''Astrée'' was a 44-gun 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 at
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 ...
in 1809. In December of the next year she captured
HMS ''Africaine''. 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 ...
captured ''Astrée'' in 1810 and took her into service under her French name, rating her as a 38-gun frigate, but then in 1811 recommissioned her as HMS ''Pomone''. She served during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
and was broken up in 1816.
French service
''Astrée'' took part in the campaign in the Indian Ocean under Commander
, serving with
Hamelin
Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
H ...
's squadron. She also was present in the final stages of the
Battle of Grand Port
The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy. The battle was fought during 20–27 August 1810 over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Isle de France (now Maur ...
.
A few days later, on 30 August, ''Astrée'' recaptured the 1-gun schooner-aviso
''Mouche No.23'', which
HMS ''Nereide'' had captured 2 June.
''Astrée'' came to be part of a squadron under
Pierre Bouvet
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, who had assumed command of the French squadron at
Grand Port
Grand Port () is a district of Mauritius, situated in the east of the island. The name means "large port" in French. The district has an area of 260.3 km2 and the population estimate was at 112,997 as of 31 December 2015.
History
Grand Po ...
after Duperré was wounded, and had been promoted to ''capitaine de frégate''. The squadron also comprised as a flagship, and the sloop .
Capture of HMS ''Africaine''
On 12 September 1810, Bouvet's squadron intercepted
HMS ''Africaine'' (commanded by Commodore Corbett) off Saint-Denis, as the frigate , the sloop and the brig were sailing from the bay of Saint-Paul. Bouvet lured the British into pursuit.
At midnight Bouvet sent ''Astrée'' forwards, creating the impression that ''Iphigénie'' was to slow ''Africaine'' down to allow the rest of the squadron to flee. At 3 am, ''Astrée'' regained her place at the rear of the squadron. The weather, which had been rough, improved somewhat, and in the moonlight ''Astrée'' suddenly found herself at gun range of ''Africaine''.
A gunnery duel followed immediately, which damaged ''Astrée''s
rigging
Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are ...
. She closed in to ''Iphigénie'' with ''Africaine'' in close pursuit. ''Africaine'', her guns still trained at ''Astrée'', soon found herself under fire from ''Iphigénie''. After half an hour of exchanging fire at point-black range, an exchange in which the French had the upper hand, the British attempted a boarding, which ''Iphigénie'' easily eluded. The boarding attempt gave ''Astrée'' an opportunity to rake ''Africaine''s bow. At 4:30, ''Africaine''
struck her colours.
All officers of ''Africaine'' had been killed or wounded in the action, save for Colonel Barry, and only 69 men were uninjured. Bouvet was given Corbett's
dagger
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...
, which he kept ever since. The French abandoned ''Africaine'' and the next day recaptured her.
On 3 December 1810, the
Île de France fell to the British. The ships moored at the island were surrendered, including ''Iphigénie'', ''Bellone'' and ''Astrée''. The British took ''Astrée'' into service as a 38-gun
fifth rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower.
Rating
The rating system in the Royal N ...
and renamed her HMS ''Pomone'' on 26 October 1811,
the previous having been wrecked earlier in the month.
British service
''Pomone'' underwent repairs at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
from November 1811 to April 1812. She was commissioned under Captain
Robert Lambert in February 1812.
[ At some point Captain ]Francis William Fane
Rear-Admiral Francis William Fane (14 October 1778 – 28 March 1844) son of John Fane (1751–1824) was a British Royal Navy officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who served in several engagements while commissioned on the ...
took command, and on 23 May 1812 sailed her for Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. On 4 August ''Pomone'' recaptured ''Kitty'', which the American privateer had captured five days earlier. ''Pomone'' then sent ''Kitty'' into Newfoundland.
Captain Philip Cartaret took command of ''Pomone'' in December 1812.[
On 26 May 1813, ''Pomone'' recaptured two Spanish vessels ''El Correv Diligente de Carraccas'' and ''Nostra Senora de los Desemperados''. She apparently shared the salvage with ''Tuscan'' and some three other vessels.
