French frigate Junon (1786)
Princess Charlotte drawn in 1799
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History | |
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France | |
Name | Junon |
Namesake | Juno |
Ordered | 30 October 1781[1] |
Builder | Toulon shipyard[1] |
Laid down | 10 February 1782[1] |
Launched | 14 August 1782[1] |
Commissioned | 2 May 1786[1] |
Renamed | Andromache in 1812 |
Captured | At the action of 18 June 1799 |
Great Britain | |
Name | HMS Princess Charlotte |
Acquired | Captured at the action of 18 June 1799 |
Renamed | Andromache in 1812 |
Fate | Broken up 1828 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Minerve-class frigate |
Displacement | 700 tonnes[1] |
Length | 46.1 m (151 ft 3 in)[1] |
Beam | 11.7 m (38 ft 5 in)[1] |
Draught | 5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)[1] |
Sail plan | Ship-rigged |
Armament |
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Junon was a 40-gun Minerve-class frigate of the French Navy.
French service
Junon was commissioned in the French Navy under Captain d'Ettry on 2 May 1786.
In late 1790, under Lieutenant Villeneuve d'Esclapon, she prepared to sail from Toulon, but never departed.[1] In June 1792, Junon escorted merchantmen from Toulon into the Atlantic Ocean under Lieutenant Terras de Rodeillac.[4]
In December 1792, she ferried Ambassador
From 26 August 1793, she was under the command of Lieutenant Le Duey, in Marseille.[5] From there, she escorted a convoy of merchantmen to Toulon, sailed to cruise in the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Antibes, conducted reconnaissance off the coasts of Provence, and returned to Toulon. Lieutenant Villeneuve d'Esclapon[1] replaced Le Duey on 25 December 1793; Villeneuve was promoted to captain before 16 August 1794.[6]
From August 1795 to January 1796, Junon cruised in consort with Sérieuse in the Mediterranean.[1]
In the fleet of Toulon, Junon took part in the
A British squadron under Captain John Markham in
British service
At 10am on 13 December 1804, Princess Charlotte was four leagues (19 km) west of Cape Antonio when she sighted an unknown brig. After a chase of seven hours southward, Princess Charlotte caught up with her quarry at Lat. 30° 50' N Long. 85° 32' W. The brig surrendered after her pursuer had fired four or five shots. The quarry was the French privateer Regulus, out of Guadaloupe. She was pierced for 14 guns but had only 11 on board, having thrown two overboard during the chase. She had a crew of 88 men under the command of Citizen Jacque Mathieu. Captain F.F. Gardner of Princess Charlotte described Regulus as "a very fine Vessel" that "sails remarkably well" and is "perfectly adapted for His Majesty's Service".[8] The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Morne Fortunee, there being an HMS Regulus already in service.
The French corvettes Naïade and Cyane left Martinique on 29 September 1805 provisioned for a cruise of three months.[9] Enseigne de vaisseau Hamon, who had assumed command of Naïade shortly before they sailed,[10] was the senior officer of the pair.[9]
Six days later Princess Charlotte was off Tobago when she sighted them in the distance. The two French vessels were too far away for Princess Charlotte to chase them. Captain George Tobin of Princess Charlotte decided to disguise his vessel as best he could in the hope that he could lure them to approach. He was successful and an engagement ensued.[9]
Eventually, Princess Charlotte succeeded in capturing Cyane, which had been a Royal Navy sloop until the French had captured her in May; Naïade as Tobin put it, "by taking a more prudent Situation and superior sailing, effected her Escape without any apparent Injury."[9]
Cyane was armed with twenty 6-pounder and two 4-pounder guns, and six 12-pounder carronades. She had a crew of 190 men under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Mesnard (Meynard). Mesnard "defended his Ship in a very gallant Manner", with the result that Cyane had three men killed and nine wounded. The French fired high, attempting to damage Princess Charlotte's rigging; consequently she had only one man killed and six wounded, one of them mortally.
On 27 May 1811, Princess Charlotte was in company with the Rhin when they captured the American ship Fox.[12]
In 1812, Princess Charlotte was renamed HMS Andromache.
On 11 December 1812, together with the frigate
On 17 December the two frigates captured the American brig Columbia, loaded with coffee and sugar en route from Philadelphia to Bordeaux then the brig Stephen carrying cotton, potash and skins from New York to Bordeaux, shortly followed by the brig Exception on 20 December, underway from Philadelphia to Bordeaux loaded with cotton.
