French ship Romulus (1781)

HMS Romulus was a 44-gun ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was captured by the French Navy in the Chesapeake Bay during the American Revolutionary War and taken into French service as Romulus. She was later razeed to become the frigate Résolution,[2] and served in an exploration voyage to China under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Romulus, French ship Romulus, and French ship Résolue.

History
Great Britain
Name:	HMS Romulus
Builder:	Adams, Bucklers Hard [1]
Laid down:	July 1776[1]
Launched:	17 December 1777[1]
In service:	19 February 1781[1]
Captured:	19 February 1781 by Éveillé, Gentille, Surveillante and Guêpe.[1]
France
Name:	Romulus
Acquired:	By capture, 19 February 1781[1]
Fate:	Technical hulk in Isle de France[Note 1] in June 1789[1]
General characteristics
Tons burthen:	700 tonnes[1]
Length:	43.9 metres[1]
Beam:	11.5 metres[1]
Draught:	5.2 metres[1]
Propulsion:	Sails
Armament:	50 guns of various weights of shot

British Career

HMS Romulus served under Captain George Gayton in the British squadron off America during the American Revolutionary War.[1]

On 19 February 1781,[1] the 64-gun Éveillé, along with the frigates Surveillante and Gentille, and the cutter Guêpe, captured her in Chesapeake Bay.[1]

French Career

Rear-Admiral Sochet-Destouches recommissioned Romulus under her old name in his squadron. In September 1781, she ferried troops to Annapolis for the Siege of Yorktown, in a division under Le Saige de La Villèsbrunne.[1]

In 1784, Romulus was razeed into a frigate and renamed to Résolution. In 1786, she took part to an exploration voyage to China under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, along with the corvette Subtile. The squadron reached Macao on 7 February 1787, two days after Lapérouse had left.[1]

Fate

In 1788, Résolution was decommissioned in Brest and in June 1789, she became a hulk at Isle de France[Note 2][1]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

1. The present-day Mauritius
2. The present-day Mauritius

Citations

1. Roche, p.386
2. Roche, p.380

References

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, 1671 - 1870. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. pp. 325–6. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.