''Andromaque'' was a 32-gun
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
of the
French Navy.
Career
''Andromaque'' was commissioned in Brest in 1778 and took part in the
American War of Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. After an overhaul in which she was
coppered
Copper sheathing is the practice of protecting the under-water hull of a ship or boat from the corrosive effects of salt water and biofouling through the use of copper plates affixed to the outside of the hull. It was pioneered and developed b ...
in April 1780, she captured the British 20-gun
post ship on 4 October 1780, off
Tortuga.
The French Navy took ''Unicorn'' into service as ''La Licorne''.
On 21 April 1781, ''Andromaque'' landed troops for the
Siege of Pensacola, in the squadron under
Monteil Monteil is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Adhémar de Monteil, (died 1098), French bishop and soldier
*Amans-Alexis Monteil (1769–1850), French historian
*Charles Monteil (1871–1949), French civil servant, ethnologi ...
.
On 20 April 1782, a 10-ship convoy departed Brest escorted by the 74-gun and , and the frigates and ''Andromaque''.
At sunset, at the mouth of the
English Channel, the convoy met a British force of three 74-gun ships of the line under
John Jervis; in the ensuing action of 20–21 April 1782, ''Pégase'' and the 64-gun ''Actionaire'', armed en flûte, were captured.
''Andromaque'' was decommissioned in November 1791 and lied in reserve at Rochefort, until June 1793, when she was armed again.
Then was then tasked with convoy escort duty between Rochefort and La Rochelle, under Captain Jean François Renaudin, Renaudin. She had a battle against a ship of the line and four Spanish frigates.
[Levot, p. 431]
In 1794, ''Andromaque'' cruised in the Bay of Biscay under Lieutenant Guillotin. Lieutenant Farjenel took command later that year. In 1795, she crossed the Atlantic to Guadeloupe,
and Lieutenant Morel took command.
On 22 August 1796, while cruising with a naval division, she sprang a leak and has to detach. She was then chased by the frigate and the brig and beached herself in Arcachon Bay to avoid capture. The crew jumped overboard and swam to the shore, 20 men drowning to death.
The British launched boats whose parties boarded and took prisoner ''Andromaque''s captain, Lieutenant Morel, and four officers, and rescued a number of Portuguese prisoners who had been the crews of two Brazilian ships that her squadron had captured.
A boarding party from ''Sylph'' set fire to ''Andromaque'' as they left and she was completely burnt. There are reports that after seizing the entire crew, the British kept only the officers and released the seamen, only to open fire on them as they attempted to return ashore.
[Guérin, vol.6, p. 110]
Citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Andromaque
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Ships built in France
Age of Sail frigates of France
1777 ships
Nymphe-class frigates
Maritime incidents in 1796