French frigate Étoile (1813)
![]() Capture of Étoile by HMS Hebrus
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History | |
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Name | Étoile |
Namesake | "Star" |
Ordered | 21 October 1809 |
Builder | Nantes shipyard |
Laid down | 3 April 1810 |
Launched | 28 July 1813 |
Commissioned | 1 September 1813 |
Captured | 27 March 1814 |
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Name | Topaze |
Namesake | HMS Topaze (1793) |
Acquired | 27 March 1814 by capture |
Fate | Broken up 1851 |
General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | Pallas-class fifth-rate frigate |
Displacement | 1080 tons |
Tons burthen | 106023⁄94 (bm) |
Length |
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Beam | 39 ft 8 in (12.09 m) |
Draught | 5.9 m (19 ft) |
Depth of hold | 12 ft 5+1⁄4 in (3.791 m) |
Propulsion | 1,950 m2 (21,000 sq ft) of sails |
Complement | French service: 326 British service: 315 |
Armament |
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Étoile was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy, launched in 1813. The British captured her in 1814 and the Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Topaze. She did not go to sea again until 1818, and was paid off in 1822. She served as a receiving ship until 1850 and was broken up in 1851.
French service
Initially, Étoile was in the Nantes Division, first under capitaine de vaisseau Le Bozec (27 July to 20 September), and then under capitaine de frégate Henri Pierre Philibert (7 October to 24 November).[2]
She sailed for the
On 24 January, Sultane and Étoile engaged the frigates HMS Astraea and HMS Creole. The two British frigates had sailed for the Cape Verde Islands; they reached Maio early on 23 January 1814.[4]
Off the
Astraea went ahead in pursuit of the first French frigate, which turned out to be Étoile. Astraea exchanged a broadside and then crossed Étoile's
The British captured both Sultane and Étoile on 27 March as the two French frigates were returning from the Cape Verde Islands, in the Battle of Jobourg. Hannibal captured Sultane, without a fight.[5]
In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Hebrus Wh. L'Etoile" to the 40 still surviving claimants from the action.[7] Also in 1847, the Admiralty issued gold medals to a select set of captains for certain particularly notable battles and engagements. Captain Edmund Palmer, of Hebrus, was one of the recipients.[8]
British service
The Royal Navy registered and renamed Étoile HMS Topaze on 15 June. She underwent repairs that lasted from end-March 1814 to end-February 1815, and the Navy then had her laid up.[1]
Between March 1818 and 1 July she underwent repairs and fitting for sea duty. In April Captain John Richard Lumley commissioned her. He then sailed her to the East Indies.[1]
On 19 October 1819, Topaze arrived at Mauritius from Ceylon with a number of crew ill from an unknown disease resembling cholera. The local authorities permitted the crew to land and the landing of the ill, bypassing quarantine. By 18 November the disease had spread to the local population. The locals deserted Port Louis and demanded that Topaze sail for the Seychelles to wait out the storm season there. Lumley initially refused, but by January assented. Topaze returned to Mauritius in April, and was put into quarantine, though the epidemic had passed, and there was repaired and thoroughly disinfected.[9]
Topaze finally saw action in December 1820 at
After a two-week voyage from Bombay, Topaze and the squadron arrived on 3 December, and bombarded Fort Taire, the North Fort the next day.[12] A landing party attempted to storm the fort but its defenders had not left and they repelled the British. Topaze had four men killed and 16 wounded, two of whom died later. The Company had four men killed and eight wounded. Negotiations recommenced during a sequence of truces, again unsuccessfully.
On 26 December Topaze again bombarded the North Fort, this time driving out the defenders. A landing party was able to spike the guns and throw out their carriages. Between 26 and 30 December Topaze and the other vessels approached Fort Abdoufoof, the South Fort, and opened fire on the 30th.[12] Here too they succeeded in driving out the defenders, and subsequently spiking the guns and destroying their carriages. Casualties were much lighter this time, with Topaze losing one marine killed and five wounded, and the Company having five men wounded. By 7 January 1821 the government of Mocha had acceded to the British terms.[13][14][15]
Lumley died on 23 July 1821 as Topaze arrived at Prince of Wales' Island; his widow and infant daughter were on board at the time. He was buried at Penang.[16]
Lumley's replacement was Commander J.L. Curry. Captain
In May 1822 Commander Price Blackwood (acting) replaced Richardson. Topaze was paid off in October.[1]
Between January and February 1823 Topaze underwent fitting as a
Fate
In March 1850 Topaze became a target for HMS Excellent. Topaze was finally broken up in December 1851.[1]
Notes
- ^ Yonge gives the name of the C-in-C as Admiral Graham Moore, but this appears incorrect.[11]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f Winfield (2008), p. 182.
- ^ Fonds, Vol. 2, p.475.
- ^ Fonds, Vol. 2, p.494.
- ^ a b c d James (1837), Vol. 6, pp. 261–64.
- ^ "No. 16875". The London Gazette. 29 March 1814. p. 678.
- ^ "No. 16876". The London Gazette. 2 April 1814. pp. 698–700.
- ^ "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 245.
- ^ "No. 20741". The London Gazette. 4 June 1847. pp. 2051–2052.
- ^ Macmillan (2000), p.43.
- ^ Clowes (1897–1903), Vol. 6, pp. 233–34.
- ^ Yonge (1866), Vol. 3, pp. 166–67.
- ^ a b c Low (1877), p. 299–307.
- ^ "No. 17701". The London Gazette. 28 April 1821. pp. 938–939.
- ^ "No. 17754". The London Gazette. 13 October 1821. pp. 2029–2031.
- ^ "No. 17762". The London Gazette. 7 November 1821. pp. 2198–2199.
- ^ The Asiatic journal and monthly register for British and foreign India, China and Australasia. (1822) Vol. 13, No. 75, pp. 297–98.
- ^ Marshall (1825), Vol. 2, Part 2, p.910.
References
- Clowes, W. Laird, et al. (1897–1903) The royal navy: a history from the earliest times to the present. (Boston: Little, Brown and Co.; London: S. Low, Marston and Co.).
- Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations ; divisions et stations navales ; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier : BB4 1 à 482 (1790–1826)
- James, William (1837). The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. R. Bentley.
- Low, Charles Rathbone (1877). History of the Indian Navy: (1613-1863). R. Bentley and son.
- Macmillan, Allister (2000) Mauritius Illustrated: Historical and Descriptive, Commercial and Industrial Facts, Figures, and Resources. (Asian Educational Services).
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.
- Yonge, Charles Duke (1866) The History of the British Navy: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. (R. Bentley).