HMS ''Decade'' was a 36-gun

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

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

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was formerly the French ' ''Décade'', which the British had captured in 1798. She served with the British during the French Revolutionary and

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, and was sold out of the service in 1811.

French service and capture

''Décade'' was built at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

between March 1794 and January 1795, having been launched on 10 October 1794. She had been previously named ''Macreuse''.Winfield (2008), p. 195. After a short career with the French Navy she was captured on 24 August 1798. On 24 August, was chasing a French frigate, which joined. After about three hours the two British ships had caught up with the French ship, which proceeded for the next hour to fire on them with her stern chasers. She then

struck Struck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adolf Struck Adolf Hermann Struck (1877–1911) was a German sightseer and writer. He is known for his Travel literature, travelogue ''Makedonische Fahrten'' and for surveying the ...

. The French ship was ''Décade'', with a crew of 336 men under the command of Citoyen Villeneau. ''Décade'' was pierced for 44 guns, but she had landed ten in Cayenne, from where she had sailed. In all, ''Naiad'' had chased ''Décade'' for 36 hours. The British took ''Décade'' back to

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. She was registered there in October and fitted out there between April and December 1799.

British service

She was commissioned in June 1799 under Captain James Wallis, and sent to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in January the following year. She was paid off in October 1802. ''Decade'' was fitted out at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

between May and July 1803 and recommissioned again in June 1803 under Captain William Rutherfurd. Rutherfurd commanded ''Decade'' in 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 ...

, before sailing to join the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...

in March 1805. She took part in the pursuit of the French fleet to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

during the

Trafalgar Campaign The Trafalgar campaign was a long and complicated series of fleet manoeuvres carried out by the combined French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish fleets; and the opposing moves of the Royal Navy during much of 1805. These were the culmina ...

, and in 1806 she came under the command of Captain John Stuart. Stuart was assigned to Sir Richard Strachan's squadron, and took part in the pursuit of Jean-Baptiste Willaumez's squadron during the

Atlantic campaign of 1806 The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. ''Decade'' was assigned to the serve in the Channel in 1807, and by 1808 was on the Irish station.

Fate

She was sold at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

on 21 February 1811.

Citations

References

* * * Winfield, Rif & Stephen S Roberts (2015) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 – 1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates''. (Seaforth Publishing).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Decade (1798) Frigates of the Royal Navy 1794 ships Ships built in France Captured ships