French Frigate Concorde (1778)

''Concorde'' was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Built in Rochefort in 1777, she entered service with the French early in the American War of Independence and was soon in action, capturing in the West Indies. She survived almost until near the end of the war when captured her in 1783. Not immediately brought into service due to the draw-down in the navy after the end of the war, ''Concorde'' underwent repairs and returned to active service with the outbreak of war with France in 1793 as the fifth-rate HMS ''Concorde''.

Initially part of squadrons cruising off the French coast, she played an important part in the action of 23 April 1794, capturing the . At a later engagement she helped capture the . From 1797 until the early 19th century she had especial success against privateers, capturing a large number in the West Indies and in the Atlantic. She had a narrow escape from a superior French force in 1801, but was able to batter her pursuer, the 40-gun , into submission; only the arrival of French reinforcements saved ''Bravoure'' from capture. ''Concorde'' spent her last years on a variety of stations, including at the Cape of Good Hope and the East Indies. She was laid up in 1807 and sold for breaking up in 1811.

Construction and French career

''Concorde'' was one of three s built for the French Navy to a design by Henri Chevillard. She was built at Rochefort between April 1777 and January 1778, being launched on 3 September 1777. She went out to the West Indies after the French entry to the American War of Independence, and reached Martinique on 17 August 1778. On 28 August 1778, under Captain Le Gardeur de Tilly, she came up on the 32-gun , under Captain John Stott, and after two and a half hours of fighting, captured her. ''Minerva'' was towed to Cap Français on Saint-Domingue, where she was joined shortly afterwards by the captured , which a hurricane had dismasted in late August and which the French frigates and had captured on 1 September.

In France, the action was so highly regarded that the Navy Minister commissioned a painting of the battle.

In 1781 ''Concorde'' was responsible for vital transfers of personnel, funds, and communications that contributed to the allied victory at Yorktown. In March 1781 she carried despatches to George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau from France. These despatches included a request from the comte de Grasse, commander of the West Indies fleet, for information on planned allied operations and the delivery of pilots familiar with the American coast. She also carried 6 million livres to support the war effort, and the new commander of the French naval squadron at Newport, Rhode Island, the comte de Barras. Following a conference of allied leaders in May, ''Concorde'' was sent to Cap-Français with despatches for de Grasse and the requested pilots. When de Grasse received these despatches, he made the critical decision to sail his fleet to the Chesapeake Bay to assist in land operations against British forces operating under the command of Charles Cornwallis in Virginia. ''Concorde'' carried de Grasse's letters for Washington, Rochambeau, and de Barras back to Newport; arrival of this news set in motion Washington's march to Virginia and the eventual entrapment of Cornwallis at Yorktown.

On 7 January 1783, ''Concorde'' was in company with . They sighted HMS ''Raven'', which initially sailed towards them until she realized that they were not British frigates. An all-day chase ensued until about 9p.m. when one of the French frigates got within pistol-shot and fired a broadside that took away ''Raven''s main topgallant-mast. The chase continued until about 10:30 p.m. when one of the frigates was again in range, with the other coming up rapidly. At this point, ''Raven'', which was under the command of Commander John Wells, struck. The French Navy took ''Raven'' into service under the name ''Cérès'', which she had born when under French colours between 1778 and 1782.

Capture

On 15 February the 74-gun , under Captain Robert Linzee, sighted ''Concorde''. ''Magnificent'' had sailed from Gros Islet Bay on 12 February on a cruise in company with the 64-gun ships and , and on sighting the strange sail, ''Magnificent'' gave chase. She was close enough to identify the mysterious ship as a frigate by 18:00, and by 20:00 as darkness fell ''Concorde'' opened fire on her pursuer with her stern guns. ''Magnificent'' overhauled the French ship by 21:15, and after fifteen minutes forced her to strike her colours. ''Magnificent'' took possession of ''Concorde'', the latter being described as carrying 36 guns and 300 men, and being under the command of M. le Chevalier du Clesmaur. Shortly after surrendering the ''Concorde''s maintopsail caught fire, forcing the crew to cut away the mainmast to extinguish it. ''Prudent'' and ''St Albans'' came up two hours later and ''Magnificent'' towed ''Concorde'' to St. John's, Antigua.

