HMS ''Proserpine'' was a 32-gun

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 ...

built for 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 ...

during the

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 ...

. 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 ...

captured her off

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

about a year after her commissioning and took her into service as ''Proserpine''. She served in various capacities such as a frigate,

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

, and prison hulk until 1865.

HMS ''Proserpine'', and capture

Captain Charles Otter commissioned ''Proserpine'' in September 1807. He then sailed her to the Mediterranean Sea on 6 March 1808. The British sent ''Proserpine'' to sail off Toulon to observe and report on the movements of the French fleet. Captain Bernard Dubourdieu analyzed her patrol pattern, leading the French to send his frigate, , accompanied by , to approach her in the night. They pretended to be the British relief that Otter was expecting and succeeded in engaging her at short range. In the ensuing Action of 27 February 1809, ''Proserpine'' had her rigging severely damaged; with no hope of escape or rescue, she struck her colours after a one-hour battle that claimed the life of one of her men, and wounded ten others, one mortally. ''Pénélope'' towed ''Proserpine'' to Toulon.

French career

At Toulon the French Navy repaired her and took her into French service under her existing name, commissioning her on 1 May 1809. On 1 April, ''capitaine de frégate'' Ganteaume, younger brother of Admiral Ganteaume, took command of ''Proserpine'', transferring from . Between 28 June and August 1809 she was still under captain Ganteaume's command. She served Admiral Ganteaume's Mediterranean squadron for the remainder of the

, with a refit in Genoa in 1810. Between 12 April 1811 and 11 October she was in Genoa

roads A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. The ...

, and under the command of ''capitaine de frégate'' Ganteaume, later ''capitaine de vaisseau''. He was still her captain on 1 February 1812, at Toulon.''Fonds Marine'', p. 461 At the Bourbon Restoration in 1814, ''Proserpine'' was decommissioned and put in the reserve in Toulon. She was recommissioned in 1828, and took part in the

Invasion of Algiers in 1830 The invasion of Algiers in 1830 was a large-scale military operation by which the Kingdom of France, ruled by Charles X, invaded and conquered the Deylik of Algiers. Algiers was annexed by the Ottoman Empire in 1529 after the capture of Algi ...

. In 1840 she was re-classified as an 800-ton displacement ''corvette de charge''. In 1842, she was transformed into a troopship, and in January 1846 as a transport. She was fitted as a hospital ship in October 1850 at Brest. She served as a hospital ship in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. The French Navy sent ''Proserpine'' to

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

, in 1856. There she was converted to a prison hulk in January 1857.

Fate

She was struck from the lists on 20 July 1865, and broken up in 1865-66 in French Guiana.

Citations

References

* Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations; divisions et stations navales; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier : BB4 210 à 482 (1805-1826

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Proserpine (1807) Age of Sail frigates of France 1807 ships Amphion-class frigates Ships built in England Captured ships