HMS Révolutionnaire (1794)

''Révolutionnaire'' (or ''Revolutionaire''), was a 40-gun of the French Navy, launched in May 1794. The British captured her in October 1794 and she went on to serve with the Royal Navy until she was broken up in 1822. During this service ''Revolutionnaire'' took part in numerous actions, including three for which the Admiralty would in 1847 award clasps to the Naval General Service Medal, and captured several privateers and merchant vessels.

French service

On 21 October 1794 the 38-gun frigate captured ''Révolutionnaire''. ''Artois'' was part of a four-frigate squadron that encountered ''Revolutionnaire'' at daybreak about eight to ten leagues west of Ushant. She had been out of Le Havre eight days on her first cruise and was sailing to Brest. ''Artois'' outpaced the rest of the squadron and engaged ''Revolutionnaire'', which surrendered after 40 minutes as the rest of the British squadron approached. The British had three men killed and five wounded. The French lost eight men killed and five wounded, including the captain, Citizen Antoine René Thévenard. ''Artois'' shared the prize money with the other frigates, , , and .

British service: French Revolutionary Wars

The Royal Navy commissioned ''Revolutionnaire'' in April 1795 under Captain Francis Cole. On 23 June ''Revolutionnaire'' participated in the Battle of Groix. After the battle, she towed , which the French had captured the previous November and which the British had just recaptured, back to Plymouth. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "23 June 1795" to all surviving claimants from the action.

In 1796 ''Revolutionaire'' was in the squadron commanded by Captain Sir Edward Pellew in . The squadron captured or sank a number of merchant vessels between 11 and 21 March.
*''Favorite Sultana'', laden with salt—captured;
*''Friends'', brig, laden with flour—captured;
*Brig of unknown name, in ballast—sunk;
* Chasse maree of unknown name, empty—sunk;
*''Providence'', chasse maree, laden with wine and brandy—captured;
*Brig of unknown name, laden with empty casks—sunk;
*''Four Marys'', brig, in Ballast—captured;
*''Aimable Justine'', brig, in ballast—captured;
*''Nouvelle Union'', brig, in ballast—captured.
The vessels sharing in the prize money were: ''Indefatigable'', , ''Revolutionaire'', , , and the hired armed luggers and .

On 12 April 1796 ''Revolutionaire'' captured the French frigate ''Unité''. ''Unité'', under the command of Citizen Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois, struck after ''Revolutionnaire''s second broadside. ''Revolutionnaire'' had no casualties because the French had fired high, aiming for her rigging; the British fired into their quarry with the result that ''Unité'' suffered nine men killed and 11 wounded. Among the prisoners were the wife of Admiral Jean-Amable Lelarge, as well as one of his sons, who served as an officer on ''Unité''. Pellew had them released on parole and ordered the captured ship to be commanded to England by Edward Ellicott, first lieutenant of the ''Revolutionnaire'', who was cited by Captain Cole "for his very particular attention in keeping sight of the chase, and for his steady and manly conduct when close engaged." In July there was an initial distribution of prize money for the capture of ''Unité'' and ''Virginie'' (captured by ''Indefatigable'') of £20,000. ''Revolutionnaire'' and ''Indefatigable'' shared this with ''Amazon'', ''Concorde'' and ''Argo''. The Royal Navy took ''Unité'' into service under her existing name.

On 1 October 1796, ''Revolutionnaire'', ''Indefatigable'', ''Amazon'', and shared in the capture of ''Vrow Delenea Maria''.

Later that month, after the Battle of Tory Island, the French frigates and escaped into Black Sod Bay, where they hoped to hide until they had a clear passage back to France. However, late on 15 October, a British frigate squadron under James Newman Newman rounded the southern headland of the bay, forcing the French ships to flee to the north.James, p. 137 Pressing on sail in pursuit, Newman ordered ''Revolutionaire'' to focus on ''Sémillante'' whilst he pursued ''Loire'' in , accompanied by the brig under Commander Edward Brace. ''Loire'' and ''Sémillante'' separated to divide their pursuers; ''Mermaid'' and ''Kangaroo'' lost track of ''Loire'' in the early evening, and ''Sémillante'' evaded ''Revolutionaire'' after dark.Gardiner, p. 115. ''Mermaid'' and ''Kangaroo'' eventually found ''Loire'' but after an inconclusive fight that left the British unable to pursue, ''Loire'' broke off the engagement and escaped.

Captain Cole died on 18 April 1798. His replacement was Captain Thomas Twysden.

''Revolutionnaire'' shared with , and the hired armed cutter in the capture of ''Anna Christiana'' on 17 May 1798.

On 30 May 1799 ''Revolutionnaire'' captured the French privateer ''Victoire'' after an eight-hour chase that lasted into the evening. ''Victoire'' was armed with sixteen 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 160 men. She was nine days out of Bayonne on a three-month cruise but had captured nothing.

