''Médée'' was a French ''frégate du deuxième ordre'', or 26-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 ...

, built in 1740. She is widely considered to be the inspiration for a long line of similar sailing frigates, and was the first ship captured by the British

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in the

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. She became a

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 ...

and was wrecked at

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, following a succession of gales in November 1745.

Construction

''Médée'' was designed by

Blaise Ollivier Blaise is a personal name (from Greek Βλασιος, the name of Saint Blaise) and a place name. It can refer to: People * Blaise (name), including lists of people with the given name or surname ''Blaise'' Places France * Blaise-sous-Ar ...

, with twenty-six 8-pounder guns, and was launched in February 1741 at

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.Winfield &Roberts p.204 She was regarded as the first of the 'true'

designs: she was built with two decks, but only the upper deck mounted guns. These guns were relatively heavy, and the higher mounting meant that they could be used in rough seas.

Capture and final voyage

''Médée'' was captured in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

by on 4 April 1744 (Julian calendar date) and briefly served as HMS ''Medea'' in the British

. She was sold in March 1745, becoming the

''Boscawen''; named after

Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands during ...

, the captain of ''Dreadnought''. Although the

Navy Board The Navy Board (formerly known as the Council of the Marine or Council of the Marine Causes) was the commission responsible for the day-to-day civil administration of the Royal Navy between 1546 and 1832. The board was headquartered within the ...

had the opportunity to purchase her, they decided not to retain her, in spite of her innovative design qualities; many French ships of the time were not designed for durability and she was not as strongly built as British frigates of that time. Despite this the number of guns she carried was increased, and when ''Boscawen'' encountered a series of gales after leaving the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

on 5 October 1745, she sprung several leaks. She was further weakened when, through negligence, the

mainyard A yard is a spar (sailing), spar on a mast (sailing), mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber or steel or from more modern materials such as aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards, t ...

parted and dropped onto the ship, straining the already weakened hull. In response to a near-mutinous crew, Commodore

George Walker George Walker may refer to: Arts and letters * George Walker (chess player) (1803–1879), English chess player and writer *George Walker (composer) (1922–2018), American composer * George Walker (illustrator) (1781–1856), author of ''The Co ...

set a course for the

Lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

and having been swept northwards she was a floating wreck when

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was sighted on 24 November. The ship finally hove to in St Ives Bay on the north Cornish coast. Her anchors had been ditched days before and she broke in two on rocks at St Ives with the townsfolk wading into the sea to save the crew. Only four crew were lost, Commodore Walker being the last man to leave the wreck. Her speed and size provided the Bedford Board of

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with the arguments needed to change British frigate design.

Notes

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Medee 1741 ships Sailing frigates of the French Navy Age of Sail frigates of France Ships built in France Captured ships Frigates of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in 1745 Cornish shipwrecks St Ives, Cornwall