The American ship Mount Hope, which had been sailing from Georgetown to Cadiz when a French privateer captured her, arrived at Plymouth on 12 May 1813, after Andromache recaptured her.[16] A later account has the capture taking place on 5 May, Mount Hope's voyage as starting in Charlestown, and her cargo as rice.[17] Her captors were Andromeda, rather than Andromache, and Surveillante and HMS Iris.[18]
On 23 October 1813 Andromache captured the French frigate
On 14 March 1813 Andromache captured the Baltimore letter of marque Courier, off Nantes. Courier, of 251 tons (bm), was armed with six 12-pounder carronades and had a crew of 35 men under the command of Captain Robert Davis.[21] She was sailing back to Baltimore from Nantes.[22]
Two weeks later, on 2 April, Sealark and Andromache captured the American ship Good Friends.[23] The privateer Cerberus was in sight.[24][b]
Post script to the war
In January 1819, the London Gazette reported that Parliament had voted a grant to all those who had served under the command of Lord Keith in 1812, between 1812 and 1814, and in the Gironde. Andromache was listed among the vessels that had served under Keith in 1813 and 1814.[c] She had also served under Keith in the Gironde.[d]
During September 1817, Edward Bransfield was appointed master of HMS Andromache under the command of Captain William Henry Shirreff. It was during this tour of duty that Andromanche was posted to the Royal Navy's new Pacific Squadron off Valparaíso in Chile. When William Smith, captain of the merchantman William arrived at Valparaiso he reported the discovery of the South Shetland Islands in October 1819 while on a voyage from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso.[27] Andromanche, accompanied by William, sailed to investigate the discovery, and on 30 January 1820, they made what was probably the first sighting of the Antarctic Continent, along with the first record of an Antarctic plant, Deschampsia antarctica.[28]
Fate
Andromache was sold for scrap and dismantled in Deptford in 1828.[7]
Notes
- ^ Sans Souci had been commissioned in October 1812. According to French records, under François Rosse she cruised from October to December 1812, with 100 and 120 men, and four 6-pounders and four 6-pounder carronades.[15]e
- ^ Captain John Tregowith had received a letter of marque on 13 January 1813 for the brig Cerberus, of 294 tons (bm), ten 9 and 4-pounder guns and six 18-pounder carronades, and 48 men.[25]
- ^ The money was paid in three tranches. For someone participating in the first through third tranches, a first-class share was worth £256 5s 9d; a sixth-class share was worth £4 6s 10d. For someone participating only in the second and third tranches a first-class share was worth £202 6s 8d; a sixth-class share was worth £5 0s 5d.[26]
- ^ The sum of the two tranches of payment for that service was £272 8s 5d for a first-class share; the amount for a sixth-class share was £3 3s 5d.[26]
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Roche, p.269
- ^ Lacour-Gayet (1905), p. 589.
- ^ Taillemite (2002), p. 188.
- ^ Fond Marine, p.32
- ^ Fond Marine, p.51
- ^ Fond Marine, p.80
- ^ a b c d Fonds Marine, p.229
- ^ "No. 15787". The London Gazette. 9 March 1805. p. 318.
- ^ a b c d e "No. 15870". The London Gazette. 7 December 1805. p. 1538.
- ^ Fonds Marine, p.339.
- ^ Troude (1867), pp. 430–32.
- ^ "No. 16702". The London Gazette. 9 February 1813. p. 313.
- ^ "No. 16683". The London Gazette. 19 December 1812. p. 2547.
- ^ Lloyd's List №4730.
- ^ Demerliac (2003), p. 272, n°2116.
- ^ Lloyd's List 14 May 1813 [1] - accessed 13 November 2013.
- ^ "No. 16750". The London Gazette. 6 July 1813. p. 1336.
- ^ "No. 16807". The London Gazette. 16 November 1813. p. 2275.
- ^ "No. 16795". The London Gazette. 30 October 1813. p. 2138.
- ^ "No. 16911". The London Gazette. 25 June 1814. p. 1301.
- ^ Cranwell & Crane (1940), p. 378.
- ^ "No. 16713". The London Gazette. 20 March 1813. p. 582.
- ^ "No. 16807". The London Gazette. 16 November 1813. p. 2276.
- ^ "No. 16793". The London Gazette. 23 October 1813. p. 2104.
- ^ Letter of Marque (LoM),"War of 1812: UK sources for Privateers". Archived from the original on 9 July 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015. – accessed 15 May 2011.
- ^ a b "No. 17864". The London Gazette. 26 October 1822. p. 1752.
- ^ "NEW SHETLAND". Caledonian Mercury (Edinburgh, Scotland), 25 June 1821; Issue 15571.
- ^ Senchima, David S. (2005). "A historical survey of botanical exploration in Antarctica". Huntia. 12 (1): 31–69.
References
- Cranwell, John Philips; Crane, William Bowers (1940). Men of Marque: A History of Private Armed Vessels out of Baltimore During the War of 1812. New York: W.W. Norton.
- Demerliac, Alain (2003). La Marine du Consulat et du Premier Empire: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1800 à 1815 (in French). Éditions Ancre. OCLC 492784876.
- OCLC 763372623.
- Archives nationales (2011). "Fonds Marine, sous-série B/4: Campagnes, 1571-1785" (PDF). Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. OCLC 165892922.
- OCLC 606770323.
- OCLC 836362488.
External links
- Media related to HMS Princess Charlotte (ship, 1799) at Wikimedia Commons