HMS Entreprenante (1799)

HMS ''Entreprenante'' (also ''Entreprenant'') was a 10-gun cutter that the Royal Navy captured from the French in 1798. The British commissioned her in 1799 and she served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, participating in the Battle of Trafalgar. She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name. She took part in several small engagements, capturing Spanish and French ships before she was sold in 1812 for breaking up.

Origins

French sources indicate that she may have been built in France in 1797. Furthermore, she may have been a privateer from Socoa, or possibly nearby Saint-Jean-de-Luz, and under the command of Ensign Dominique Délouart, of Bayonne.Association des Descendants de Capitaines Corsaire
- accessed 2 May 2016
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Early career

''Entreprenante'' was commissioned in February 1799 under Lieutenant Charles Claridge. In April she was under the command of Lieutenant William Swiney.

On 3 March 1800, ''Entreprenante'', and shared in the capture of the ''Madona del Grazie'', which they sent into Leghorn. On 29 March, ''Entreprenante'' captured a Genoese vessel from Capraia bound for Genoa with a cargo of corn. ''Entreprenante'' was among the handful of vessels that shared by agreement with ''Phaeton'' in the proceeds of the capture on 14 April by ''Phaeton'' and of the ''St. Rosalia''. Next, ''Entreprenante'' was among the vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture off Genoa, on 28 April, of the ''Proteus''.

In May ''Entreprenante'' was part of a naval squadron at the Siege of Genoa (1800). The squadron also included , , , and the tender ''Victoire'', all under the command of Vice-Admiral Lord Keith.

On 21 January 1801, ''Entreprenante'' brought dispatches to Jaffa.

Then on 2 March she protected the left flank during the landing of troops in Aboukir Bay. The schooner ''Malta'' and the gun-vessel assisted her. protected the left flank, together with the cutter and the gun-vessel ''Dangereuse''. In 1850, the Admiralty authorized the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Egypt" to any surviving members of her crew that came forward to claim it.

''Entreprenante'' was paid off in December 1802. From 28 November 1802 to 7 January 1804, she was in Portsmouth, refitting.

She was recommissioned on 1 December 1803 under Lieutenant James Brown, for the Channel. On 12 April 1804, Lieutenant Robert Benjamin Young took command. On 30 May 1805, the sloop , Commander Joseph James, and ''Entreprenante'' captured the Prussian sloop ''Omnibus''.

Trafalgar

''Entreprenante'', under Young, was present at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, where she was the smallest British warship there. ''Entreprenante'' accompanied the Lee (Blue) Division under Vice-admiral Collingwood, but she took no actual part in the fighting. Towards the end of the battle, though, together with the schooner ''Pickle'' and boats from ''Prince'' and ''Swiftsure'', she took part in rescuing some 200 men from the French ship ''Achille'' after ''Achille'' exploded. Young also found the ''Bahama'', whose Spanish crew had overthrown the British prize crew and were attempting to take the ship back to Cadiz. Thanks to Young's fast message to Collingwood, the British swiftly retook ''Bahama'' and brought her to Gibraltar. After the battle, ''Entreprenante'' was sent to Faro, Portugal, carrying Collingwood's dispatches announcing the British victory. The Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Trafalgar" to any surviving members of ''Entreprenante''s crew that came forward to claim it.

Still under the command of Young, ''Entreprenante'' spent 1806 in the English Channel, watching the French fleet during the blockade of Brest, France. In April 1806 she was under the command of Lieutenant John Payer, who may have been temporary; by January 1807 she was again under Young's command. On 28 June she was unsuccessful in rescuing the schooner , which had run onto the Parquette Rock while reconnoitering the harbour at Brest.

On 4 December 1808 Lieutenant Peter Williams replaced Young. ''Entreprenante'' continued to remain with the Channel Fleet and on 27 December she recaptured the schooner ''Cora''.

''Entreprenante'' sailed for Portugal on 24 May 1809. In January 1810 she was at Pera, taking on presents from the Sublime Porte intended for George III. She again sailed for the Mediterranean on 31 October 1810.

Action off Málaga

''Entreprenante'' found herself becalmed off the Spanish coast near Castle Ferro, between Málaga and Cape De Gatt on the morning of 12 December 1810. Whilst she was lying there, four French lateen-rigged privateers came out to attack her. One of the French vessels had eight guns, including two long 18-pounder guns, and 75 men. The second had five guns and a crew of 45 men. The last two each had two guns and crews of 25 men. ''Entreprenante'' was short-handed, having on board only 33 men.''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 25, pp.134-5.

Two of the privateers passed under ''Entreprenante''s stern while the other two stood off her starboard bow and quarter. The ensuing battle lasted for four hours until the French retreated, having suffered heavy damage. During the action ''Entreprenante'' had lost her topmast and had two starboard guns disabled. She had also repulsed three attempts at boarding during which she had one man killed and ten wounded.

Capture of the ''Saint Joseph''

''Entreprenante'' remained off the Spanish coast into 1811. On 22 April she captured the American merchant ship ''Hannah'' and her cargo.

''Entreprenante'' next saw action on 25 April. Williams had taken her into Málaga Bay under a flag of truce to deliver a letter to the Governor, General Sabastini. Whilst on this duty, the British spotted two French privateers coming into the harbour, escorting a prize. (The privateers were two of the vessels that ''Entreprenante'' had repulsed in December 1810.) Williams collected a reply from the Governor for Lieutenant-General Colin Campbell at Gibraltar, and ''Entreprenante'' made her way out of the harbour. One privateer had already anchored off the mole, but the other and the prize were still under way. Williams closed on the privateer that was still sailing and brought her to battle. After a sharp engagement lasting 15 minutes, ''Entreprenante'' drove her on shore, severely hulled. She had been armed with six guns and had a crew of 50 men.

By now, the water under ''Entreprenante''s keel was less than three fathoms (5 m) and Williams was obliged to tack. He turned his attention to the prize, and after firing a few shots, boarded her and took possession. She was the Spanish brig ''St. Joseph'' (''San Jose''), out of Cadiz and Gibraltar, and had been captured whilst sailing to Tarragona. Williams took her in tow and sailed her out of the harbour. Hundreds of spectators on the mole head at Málaga watched the action. ''Entreprenante'' accomplished the entire engagement without taking any casualties.''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 28, p.259. This was to be ''Entreprenante''s last action.

Fate

''Entreprenante'' arrived at Plymouth on 22 March 1812 with dispatches from the Mediterranean, Gibraltar, and Cadiz. She was paid off in April 1812. ''Entreprenante'' was broken up in June 1812, after more than a decade of distinguished service.

Notes

Citations

References

*Adair, Sir Robert (1845) ''The negotiations for the peace of the Dardanelles, in 1808-9: with dispatches and official documents''. (London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans).
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External links

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* Phillips, Michael – ''Ships of the Old Navy'' – HMS ''Entreprenante


{{DEFAULTSORT:Entreprenante (1799)
Cutters of the Royal Navy
History of the Royal Navy
1790s ships
Captured ships