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
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 ...
. Launched in 1806, she saw service during the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, escorting merchant convoys to France's besieged Caribbean colonies. In February 1809 she was captured at sea after a fierce engagement with four Royal Navy vessels.
Recommissioned as HMS ''Junon'', she served as part of the British blockade of French ports in the Caribbean. French frigates recaptured her in December 1809 off the French colony of
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...
. The engagement so damaged ''Junon'' that her captors scuttled her.
Capture by Britain
On 10 November 1808, under ''capitaine de frégate'' Rousseau, ''Junon'' departed for
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
, along with ''Vénus'', ''
Amphitrite
In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; grc-gre, Ἀμφιτρίτη, Amphitrítē) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and the wife of Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).Roman, L., & Rom ...
'', ''Cygne'' and ''Papillon''. The squadron broke apart the next day, and she found herself isolated. On 10 February 1809 she ran across a British squadron composed of the frigates and , the brig , and the schooner ; ''Junon'' surrendered after a lengthy resistance that left the ship entirely dismasted and with more than half her crew killed. The British towed her to
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
for repair. There she was subsequently commissioned into the Royal Navy as the 38-gun HMS ''Junon''.
Recapture by France
Her repairs completed, ''Junon'' returned to the Caribbean in September 1809 under the command of Captain
John Shortland
John Shortland (5 September 1769 – 21 January 1810) was an officer of the Royal Navy, the eldest son of John Shortland.Jenkins (2013), pp. 34–37.
At 2.15pm on 13 December, ''Junon'' was in company with the 14-gun
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 ...
HMS ''Observateur'' when her crew sighted four unknown ships heading west towards the French colony. Both British vessels turned to intercept, with ''Observateur'' in the lead. The four unknown vessels were swiftly identified as frigates rather than merchantmen. Commander Wetherall of ''Observateur'' signaled this information to ''Junon'' and ordered his own ship cleared for action.
By sunset, the two British ships were within long range of the unknown ships. ''Observateur'' fired a warning shot in their direction and both she and ''Junon'' moved to close with the lead frigate preparatory to engaging them. However, as the British ships approached, the lead frigate ran up a Spanish flag, shortly followed by the British Red Ensign. Believing the unknown ships to be Spanish allies, Wetherall and Shortland reduced sail and ''Junon'' moved to come alongside the lead frigate to permit Captain Shortland to exchange greetings with her captain.
At 5.50pm, when ''Junon'' was "within Half Pistol Shott" of the lead frigate, that vessel suddenly hauled down its Spanish and British flags and raised the French ensign. The following three vessels followed suit, and all four vessels opened fire on ''Junon'' at short range. ''Junon''s crew were taken by surprise; a ragged retaliatory broadside struck two of the French ships but caused little damage. ''Junon'' herself received broadsides to her port, starboard, and stern and quickly became indefensible; her crew surrendered at 7pm when French soldiers boarded their ship. A total of 15 British sailors were killed and 44 wounded, including Shortland, who was hit by musket fire and then struck through the body by wood splinters torn from the deck by cannon fire.Jenkins 2013, pp. 35–36
The British sloop ''Observateur'' had fired upon the French when the engagement began but ''Junon''s capture was too swift for her to directly assist her sister ship. Instead, as ''Junon'' seemed lost Wetherall ordered that ''Observateur'' make sail and escape to the west.
The French vessels were the frigates ''Clorinde'' and ''Renommée'', and the lightly armed flûtes''Loire'' and ''Seine'', en route to Guadeloupe with supplies and reinforcements for the colony. Overall command rested with Captain Dominque Roquebert aboard ''Clorinde''. Roquebert's logs indicate he had not initially intended to engage the British, and had raised the Spanish flag in the hope that they would leave his ships alone. However, when ''Junon'' and ''Observateur'' drew near, Roquebert decide to continue with the ruse of the
false flag
A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...
to lure the British into range of all four French vessels at the same time. The French suffered 80 casualties, including 34 killed. All casualties were from among the crews of ''Clorinde'' and ''Renommée'' which had come alongside ''Junon'' during the battle. ''Loire'' and ''Seine'' had engaged the British ship from the rear and had not come under fire from either ''Junon'' or ''Observateur''.
Fate
''Junon'' remained afloat following her battle with Roquebert's ships, but her condition was unsalvageable. On 14 December Roquebert ordered that the surviving British crew be brought aboard the French vessels as prisoners. Later that day her captors set fire to ''Junon'' and she sank in waters east of Guadeloupe.
Roquebert had ''Junon''s erstwhile captain, John Shortland, conveyed to a hospital in Guadeloupe for medical care. He underwent several operations and the amputation of his right leg and part of one hand, but died of his wounds on 21 January 1810. He was buried with military honours in the French cemetery at
Basse-Terre
Basse-Terre (, ; ; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Bastè, ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefecture'' (capital city) of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located ...