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''Sirène'' was a 40-gun 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 took part in a number of campaigns and actions before she was badly damaged in a battle on 22 March 1808. Refloated after being beached to avoid capture, she was hulked. ''Sirène'' was broken up in 1825.


French Revolutionary Wars

Begun as ''Fidèle'', she was commissioned as ''Sirène'' in May 1795 under Lieutenant Charles Berrenger. 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 ...
. On 17 December ''Sirène'' and the were sailing to France from Cayenne when they were able to capture the
East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...
''Calcutta'' off Madeira. Later that morning the three encountered and , which were escorting the West India convoy from
Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...
. ''Glenmore'' recaptured ''Calcutta'' while ''Aimable'' engaged ''Sirène'' and ''Bergère''. A 35-minute action ensued before the two French vessels departed. ''Sirène'' had as prisoners Captain Haggy, ''Calcutta''s master, her first and second mates, and 50 of her
lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland or other lands east of the Cape of Good Hope who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the mid-20th centur ...
s and seamen. ''Calcutta'' arrived in Plymouth on 12 January 1800.


Napoleonic wars

On 8 June 1805 ''Sirène'' was part of a Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve, which intercepted a homeward-bound convoy of 15 merchant vessels under the escort of the frigate and the schooner or sloop . The two British warships managed to escape, but Villeneuve's fleet captured the entire convoy, valued at some five million pounds. Villeneuve sent the convoy to Guadeloupe under ''Sirène''s escort. However, as she was escorting the prizes, she encountered several British frigates. She escaped after burning the merchantmen. ''Sirène'' took part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre on 22 July 1805. In March of the following year, she took part in an expedition to destroy English whaling ships. On 2 August 1806 ''Sirène'', ''capitaine de frégate'' Le Duc, and , ''capitaine de frégate'' Lambert, captured the Greenland whalers , Swan, master, and ''Blenheim'', Welburn, master, both of and for Hull. The French burnt their captures. ''Sirène'' also captured two other whalers, ''Lion'', of Liverpool, and ''Molly'', of Hull. In March 1808, ''Sirène'', under
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 ...
, and the 44-gun , under Captain Hugues Méquet, ferried troops to Martinique. In early 1808 ''Sirène'' and were returning to France from Martinique when they encountered, captured, and destroyed three British merchantmen, , ''Sarah King'', and ''Windham''. The French put the crews on ''Sofia'', Delaney, master, of and for New York, which brought the crews into Plymouth on 26 March. ''Sofia'' had been coming from Belfast. On 22 March ''Sirène'' and ''Italienne'' encountered a British squadron comprising the 74-gun HMS ''Impetueux'' (Captain John Lawford) and , as well as the frigates (Captain George Wolfe) and , which chased them. It seemed at first that the French squadron would easily beat the British to Lorient, but as they closed to shore, the wind became too weak and the frigates had to be taken in tow by their boats. By the time wind had returned, ''Impetueux'' and ''Aigle'' had closed so much that Duperré deemed it impossible to reach Lorient before being caught, and he decided to seek the support of the batteries at
Groix Groix (; ) is an island and a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France. Groix lies a few kilometres off the coast of Lorient. Several ferries a day run from Lorient to Groix. There are a few small ...
. At 20:30, ''Sirène'' was taken in a cross-fire of ''Aigle'', which sailed between her and shore, and ''Impetueux'' on the other side. The gunnery exchange lasted one hour and a quarter, after which the British withdrew. Fearing that the British would attack again before he could moor ''Sirène'' in a strong defensive position, Duperré beached her at Pointe des Chats, under the Lacroix battery. ''Sirène'' was refloated on 26 March, and rejoined ''Italienne'' in Lorient harbour. This action was immortalised by a painting by
Pierre-Julien Gilbert Pierre-Julien Gilbert (1783 in Brest – 1860 in Brest) was a French painter who specialised in naval scenes. Gilbert was a pupil of Pierre Ozanne and Louis-Philippe Crépin. He taught painting at the École Navale from 1816 and was admitte ...
. In British literature, ''Sirène'' is sometimes mistaken for ''Seine''.''Naval history of Great Britain'', vol. V
p.26


Fate

Too badly damaged to be repaired, ''Sirène'' was used as a hulk in Lorient. She was broken up in 1825.


Notes


Citations


References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sirene Coquille-class frigates 1795 ships Ships built in France