''Chimère'' was a 32-gun frigate 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 ...
. She notably took part in the
War of American 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 ...
.
Career
''Chimère'' was ordered as a privateer by the Chamber of commerce of Marseille on 18 October 1756. On 10 October 1757, the French Navy purchased her, while still under construction.
She first served in the Mediterranean under Faucher. In 1758, she returned Turkish prisoners to Constantinople. She was next under L'Isle Taulanne, and Tressemanes.
On 13 April 1778, ''Chimère'' departed Toulon, under
Saint-Césaire
Saint-Césaire () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Poitou-Charentes), southwestern France. In the 1970s, a Neanderthal skeleton was found near Saint-Césaire. , as part of a squadron under
Admiral d'Estaing
Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French general and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the ...
''Sagittaire'', along with
''Languedoc'',
''Tonnant'',
''César'',
''Zélé'',
''Hector'',
''Guerrier'',
''Marseillais'',
''Protecteur'',
''Vaillant'',
''Provence'' and
''Fantasque''.
She fought at the
Battle of St. Lucia
The Battle of St. Lucia or the Battle of the Cul de Sac was a naval battle fought off the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies during the American Revolutionary War on 15 December 1778, between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.
Back ...
on 15 December 1778, where she was tasked to bombard the British battery on the Southern peninsula, along with the 50-gun
''Sagittaire''.
On 9 June 1779,
''Vengeur'' and
''Sagittaire'', along with the frigates ''Chimère'' and
''Aimable'', departed for Martinique under
Brach as a distraction to cover
Du Rumain's departure, who was sailing for his
Capture of Saint Vincent
The Capture of Saint Vincent was a French invasion that took place between 16 and 18 June 1779 during the American Revolutionary War. A French force commander named Charles-Marie de Trolong du Rumain landed on the island of Saint Vincent in th ...
with
''Lavely'', ''Lys'' and four transports.
On 8 July 1778, she was at
Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.
The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern en ...
, and was sent to Philadelphia to ferry Ambassador
Rayneval.
She then took part in the
Siege of Savannah
The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutenan ...
, under
Trolong du Rumain.
Fate
From 1780, ''Chimère'' was loaned to be used as a merchantman. In August 1783, she was sold.
Citations and references
Citations
References
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* (1671-1870)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chimère (1758)
Frigates of the French Navy
1758 ships
Ships built in France