , ''Pomone'' captured the American privateer ''Bunker's Hill'' on 4 March 1814. ''Bunker's Hill'' carried 14 guns and had a crew of 86 men. Previously very successful, she had been cruising for eight days out of Morlaix without making a single capture. ''Bunkers Hill'' was the former Royal Navy cutter , which the French ship ''Gloire'' had taken about a year earlier on 25 February 1813 near Madeira.

On the night of 1–2 October 1814 ''Pomone'' and (or ''Despatch'') used their boats to raid Drown Meadow (now Port Jefferson, New York). The boats arrived safely back at ''Pomone'' and ''Dispatch''s anchorage around 2:30-3:00 AM on Sunday, 2 October. In the space of about three hours they had captured the American merchant sloops ''Two Friends'', ''Hope'', ''Herald'', ''Mercantile'', and ''Fair American'', and set fire to the sloop ''Oneida'', all without firing a shot. The captured sloops were later ransomed back to their owners with the proceeds being used to support the blockade.Lawrence Mirsky, Port Jefferson Historical Society Newsletter in October 2000 through January 2001, also log books of HMS Pomone and Despatch at the UK National archives (ADM 51/2296).

''Pomone'' was also part of the squadron that captured on 15 January 1815. In April 1815 Carteret moved to and Captain John Lumley took over command.Winfield (2008), p.181.

Fate

In the summer of 1815 ''Pomone'' was paid off at Chatham. She was broken up at Deptford in June 1816.

In fiction

HMS ''Pomone'' appears as part of Commodore Jack Aubrey's Mediterranean squadron in Patrick O'Brian's novel ''The Hundred Days''.

Notes

Citations

References

Sailing Ships of the Royal Navy
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomone (1811)
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Pallas-class frigates (1808)
War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom
1809 ships
Ships built in France
Captured ships