Sloop of the Royal Navy
|
History
|
/
France
|
Launched
| 9 July 1794
|
Captured
| By the Royal Navy on 10 March 1796
|
Great Britain
|
Name
| Bonne Citoyenne
|
Acquired
| by capture 10 March 1796
|
Honours and
awards
| |
Fate
| Sold on 3 February 1819
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Bonne Citoyenne
-class corvette
|
Tons burthen
| 511
4
⁄
94
(
bm
)
|
Length
|
- 120 ft 1 in (36.6 m) (overall);
- 106 ft
6
+
1
⁄
4
in (32.5 m) (keel)
|
Beam
| 30 ft 11 in (9.4 m)
|
Depth of hold
| 8 ft 7 in (2.6 m)
|
Sail plan
| Full-rigged ship
|
Complement
|
- French service
: 145 men
- British service
: 125
|
Armament
|
- French service
: 20 × 8-pounder guns
- British service
- Upperdeck:18 × 6-pounder guns
- QD
:2 × 32-pounder
carronades
- Later
- 2 × 9-pounder bow chase guns + 18 × 32-pounder carronades
|
Bonne Citoyenne
was a 20-gun
corvette
of the
French Navy
launched in 1794, the
name ship
of
a four-vessel class
. She was part of the French fleet active in the Bay of Biscay and English Channel. The
Royal Navy
captured her in 1796, commissioning her as the
sloop-of-war
HMS
Bonne Citoyenne
.
Under British command she served in the Mediterranean, including at the
Battle of Cape St Vincent
. She was taken out of service in 1803 but returned following refitting in 1808, then serving in the Atlantic. Her most famous action was the capture of the much larger French frigate
Furieuse
on 6 July 1809, for which her crew earned the
Naval General Service Medal
. The later part of her career was spent in South America. Her design was used as the basis for the
Hermes
-class post ships
. She was
laid up
in 1815, and sold in 1819.
French service and capture
[
edit
]
Bonne Citoyenne
(
French
for 'good citizen') was built and launched in 1794, put into service in 1795 and served in the
English Channel
and the
Bay of Biscay
.
On 4 March she left Rochefort under the command of
Capitaine de vaisseau
Mahe-La Bourdonnais. She was in the company of the French frigates
Forte
,
Seine
, and
Regeneree
, and the brig
Mutine
. They were sailing for the
Ile de France
with troops and
Bonne Citoyenne
also had a great deal of soldiers' clothing on board.
[4]
[a]
Bonne Citoyenne
had the misfortune to be damaged in a storm and to become separated from the rest of the French squadron. On 10 March she had the further misfortune to encounter the
fifth-rate
frigate
HMS
Phaeton
, under the command of
Robert Stopford
, and his squadron. The squadron captured her 58
leagues
off
Cape Finisterre
.
[4]
Stopford then took her back to England as his
prize
. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS
Bonne Citoyenne
.
Two men from
Bonne Citoyenne
, Selis, who had been chief helmsman, and Thierry, a pilot, made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from
Petersfield
Prison after seven months captivity. Consequently, they were put on board the
Lady Shore
, which was to carry them, another six French prisoners, and some convicts to
Botany Bay
.
[5]
On the way they fomented a mutiny, seized the vessel, and took her into Rio de Janeiro, where a French frigate squadron under Captain
Landolphe
, comprising
Medee
,
Franchise
and
Concorde
, rescued them.
British service
[
edit
]
Mediterranean
[
edit
]
Bonne Citoyenne
'
s first captain in British service was Commander Sir Charles Lindsay, who took command in June 1796.
On 22 September she captured
Jonge George
.
[6]
Ten days later, she captured
Jussrouw Van Altona
.
[7]
Lindsay sailed for the Mediterranean in January 1797 where she joined a squadron under Lord Viscount
Garlies
, off Cadiz. The squadron also included
Lively
,
Niger
,
Meleager
,
Raven
and
Fortune
. That month they captured the Spanish merchant vessels
Santa Natalia
and
Caridad
(alias
Cubana
).
