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French frigate Engageante (1766)
Encyclopedia
Engageante was a 26-gun frigate of the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
, lead ship of her class. The British captured her in 1794 and converted her to a hospital ship. She served as a hospital ship until she was broken up in 1811.
French service
Engageante was built in Toulon to a design by Jean-François Etienne. She was the sole ship of her class.From 1781, she took part in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, including the Hudson Bay Expedition
Hudson Bay Expedition
The Hudson Bay expedition of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse was a series of military raids on the lucrative fur trading posts and fortifications of the Hudson's Bay Company on the shores of Hudson Bay by a squadron of the French Royal Navy...
in 1782.
Capture
She was captured, along with PomoneFrench frigate Pomone (1787)
Pomone was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy built in 1783. The British captured her, along with Babet and Engageante, off the Île de Batz during the Action of 23 April 1794....
and , off the Île de Batz
Île de Batz
The Île de Batz is an island off Roscoff in Brittany, France. Administratively, it is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:...
during the Action of 23 April 1794
Action of 23 April 1794
The Action of 23 April 1794 took place between a British squadron of five frigates under the command of Sir John Borlase Warren and three frigates and a corvette under the command of Chef d'escadre F. Desgarceaux during the French Revolutionary Wars. Three of the French ships were captured.-The...
. Her captor was . Engageante suffered 30 to 40 men killed and wounded. Concorde lost one man killed and 12 wounded. In the evening after the action Engageantes masts fell overboard, and Concordes masts were kept upright only with great difficulty.
British service
She was subsequently recommissioned in the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and registered as the hospital ship HMS Engageante on 27 July 1794.
She was commissioned at Cork in February 1805 under Lieutenant William Fry. She served for a while as Vice-Admiral Robert Kingsmill's
Sir Robert Kingsmill, 1st Baronet
Sir Robert Brice Kingsmill, 1st Baronet was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned nearly 60 years...
flagship.
In 1796 Lieutenant Henry Parker replaced Fry, but drowned in January 1797. In 1798 Fry returned to command, but he died in 1801. In 1801 Lieutenant Barrington Mansfield assumed command, only to die within the year.