''Caroline'' was a 40-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 in 1806. She captured several small British vessels in 1807, including a 14-gun

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 ...

. She was ordered to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

in 1808 for

commerce raiding Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...

, arriving in 1809. During the subsequent Mauritius campaign, ''Caroline'' captured two

East Indiamen East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

and their valuable cargoes of trade goods in the

action of 31 May 1809 The action of 31 May 1809 was a naval skirmish in the Bay of Bengal during the Napoleonic Wars. During the action, an Honourable East India Company convoy carrying goods worth over £500,000 was attacked and partially captured by the French fri ...

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 ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...

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

''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 Vlissingen (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Vlissienge), historically known in English as Flushing, is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic l ...

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

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 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. The ...

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, Traf ...

paid her off and laid her up in ordinary. 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