French frigate Courageuse (1778)

Courageuse was a 12-pounder Concorde class frigate of the French Navy. She was launched in 1778. The British captured her in 1799 and thereafter used her as a receiving ship or prison hulk at Malta before breaking her up in 1802.

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Courageux and HMS Courageous.

History
France
Name: Courageuse
Builder: Rochefort[1]
Laid down: September 1777[1]
Launched: 28 February 1778[1]
In service: April 1778[1]
Fate: Captured June 1799
Great Britain
Name: HMS Courageuse
Acquired: By capture June 1799
Fate: Last listed 1803
General characteristics [1][2][3]
Class and type: Concorde class 12-pounder frigate
Displacement: 1,100 tons (French)
Tons burthen: 932 (bm)
Length:
  • 145 ft 0 in (44.20 m) (overall);
  • 121 ft 8 in (37.08 m) (keel)
Beam: 39 ft 0 in (11.89 m)
Draught: 4.38 m (14.4 ft) (unladen)
Depth of hold: 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Complement: 255
Armament:

Career

In 1790, under Captain[Note 1] de Grasse-Briançon, Courageuse was part of the Toulon squadron under Poute de Nieuil.[4] From 2 August, she ferried troops and civil commissioners to Corsica, and cruised in the area before making a port call to Ajaccio and eventually returning to Toulon on 30 October.[5]

In 1792, under Captain de La Croix de Saint-Vallier, Courageuse sailed off Smyrna, Saloniki and Tripoli, returning to Smyrna on 6 December.[6] In January 1793, she escorted a convoy to Marseille, and from there returned to Toulon, arriving on 12 May.[7]

Courageuse took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver in the winter of 1794-1795,[8] under Captain Dalbarade.[9] She was part of the naval division under Rear-admiral Renaudin, which arrived in Toulon on 2 April 1795.[10]

In the summer of 1795, she was part of the station of the Gulf of Roses, under Lieutenant Pourquier,[11][12][Note 2] supporting the Army of the Pyrenees in the Siege of Roses.[14] On 9 July, she defended herself against a Spanish squadron,[15] composed of 16 gunboats, supported by three frigates and two ships of the line. Courageuse, supported by artillery fire from French-held forts, successfully fended off the attack.[14]

In the fleet of Toulon, Courageuse took part in the Mediterranean campaign of 1798; after the Battle of the Nile, she was armed en flûte and ferried supplies for the French Army in Egypt and Syria.[16]

Under Captain Trullet,[1] Courageuse was part of the Syrian naval station under Rear-admiral Perrée.[17] She ferried artillery and ammunition of the French Army besieging Acre; on 9 April 1799, she captured the British gunboat Foudre.[17]

HMS Centaur captured Courageuse in the Action of 18 June 1799.[17]

Fate

French sources report that Courageuse was used as a prison hulk for French prisoners at Port Mahon.[18]

British sources report that the British commissioned HMS Courageuse under Commander John Richards. She served as a receiving ship until at least 1803.[2] Alternatively, served as a receiving or prison ship at Malta where she was broken up in 1802.[3]

Note

A few weeks after Centaur captured Courqageuse, HMS Alcmene captured the French privateer Courageux near the Azores. She may have come into Gibraltar and have been taken into service as HMS Lutine. She was sold for breaking up at the Peace of Amiens. The coincidence of two prizes with almost identical names being at the same place at the same time and both being taken into the Royal Navy in the theatre has resulted in some confusion of the vessels. The capture on 29 March 1800 of a Courageux that was taken into Minorca,[19] and the existence in 1800 of a French naval brig at Toulon named Courageux only adds to the confusion.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes
  1. "Major de vaisseau"; Fonds Marine, p.22
  2. One source gives his first name as "Honoré".[13]

Citations
  1. Roche (2005), p. 131.
  2. Winfield (2008), p. 209.
  3. Winfield & Roberts (2015), p. 124.
  4. Fonds Marine, p.22
  5. Fonds Marine, p.26
  6. Fonds Marine, p.33
  7. Fonds Marine, p.52
  8. Troude (1867), vol.2, p.405
  9. Fonds Marine, p.121
  10. Troude (1867), vol.2, p.408
  11. Roche (2005), p. 269.
  12. Fonds Marine, p.132
  13. "James (1837), vol.2 p.263". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  14. Troude (1867), vol.2, p.447
  15. Fonds Marine, p.136
  16. Troude (1867), vol.3, p.94.
  17. Fonds Marine, p.229
  18. Fonds Marine, p.240
  19. "No. 15809". The London Gazette. 21 May 1805. p. 694.

References
  • 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; Chamier, Frederick (1837). The Naval History of Great Britain: From the Declaration of War by France In 1793 to the Accession of George IV. London, UK: R. Bentley. OCLC 656581450.
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). 2. Challamel ainé.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). 3. Challamel ainé.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

See also
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