''Hermione'' was a 32-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 ...
. Designed for speed, she was one of the first ships of the French Navy to receive a copper sheathing. At the beginning of the
Anglo-French War
The Anglo-French Wars were a series of conflicts between England (and after 1707, Britain) and France, including:
Middle Ages High Middle Ages
* Anglo-French War (1109–1113) – first conflict between the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Norma ...
of 1778, she patrolled in the Bay of Biscay, escorting convoys and chasing privateers. She became famous when she ferried General
La Fayette to the United States in 1780 in support of the rebels in the
American Revolutionary War
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 ...
. She took an incidental role in the
Battle of Cape Henry
The Battle of Cape Henry was a naval battle in the American War of Independence which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 16 March 1781 between a British squadron led by Vice Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot and a French fleet under Admiral ...
on 16 March 1781, and a major one in the
action of 21 July 1781
The action of 21 July 1781(in French: ''Combat naval en vue de Louisbourg'', or ''Combat naval à la hauteur de Louisbourg'') was a naval skirmish off the harbour of Spanish River, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (present-day Sydney, Nova Scotia), duri ...
.
''Hermione'' grounded and was wrecked in 1793. In 1997, construction of a
replica ship started in
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort ( oc, Ròchafòrt), unofficially Rochefort-sur-Mer (; oc, Ròchafòrt de Mar, link=no) for disambiguation, is a city and communes of France, commune in Southwestern France, a port on the Charente (river), Charente estuary. It is a Subpr ...
, France; the new ship is likewise named .
Construction
Construction of ''Hermione'' started in December 1778 at Rochefort, under Chevillard brothers. She was launched on 28 April 1779, and commissioned on 11 May, with 5 month worth of food and 66 barrels of fresh water, under Lieutenant
Latouche-Tréville Shortage of adequate weapons forced Latouche to install 20 older
12-pounder long gun
The 12-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 18th century, on the second deck of fourth-rate ships of the line, ...
s, heavier and longer than originally intended.
Latouche chose former mates from his old ship, the 12-gun corvette
''Rossignol''. Duquesne, formerly second officer on ''Rossignol'', was promoted to first officer on ''Hermione'' (Orléans, the first officer of ''Rossignol'', was promoted to the command of that corvette). He also brought two auxiliary officers, Boudet and Villemarets, and volunteer Bart, also veterans from ''Rossignol''. In addition came three new auxiliary officers, Lieutenants de Frégate Chicon de Saint-Bris, Mullon, and Gourg.
On 18 May 1779, ''Hermione'' departed Rochefort and sailed down the river
Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...
, arriving at
Ile d'Aix
Ile may refer to:
* iLe, a Puerto Rican singer
* Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places
* Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria
* Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language
* Isoleucine, an amino acid
* Another ...
on 21. She conducted her trials, easily distancing ''Rossignol'' and, later favourably comparing with the frigates
''Courageuse'' and
''Médée''.
Career
Operations in the Bay of Biscay
''Hermione'' made her first operational sortie in late May. On 29, near
Cape Ortegal
Ortegal is a ''comarca'' in the north of the Galician Province of A Coruña, Spain. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Cantabrian Sea to the north, the Province of Lugo to the east, the comarca of O Eume
O Eume is a comarca in the province o ...
, she captured the British privateer ''Defiance'', with 18 guns and 70 men. The next day, she captured another privateer, ''Lady's Resolution'', of 18 guns and 119 men. ''Hermione'' returned to Rochefort in early June.
On 17 June 1779, ''Hermione'' departed Rochefort as part of a division also comprising ''Courageuse'', under La Rigaudière, and ''Médée''. The division encountered the 48-gun
USS ''Bonhomme Richard'' and three smaller units that sailed with her. Both division mistook the others of an enemy, and avoided contact.
In late July, ''Hermione'' and ''Courageuse'' were on convoy escort duty. On 28 August, after a 40-shot exchange, ''Hermione'' captured the privateer ''Hawker'', or ''Hawck'', Stocker, master, of 14 guns and 61 men. ''Hawck'' has departed
Weymouth on 12 August and had not caught anything. From her captain, Latouche obtained the codes of British privateers. Latouche called
A Coruña
A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...