[8]
Bonne Citoyenne
was in company with the other vessels of Garlies' squadron when they captured the Spanish brigs
San Juan Baptista
on 6 February and
Virgine de Monserrate
three days later. At about the same time they also captured the Spanish ship
San Francisco
, which they sent into Lisbon.
[9]
Bonne Citoyenne
was at the
Battle of Cape St Vincent
on 14 February, when she signaled Admiral
John Jervis
that she had sighted the French fleet.
[10]
Bonne Citoyenne
shared in the prize money arising from the battle.
[b]
In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "St. Vincent" to all surviving claimants from the battle.
The British anchored in Lagos Bay with their prizes. Jervis then sent a squadron, that included
Bonne Citoyenne
, under Captain
Velters Cornewall Berkeley
in
Emerald
to find the 130-gun
Santissima Trinidad
. Six days later they did, only for Berkeley to break off the chase and lose her, for reasons that have never been explained.
Terpsichore
came up and found
Santissima Trinidad
, firing several broadsides into her before she broke off the engagement. As
Santissima Trinidad
was much larger and more heavily armed than
Terpsichore
it is not clear what Bowen actually expected to accomplish. At some point,
Bonne Citoyenne
,
Emerald
and
Alcmene
shared in the proceeds of the capture of the Spanish ship
Concordia
.
[12]
In March Captain Lord Mark Kerr took command, only to be replaced in May by Commander
Richard Retalick
.
Bonne Citoyenne
then had a productive summer capturing two privateers and numerous other vessels:
[13]
- Pleuvier
, a French privateer, of nine guns and 43 crew men.
Bonne Citoyenne
captured her between Carthaginia and Oran.
Pleuvier
was eight days out of Carthagina but had taken nothing.
Bonne Citoyenne
sent her to Algiers.
- Canarde
, a French privateer of 16 guns and 64 crew men. She was three months out of Marseilles and had captured one Prussian and one Russian vessel, as well as one vessel under the Turkish flag.
Bonne Citoyenne
sent her into Malta.
- Two Spanish brigs sailing in ballast, from Catalonia to Trieste, but carrying 8,900 dollars.
- a Spanish tartan,
Jengin
(or
Virgine
)
del Rosario
, which was sailing from Barcelona to Minorca with 20 recruits. Retalick reported that "the Wind being to the Southward, and scarce of Water, sent all the Prisoners on Board of her."
- eight other Spanish merchantmen of small value.
Commander Josiah Nisbet replaced Retalick in May 1798.
On 28 October,
Bonne Citoyenne
and
Goliath
captured two vessels off
Capo Passaro
, Sicily. Both belonged to the French Republic. The brig
San Giovanni e San Nicolo
was carrying corn.
Bologna
was carrying merchandise, with both vessel and merchandise being Genoese property.
[14]
Bonne Cityonne
joined Admiral
Horatio Nelson
's squadron and went out with it to the Mediterranean,
[15]
but did not arrive at
Abu Qir Bay
until ten days after the
Battle of the Nile
.
[c]
Nisbet was promoted to
post captain
in December.
In January 1799 Nelson ordered
Bonne Citoyenne
to convey the Turkish Ambassador to
Constantinople
.
[16]
Nisbet returned to Palermo with dispatches from Constantinople for Nelson. She then sailed to
Malta
to join the fleet blockading the French garrison there, arriving in early April.
Commander Thomas Malling took over in August. His successor, in September, was Lieutenant Archibald Duff (acting), who left after the Admiralty refused to confirm the appointment. The next month Commander Robert Jackson assumed command.
Bonne Citoyenne
was among the many vessels of the Malta blockade sharing in the prize money accruing from the capture on 18 February of the French warship
Genereux
. The first distribution of the proceeds of the hull, provisions and stores totaled £24,000.
