Bordelais (1798 ship)

''Bordelais'' (or ''Bourdolaise'', or ''Bourdelais'', or ''Bordolois''), launched in 1799, was a privateer corvette from Bordeaux, France. She took part in three campaigns before captured her. She then served the Royal Navy until broken up in 1804.

French service

''Bordelais'' departed Bordeaux in December 1798 under Jean-François Thibaut, returning in February 1799. Her command then passed to Jean-Baptiste Darrigrand, who cruised from February to through June.

At the beginning of June ''Bordelais'' left Pasajes in company with ''Grand Décidé'' and . They planned to intercept a convoy from Brazil, send their prizes to Pasajes, and then return there. It is not clear that they were at all successful, and in any case captured ''Courageaux'' on 26 June.

Thibaut resumed command from July to August. In August, Jacques Moreau took command of ''Bordelais''. Her armament was upgraded she departed for a cruise.

On 6 October 1799 ''Bordelais'', under the command of Captain Joseph Moreau, detained and took into Bayonne the American vessel ''Victory'', Robert Hatton, master. ''Victory'' was carrying tobacco, cotton, and staves to London. Hatton would not divulge the names of the cargo's owners. The French court seized the cargo but released ''Victory''.

Capture

On 11 October 1799 ''Révolutionnaire'' was off the Irish coast when she sighted a strange sail. ''Révolutionnaire'' chased her quarry in a heavy gale for nine and a half hours over a distance of 114 miles (i.e., a rate of 12 miles per hour). When captured, the quarry turned out to be ''Bordelais'', of Bordeaux. She was pierced for 26 guns but carried sixteen 12-pounder guns and eight 36-pounder carronades. She had a crew of 202 men. She had been cruising from Passage for 19 days during which time she had captured two vessels, an American ship carrying a cargo of tobacco, and a Portuguese ship sailing from Cork with provisions. Twysden, in an attempt to interest the Admiralty in purchasing her, described ''Bordelais'' as "a most beautiful new Ship, well calculated for His Majesty's Service; was the largest, and esteemed the fastest sailing Privateer out of France."

''Bordelais'' arrived at Plymouth on 24 November. Four hundred French prisoners from and ''Bourdelaise'' landed at Plymouth on the same day. The Admiralty took ''Bordelais'' into service as the sixth-rate post ship ''Bordelais''.

HMS ''Bordelais''

''Bordelais'' stayed at Plymouth until April 1800, undergoing fitting out. Captain Thomas Manby commissioned her in January 1800. On 15 July, ''Bordelais'' captured the French vessel ''Phoenix''. , , and shared with ''Bordelais'' by agreement, as did . At some point, on a trip to Ireland the ''Bordelais'' foundered on a sandbank; Manby managed to refloat her by throwing everything possible overboard and she limped back to Plymouth; George Manby was also onboard.

''Bordelais'' spent a short period spent blockading the port of Flushing. She proved unsuited to the task, being long, narrow, and low in the water, and consequently so wet her crew sickened. She therefore was ordered back to Spithead.

In December Manby sailed ''Bordelais'' for the Jamaica Station, in company with ''Andromache'' as escorts to a large convoy. A gale dispersed the convoy near Cape Finisterre and ''Bordelais'' was sent to the west of Barbados to look for stragglers. On her way she recaptured two of the stragglers ( and ) that had already fallen prey to French privateers.

The French privateer ''Mouche'' had captured ''Aurora'', Redman, master, as she was near the Western Islands. ''Mouche'' also captured ''Adventure'', Finlay, master. ''Bordelaise'' encountered ''Adventure'', which only struck on 8 January 1801 after a long chase. From her Mandby found out that ''Mouche'' had captured ''Aurora'' too, and had sent her to Teneriffe. He sailed there and intercepted ''Aurora'' on 10 January as she arrived.