, where he sold ''Hawck'' for 30,000 Livres and completed his crew. ''Hermione'' returned to Brest on 18 September.
On 2 October, ''Hermione'' departed to patrol off
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. On 6, off Ushant, she captured the merchant brig ''Anna'', returning from Jamaica with rhum, sugar and wood. On 21, the sloop ''Marie'', returning from Lisbon with fruits and wine. And the next day, the brig ''Pelican'', which was bringing salt from Portugal to Newfoundland. On 27, ''Hermione'' encountered a 26-gun privateer, which she chased for 36 hours. She had to abandon her pursuit when two British frigates and a cutter joined her quarry, and flee herself.
From November to 28 December, ''Hermione'' underwent a refit to receive a
copper sheathing
Copper sheathing is the practice of protecting the under-water hull of a ship or boat from the corrosive effects of salt water and biofouling through the use of copper plates affixed to the outside of the hull. It was pioneered and developed by ...
, becoming only the third ship of the French Navy to be so upgraded. She was recommissioned in early January 1780. She departed Rochefort on 24 and arrived in the
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
on 27. She sustained damage to her rigging in a gale on 13 February, but continued her mission, escorting a convoy with
''Galathée''. She returned to Rochefort on 19 February, and Latouche reported that the coppering had improved her nautical qualities.
Operations off America
On 24 late February 1780, Latouche was tasked with ferrying
General La Fayette to America. La Fayette was to return as an emissary of
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
to
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
, and announce that France was sending a 6-ship squadron and 5,000 soldiers in support of the independence of the
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...
. ''Hermione'' was also to carry 4,000 uniforms for the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
, but these could not be found by the time of departure.
General La Fayette embarked at Rochefort on 10 March 1780. ''Hermione'' sailed to the open sea, but in the night of 13, a gale ruptured the
spar
SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...
of her
mainsail
A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel.
* On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast.
* On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot ...
and she had to anchor off
Ile d'Aix
Ile may refer to:
* iLe, a Puerto Rican singer
* Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places
* Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria
* Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language
* Isoleucine, an amino acid
* Another ...
to effect repairs. She sailed again on 20, evading any encounter en route, and arrived at
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
on 27 April. Official celebration ensued, complete with gun salutes to political and military authorities of France and of the Thirteen Colonies.
On 2 May, Latouche offered to patrol the
Bay of Boston and secure it against British privateers and frigates, which the authorities of Massachusetts approved on the next day. On 14, ''Hermione'' set sail and cruised to the North, trying to lure smaller British warships, but she did not catch anything and on 21 May, she returned to
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
.
On 28 May, Latouche received instructions from Ambassador
La Luzerne to patrol the mouth of the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
from 26 June. Latouche decided to take advantage of the free time this left him to cruise off New York and intercept British communications. On 2 June, ''Hermione'' captured the 100-ton brigantine ''Thomas'', laden with butter, candles and soap. On 6, she intercepted ''Rewrery'', laden with salt. Latouche sent them both to
Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
.
The next morning, ''Hermione'' detected a
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...
, a
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
, a
snow
Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes.
It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
and a frigate. As ''Hermione'' closed in, the snow and the frigate slowed down to cover the retreat of the sloop and the schooner. The frigate was the 32-gun
HMS ''Iris'', under James Hawker. ''Hermione'' and ''Iris'' hoisted their flags, and the
action of 7 June 1780
The action of 7 June 1780 took place during the American War of Independence between the frigates French frigate Hermione (1779), ''Hermione'' and USS Hancock (1776), HMS ''Iris''. The ships exchanged fire for one hour and a half before parting. ...
ensued. After 90 minutes of gunnery and musketry exchange, the ships disengaged. ''Hermione'' sustained significant damage to her sails, and had 10 killed and 37 wounded.
After the battle, ''Hermione'' returned to Newport, where she arrived on 8. She disembarked her wounded, effected repairs, and returned to the sea on 15. on 4 July, she fired a 13-gun salute for
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
.