''Revolutionnaire'' was in company with and when ''Revolutionaire'' captured the French letter of marque brig ''Hyppolite'' on 29 May. She was sailing from Cayenne to Nantes.

On 7 July 1799, the same three British ships also captured the French privateer ''Determiné''. ''Determiné'' was pierced for 24 guns and was armed with 18 brass 12- and 9-pounder guns. She had a crew of 163 men when she was captured. Then on 19 September, ''Revolutionnaire'' and ''Dryad'' captured ''Cères'', another French letter of marque, en route from Bordeaux to the Caribbean.

On 11 October ''Revolutionnaire'' chased a strange sail in a heavy gale for nine and a half hours over a distance of 114 miles (i.e., a rate of 12 miles per hour). When captured, the quarry turned out to be (or ''Bourdelaise''), of Bordeaux. She was pierced for 26 guns but carried sixteen 12-pounder guns and eight 36-pounder carronades. She had a crew of 202 men. She had been cruising from Passage for 19 days during which time she had captured two vessels, an American ship carrying a cargo of tobacco, and a Portuguese ship sailing from Cork with provisions. Twysden, in an attempt to interest the Admiralty in purchasing her, described ''Bordelais'' as "a most beautiful new Ship, well calculated for His Majesty's Service; was the largest, and esteemed the fastest sailing Privateer out of France." The Admiralty took her into service as HMS ''Bordelais''. Four hundred French prisoners from and ''Bourdelaise'' landed at Plymouth on 24 November.

On 4 March 1800 ''Revolutionnaire'' captured the French privateer ship ''Coureur''. ''Coureur'' was armed with ten 6-pounder guns and four carronades. She had a crew of 158 men. On 28 February she had captured "His Majesty's Ship Princess Royal", which had been sailing for Tortola. Twysden was pleased to discover that her captain and most of her crew were prisoners aboard the privateer. ''Coureur'' was new, copper-bottomed and on her first cruise. Apparently, she also sailed "delightfully". The Royal Navy took her into service as , there already being a in service and having been lost in May, shortly after the capture of ''Coureur''.

On 19 April 1800, ''Revolutionnaire'' and ''Dryad'' arrived in Milford Haven in a distressed state. ''Dryad'' had been on a cruise out of Cork and was on her way home when on 2 April, with her rigging much damaged by hurricanes, when she had encountered ''Revolutionnaire'', which had lost her rudder. ''Dryad'' escorted ''Revolutionnaire'' to Cork, but when they were no more than an hour out of the port, the winds blew them towards Plymouth. On 16 April they were close to the rocks at Waterford when ''Dryad'' succeeded in getting a cable on to ''Revolutionnaire''. Unfortunately, the cable broke and ''Dryad'' pulled away, expecting ''Revolutionnaire'' to wreck on the rocks. However, providentially, the wind shifted and pushed her away from shore. On 19 April both vessels succeeded in safely reaching Milford Haven.

On 16 February 1801, ''Revolutionnaire'' captured the French privateer ''Moucheron'', of Bordeaux. ''Moucheron'' was armed with sixteen 6 and 12-pounder guns, and had a crew of 130 men. She was 20 days out of Passage and had capture the British brig ''William'', of London, which had been sailing from St. Michael's with a cargo of fruit. The Royal Navy took her into service as .

In May ''Lloyd's List'' reported that the French privateer ''Braave'' had captured , Nuttell, master, as she was sailing from Demerara to Liverpool. recaptured ''Nimble'' and ''Marina'', another vessel that ''Braave'' had also taken.

In October 1801 ''Revolutionnaire'' was under the temporary command of Commander Murray. In May 1802, shortly after the Peace of Amiens, Thomas Bladen Capel was appointed captain of ''Révolutionnaire''. He sailed her from Spithead to the Mediterranean where he joined as her captain.

British service: Napoleonic Wars

''Revolutionnaire'' was recommissioned in April 1803 under the command of Captain Walter Lock. On 20 May 1803, ''Revolutionnaire'' captured the French dogger ''Grand Adrian'' (or ''Grand Adrien''). Two days later ''Revolutionnaire'' and captured ''Alexander''. The next day ''Revolutionnaire'' captured ''Windboud''.

Lock then sailed ''Revolutionnaire'' to Gibraltar on 5 June. Eight days later, ''Revolutionnaire'' captured the French merchant vessel ''Hirondelle''. In August, Captain Robert Hall took command for the Channel. On 16 October 1803, ''Revolutionnaire'' captured the French sloop ''Sophia'', of eight men. Then on 1 December ''Revolutionnaire'' captured the French schooners ''Ceres'', and her crew of 76 men, and ''Marian'', in ballast. As the size of her crew makes clear, ''Ceres'' was a privateer. Two days later ''Revolutionnaire'' recaptured the American brig ''Tartar''. In December, ''Revolutionnaire'' returned to Britain from the West Indies.