On 28 January 1801 ''Bordelais'' encountered three French vessels, two large brigs and a schooner, off Barbados. The three were to windward and started to chase ''Bordelais''. Mandy shortened sail to give the enemy a better chance to catch up, which they did around sunset. Mandby then turned ''Bordelais'' and engaged the larger of the brigs at a range of ten yards. The other two French vessels held off when they realized she could fire her carronades on both broadsides. After about 30 minutes the larger brig struck Robert Barrie, First Lieutenant of ''Bordelais'', took possession of the brig, which turned out to be the 18-gun gun brig ''Curieuse''. ''Curieuse'' was pierced for 20 guns and carried eighteen long 9-pounders. She had a crew of 168 men under the command of Captain G. Radelet. Victor "Hughes", governor of Cayenne, had dispatched the three vessels some 28 days earlier to intercept the outward-bound West Indies merchant fleet.

In the engagement ''Bordelais'' had one man killed and seven wounded, generally lightly. ''Curieuse'' had some 50 men killed and wounded. Radelet survived for a few hours but eventually died from having lost both legs. About an hour after the British took possession, ''Bordelais'' started to sink. Manby ordered everyone off her, but 21 British sailors delayed because they were extricating the French wounded. Most of the rescuers were themselves rescued, but seven drowned. Dealing with the situation, securing 120 French prisoners, and repairing sails and rigging delayed ''Bordelais'' until 8p.m. She then set off after the two French vessels that had fled but was unable to find them in the night.

In intercepting the three French vessels Manby helped protect the convoy from further predation. Reportedly, the French brig that escaped was ''Mutine'', of sixteen 6-pounder guns and 156 men under the command of J. Reybaud, and the schooner ''Espérance'', of six 4-pounder guns and 52 men under the command of Captain Haywood.James (1837), Vol. 3, pp.136-7.

From Barbados ''Bordelais'' made her way to Jamaica via Martinique. She then cruised the Mona Passage, where apparently she did great damage to the local trade. In one case a cutting out expedition at Aguadilla Bay by boats from ''Bordelais'' and another British vessel cut out a vessel that Manby turned into a tender; this vessel was lost with all hands shortly thereafter.

In a second attack at Aguadilla an attempt to cut out a schooner there ended in failure, but no casualties. The cannon fire from the Spanish defences did so much damage to ''Bordelais'' that she had to return to Port Royal for repairs.

Next, ''Bordelais'' cut out a small sloop with a cargo of wood from a small harbour on the coast of Puerto Rico. Manby cleared her and fitted her out as a tender. He put his second lieutenant James Gordon in command and gave him a crew of seven men and two boys. Shortly thereafter, a French privateer of one gun and 60 men captured Gordon and his sloop. The privateer took her prize into a small port near Aux Cayes. There they found another sloop, with a cargo of salt, that ''Bordelais'' captured the night before, and that the French had already recaptured, together with her prize crew of a midshipman and four men.

The port was under the control of the Haitian government of Toussaint Louverture, which threw the crew of the privateer into prison. The men from ''Bordelais'' spent four months in prison but were well treated, with Gordon and the midshipman being permitted to move freely on parole. Eventually all were released to a cartel under the command of Captain Kelpoisson, the commander of the port of Aux Cayes, and the only Frenchman in a position of authority. The British arrived at Port Royal (except for one man who had died), where they found out that the war was over. They returned to ''Bordelais'', where Gordon was able to sit down in the officers' mess before any of his fellow officers even knew that he had returned.

On 23 October Barrie replaced Manby. This was a temporary appointment as Barrie was still a lieutenant. ''Bourdelais'' arrived in Portsmouth on 18 January 1802 at the same time as Barrie's promotion to commander was announced.''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 7, p.91.

Then on 29 April 1802 Captain John Hayes replaced Barrie. One source has Commander Barrie as captain of ''Bourdelais'' in July 1802,''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 40. Appendix. but this seems to be in error.

Fate

''Bordelais'' was broken up in August 1804.

Post-script

The lines of ''Bordelais'' were taken in England after her capture; these plans have been reproduced in ''Clippers français''.

Notes, citations, and references

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordelais (1799)
1799 ships
Captured ships
Maritime incidents in 1799
Privateer ships of France
Sixth rates of the Royal Navy