On 11 June 1780, the French fleet of the
Expédition Particulière ''Expédition Particulière'' (English: Special Expedition) was the codename given by the Kingdom of France for the plan to sail French land forces to North America to support the colonists against Britain in the American Revolutionary War. Numberi ...
, Admiral
Ternay started arriving, first with 32-gun frigate
''Amazone'', under Captain
Lapérouse, followed by 36 transports, 7 ships of the line and 3 other frigates. From then on, ''Hermione'' was attached to the Ternay's squadron as part of a frigate division under Captain
Jean-Marie de Villeneuve Cillart
Jean-Marie de Villeneuve Cillart was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence.
Biography
Cillart was born in an aristocratic family. His father was captain in a dragoon unit, and two of his brothers, Étienne-Fran ...
, with his flag on
''Surveillante'', and also comprising ''Amazone''. The division attempted a sortie on 21, but immediately detected a British fleet blockading Newport and returned to harbour. Until October, the frigates remained at anchor and the crew helped reinforce coastal defences.
On 28 October 1780, ''Hermione'' and ''Surveillante'' departed Newport, escorting ''Amazone'' which was bound for France. The next day, off New York, they captured the merchantman ''Phillipe'', with 28 men and 16 4-pounders, laden with oranges, wine and candied fruit.
Ternay died on 15 December 1780, and Captain
Sochet Des Touches replaced him as commander of the French squadron. He decided to prepare a sortie against the British blockade. After preparations, the squadron set sail on 8 March 1781, with ''Hermione'' as vanguard. In the morning of 16, ''Hermione'' detected a strange sail. Chasing the unknown ship let her to detect the entire British squadron. Des Touches formed his battle line and engaged, leading to the
Battle of Cape Henry
The Battle of Cape Henry was a naval battle in the American War of Independence which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 16 March 1781 between a British squadron led by Vice Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot and a French fleet under Admiral ...
. After the battle, ''Hermione'' returned to reconnaissance duty, capturing the merchantman ''Union'' on 19, until 22 when Des Touches detached her to bring news of the battle to the US Congress. ''Hermione'' arrived near
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
on 25.
After transmitting despatches to La Luzerne, Latouche retrieved 30 French sailors who had been loaned to
USS ''Ariel''. He also loaded a cargo of flour for the French squadron and sailed to Newport. On 14 April 1781, a longboat sank while offloading the flour, killing 12 sailors. ''Hermione'' then returned to Philadelphia for a diplomatic mission. On 4 May, a 100-seat State dinner was held aboard for the members of the US Congress, the State Council of Pennsylvania, and various city officials.
On 18 May, As the Americans having returned ''Ariel'' to France, she and ''Hermione'' sailed to Newport, again with a cargo of food for the French squadron.
![Hermione au combat de Louisbourg 1781](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Hermione_au_combat_de_Louisbourg_1781.jpg)
From June 1781, ''Hermione'' formed a frigate division under Lapérouse, who had his flag on
''Astrée'', tasked with
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 ...
. The frigates left Boston on 23. They captured the 18-gun corvette ''Thorn'' on 12 July, and ''Hermione'' chased
HMS ''Hind'', which escaped into
St. George's Bay. On 17 ''Hermione'' and ''Astrée'' captured the 12-gun merchantman ''Friendship''; the next day, the 8-gun merchantman ''Phoenix''; and on 19, the merchantman ''Lockard Ross''. On 21 July 1781, ''Hermione'' and ''Astrée'' encountered a British convoy and engaged, leading to the
Naval battle of Louisbourg
The action of 21 July 1781(in French: ''Combat naval en vue de Louisbourg'', or ''Combat naval à la hauteur de Louisbourg'') was a naval skirmish off the harbour of Spanish River, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (present-day Sydney, Nova Scotia), dur ...
where they captured the 14-gun corvette ''Jack''.
When the
action of 2 September 1781 unfolded close to Boston, ''Sagittaire'', ''Astrée'' and ''Hermione'' scrambled in an attempt to support
''Magicienne'', but they failed to arrive on time, and ''Chatam'' could escape with her prize.
