Orénoque (1781 ship)

Orénoque by one account was a French privateer sloop commissioned in French Guyana in 1781.[1] Another account has her as a Dutch merchant vessel purchased into service.[2] If so, she may have been one of the vessels that some British privateers captured during the raid on Essquinbo and Demerara in late February 1781. The French captured her in 1782 when they captured Demerara; they disposed of her in 1784 or so.

Career

The British took her into service as HMS Oronoque, and commissioned her under Commander William Tahourdin.[3][Note 1] By one report, Orénoque had been a Dutch merchant vessel, and at the time of commissioning had only five men aboard, of whom three were prisoners - a murderer, a thief of naval stores, and a Dutchman.[2]

About one year later, in January–February 1782, French captain Armand de Kersaint led a flotilla in Iphigénie that included two more frigates, four brigs, and a large cutter to recapture Demerara and Essequibo. Tahourdin commanded a small squadron that also included two small sloops, HMS Barbuda and HMS Surprize, and two small brig-sloops. The French were sighted on 30 January and Tarhoudin moved his squadron downriver. However, the French landed troops and as these moved towards Demerara, the British forces facing them retreated, forcing Tahourdin to pull back his vessels also. On 1 February the British asked for terms of capitulation, with the actual capitulation taking place on 3 February.[4] In capturing the colonies de Kersaint also captured Tahourdin's squadron, of which Oronoque was the largest, but most feeble vessel. At the time of her surrender Oronoque was armed with ten 9-pounder guns on her lower deck, and eleven 2 and 3-pounder guns, for which there was no ammunition. Even the 9-pounders were short of ordnance stores. She also only had a crew of 20 men aboard.[2]

Tahourdin as commander of the British squadron was a co-signer of the capitulation with Robert Kingston, the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony.[5] Despite the capitulation, Tahourdin was promoted to post captain on 23 January 1783.[6]

Fate

The French then took Oronoque into naval service as Vicomte de Damas.[1] Vicomte de Damas, of 18 guns and four swivel guns, was put up for sale at Honfleur in April 1784. In October she was at Havre, not yet sold.[7]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

1. The National Maritime Museum's database spells her name as Ornonoque.

Citations

1. Demerliac (1996), p. 194, #1937.
2. Dannell (1892), pp. 22-4.
3. "NMM, vessel ID 372525" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol ii. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
4. Hepper (1994), p. 67.
5. Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Vol.5, Part 1. (1876), p.247.
6. Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London, Volume 23, (1982), fn.p.413.
7. Demerliac (1996), p. 81, #524.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
• Dannell, Davis M (1892). "The Capitulation to the French, in 1782". Timehri: The journal of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society of British Guiana. 6 (y).
• Demerliac, Alain (1996). La Marine de Louis XVI: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1774 à 1792 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-23-3.
• Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.

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