The ''Prudente'' was a 32-gun ''Capricieuse''-class

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 ...

Career

La-prudente---frigate-Frederec Roux-Album de Willaumez

In 1791, under lieutenant

Villaret de Joyeuse Louis-Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse (29 May 1747Granier, p.87Some biographers give a date of 1750 (Levot, p.541). Granier quotes the registers of Sainte-Marie parish. – 24 July 1812Levot, p.544) was a French admiral. Villaret was born at Auch ...

, she was tasked with ferrying troops to Cap-Français and with police duty in Santo Domingo. In 1793, she returned to France, escorting a convoy from Terre-Neuve, under Villaret de Joyeuse, by then promoted to Captain. In 1794, she was the flagship of a frigate division under Captain

Renaud Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in F ...

, also comprising ''Cybèle'', under Pierre Julien Tréhouart. She took part in the

Sunda Strait campaign of January 1794 The Sunda Strait campaign of January 1794 was a series of manoeuvres and naval actions fought between warships and privateers of the French Republic and a squadron of vessels sent by the British East India Company to protect trade in the region ...

and in the

action of 22 October 1794 Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * Action (1921 film), ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * Ac ...

off

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. During the Sunda Strait campaign the squadron captured the

East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

''Pigot''. In 1796, ''Prudente'' was attached to the squadron under Sercey, that had come from France. She served for a time at Mauritius, taking part in the

action of 8 September 1796 The action of 9 September 1796 was an inconclusive minor naval engagement between small French Navy and British Royal Navy squadrons off northeastern Sumatra, near Banda Aceh, during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French squadron comprised si ...

, before being sold and becoming a privateer.

Capture

captured ''Prudente'' on 9 February 1799 near

Table Bay Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named ...

, Cape of Good Hope. At daybreak ''Daedalus'' spotted two sails and gave chase to the larger vessel, catching up with her at about 12:30. The quarry struck after an action of almost an hour. She proved to be the ''Prudente'', which Captain H.L. Ball referred to as a French National frigate, rather than a privateer. She was pierced for 42 guns but was armed with twenty-six

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 on her main-deck and two long 6-pounders and two brass howitzers on her quarterdeck. She had a crew of 297 men. In the fight, ''Daedalus'' lost two men killed and 12 wounded. ''Prudente'' lost 27 men killed and 22 wounded. The ship in her company, which escaped, was an American vessel that she had taken as a prize.

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * Capricieuse-class frigates 1790 ships Privateer ships of France Ships built in France {{France-mil-ship-stub