On 10, ''Hermione'' departed Boston, carrying 3 tonnes of gunpowder for the upcoming
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...
. Arrived on 29, ''Hermione'' was immediately tasked with logistic duties for the fleet, and in the following days she transported cattle from Lynhaven, along with
''Iris'',
''Richemond'',
''Diligente'' and
''Loyaliste''. From 20 ''Hermione'' returned to the frigate screen of the French squadron until De Grasse left in early September. She remained off Boston, along with ''Diligente'' and
''Romulus'', ferrying artillery and supplies for the Army, and escorting convoys. On 2 February 1782, ''Hermione'' departed for France, carrying
Antoine Charles du Houx de Vioménil
Antoine is a French language, French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton (name), Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin.
The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West ...
. She arrived at Ile d'Aix on 25.
Indian Ocean
After the end of the
American Revolutionary War
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 ...
, ''Hermione'' returned to France in February 1782. She then formed part of a squadron sent to India to help
Suffren against the British. She arrived at Isle de France on 14 July 1783, under Du Pérou, but by then a cease-fire was already in force.
With the
Peace of Paris in 1783, the mission was cancelled and ''Hermione'' returned to Rochefort in April 1784.
War of the First Coalition
When the
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the Kingdom of France (1791-92), constitutional Kingdom of France and then t ...
broke out on 20 April 1792, and ''Hermione'' returned to active duty, under Captain
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
. From 7 May 1793, she escorted convoys between
Bayonne
Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...
and Brest. In September 1793, she was appointed to escort a convoy between the mouth of the Loire river and the roadsteads of Brest. On 20 September 1793, around 1830, she ran aground off
Le Croisic
Le Croisic (; br, Ar Groazig; french: label=Gallo, Le Croèzic) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, western France. It is part of the urban area of Saint-Nazaire.
History
The United States Navy established a naval air station on 27 ...
.
Fate
Aground off
Le Croisic
Le Croisic (; br, Ar Groazig; french: label=Gallo, Le Croèzic) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, western France. It is part of the urban area of Saint-Nazaire.
History
The United States Navy established a naval air station on 27 ...
, ''Hermione'' suffered heavy hull leaking and proved impossible to refloat in the descending tide. Her crew threw 12 guns and anchors overboard to stabilise her. The rising sea lifted ''Hermione'' for a while, but she was so damaged that pumping water proved impossible, and she settled on the bottom, where her hull started to disintegrate. At 1000 the next morning, Martin evacuated his crew in several fishing boats that had come to the rescue, saving as much equipment as possible, and was last to leave the frigate.
The court-martial consecutive to the wreck found her pilot, Guillaume Guillemin du Conquet, responsible for her loss; her commanding officer,
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
, was honourably acquitted.
Legacy
Archaeology
On 22 July 1984, while searching for the remains of two British ships, amateur underwater archaeologist Michel Vazquez found the wreck of ''Hermione''.
From 10 August 1992, the
Groupe de Recherche en Archéologie Navale conducted a magnetometric survey of the area. The located the wreck at 47° 17,295 N; 02° 37,800 W, and positively identified ''Hermione'' from the calibre of the cannonballs, the copper sheathing, the dimensions of key part, and the absence of 12-pounder guns, which Martin had managed to have retrieved.
The GRAN retrieved an anchor, 16mm musket bullets, cannonballs, bricks, an old 18-pounder gun probably used as ballast, a 29mm × 10mm nail, and a part of the rudder. The survey campaign finished on 5 September 2005.
Reconstruction
In 1997 a reconstruction project started in Rochefort. The new ship is also named
''Hermione''.
On 18 April 2015, the full-size replica of ''Hermione'' started a return voyage to the United States from Rochefort, France. In June 2015 the frigate arrived safely on the American coast.
Notes, citations, and references
Notes
Citations
references
*
*
*
*
*
* (1671-1870)
*
*
*
External links
Website of the reconstruction project
Naval History : ''l'Hermione''(French)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hermione (1779)
Age of Sail frigates of France
1779 ships
Concorde-class frigates
Maritime incidents in 1793
1984 archaeological discoveries