Interwar years

''Concorde'' was bought into the navy and commissioned in the West Indies for a return to Britain later in the year, though her commander for this voyage is unknown. She arrived in Britain and was paid off in September at Chatham. With the end of the American War of Independence and the draw-down in the navy, ''Concorde'' was not brought into immediate service but remained laid up at Chatham until November 1790, when Wilson, of Frindsbury. began a great repair. The work, which cost a total of £18,259, was completed by April 1793, by which time the French Revolutionary Wars had broken out. ''Concorde'' was fitted for service at Chatham between April and May 1793, at a cost of £6,600, and was commissioned in April under Captain Thomas Wells.

French Revolutionary Wars

In 1794 command of ''Concorde'' passed to Captain Sir Richard Strachan, and she joined Commodore John Borlase Warren's squadron off the French coast. The squadron also included Warren's 36-gun , the 38-gun under Captain Sir Edward Pellew, and the 36-gun frigates , under Captain Thomas Wells, and , under Captain George Murray.

''Concorde'' and ''Engageante''

While sailing off the Channel Islands on 23 April the British squadron came across a French squadron under Commodore Desgareaux consisting of the 36-gun , the 44-gun , the 36-gun , and the 24-gun . Warren chased and engaged them, leading the attack in ''Flora''. When ''Flora'' was badly damaged from the combined fire from the French ships, the remaining British ships came up in support, and forced the rear-most French ships, ''Babet'' and ''Pomone'', to surrender. ''Melampus'', ''Nymphe'' and ''Concorde'' gave chase to the fleeing ''Résolue'' and ''Engageante''. Strachan in ''Concorde'' attempted to damage the rearmost of the French ships, ''Engageante'', before pushing on to chase ''Résolue'', but ''Résolue'' dropped back to support ''Engageante'', damaging ''Concorde''s sails and rigging. With ''Nymphe'' and ''Melampus'' still too far astern, and unable to catch ''Résolue'' himself, Strachan engaged ''Engageante'' and after 105 minutes of fighting, forced her to surrender, while ''Résolue'' made her escape. ''Concorde'' lost one man killed and 12 wounded in the fighting.

''Concorde'' and ''Virginie''

''Concorde'' was then assigned to Rear-Admiral George Montagu's squadron in May 1794, and took part in the manoeuvres during the Atlantic campaign of May 1794. Strachan left ''Concorde'' in July 1794 to take command of ''Melampus'', and in August Captain Anthony Hunt took over command of ''Concorde''. ''Concorde'' was part of John Warren's squadron off Quiberon between June and July 1795, supporting the Quiberon Expedition, after which she joined Sir Edward Pellew's squadron. On 20 April 1796 Pellew's squadron, then consisting of ''Concorde'', Pellew's 38-gun , and the 36-gun under Captain Robert Carthew Reynolds, spotted and chased a mysterious sail. After chasing their quarry for 15 hours over 168 miles they caught up with her, with ''Indefatigable'' leading the attack. Both ships exchanged fire, considerably damaging each other, upon which ''Concorde'' came up under the quarry's stern and forced her to surrender. She was discovered to be the 40-gun , under Captain Jacques Bergeret. ''Virginie'' was towed to port and taken into the navy.

Later years

On 31 January 1795 ''Concorde'' was part of a squadron under Captain Sir John Borlase Warren that seized the Dutch East India Ship ''Ostenhuyson''.

Command of ''Concorde'' passed from Hunt to Captain Richard Bagot in November 1796, and he in turn was succeeded by Captain Batholomew Roberts in June 1797. ''Concorde'' captured the 4-gun privateer ''Poisson Volant'' off Cape Finisterre on 24 July 1797. She was bound from Bordeaux to Guadeloupe carrying wines and merchandise, after which she intended to cruise as a privateer in the West Indies. ''Concorde'' was later commanded by Captain Robert Barton, who took a number of privateers in a series of cruises in the West Indies in 1798, capturing the 16-gun ''Caye du Pont'' off St Bartholomew on 3 January, the 8-gun ''Proserpine'' off Montserrat on 8 January, the 8-gun ''Hardi'' off Barbuda on 11 February, the 2-gun ''Hazard'' off Montserrat on 13 February, and the 2-gun ''Rosière'' off Montserrat on 1 April. In an action with on 8 and 9 September she captured four privateers, the 8-gun ''Buonaparte'', 10-gun ''Amazone'', 4-gun ''Sauveur'', and 2-gun ''Fortune''.

