French Frigate Réunion (1786)

''La Réunion'' was a 36-gun French warship launched in 1786. During the French Revolutionary War she was stationed at Cherbourg and was successfully employed harassing British merchant shipping in the English Channel until the British captured her off the Cotentin Peninsula during the action of 20 October 1793. Renamed HMS ''Reunion'', she served for three years in the Royal Navy helping to counter the threat from the new Batavian Navy, before she was wrecked in the Thames Estuary in December 1796.

Construction

''La Réunion'' was built at Toulon between February 1785 and January 1787. She was one of a further five ships built to Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb's 1777 design for the ''Magicienne''-class frigates. ''La Réunion'' was launched on 23 February 1786.Winfield (p.206)

French career

On 20 April 1792 the Legislative Assembly voted for war with Austria thus starting a conflict which would become known as the French Revolutionary War. France declared war on Britain on 1 February 1793 and began to focus heavily on the disruption of British commerce through the deployment of frigates on raiding operations against British commercial shipping. In the English Channel, two of the most successful raiders were the frigates ''Réunion'' and ''Sémillante'', both then based in Cherbourg on the Cotentin Peninsula. These frigates would make short cruises, leaving Cherbourg in the early evening and returning in the morning with any prizes they had encountered during the night.James (p.104)

Action of 20 October 1793

The British response to the French raids was to attempt a blockade of the French coast, and to that end, despatched a number of vessels including the 36-gun frigate HMS ''Crescent'', under Captain James Saumarez.Clowes (p.479) On the morning of 20 October, ''Réunion'', under the command of Captain François Dénian, and a 14-gun cutter, the ''Espérance'', were returning from a cruise when they were spotted by ''Crescent''. A second British frigate, the 28-gun HMS ''Circe'', was becalmed some away and ''Espérance'' fled towards Cherbourg, leaving ''Réunion'' to engage ''Crescent'' alone. Although ''Réunion'' was bigger, compared to , and carried a larger crew; ''Crescent'' had a slight advantage in weight of shot, to and was marginally faster.

After the opening exchanges, ''Réunion'' had lost her fore yard and mizzen topmast while ''Crescent'' had lost the top off her foremast. Both ships had rigging cut and a number of sails damaged but ''Crescent'' was still able to manoeuvre across ''Réunion's'' stern and rake her. This raking caused huge damage to the French ship and her crew, and although Réunion continued to resist for some time, she was no longer able to move effectively. With Saumarez about to cross his bow and ''Circe'' now rapidly approaching due to a strengthening wind, Dénian realised he had no choice but to surrender his vessel.James (p.105) The engagement had lasted two hours and ten minutes during which time the cutter ''Espérance'' managed to escape to Cherbourg. The French frigate ''Sémillante'', which had been anchored in the harbour, was unable to come to ''Réunion's'' rescue because of contrary wind and tides.

British career

The captured ship was taken to Portsmouth where she was fitted out and finally registered as a British warship in May 1794. In the winter of 1794/5, France gained control of what was then the Dutch Republic and captured the Dutch fleet which had been frozen in harbour. ''Reunion'' was sent to become part of a newly formed British fleet to be stationed at Great Yarmouth and intended to oppose the threat from the new Batavian Navy.Woodman (p.53) Captain James Almes took command of ''Reunion'' in July 1795 and on 22 August led a small squadron that captured the Dutch ship ''Alliance'' in the North Sea.

Action of 22 August 1795

''Reunion'' put to sea on 8 August in the company of HMS ''Isis'', 50 guns, and ''Vestal'', 28 guns, and on 12 August they were joined by another frigate, the 32-gun HMS ''Stag''. On the 22nd, the squadron, under Almes orders, was cruising off the coast of Norway when at around 1300hrs, it spotted two ships and a cutter to windward and heading towards shore on a larboard tack. These ships proved to be the 36-gun frigates, ''Alliance'' and ''Argo'', and the 16-gun cutter, ''Vlugheld''.James (p.292) A favourable wind change allowed ''Stag'' to overhaul the rear most ship, ''Alliance'', and bring her to action at about 1615hrs while the remaining British ships engaged in a running battle with ''Argo'' and ''Vlugheld''. After an hour's fighting, ''Stag'' managed to force the surrender of her larger opponent but ''Argo'', despite suffering much damage, and ''Vlugheld'' escaped into port at 1730hrs.

Later career

HMS ''Reunion'' remained on blockade duty in the North Sea for the rest of her career. In July 1796, command of HMS ''Reunion'' passed to Acting Captain William Hotham and then to Captain Henry William Bayntun who accidentally wrecked the ship on the Sunk Sand in the Thames Estuary on 7 December 1796. Bayntun and his entire crew survived and were later exonerated of blame for the loss of the ship.Heathcote (pp.1-2)

Citations

References

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*Winfield, Rif (2005) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. .
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External links

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* HMS Reunion's entry at the Naval Databas

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reunion (1786)
Captured ships
Age of Sail frigates of France
Age of Sail naval ships of the United Kingdom
Ships built in France
Frigates of the French Navy
Frigates of the Royal Navy
1786 ships