HMS ''Madagascar'' was a 38-gun originally 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 ...

. Her French name had been ''Néréide'', and she had been built to a design by François Pestel. In 1810 as ''Néréide'', she sailed to Guadeloupe but was repelled by the blockade off

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; ) is a communes of the Guadeloupe department, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefectures in France, pref ...

, and returned to Brest after a fight with and . The British captured ''Néréide'' during the action of 20 May 1811, and commissioned her into 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 ...

as HMS ''Madagascar''. She took part in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

with the United States. ''Madagascar'', , and were in company on 6 March 1814 at the recapture of ''Diamond''. Shortly thereafter, Captain Bentinck Cavendish Doyle of ''Lightning'' transferred to take command of ''Madagascar''. In June 1814, ''Madagascar'' served in a flotilla under the command of Admiral Lord Cochrane, and carried General William Miller and his troops from

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 ...

to the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

to reinforce General

Ross Ross may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ross (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan Places Antarctica * Ross Sea ...

in the

.¹

Notes

Citations

References

* Crawford, Michael J. (Ed) (2002). ''The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History, Vol. 3''. Washington: United States Department of Defense. *
address to the Royal Artillery Historical Society 2003 Autumn Meeting
by Mr Thomas Hudson, OBE, MA, 17 September 2003, at Woolwich, England.

, Naval database

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madagascar (1811) Frigates of the Royal Navy 1809 ships Captured ships Ships built in France War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Frigates of the French Navy