''Bellone'' was an 32-gun frigate of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in th ...

on plans by Léon-Michel Guignace. She took part in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

in the Indian Ocean with the squadron under Suffren, and later in the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

. She was present at the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...

. The British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

captured her in 1798 and commissioned her as HMS ''Proserpine''. She never went to sea and was broken up in 1806.

French service

In January 1780, ''Bellone'' received

copper sheathing Copper sheathing is the practice of protecting the under-water hull of a ship or boat from the corrosive effects of salt water and biofouling through the use of copper plates affixed to the outside of the hull. It was pioneered and developed by ...

Operations off America

On 2 May 1780, she departed Brest with the 7-ship and 3-frigate

Expédition Particulière ''Expédition Particulière'' (English: Special Expedition) was the codename given by the Kingdom of France for the plan to sail French land forces to North America to support the colonists against Britain in the American Revolutionary War. Numberin ...

under Admiral Ternay, escorting 36 transports carrying troops to support the Continental Army 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

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

flag captain In the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime en ...

); 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 Louisia ...

, ''Jason'' under

La Clocheterie LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

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.

Indian Ocean campaign of the American Revolutionary War

In October 1781, ''Bellone'', under Captain Étienne-François de Cillart de Villeneuve, was off

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...

escorting the transports ''Neker'' and ''Sévère''. The squadron encountered the 50-gun , which captured the transports and brought them to

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three consti ...

. ''Bellone'' sailed on to Isle de France and reinforced the French squadron under Rear-Admiral Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves. On 9 February 1782, Estienne d'Orves and Suffren assumed command of the squadron. He re-appointed his captains and gave command of ''Bellone'' to Jean André de Pas de Beaulieu. On 14 February 1782 ''Bellone'' captured the sloop in a

single ship action A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions. Single-shi ...

. The French took her into service as the corvette ''Chasseur''. On 1 March 1782, under Captain de Beaulieu, ''Bellone'' returned to Trinquebar from a cruise in the Indian Ocean, where she had captured or destroyed 14 merchantmen. In April 1782, ''Bellone'' captured the East Indiaman ''Cartier'', which came from China, and brought her to Batacalo. In June of the same year, she captured a British "both", in the roads of Negapatnam that the French took into service as ''Negapatnam''. The next month ''Negapatnam'' was at Pondicherry with the French squadron under Admiral Suffren, but her subsequent disposition is unknown. Around late May, ''Bellone'' cut out the

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''Raiker'', with a cargo of arak, and three smaller ships, near the fort of

Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieva ...

. In July 1782, in the wake of the Battle of Negapatam, Suffren promoted Beaulieu to the command of , replacing him with Pierrevert. On 12 August 1782, in the runup to the

Battle of Trincomalee A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

, ''Bellone'' had her mainmast damaged by a gust of wind and sailed to Batacalo for repairs. En route, she encountered , under

Andrew Mitchell Andrew John Bower Mitchell (born 23 March 1956) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001. A member of the Conservative Party, Mitchell was previously the MP for Gedling from 1987 to ...

. In the ensuing Action of 12 August 1782, ''Coventry'' killed or wounded the senior officers of ''Bellone'', which allowed her to make good her escape. In the wake of the Battle of Trincomalee, Suffren sent ''Bellone'' to reconnaitre the harbour of

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

and investigate whether a British attack was imminent. ''Bellone'' returned on 23 September 1782 and could report that everything was quiet at Cuddalore. In January 1783, she was under

Villaret-Joyeuse Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747Granier, p.87Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish. – 24 July 1812Levot, p.544) was a French admiral. Villaret was born at Auch ...

Later career

On 5 February 1791, under Captain de Méhérenc de Saint Pierre, ''Bellone'' departed Brest with ''Amphitrite'', bound for Martinique. From May to December 1792, she cruised the North Sea, before returning to Brest. On 8 October 1792, her commanding officer, Lieutenant Leprince, committed suicide, and the First Officer, Lieutenant Lafargue, took over. In August 1793, she ran aground at Quibéron, but was successfully refloated. ''Bellone'' took part in the

. In February 1795, under Lieutenant Anger, she crossed from Bergen to Brest. She took part in the

Expédition d'Irlande The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republica ...

Capture and fate

Under Commander Jacob, ''Bellone'' took part in the

Battle of Tory Island The Battle of Tory Island (sometimes called the Battle of Donegal, Battle of Lough Swilly or Warren's Action) was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwes ...

on 12 October 1798. There, she was captured by and , and was commissioned in the

as HMS ''Proserpine''. She had 20 killed and 45 wounded in the action. The Royal Navy hulked her, with Captain William Ferris commanding her from August 1804. Still, although officially "under repair" at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

, she was never more than a hulk. The Navy sold her for breaking up on 27 August 1806.

Citations and references

Notes Citations References * * * * * (1671-1870) *

External links

*
Naval Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellone (1778) Age of Sail frigates of France Ships built in France Iphigénie-class frigates 1778 ships Captured ships