HMS Blanche (1786)
Encyclopedia
HMS Blanche was a 32-gun Hermione-class fifth rate frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
of the 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...
. She was ordered towards the end of the American War of Independence, but only briefly saw service before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
in 1793. She enjoyed a number of successful cruises against privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s in the West Indies, before coming under the command of Captain Robert Faulknor
Robert Faulknor the younger
Robert Faulknor the younger was an 18th century Royal Navy officer, part of the Faulknor naval dynasty. He was court-martialled and died in an action off Guadeloupe in the eastern Caribbean Sea.-Early life:...
. He took the Blanche into battle against a superior opponent and after a hard-fought battle, forced the surrender of the French frigate Pique
HMS Pique (1795)
HMS Pique was a 38-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had formerly served with the French Navy, initially as the Fleur-de-Lys, and later as the Pique. She was captured in 1795 by HMS Blanche, in a battle that left the Blanches commander, Captain Robert Faulknor, dead...
. Faulknor was among those killed on the Blanche. She subsequently served in the Mediterranean, where she had the misfortune of forcing a large Spanish frigate to surrender, but was unable to secure the prize
Prize (law)
Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...
, which then escaped. Returning to British waters she was converted to a storeship and then a troopship, but did not serve for long before being wrecked off the Texel
Texel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
in 1799.
Construction and commissioning
Blanche was ordered from the yards of Thomas Calhoun and John Nowlan, of BursledonBursledon
Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages include Swanwick, Hamble-le-Rice, Netley and Sarisbury...
on 9 August 1782 and laid down there in July the following year. She was launched on 10 July 1786 and proceeded to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
where she was coppered
Copper sheathing
Copper sheathing was the practice of protecting the under-water hull of a ship or boat through the use of copper plates affixed to the outside of the hull. It was pioneered and developed by the Royal Navy during the 18th century.-Development:...
in August. She was then laid up for some time, before commissioning in January 1789. Work to fit her for sea had been completed by 25 April that year.
Career
Blanches first period of service took her to the Leeward IslandsLeeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
in May 1789, but she had returned to Britain by June 1792, when she was paid off. A brief period of refitting at Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
lasted from July to October, before she returned to the Leeward Islands under the command of Captain Christopher Parker. Parker undertook several successful cruises against privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s while in the West Indies in 1793, capturing the 12-gun Vengeur on 1 October, the 20-gun Revolutionnaire on 8 October and the 22-gun Sans-Culotte on 30 December. Command of the Blanche passed to Captain Robert Faulknor
Robert Faulknor the younger
Robert Faulknor the younger was an 18th century Royal Navy officer, part of the Faulknor naval dynasty. He was court-martialled and died in an action off Guadeloupe in the eastern Caribbean Sea.-Early life:...
in 1794, who continued Parker's work by capturing a large schooner at La Désirade
La Désirade
La Désirade is a French West Indies island located at the eastern of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles.It has a land area of 20.64 km² and a population of 1,595 in 2006 , with a population density of 77 inh. per km² in 2006...
on 30 December 1794, with the loss of two killed and four wounded.
Battling the Pique
Faulknor then proceeded to patrol off Pointe à Pitre, GuadeloupeGuadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, where the 36-gun French frigate Pique
HMS Pique (1795)
HMS Pique was a 38-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had formerly served with the French Navy, initially as the Fleur-de-Lys, and later as the Pique. She was captured in 1795 by HMS Blanche, in a battle that left the Blanches commander, Captain Robert Faulknor, dead...
was known to be refitting. The French ship came out of the harbour on 4 January, and the two frigates spent several hours manoeuvring and circling each other, trying to gain an advantage. The battle started early on the morning of 5 January, with the two ships closing and exchanging broadsides, before the Pique turned and ran afoul of the Blanche, with her bowsprit
Bowsprit
The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...
caught across her port quarter. While the French made several attempts to board, which were repulsed, the crew of the Blanche attempted to lash the bowsprit to their capstan
Capstan (nautical)
A capstan is a vertical-axled rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to apply force to ropes, cables, and hawsers. The principle is similar to that of the windlass, which has a horizontal axle.- History :...
, but during the attempt Captain Faulknor was killed by a musket ball to the heart. The Pique then broke away from the Blanche and came round her stern, this time colliding on the starboard quarter. Blanches men quickly lashed the bowsprit to the stump of their mainmast, which held her fast. Heavy volleys of musket fire were now exchanged between the two ships, while the men of the Blanche attempted to manoeuvre their guns into a position to fire on the trapped Frenchman. They eventually had to blow away part of the Blanches woodwork to achieve this. They now raked the Pique until she was forced to surrender, over five hours since the battle had begun. Casualties for the British were eight killed, including Captain Faulknor, and 21 wounded. The Pique had lost 76 killed and 110 wounded. The two ships were joined later that morning by the 64-gun , which helped exchange and secure the prisoners and tow the ships to port. The Pique was taken into the Royal Navy, as HMS Pique. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the award of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Blanche 4 Jany. 1795" to all surviving claimants from the action.
Later career
Captain Charles Sawyer took command of the Blanche in January 1795, and captured a small privateer off Saint LuciaSaint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...
on 17 April. Blanche returned to Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
for a refit in late 1795, before sailing to the Mediterranean in December. She passed under the command of Captain D’Arcy Preston in June 1796, and on 19 December was involved in an action with HMS Minerve
French frigate Minerve (1794)
The Minerve was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy. She was captured twice by the British and recaptured once by the French. She therefore served under four names:*Minerve, 1794–1795*HMS Minerve, 1795–1803*Canonnière, 1803–1810...
against the Spanish frigates Santa Sabina and Ceres. The Minerve captured the Santa Sabina, but though the Blanche forced the Ceres to surrender, she was unable to secure her prize, which subsequently escaped. Command passed to Captain Henry Hotham
Henry Hotham
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Hotham KCB was a Royal Navy hero who saw a great deal of service during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
in 1797, who continued Blanches successful cruises by capturing the 14-gun privateer Coureur on the Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
station on 20 November, followed by the 6-gun privateer Bayonnais on 27 December that year. Blanche was paid off in August 1798 and fitted out as a storeship the following year. She was further converted to a troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
and commissioned under Commander John Ayscough.
Fate
While under his command she grounded in the entrance to the TexelTexel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
on 28 September 1799 and was declared a constructive total loss.