[17]
On 2 April the squadron captured
Guillaume Tell
, with the vessels of the squadron sharing in the prize money.
[18]
Similarly
Bonne Citoyenne
shared in the capture on 6 April of the French
polacca
Vengeance
, which was going into
La Valletta
.
[19]
Next, on 27 June, vessels of the squadron captured the French privateers
Redoubtable
and
Entreprenant
.
[20]
[d]
Bonne Citoyenne
was also among the vessels sharing in the proceeds from the capture of the French frigate
Dianne
on 25 August off Malta as she and
Justice
attempted to escape.
[21]
Although the British captured
Dianne
,
Justice
was able to slip away in the dark.
On 5 September 1800, the British took Malta after two years of blockade.
Bonne Citoyenne
was among the vessels and regiments that shared in the prize money.
[22]
On 18 October, an Anglo-Portuguese squadron shared in the capture of the
Ragusan
polacca
Madonna Della Gratia e San Gaetano
, which was carrying plate, amongst other cargo. The British vessels were
Alexander
,
Terpsichore
,
Bonne Citoyenne
and
Incendiary
, and the Portuguese vessels,
Principe Real
,
Reynha de Portugal
,
Alfonso di Albuquerque
, and the corvette
Benjamin
.
[23]
The seizure on 27 October of two Greek polaccas off Malta also led to a shared payout, this one involving more, but only British vessels. One of the polaccas was the
San Nicolo
, but the name of the other is unknown. Nelson ordered the hulls burnt before La Valletta.
[24]
The seizure on 31 October of the ship
Fowler
involved four other British vessels,
Lutine
,
Pearl
,
Strombolo
, and
Transfer
.
[25]
On 31 December 1800 Jackson and
Bonne Citoyenne
captured the Spanish
privateer
settee
Vives
about 20 leagues off Cape Mola, outside
Port Mahon
.
Vives
was armed with ten 9-pounders and had a crew of 80 men. She was ten days out of
Palma
and had previously captured a merchant vessel carrying wine from Port Mahon to
Citadella
. Jackson recaptured this ship too.
[26]
Bonne Citoyenne
then returned to
Gibraltar
. There she was among the vessels that shared in the capture of
Eurydice
on 9 February 1801.
[27]
Next, she sailed for
Egypt
with
Lord Keith
's fleet. The force attacked the French at
Alexandria
. On 9 June,
Bonne Citoyenne
, and the brig-sloops
Port Mahon
and
Victorieuse
captured
Bonaparte
,
Vierge de Nieges
,
Felicite
and.
Josephine
off Alexandria. The prize money was forwarded by the British agent there.
[28]
Next,
Bonne Citoyenne
shared in the capture of
Almas di Purgatoria
, off Alexandria, on 28 July.
[29]
After the
Battle of Alexandria
and the subsequent
siege
, Captain
Alexander Cochrane
in the 74-gun
third rate
Ajax
, with
Bonne Citoyenne
,
Cynthia
,
Victorieuse
and
Port Mahon
and three Turkish corvettes, were able to enter the harbour on 21 August.
[30]
In 1850 the Admiralty awarded the Naval general Service Medal with clasp "Egypt" to the crews of any vessel that had served in the campaign between 8 March and 2 September 1801.
Bonne Cityonne
is listed among the vessels whose crews qualified.
[31]
[e]
Jackson was promoted to
post captain
in April 1802; his replacement, in May, was Commander
Philip Carteret
.
Bonne Citoyenne
was paid off in 1803. By 1805 she was moored at
Chatham
, where she underwent repairs in 1808. She was recommissioned under John Thompson in May 1808, and served off the north coast of Spain.
William Mounsey
replaced Thompson on 18 April 1809. He then took despatches to
Earl St Vincent
.
While Mounsey was in command of
Bonne Citoyenne
, she ran down and sank the merchant vessel
Doris
. Lieutenant Symes, first lieutenant of
Bonne Citoyenne
, was the officer of the watch and was on deck at the time. The owners of
Doris
sued Mounsey, but the case was dismissed on the grounds that Mounsey had not appointed Symes.
