French Frigate Dédaigneuse (1797)

''Dédaigneuse'' was a 40-gun of the French Navy, launched in 1797. The Royal Navy captured her in 1801 and took her into service as HMS ''Dedaigneuse''. She was hulked as a receiving ship in 1812 and sold in 1823.

French service

On 30 December 1800, as she was taking political prisoners at Cayenne to bring them back to France under Captain Prevost Lacroix, she spotted .

Capture

On Monday, 26 January 1801, at 8.00 a.m., at , ''Oiseau'', under Captain Samuel Hood Linzee, fell in with and chased ''Dédaigneuse'', which was bound from Cayenne to Rochefort with despatches.James (1837), Vol. 3, p.136. By noon the following day, with Cape Finisterre in sight, Captain Linzee signalled and who were in sight to join the pursuit. ''Dédaigneuse'' maintained her advantage until 2.00 a.m. on the 28th when ''Oiseau'' and ''Sirius'' were within musket-shot of ''Dédaigneuse''. In a desperate attempt to shake her pursuers she opened fire from her stern-chasers, which fire the two British ships immediately returned. After a running fight of 45 minutes, ''Dédaigneuse'' was two miles off shore near Cape Bellem with her running rigging and sails cut to pieces, mainly due to the steady and well-directed fire from ''Sirius''. Aboard ''Dédaigneuse'' casualties were heavy with several men killed, including her captain and fifth lieutenant, and 17 wounded; she was therefore forced to strike her colours . ''Amethyst'', due to unfavourable winds, was unable to get up until after ''Dédaigneuse'' had struck. Although ''Sirius'' was the only British ship damaged (rigging, sails, main-yard and bowsprit) in the encounter, there were no fatalities on the English side. Captain Linzee declared the encounter a long and anxious chase of 42 hours and acknowledged a gallant resistance on the part of ''Dédaigneuse''. Linzee also described her as "a perfect new Frigate, Copper fastened and sails well...". He sent her into Plymouth with a prize crew under the command of his first lieutenant, H. Lloyd. ''Dédaigneuse'' was afterwards added to Royal Navy under the same name HMS ''Dedaigneuse''.

British service

Captain Thomas Shortland commissioned ''Dedaigneuse'' in April 1802, and sailed her for the East Indies in June.

Captain Peter Heywood took command of ''Dedaigneuse'' in April 1803 in the East Indies. On 14 December she captured the two (or four-gun) French privateer ''Espiegle''. Because of his poor health and the death of his elder brother, Captain Heywood resigned his command on 24 January 1805. He then returned to the United Kingdom as a passenger on the East Indiaman .

Captain Charles James Johnson replaced Heywood.

In July 1805 Commander William Beauchamp-Proctor was given acting-command of ''Dedaigneuse''. He was not confirmed in his post-rank until 5 September 1806.O'Byrne (1849) Vol. 1, pp.935-6.

On 21 November 1808, at sunset, ''Dédaigneuse'' was stationed off the Isle de France when she encountered the French 36-gun frigate returning from a cruise in the Indian Ocean. ''Dédaigneuse'' gave chase and by midnight the two ships were no more than half a mile apart. ''Dédaigneuse'' fired two or three shots from her bow-chasers, and then a full broadside, as ''Sémillante'' tacked. ''Dédaigneuse'' followed suit, but because of the lightness of the wind, the ship would not come round. A boat was lowered down to tow her round, and she was finally able to pursue the Frenchman, now some distance ahead. Unfortunately, ''Dédaigneuse'' had lost a great deal of copper, being very foul, and at best a bad working ship, so gradually dropped further astern. Beauchamp-Proctor eventually abandoned the chase at about 5 p.m, and soon afterwards ''Sémillante'' anchored in Port Louis. ''Dédaigneuse'' continued to patrol the waters off the Isle de France until her water and provisions were almost expended, before sailing to Madagascar to reprovision, and then sailed to Bombay. When the commander-in-chief expressed himself dissatisfied with his conduct, Captain Beauchamp-Proctor requested a court-martial, which was held aboard in Bombay harbour on 27 March 1809. Every officer of his ship gave strong evidence in the captain's favour, and the court acquitted him of all blame, laying responsibility squarely on the poor sailing qualities of ''Dédaigneuse''.

Fate

The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" first offered ''Dedaigneuse'' , of "42 guns and 897 tons", "Lying at Deptford" for sale on 21 May 1823. ''Dedaigneuse'' sold on that day for £2,000 to Job Cockshott.

Citations

References

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* O'Byrne, William R. (1849) ''A naval biographical dictionary: comprising the life and services of every living officer in Her Majesty's navy, from the rank of admiral of the fleet to that of lieutenant, inclusive''. (London: J. Murray), vol. 1.
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See also
Naval Database : HMS ''Dedaigneuse'', 1801

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dedaigneuse (1797)
Coquille-class frigates
1797 ships
Ships built in France
Captured ships
Frigates of the Royal Navy