''Bellone'' was a 44-gun ''Consolante''-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 ...

French service

''Bellone'', under the command of

Guy-Victor Duperré Admiral of France Guy-Victor Duperré (20 February 1775 – 2 November 1846) was a French Navy officer. He is known for commanding French naval forces in the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811 and was victorious in the Battle of Grand Port, whe ...

, departed

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

on 18 January 1809, bound for the Indian Ocean. She sailed from

La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. 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 Smi ...

for a combat patrol in August. On 2 November she captured HMS ''Victor''. Twenty days later, she captured the 48-gun Portuguese ''Minerva'' after a 2-hour battle. ''Bellone'' sailed back to La Réunion with her prize, arriving on 2 January 1810. In April 1810, the squadron comprising ''Bellone'', ''Minerve'' and ''Victor'' departed for another patrol, during which they fought the action of 3 July 1810 and the

Battle of Grand Port The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle fought on 20–27 August 1810 between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France (now Mauritius), as part of ...

. ''Bellone'' was surrendered to the British when Île de France fell, on 4 December 1810.

British service

''Bellone'' was recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS ''Junon''. In June 1812, ''Junon'' escorted a convoy from Portsmouth to India. On 8 February 1813, nine boats and 200 men of the squadron of which ''Junon'' was part captured the

letter of marque A letter of marque and reprisal () was a Sovereign state, government license in the Age of Sail that authorized a private person, known as a privateer or French corsairs, corsair, to attack and capture vessels of a foreign state at war with t ...

schooner ''Lottery''. ''Lottery'' was of 210 tons burthen (bm), copper-bottomed and fastened, and carried six 12-pounder

carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the last quarter of the 18th century to the mid-19th cen ...

s, though she was pierced for 16 cannon. Her crew put up a strong defense with the result that the British cutting out party suffered six men wounded, half severely or dangerously, one of whom died later; ''Junon'' herself suffered two men wounded. The Americans suffered 19 men wounded, including their captain, John Southcomb, before they

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. Southcomb died of his wounds and his body was taken ashore. ''Lottery'' had been carrying a cargo of coffee, sugar and lumber from Baltimore to Bordeaux. A week later ''Lottery'' convoyed several prizes to Bermuda. The Royal Navy took ''Lottery'' into service as . In June 1813, ''Junon''s boats raided the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

, and she sustained an attack by US gunboats.Winfield p. 179 On 3 April 1814, as she sailed with , she encountered the USS ''Constitution'', which fled at all sail, dropping drinking water and food overboard, and eventually making it to Marblehead harbour. ''Junon'', , , and , shared in the detention, on 23 November of ''Firmina'', of 260 tons (bm), Antonio Jose Fereira, master. She had been sailing from Boston to Amelia Island in ballast. The Vice admiralty court in Halifax restored her to her owners.

Citations

References

* Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations; divisions et stations navales; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome deuxième : BB4 1 à 482 (1790-1826

* * * * * Age of Sail frigates of France Ships built in France 1807 ships Consolante-class frigates Frigates of the French Navy Captured ships War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Frigates of the Royal Navy {{France-mil-ship-stub