[34]
Bonne Citoyenne
captures
Furieuse
[
edit
]
Bonne Citoyenne
returned to England after delivering the despatches, and on 18 June sailed from
Spithead
in company with
HMS
Inflexible
. The two were acting as escorts for a convoy bound for
Quebec
. Whilst she escorted the convoy, on 2 July, lookouts spotted a suspicious sail astern, and Mounsey dropped back to investigate.
[35]
In doing so he lost sight of the convoy.
As he sailed to rejoin the convoy, on 5 July he came across a French frigate that was in the process of capturing an English merchant. Despite the frigate's substantially larger size, Mounsey immediately gave chase, at which the French ship fled northwards.
[35]
After a chase lasting 18 hours
Bonne Citoyenne
caught up with the French ship on the morning of 6 July and brought her to battle.
The subsequent engagement lasted seven hours, with
Bonne Citoyenne
at a disadvantage early on, when three of her guns were dismounted. She nevertheless fired 129 broadsides to the enemy's 70.
[35]
By the end of the battle
Bonne Citoyenne
had lost her top masts, her lower masts were badly damaged, and her rigging, sails and boats had been shot to pieces. Running out of powder Mounsey decided to force the issue and ordered his men to be prepared to board the French ship. Before he could do so, the French surrendered and Mounsey took possession.
[35]
The enemy ship was discovered to be
Furieuse
, which had sailed from the
Iles des Saintes
on 1 April, carrying sugar and coffee to France. She was capable of carrying 48 guns, but she was armed
en flute
, only carrying 20 at the time. Even so, the weight of her broadside was considerable as she carried twelve 42-pounder
carronades
, two long 24-pounder guns, and six other guns of smaller caliber.
[35]
She also had a much larger crew, with 200 sailors, 40 soldiers, and a detachment of troops from the 60th Regiment of the Line.
[35]
Furieuse
had suffered heavy damage; she had lost her masts, had five feet of water in the hold, and her casualties numbered 35 killed and 37 wounded. By contrast,
Bonne Citoyenne
had lost just one man killed and five wounded. Mounsey attributed the smallness of his losses to "the Lowness of the Bonne Citoyenne's Hull, and being so close under the Enemy's Guns."
[35]
Furieuse
was patched up, with a great deal of effort, to the point where
Bonne Citoyenne
could tow her into
Halifax
, where both underwent repairs. The Royal Navy took
HMS
Furieuse
into service under her existing name.
Bonne Citoyenne
returned to England in September.
A round of promotions followed the victory.
Bonne Citoyenne
'
s first lieutenant received a promotion to commander and Mounsey one to
post captain
, effective 6 July, i.e., the date of the battle. Mounsey was promised command of
Furieuse
once she was repaired. Captain John Simpson commissioned
Furieuse
in Halifax and sailed her to Britain, arriving in Portsmouth on 20 June 1810.
She then underwent repairs. Mounsey then commissioned her in November 1811.
Inflexible
sued in Vice-Admiralty Court in Halifax to share in the prize money from the capture. However, the Court ruled that
Bonne Citoyenne
was the sole captor.
The Admiralty issued Mounsey with a gold medal for the action, one of only 18 that they so honoured.
[37]
In 1847 the Admiralty issued the
Naval General Service Medal
with clasp "Bonne Citoyenne Wh. Furieuse" to all surviving claimants from
Bonne Cityonne
.
Greene and the Americans
[
edit
]
When Mounsey left
Bonne Citoyenne
in 1810, his successor was Commander Richard James Lawrence O'Connor.
On 21 June 1810,
Bonne Citoyenne
captured the French privateer
Maitre de Danse
in the Channel. She was pierced for 14 guns but only mounted four, and had a crew of 30 men.
[38]
O'Connor sailed
Bonne Citoyenne
on a convoy to Madeira on 11 July 1810. He was promoted to
post captain
on 21 October 1810.
