''Vésuve'' 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 was decommissioned in 1815 and broken up in 1830.
Career
At the
action of 30 May 1798 ''Vésuve'' and the French corvette ''Confiante'' battled the frigate , the
bomb vessel
A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannons ( long guns or carronades) – although bomb vessels carried a few cannons for self-defence – but mortars mounte ...
, and the
cutter . ''Confiante'' and ''Vésuve'' ran aground. The British were able to destroy ''Confiante'' but they were unable to reach ''Vésuve'', which the French later refloated.
''Vésuve'' served at Le Havre under ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Rousseau between 15 nivôse and 23 prairial An XI (5 January to 12 June 1801). Between November 1801 and February 1802 she was at Le Havre being fitted as a ''
flûte'' of 20 guns.
In February 1807 she was refitted as a 20-gun corvette.
By 1 February 1812, she served at Cherbourg under ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Le Chosel. On 17 March, she crossed from Le Havre to Cherbourg. From 1 September to 6 October 1813, she served under ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Valette in Cherbourg.
In 1814, after the
Bourbon Restoration, ''Vésuve'' was sent with the
74-gun
The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...
''Lys'' and the frigate
''Érigone'' to retake possession of
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
. ''Vésuve'' was commanded by ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Burgues de Missiessy, who was promoted to ''captaine de frégate'' during the cruise. The squadron arrived at Fort Royal on 5 October 1814. ''Vésuve'' departed Fort-de-France on 7 April 1815 and arrived at Rochefort on 8 August.
[Fonds Marine, Vol. 2, pp. 501.]
Fate
On 31 July 1815, ''Vésuve'' received approval to serve as a headquarters hulk at Rochefort in place of
''Serpente''. ''Vésuve'' was broken up in 1830.
Citations
References
*Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations; divisions et stations navales; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier: BB210 à 482 (1805-18826
* Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations ; divisions et stations navales ; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome deuxième : BB4 1 à 482 (1790-1826
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Vesuve (1795)
Age of Sail corvettes of France
1795 ships
Ships built in France
Etna-class corvettes