HMS Coureuse (1795)

HMS Coureuse was a schooner launched in 1785 or 1788 in the United States and acquired and armed at Lorient in 1794. The British captured her in 1795 and the Royal Navy briefly used her as a dispatch vessel in the Mediterranean. The Admiralty sold her in 1799.

History
France
Name:	Coureuse
Builder:	New York
Launched:	1788 04 1785
Acquired:	Purchased at Cayenne April 1794
Commissioned:	June 1794 at Lorient
Captured:	26 February 1795
Kingdom of Great Britain
Name:	HMS Coureuse
Acquired:	26 February 1795 by capture
Fate:	Sold April 1799
General characteristics [1][2]
Type:	Schooner
Displacement:	33 tons (French)
Tons burthen:	55 ​^85⁄94 (bm), or 18 (French; "of load")
Length:	55 ft 10 in (17.0 m) (overall) 41 ft 11 ^3⁄8 in (12.8 m) (keel)
Beam:	15 ft 9 in (4.8 m)
Depth of hold:	6 ft 5 in (2.0 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Schooner
Complement:	French service:23 British service:35
Armament:	French service: 8 × 2-pounder guns[3][2] British service: 2 × 24-pounder carronades + 12 x ½-pounder swivel guns

French service

Coureuse sailed out to Cayenne, and back to Lorient under the command of Lieutenant de Vaisseau Malvin (acting).[4][Note 1]

In February 1795 Coureuse, under the command of Enseigne de vaisseau Landais (acting), was escorting a convoy of three brigs and two luggers carrying clothes for the Army from Île-Tudy to Île de Groix when the convoy had the misfortune to encounter a squadron under Captain Sir John Borlase Warren in Pomone. Pomone captured all six vessels.[5] At the time of her capture her captors described Curieuse (name latter corrected to Coureuse) as a schooner belonging to the National Convention government and carrying eight brass guns.[6]

The frigates Artois, Galatea and Anson, and the hired armed lugger Duke of York assisted Pomone in the capture. The British latter scuttled two of the brigs of little value that they had captured from the convoy, but took the other four vessels as prizes, with Coureuse being taken into service.[6]

British service

The Royal Navy fitted Coureuse out between June and July 1795, and registered her on 22 July.[1] She then briefly served as a dispatch vessel in the Mediterranean.[3]

Fate

Coureuse was offered for sale at Plymouth in March 1799.[7] She was sold on 13 April for £125 to Mr. Dodds.[1]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

1. Actually, the rank was "Lieutenant de vaisseau non entretenu", where "non entrentenu" means "not paid", or "without a salary". The rank was that of Lieutenant, but junior to "Lieutenant de vaisseau entretenu". In addition to not being paid, an officer "non entretenu" would wear the uniform and have authority only when on service. There was a fixed number of positions for "entretenus", which required a competitive examination, while there was an unlimited number of "non entretenus", and one could obtain the status by a simple examination or by captaining a merchantman.

Citations

1. Winfield (2008), p.356.
2. Winfield and Roberts (2015). p. 249.
3. Chapelle (1967), p.154.
4. Fonds, Vol. 1, p.90.
5. Fonds, Vol.1, p.149.
6. "No. 13757". The London Gazette. 3 March 1795. pp. 206–207.
7. "No. 15119". The London Gazette. 26 March 1799. p. 291.

References

• Chapelle, Howard Irving (1967) The search for speed under sail, 1700–1855 (New York: Norton).
• Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations ; divisions et stations navales ; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier : BB4 1 à 209 (1790-1804)
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
• Winfield, Rif & Stephen S Roberts (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 - 1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. (Seaforth Publishing). ISBN 9781848322042