In November Pitt Burnaby Greene took command.
Greene was promoted to post captain on 7 March 1811, after which
Bonne Citoyenne
was re-classed as a
post-ship
. Greene sailed her to the South American Station on 12 March.
Bonne Citoyenne
was based at the
River Plate
, and Greene was the senior officer of the station from December 1811 to September 1812 when Captain
Peter Heywood
arrived.
With the outbreak of the
War of 1812
Greene took on a cargo of specie, worth some half a million pounds, and sailed from
Rio de Janeiro
. Unfortunately, a grounding damaged
Bonne Citoyenne
and he was forced to put into
Salvador
for repairs. Whilst she was in port, two American warships, the
USS
Constitution
and
USS
Hornet
arrived.
James Lawrence
of
Hornet
sent a challenge to Greene, offering a single ship combat, with Commodore
William Bainbridge
of
Constitution
pledging not to intervene in any way.
Bonne Citoyenne
and
Hornet
were evenly matched in terms of the number of guns, weight of their broadsides, and sizes of their crews. In his reply, Greene stated that he expected that he would emerge the victor in such a contest, but that he could not expect Bainbridge and
Constitution
to forsake their duty to intervene should
Bonne Citoyenne
emerge the victor. Consequently, he declined the challenge at this time and place, but stated that he stood ready to accept the opportunity should the circumstances be different.
Constitution
left on 6 January 1813, but
Bonne Citoyenne
did not sortie even though
Hornet
was now apparently alone. The arrival of the
third rate
Montagu
on 24 January 1813 finally forced
Hornet
to leave; she sailed for the Caribbean where off the
Demerara River
she encountered and captured the sloop
HMS
Peacock
, which subsequently sank. Greene sailed for
Portsmouth
on 26 January, arriving there in April.
Bonne Citoyenne
then returned to Jamaica,
before again returning to Britain.
Fate
[
edit
]
In August 1814 or so Captain Augustus Clifford took command of
Bonne Citoyenne
.
She was laid up in
ordinary
in January 1815. The Navy put her up for sale on 3 February 1819,
[40]
and sold her on that day to Joshua Crystall for £1,550.
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Within the next three or four years the British would capture each one of these four vessels.
- ^
A captain's share was worth
£
99 17
s
0
d
. A commissioned officer received £4 5s 3½d; an able seaman received 2s 1½d.
[11]
- ^
Nisbet is variously described as Nelson's son-in-law or step-son. He was, in fact, the son of Nelson's wife, Fanny Nisbet, by her first husband.
- ^
A first-class share of the head money was worth £4 11s 2d; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 6d. A first-class share of the hull and stores was worth £13 8s; a fifth-class share was worth 3d.
[20]
- ^
A first-class share of the prize money awarded in April 1823 was worth £34 2s 4d; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 3s 11½d. The amount was small as the total had to be shared between 79 vessels and the entire army contingent.
[32]
Citations
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Marshall, John
(1828).
"Mounsey, William"
.
Royal Naval Biography
. Vol. sup, part 2. London: Longman and company. p. 20?29.
- Marshall, John
(1828).
"Greene, Pitt Burnaby"
.
Royal Naval Biography
. Vol. sup, part 2. London: Longman and company. p. 335?338.
- Nicholas, N.H. (1845)
The dispatches and letters of vice admiral ... Nelson, with notes by sir N.H. Nicolas
.
- Stewart, James (1814).
"Reports of cases, argued and determined, in the Court of Vice-Admiralty, at Halifax in Nova-Scotia : from the commencement of the war, in 1803, to the end of the year 1813, in the time of Alexander Croke, LL. D., judge of that court"
. Printed for J. Butterworth and Son.
OCLC
1083718243
.
- Winfield, Rif (2008).
British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793?1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates
. Seaforth.
ISBN
978-1-84415-717-4
.
External links
[
edit
]