''Concorde''s success against privateers continued with the capture of the 18-gun ''Prudente'' on 14 February 1799, the 6-gun ''San Josef'' off Oporto in December 1800, and the 1-gun ''San Miguel el Volante'' on 1 December 1800.
Next, ''Concorde'' had a narrow escape from a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume, which had sailed from Brest on 23 January 1801. The French sighted ''Concorde'' off Cape Finisterre on 27 January, and sent the 40-gun to chase her down. ''Concorde'' cast off a Swedish ship she was towing and drew the French frigate away from the main body of the fleet. Barton then turned and engaged ''Bravoure'' for forty minutes, silencing her guns. By now the main French fleet was fast approaching, and with his sails and rigging damaged, Barton did not attempt to take possession of ''Bravoure''. Instead he made for a British port to report the encounter. ''Concorde'' had four men killed and 19 wounded in the engagement; ''Bravoure'' had 10 killed and 24 wounded.

Napoleonic Wars

Captain John Wood succeeded Barton in 1802, and the following year ''Concorde'' went out to the Cape of Good Hope. On 7 November 1804, she captured the 24-gun privateer ''Fortune'', under François-Thomas Le Même, after a ten-hour running battle.Cunat, p.409 In the battle ''Fortune'' lost two men killed and had four wounded; ''Concorde'' had no casualties. ''Fortune'' also suffered extensive damage to her rigging. A few days earlier at Qais Island ''Fortune'' had captured and scuttled ''Fly'', a 14-gun brig belonging to the Bombay Marine of the British East India Company.''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 14, pp.291-2. Captain Wood received his prisoners "with distinction" and ''Concorde'' returned to Bombay. ''Fortune'', reduced to a poor condition, limped in several days later.

''Concorde'' was under Captain John Cramer, probably from February 1806. She was still in the East Indies in 1807, where in July she captured the 2-gun privateer ''Vigilant''.

Fate

''Concorde'' returned to England and was paid off in September 1807. She spent several years laid up in Ordinary. The Navy sold her at Deptford on 21 February 1811.

Notes

a. ''Concorde''s sisters were the and ''Courageuse''. ''Hermione'' was wrecked in 1793, while ''Courageuse'' was captured during the siege of Toulon, but was retaken in the fall of the city to the French. She was retaken by the British while sailing in the Mediterranean in 1799 and taken into the navy.

b. Stott was badly wounded in the engagement, losing a piece of his ear, and his hearing and eyesight to the resulting swelling. A ball remained lodged in his head, and he died shortly aftwerwards on Hispaniola. A young Horatio Nelson was serving in the West Indies at the time, and wrote to his friend and patron William Locker about the captures, noting that William Williams, commander of ''Active'' had also died shortly afterwards, apparently of a broken heart. The heavy British losses at the time speeded Nelson's own promotion, and he was made master and commander of the brig on 8 December 1778.

c. ''Minerva'' was retaken on 4 January 1781 and was renamed HMS ''Recovery''. ''Active'' spent the rest of her career with the French Navy, until being condemned and broken up in November 1794.

d. This was not Strachan's first encounter with ''Résolue''. While serving in the East Indies in command of the 36-gun in November 1791 Strachan received orders to stop and search a French convoy, escorted by ''Résolue'', which was believed to be carrying supplies for the support of Tipu Sultan, whom the British were then fighting in the Third Anglo-Mysore War. ''Résolue'' resisted and a brief action took place before the French surrendered. As Britain and France were not at war, ''Résolue'' was then restored to the French.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Concorde, Hms
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Concorde-class frigates
Age of Sail frigates of France
1777 ships
Ships built in France
Captured ships