USS Insurgent

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Naval encounter during the Quasi-War between USS Constellation and French ship L'Insurgente (right) on 9 February 1799
History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameL'Insurgente
Ordered3 September 1790
BuilderPierre-Joseph Pénétreau, Lorient
Laid down5 November 1791
Launched27 April 1793
Capturedby USS Constellation, 9 February 1799
United States
NameUSS Insurgent
Acquired9 February 1799
CommissionedAugust 1799
FateLost at sea, probably foundered September 1800
General characteristics
TypeSémillante-class frigate
Tons burthen600 (bm)
Length45.5 m (149 ft 3 in)
Beam11.5 m (37 ft 9 in)
Draft5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Complement
  • French service:Officers + 278 men[1]
  • US service: 340 officers and enlisted
Armament

L'Insurgente was a 40-gun

Quasi War with the United States, the United States Navy frigate USS Constellation, with Captain Thomas Truxtun in command, captured her off the island of Nevis. After her capture she served in the United States Navy as USS Insurgent, patrolling the waters in the West Indies. In September 1800 she was caught up in a severe storm and was presumed lost at sea.[2][3]

French frigate L'Insurgente

L'Insurgente was built by Pierre-Joseph Pénétreau at Lorient and launched on 27 April 1793.[1]

In January or February 1794, L'Insurgente captured Ann off

prize crew aboard Ann, but left her mate and three other men on board. When Ann was in sight of the French coast, the British sailors succeeded in recapturing her from the prize crew; the British then took Ann into Vigo.[4]

On 16 January 1794 L'Insurgente captured the American ship John and James and brought her into Brest. John and James had been built at Philadelphia for George Morrison of Petersburg, Virginia. She had left Petersburg with 450 hogsheads of tobacco and 12,000 staves. On 27 December 1794 the Tribunal of Commerce ordered John and James released to Captain James Johnson and the Committee of Public Safety awarded him a payment of 20,000 livres tournois.[5]

On 25 April L'Insurgente captured Freundschaft Lourentz, Colandt, master, as Freundschaft Lourentz was sailing from Lisbon to London. However two "Scilly boats" (i.e., boats from the Isles of Scilly), recaptured her the next day and brought her into St Ives, Cornwall.[6]

On 5 December 1797 Insurgente captured Prince Frederick as Prince Frederick was returning from Madras and Bengal. Prince Frederick was so badly damaged in the engagement that she sank soon afterwards. Her people, however, were saved.[7] The EIC put a value of £59,981 on the cargo that it had lost.[8]

US-French

Cayenne, French Guiana, to Guadalupe to replace Victor Hugues as Governor.[9]

Battle with Constellation

Main article: USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente

On 9 February 1799, after being at sea for three days,

John Rodgers, Midshipman David Porter along with eleven men were put on board the captured vessel to take possession and to secure the prisoners who were sent to the lower hold. She had lost 70 men from a crew of 409, while Constellation, badly damaged also, only lost three out of a complement of 309. This was the first post-Revolutionary War American victory against a foreign naval vessel.[12][13]

There were no handcuffs to be found and the prisoners seem disposed to rebel. Accordingly, Rodgers placed sentries at the hatch, armed with blunderbusses and under orders to open fire should the prisoners attempt to breach the hatch way.[14]

Scene depicting the action of 9 February 1799, when USS Constellation (left), commanded by Captain Thomas Truxtun, captured the French frigate L'Insurgente (right)

Service in US Navy

The US Navy considered Insurgent a prize in the

Alexander Murray in command, Insurgent sailed from Hampton Roads for Europe on 14 August 1799. Cruising in European waters during the winter of 1799–1800, the frigate captured the French ship Vendémiaire and recaptured the American ships Margaret, Angora, Commerce, and William and Mary. Insurgent returned to the United States in March 1800 via the West Indies.[16]

Loss

On 29 April 1800

Baltimore on 22 July and after a brief stop at Hampton Roads sailed for her station 8 August 1800. She was never heard from again, and the frigate and her crew were presumed lost during the severe storm that struck the West Indies on 20 September 1800.[17] This storm is also thought to have sunk USS Pickering
, which likewise vanished without a trace.

See also

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e Demerliac (1996), p.68, No. 421.
  2. ^ U.S.Navy, DANFS, Insurgent prgh.1
  3. ^ Toll, 2006 pp. 142–144
  4. ^ Powell (1930), p. 333.
  5. ^ Williams (2009), p.204.
  6. ^ Lloyd's List, no.2608 – accessed 18 September 2015.
  7. ^ Lloyd's List №2797.
  8. ^ Reports (1830), Vol. 2, p.979.
  9. ^ "Naval Documents related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France Volume 2 Part 1 of 3 Naval Operations November 1798 to March 1799" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  10. ^ Toll, 2006 pp. 115–117
  11. ^ Toll, 2006 p. 117
  12. ^ Harrison, 1858 p.156-158
  13. ^ Toll, 2006 pp.117–119
  14. ^ Harrison, 1858 p.158
  15. ^ "Naval Documents related to the Quasi-War Between the United States and France Volume 3 Part 1 of 4 Naval Operations April 1799 to July 1799, April, 1799 Pg. 62" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  16. ^ U.S.Navy, DANFS, Insurgent prgh.2
  17. ^ U.S.Navy, DANFS, Insurgent prgh.3

References

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