''Mignonne'' was an 18-gun ''Etna''-class

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

, launched in 1795. She served until 1803 when the British captured her. Though she served briefly, there is no record of her actually being commissioned into the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

; she grounded and was condemned in 1804.

French service and capture

''Mignonne'' was built in

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

from 1794 to 1797 and was launched on 15 October 1795. Between 3 and 16 September 1797, she served at Cherbourg under commander Jourdan. Under Lieutenant Yset, she took part in the Caribbean campaign led by Admiral

Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747Granier, p.87Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish. – 24 July 1812Levot, p.544) was a French admiral. Villaret was born at Auch ...

in 1803. She was involved in the capture of Fort Graville on 6 February, and Camp de Louise on 8 February. On 28 June 1803, as she sailed with the frigate '' Poursuivante'', she encountered a British convoy off San Domingo, part of the

Blockade of Saint-Domingue The Blockade of Saint-Domingue was a naval campaign fought during the first months of the Napoleonic Wars in which a series of British Royal Navy squadrons blockaded the French-held ports of Cap Français and Môle-Saint-Nicolas on the northern ...

. One of the escorts, HMS ''Goliath'', was sailing inshore off Cape Nicholas Mole, to try to find two vessels seen earlier. She encountered ''Mignonne'' at 10:45, and after a few shots captured her at 11:45.Troude (1867), pp.44-45. In Captain

James Brisbane Captain Sir James Brisbane, CB (1774 – 19 December 1826) was a British Royal Navy officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Although never engaged in any major actions, Brisbane served under both Lord Howe and Horatio Nels ...

's words, ''Mignonne'' was a "remarkable fast sailing Ship Corvette". She carried sixteen long 18-pounder guns, six of which she had landed. Her crew of only 80 men was under Commander Jean-Pierre Bargeau, and she was two days out of Aux-Cayes, sailing to France via the Cape.

British service

''Mignonne'' was among a number of British prizes that arrived at Jamaica between 2 and 16 July. The

took her into service as the 18-gun ship

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

HMS ''Mignonne'', but never commissioned her. Her captain was Commander Edward Hawker.He had been promoted to Commander in 1803 and he received his promotion to

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

in June 1804, though he served on ''Mignonne'' for some time thereafter. In June 1804 ''Mignonne'' ran ashore off Lucca, Jamaica. '' Desiree'' was towing her to Port Royal when on 9 July at 0100 hours a bolt of lightning struck ''Mignonne'', killing three seamen, injuring five (or nine), and causing some damage to the ship. Hawker reported that the bolt shattered the topmast and split the mainmast to the

keelson The keelson or kelson is a reinforcing structural member on top of the keel in the hull of a wooden vessel. In part V of “Song of Myself”, American poet Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an Ame ...

. On 13 October ''Mignonne'' captured the French brig ''St. Antonio y les Animas'', which was in ballast.

Fate

In December 1804 ''Mignonne'' was laid in the mud at

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

, Jamaica.Gossett (1986), p.45. She was then condemned.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

Citations

References

*Gossett, William Patrick (1986) ''The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900''. (London: Mansell). *Harris, Sir William Snow (1843) ''On the nature of thunderstorms; and on the means of protecting buildings and shipping against ... lightning''. *Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations; divisions et stations navales; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier: BB210 à 482 (1805-18826

* Markham, John (1904) ''Selections from the correspondence of Admiral John Markham during the years 1801-4 and 1806-7.'' (Printed for the Navy Records Society y Spottiswoode. * * *Winfield, Rif & Stephen S Roberts (2015) ''French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 - 1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates''. (Seaforth Publishing).

External links

Naval Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mignonne (1797) Age of Sail corvettes of France 1795 ships Ships built in France Captured ships Etna-class corvettes Maritime incidents in 1804 Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea