''Caroline'' was a 40-gun of the French Navy, launched in 1806. She captured several small British vessels in 1807, including a 14-gun privateer. She was ordered to the Indian Ocean in 1808 for commerce raiding, arriving in 1809. During the subsequent Mauritius campaign, ''Caroline'' captured two East Indiamen and their valuable cargoes of trade goods in the action of 31 May 1809. Réunion, 1809 RCIN 735153

The British captured ''Caroline'' at Île Bourbon during the

Raid on Saint Paul The Raid on Saint-Paul was an amphibious operation conducted by a combined British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines force against the fortified French port of Saint Paul on Île Bonaparte (now known as Réunion) during the Napoleonic Wars. Th ...

in September 1809, renaming her HMS ''Bourbonaise'' as they already had a ship named ''Caroline'' in service. ''Bourbonaise'' sailed back to Plymouth where she was held in ordinary until 1816, when she was sold for breaking up.

Service history

Actions in 1807

On 30 November 1807 ''Caroline'' captured ''Charlotte'', which ''Caroline'' set afire and sank. A week later, on 6 December, ''Caroline'' captured the privateer ''Caesar'', which she also set on fire and sank. ''Caesar'' was a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

of 217 tons (bm), armed with fourteen 6-pounders and two 18-pounder carronades. Her master, Robert Harrison, had received his letter of marque on 1 January 1807.

Indian Ocean mission and capture

On 12 November 1808, the French authorities sent four new 40-gun frigates to the Indian Ocean, one of them ''Caroline'', under the command of Captain Jean-Baptiste Billard. ''Caroline'' sailed from Vlissingen in the Netherlands. '' Caroline'' initially patrolled with , Captain Breton, and ''Iéna'', under ''capitaine de vaisseau'' Billard. ''Manche'' was another of the four; she had sailed from

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 ...

. ''Caroline'' captured several ships, notably two East Indiamen and ''Europa'' on 31 May 1809, before returning to Saint-Paul. A third East Indiaman, , escaped. Prize crews took ''Streatham'' and ''Europa'' to

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

, where the British recaptured them on 21 September. While Billard was suffering from very serious illness, ''Caroline'' was under the command of his first mate ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Feretier. He was ''Caroline''s commander on 21 September when and captured her during the British Raid on Saint-Paul.

HMS ''Bourbonaise''

She was taken into British service as HMS ''Bourbonaise'', there already being an in service. ''Bourbonnaise'' was commissioned under Captain Robert Corbett shortly after her capture. He sailed her to Plymouth, where she arrived 16 February 1810. The

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

paid her off and laid her up in

ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (Every Little Thing album) (2011) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016) * "Ordinary" (Wayne Brady song) (2008) * ...

. She never went to sea again.

Fate

The Admiralty attempted to auction ''Bourbonaise'' at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

on 18 September 1816 at £2500, but bidding stopped at £2000. She was broken up in April 1817.

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caroline (1806) Age of Sail frigates of France Ships built in France 1806 ships Hortense-class frigates Captured ships Frigates of the Royal Navy