''Régénérée'' was a 40-gun ''Cocarde''-class frigate 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 ...

. The British captured her in 1801 at the fall of Alexandria, named her HMS ''Alexandria'', sailed her back to Britain, but never commissioned her. She was broken up in 1804.

Service

In 1796, she was commanded by captain Willaumez, in a squadron under Sercey. On 15 May 1796 '' ''Forte'' '', ''Vertu'', ''Seine'', and ''Régénérée'' were cruising between

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and the

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hoping to capture British

East Indiamen 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 ...

when they encountered the British

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on her way to

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. The French took off her crew, except for two seamen and a boy, and put ''Forte''s fourth officer and 13-man prize crew aboard ''Lord Hawkesbury'' with orders to sail to Île de France. On her way there one of the British seamen, who was at the helm, succeeded in running her aground on the east coast of Africa a little north of the Cape, wrecking her. There were no casualties, but the prize crew became British prisoners. ''Régénérée'' reached Île de France where she took 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 ...

. On 26 April 1797 she captured the American ship ''Betsey'' and took her into Rochefort. Between 24 and 27 April 1798, ''Régénérée'' and ''Vertu'' engaged the 32-gun

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...

in an inconclusive action when ''Pearl'' had to pass between them before she could take refuge in St George's Bay, Sierra Leone. The action cost ''Pearl'' one man mortally wounded. A second inconclusive action occurred on 27 July 1798 when ''Régénérée'' and ''Vertu'' engaged the 28-gun

off Tenerife, The action resulted in ''Brilliant'' losing three men killed and ten wounded before she could make her escape. In early 1800, ''Régénérée'' left Rochefort with ''Africaine'' to ferry supplies to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. At the

action of 19 February 1801 The action of 19 February 1801 was a minor naval battle fought off Ceuta in Spanish North Africa in February 1801 between frigates of the French Navy, French and Royal Navy, Royal Navies during the French Revolutionary Wars. The engagement forme ...

, HMS ''Phoebe'', under Captain Robert Barlow, captured ''Africaine'' east of

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. However, ''Régénérée'' managed to complete her mission, sailing into Alexandria on 2 March, having eluded the British blockade. The day before she had passed through the British fleet answering signals and without arousing any suspicion, until at last she hoisted the French flag as she headed into the harbor. She remained there during the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

until the

capitulation of Alexandria The Capitulation of Alexandria in August 1801 brought to an end the French campaign in Egypt and Syria, French expedition to Egypt. Background French troops, defeated by British and Ottoman forces, had retreated to Alexandria where they were Si ...

on 29 September 1801. The British discovered the French warships ''Cause'', ''Égyptienne'', ''Justice'' and ''Régénérée'', and two Venetian frigates in the harbour of Alexandria at the capitulation. The British and their Turkish allies agreed a division of the spoils. The British received ''Egyptienne'', ''Régénérée'' and "Venetian No. 2" - ''Léoben'' (aka ''Le Bion''; ex-Venetian ''Medusa'') - of 26 guns. Capitan Pacha (sic) received the 64-gun ''Causse'' (ex-Venetian ''Vulcano''), ''Justice'', of 46 guns, and "Venetian No. 1" - ''Mantoue'' (ex-Venetian ''Cerere'', ex-French ''Cérės'') - also of 26 guns. Additionally, the Turks received some Turkish corvettes that were in the harbour. Admiral Lord

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

commander of the naval forces, gave the value of ''Régénérée'' for prize money purposes at £16,771 13 s 6 d.

Fate

She was then temporarily brought into Royal Navy service as HMS ''Alexandria''. Captain Alexander Wilson, who had brought to Alexandria and who had commanded the port, took command of ''Alexandria'' and sailed her back to Britain.''The Gentleman's magazine'', Vol.157, pp. 433-4. She arrived in Portsmouth on 1 April 1802 from Malta. She sailed on 8 April for Chatham, where she was paid off; this was Wilson's last sea-going command. She was never commissioned and was broken up in 1804.

Notes

Citations

References

* * *Lloyd, Christopher (ed.) (1950) ''The Keith Papers: Selected from the papers of Admiral Viscount Keith''. (Printed for the Navy Records Society). *Williams, Greg H. (2009) ''The French assault on American shipping, 1793-1813: a history and comprehensive record of merchant marine losses''. (McFarland). *Wilson, Robert T. (1803) ''History of the British expedition to Egypt: to which is subjoined, a sketch ... *Wilson, John, and James Frederick Ferrier (1865) ''The Works of Professor Wilson of the University of Edinburgh: Essays critical and imaginative''. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Regeneree (1794) Cocarde-class frigates Ships built in France Age of Sail frigates of France 1794 ships Captured ships