''Concorde'' was a 40-gun

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

of the

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. 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 her in August 1800.

Service history

On 27 May 1793, ''Concorde'' captured the 24-gun ; she became the

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 ...

''Hyene'', which the Royal Navy recaptured in 1797. ''Concorde'' took part in the

Expédition d'Irlande The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republica ...

, and on 12 October 1798, in aftermath of the

Battle of Tory Island The Battle of Tory Island (sometimes called the Battle of Donegal, Battle of Lough Swilly or Warren's Action) was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwes ...

. ''Concorde'' was part of a squadron of three frigates, ''Concorde'' under Commodore Jean-François Landolphe, under Captain

Jean-Daniel Coudin Jean-Daniel may refer to: * Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (born 1992), professional footballer * Jean-Daniel Boissonnat (born 1953), French computer scientist, director of research at INRIA *Jean-Daniel Cadinot (1944–2008), French photographer, director ...

, and under Captain Pierre Jurien, with Landolphe as the overall commander, that left

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

on 6 March 1799. Eluding the British blockade off Rochefort, the squadron sailed southwards until it reached the coast of West Africa. There, Landolphe's ships began an extended

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 ...

operation, inflicting severe damage on the West African trade. During this time, the squadron captured the Portuguese island of

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(Príncipe).Fonds, Vol. 1, p.244. Eventually the strain of serving in tropical waters told on the ships and all three were forced to undergo an extensive refit in the nearest available allied shipyards, which were located in the Spanish-held River Plate in South America. At Montevideo the squadron assisted the French prisoners that had captured and taken into that port the convict transport which was carrying them to Australia. Repairs continued for six months, until Landolphe considered the squadron once again ready to sail in the early summer of 1800. The squadron almost immediately captured off the coast of Brazil the American schooner ''Espérance'' (''Hope''), which they used as an

aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an '' ...

and sent to

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with a prize crew under the command of ''enseigne de vaisseau'' Hamon. (At the time, France and the

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had been engaged for two years in the

Quasi War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congress ...

Fate

The

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

, captured ''Concorde'' off Rio de Janeiro at the

action of 4 August 1800 The action of 4 August 1800 was a highly unusual naval engagement that took place off the Brazilian coast during the French Revolutionary Wars. A French frigate force that had been raiding British commerce off West Africa approached and attem ...

. The British sailed her to port in Britain but the Royal Navy did not take her into service.

References

*Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations; divisions et stations navales; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier: BB4 1 à 209 (1790-1804

Nymphe-class frigates 1791 ships Maritime incidents in 1800 Ships built in France {{France-mil-ship-stub