In April 1804 ''Revolutionnaire'' was recommissioned under Captain the Honourable Henry Hotham. By November she was off the coast of the United States and stopped in at Norfolk, Virginia. Then she sailed up to New York where she picked up $750,000 in gold to take back to Britain. Hotham would have received a commission of about 1% of the value for carrying the money.

On 1 and 4 July 1805, vessels in a squadron captured ''Harmony'' and ''Rachael''. ''Revolutionnaire'' was one of the 39 vessels that shared in the prize money.

On 4 November 1805, ''Revolutionnaire'', participated in the Battle of Cape Ortegal. She and captured , which the Royal Navy commissioned as HMS ''Scipion''. In the battle, ''Revolutionnaire'' lost two men killed and six wounded. ''Revolutionnaire'' shared in the prize money for , ''Duguay Trouin'' and , as well as ''Scipion''. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "4 Novr. 1805" to all surviving claimants form the battle.

In February 1806 Captain Charles Fielding took command as ''Revolutionnaire'' served in the Channel.

''Revolutionnaire'' shared with , , and in the proceeds from the recapture on 11 January 1807 of the schooner ''Monarch''. On 25 September she shared with in the capture of the Danish ship ''Resolution''.

Then between October 1811 and December 1812 she underwent a major overhaul at Plymouth. She was recommissioned in October 1812 under Captain John Woolcombe (or Woollcombe). At some point ''Revolutionnaire'' sailed to North America.

''Revolutionnaire'' recaptured ''Ajax'', M'Kay, master, and sent her into Plymouth, where she arrived on 12 May 2013. ''Ajax'' had been sailing from Aberdeen to St Croix when the American privateer ''General Tompkins'', of fourteen 18-pounder guns and 109 men, had captured her on 31 March.

On 25 July 1813, ''Revolutionnaire'' captured the American privateer schooner ''Matilda'', of 190 tons. She was pierced for 18 guns but carried 11. had captured ''Matilda'' in a severe action off the coast of Brazil, but the American privateer ''Argus'', or by other accounts, the had recaptured her. ''Matilda'' reached Plymouth on 29 July.

Already by August 1813, ''Revolutionnaire'' was part of a squadron under the command of Captain Sir George Collier. On 27 August the boats of the squadron made a successful attack on the island of Santa Clara, at the mouth of the harbour of Saint Sebastian. ''Revolutionnaire'' suffered no casualties. She then provided seamen to man a battery of 24-pounder guns from hauled up to the top of the island. The battery then silenced the enemy's guns. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "St. Sebastian" to all claimants from Collier's naval operations in the region in August and September.

On 20 October ''Revolutionnaire'' captured ''Fire Fly''. Then on 5 November ''Revolutionnaire'' recaptured the ''Gaditana''.

On the last day of 1813, ''Revolutionnaire'' sailed with a convoy for the East Indies. She and were in Simon's Bay on 28 July 1816 where they were stranded and almost destroyed by a terrible hurricane. On 6 October she reached St. Helena and on 13 October she sailed for Britain.

Post-war and fate

In early 1817 ''Revolutionnaire'' underwent repairs at Plymouth. She was then fitted for sea between August 1818 and January 1819. She was commissioned under Captain Fleetwood Pellew ''Revolutionnaire'' in August 1818 for the Mediterranean.

At midnight or so on 16 December , which was carrying the king of Naples, was under full sail when she ran into the side of ''Revolutionnaire''. Fortunately the impact was oblique, not perpendicular, or ''Revolutionnaire'' would have been sunk. As it was, both vessels were badly damaged and had to put into the Bay of Baia for repairs.

On 18 May 1821 ''Revolutionnaire'' captured two piratical gun-boats, with bounty money for the crews being paid in 1834. Pellew remained in command until 1822.

''Revolutionnaire'' was briefly under the command of Captain Henry Duncan, but was broken up on 4 October 1822.

Miscellany

*The English composer William Beale served as a midshipman between 1799 and 1801, before deciding instead to pursue music as a career. Apparently, while a midshipman, he almost drowned in Cork harbour.''Notes and Queries'', (1868), p.442.
*In 1821 Arthur Fleming Morrell, British naval officer and later explorer and colonial administrator of Ascension Island, was first lieutenant aboard ''Revolutionnaire'' under Captain the Hon. Fleetwood Pellew.

Gallery

File:HMS Rochefort during the interment of Sir Thos. Fremantle 22nd Dec 1829 at Baia Bay Naples RMG PW8021 (cropped).jpg, Left to right: HMS ''Revolutionnaire'', HMS ''Rochefort'' and HMS ''Race Horse'' during the internment of Sir Thomas Freemantle on 22 December 1819, at Baia Bay, Naples

Notes

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References

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REVOLUTIONAIRE (44)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolutionnaire (1794)
Frigates of the Royal Navy
1794 ships
Seine-class frigates
Captured ships
Ships built in France
Maritime incidents in 1816