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French frigate Piémontaise (1804)
Encyclopedia
The Piémontaise was a 40-gun Consolante-class frigate of the French Navy
. She served as a commerce raider in the Indian Ocean until her capture in March 1808. She served with the British Royal Navy
in the East Indies until she was broken up in Britain in 1813.
On 18 December 1805 she sailed from Brest
for Île de France
. There she served as a commerce raider under captain Jacques Epron. On 21 June 1806, she captured the East Indiaman Warren Hasting. On 6 September, she captured the 14-gun East India Company
brig
Grappler, the three-masted country ship Atomany and the East Indiaman Fame, the one-time prize to Semillante
. In early March 1808, she captured three merchantmen off Southern India.
. The two ships battled for three days until Piémontaise, out of ammunition and having suffered heavy casualties, had to strike her colours. The evening before she struck, Lieutenant de vaisseau Charles Moreau, who had been severely wounded, threw himself into the sea. Captain Hardinge, of St Fiorenzo, was killed in the fighting on the last day. In all, the British suffered 13 dead and 25 wounded. The French suffered some 48 dead and 112 wounded.
, along with , . The expedition also included .
Foote died in September and Commander Henry D. Dawson replaced him, only to die shortly thereafter. Piemontaises next captain was T. Epworth, who was replaced in turn by Captain Henry Edgell.
Bibliography
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...
. She served as a commerce raider in the Indian Ocean until her capture in March 1808. She served with the British Royal Navy
Royal 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...
in the East Indies until she was broken up in Britain in 1813.
French service
Piémontaise was built by Enterprise Étheart at Saint Malo to a design by François Pastel.On 18 December 1805 she sailed from Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
for Île de France
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
. There she served as a commerce raider under captain Jacques Epron. On 21 June 1806, she captured the East Indiaman Warren Hasting. On 6 September, she captured the 14-gun East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Grappler, the three-masted country ship Atomany and the East Indiaman Fame, the one-time prize to Semillante
French frigate Sémillante (1792)
The Sémillante was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was involved in a number of multi-vessel actions against the Royal Navy, particularly in the Indian Ocean. She captured a number of East Indiamen before the she became so damaged that the French disarmed her and...
. In early March 1808, she captured three merchantmen off Southern India.
Capture
On 8 March 1808, she encountered HMS St FiorenzoHMS St Fiorenzo (1794)
HMS St Fiorenzo was a 38-gun fifth rate of the Royal Navy. She had previously served with the French Navy as the Minerve, before the British captured her during the French Revolutionary Wars. She went on to serve under a number of the most distinguished naval commanders of her age, in theatres...
. The two ships battled for three days until Piémontaise, out of ammunition and having suffered heavy casualties, had to strike her colours. The evening before she struck, Lieutenant de vaisseau Charles Moreau, who had been severely wounded, threw himself into the sea. Captain Hardinge, of St Fiorenzo, was killed in the fighting on the last day. In all, the British suffered 13 dead and 25 wounded. The French suffered some 48 dead and 112 wounded.
British service
The British brought her into service as HMS Piedmontaise, commissioning her under Captain Charles Foote. From May to August 1810, she took part in an expedition to the Banda IslandsBanda Islands
The Banda Islands are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea, about south of Seram Island and about east of Java, and are part of the Indonesian province of Maluku. The main town and administrative centre is Bandanaira, located on the island of the same name. They rise...
, along with , . The expedition also included .
Foote died in September and Commander Henry D. Dawson replaced him, only to die shortly thereafter. Piemontaises next captain was T. Epworth, who was replaced in turn by Captain Henry Edgell.
Fate
Piémontaise was taken out of commission at Woolwich on 12 August 1812. She was broken up in January 1813.Sources and references
CitationsBibliography
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005) Dictionnaire des Bâtiments de la Flotte de Guerre Française de Colbert à nos Jours. (Group Retozel-Maury Millau), pp. 352–3.