Early on the morning of 21 October 1813, ''Pomone'' was in the ]Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
repairing damage following a gale in which she had lost her fore-yard. By chance she fell in with a ship under jury masts that proved to be a French frigate.[Marshall (1827), Supplement, Part 1, pp.76–8.]
Carteret was about to attack when another vessel, which also appeared to be a frigate, and a brig flying French colours, emerged from the haze, followed by three more indistinct vessels. To avoid hazarding ''Pomone'', Carteret got well to windward of them. However, when the wind cleared in the afternoon it was discovered that they were all merchantmen except for the frigate under jury masts and the second frigate.[
Carteret moved to attack the second frigate but she turned out to be a large Portuguese East Indiaman, which the French had taken and the British retaken. Carteret then sailed for four days in a fruitless search for the frigate under jury masts before he was able to find out that ''Andromache'' had captured her on 23 October. She was , and the Royal Navy took her into service as the troop transport HMS ''Trave''.
An anonymous letter from "The Pomone's Ship's Company" was passed to the admiral at ]Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
asserting with respect to Carteret that "he had run from a French frigate". Carteret asked for a court martial to clear his name. The court martial took place at Plymouth on on 31 December. When no one could be found to offer testimony against him, Carteret summoned those he suspected, plus one quarter of the ship's company chosen by lot. After the board had examined the witnesses it acquitted Carteret of all blame.[
After service in the ]North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and the waters around France, ''Pomone'' sailed to the east coast of the United States to serve during the War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
.
On 6 December 1813 as ''John and James'', Crosby, master, was returning from Chili with 1000 barrels of oil, ''Pomone'' captured her and sent her into Bermuda. Around that time ''Pomone'' also captured several more American vessels, including the sloop ''Grampus'', and the schooners ''Anne'', ''Primrose'', ''Sally'', and ''Enterprise''.
With , ''Pomone'' captured the American privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
''Bunker's Hill'' on 4 March 1814. ''Bunker's Hill'' carried 14 guns and had a crew of 86 men. Previously very successful, she had been cruising for eight days out of Morlaix
Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Leisure and tourism
The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overhan ...
without making a single capture. ''Bunkers Hill'' was the former Royal Navy cutter , which the French ship ''Gloire'' had taken about a year earlier on 25 February 1813 near Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
.
On the night of 1–2 October 1814 ''Pomone'' and (or ''Despatch'') used their boats to raid Drown Meadow (now Port Jefferson, New York
Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...
). The boats arrived safely back at ''Pomone'' and ''Dispatch''s anchorage around 2:30-3:00 AM on Sunday, 2 October. In the space of about three hours they had captured the American merchant sloops ''Two Friends'', ''Hope'', ''Herald'', ''Mercantile'', and ''Fair American'', and set fire to the sloop ''Oneida'', all without firing a shot. The captured sloops were later ransomed back to their owners with the proceeds being used to support the blockade.[Lawrence Mirsky, Port Jefferson Historical Society Newsletter in October 2000 through January 2001, also log books of HMS Pomone and Despatch at the UK National archives (ADM 51/2296).]
''Pomone'' was also part of the squadron that captured on 15 January 1815. In April 1815 Carteret moved to and Captain John Lumley took over command.[Winfield (2008), p.181.]
Fate
In the summer of 1815 ''Pomone'' was paid off at Chatham
Chatham may refer to:
Places and jurisdictions Canada
* Chatham Islands (British Columbia)
* Chatham Sound, British Columbia
* Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi
* Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
. She was broken up at Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...
in June 1816.
In fiction
HMS ''Pomone'' appears as part of Commodore Jack Aubrey's Mediterranean squadron in Patrick O'Brian
Patrick O'Brian, Order of the British Empire, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during t ...
's novel ''The Hundred Days''.
Notes
Citations
References
Sailing Ships of the Royal Navy
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomone (1811)
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Pallas-class frigates (1808)
War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom
1809 ships
Ships built in France
Captured ships