French Frigate Sémillante (1791)

The ''Sémillante'' (French: "Shiny" or "Sparkling") was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy and the lead ship of her class. She was involved in a number of multi-vessel actions against the Royal Navy, particularly in the Indian Ocean. She captured a number of East Indiamen before she became so damaged that the French disarmed her and turned her into a merchant vessel. The British captured her and broke her up in 1809.

French Revolutionary Wars

Between 1 July and 21 November 1792, ''Sémillante'' was under the command of ''Commandant chevalier'' de Bruix, ''lieutenant de vaisseau''. She escorted a convoy and carried troops from Lorient to Saint-Domingue. She returned to Lorient from Port-au-Prince with some government officials. de Bruix, was promoted to the rank of ''capitaine de vaisseau'' and remained captain until 14 May 1793, with ''Sémillante'' escorting convoys between Bordeaux and Brest.

''Lieutenant de vaisseaux'' Gaillard replaced de Bruix. On 21 May 1793, ''Sémillante'' captured the Liverpool privateer ''Active''. She was under the command of Captain Stephen Bower, and was sailing under a letter of marque dated 2 May 1793. The letter of marque described her as a sloop of 100 tons burthen ( bm), armed with twelve 4-pounder guns and four swivel guns, and having a crew of 40 men.Letter of Marque - accessed 15 May 2011. The British later recaptured ''Active'' and sent her into Guernsey. The next day, ''Sémillante'' captured the Guernsey privateer ''Betsey'', of 10 guns and 55 men.

On 27 May 1794, ''Sémillante'' encountered the British frigate . In the ensuing combat, which lasted some two hours, ''Sémillante'' lost 20 men killed and 40 wounded, Gaillard being among the dead. When ''Venus'' lost her main top mast, ''Sémillante'' was able to extricate herself and escape to Brest, where she arrived on 2 June.

''Enseigne de vaisseau non entretenu'' Garreau replaced Gaillard. Later, ''Capitaine de vaisseau'' Lemancq took command. In June–July 1794, Lemancq sailed to the United States, returning with a convoy and passengers from the Chesapeake to Brest.

In May–June 1795, ''Sémillante'' was under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Bertrand (aîné). He sailed her to New York, returning to Lorient. He later received promotion to ''capitaine de vaisseau'', and sailed ''Sémillante'' on a cruise in the Atlantic in May 1796, before returning to Lorient. The next year, he carried passengers from Port Francais in Sainte-Domingue to Guadeloupe and then to Lorient.

In 1798, ''Sémillante'' took part in the Expédition d'Irlande, and notably the Battle of Tory Island. At the time she was under the command of ''capitaine de frégate'' Lacoutre.

On 9 April 1799, ''Sémillante'', under the command of ''capitaine de frégate'' Montalan, along with and , encountered and fought and off Belle Île.''The Naval History of Great Britain, 1793 - 1820'', Volumes II and IV, by William James, R. Bentley, London, 1837. The engagement was indecisive, with the French ships escaping up the Loire. The British suffered three men killed and 35 wounded.

In November–December 1800, Montalan was still captain of ''Sémillante'' when she carried Citizen Pichon, France's commissionaire general for commercial relations, to the United States. In January 1801 ''Sémillante'' sailed back to Lorient.

Napoleonic Wars

Between 15 May 1803 and 17 December, ''capitaine de frégate'' (later ''capitaine de vaisseau'') Léonard Motard sailed ''Sémillante'' to the East Indies. There she destroyed English factories on Sumatra and near the roads of Batavia.

In 1804, ''Sémillante'' was based at Île de France to engage in commerce raiding.

''Sémillante'' and the frigate were sailing in a squadron under the command of Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois with the 74-gun third rate ship of the line ''Marengo''.

''Sémillante'' was in Linois' squadron at the Battle of Pulo Aura on 15 February 1804. Linois attacked the British East India Company's China Fleet, a large convoy of well-armed merchant ships carrying cargo worth £8 million. Although the entire British fleet consisted of merchantmen, escorted by the East India Company's tiny gun-brig ''Ganges'', Linois failed to press the attack. Instead, he withdrew with the convoy at his mercy, invoking the anger of Napoleon when the news reached France.

In August Linois was cruising in the Indian Ocean in ''Marengo'', together with ''Atalante'' and ''Sémillante''. On the 18th, near Desnoeufs Island they encountered and captured two British merchant men, and . They had been on their way to Bombay when Linois's squadron captured them.

Linois described ''Charlotte'' as being copper-sheathed, of 650 tons and 16 guns. She was carrying a cargo of rice. ''Upton Castle'' he described as being copper-sheathed, of 627 tons, and 14 guns. She was carrying a cargo of wheat and other products from Bengal. He sent both his prizes into Isle de France (Mauritius).''Mercure de France'' (1804), Vol. 20, p.380.

On 15 September, under Motard, together with ''Marengo'' and ''Atalanta'', ''Sémillante'' participated in the Battle of Vizagapatam. During the battle the three French ships engaged the sole British warship, the 50-gun . ''Sémillante'' also captured the East Indiaman . The French squadron caused a second East Indiaman, ''Barnaby'', to panic and run aground.Histoire de Deux Marins Bretons
Despite his overwhelming superiority in firepower, Linois once again withdrew his squadron, leaving ''Centurion'' to survive.

On 3 December, along with ''Berceau'', ''Sémillante'' destroyed and captured seven British merchantmen off Paolo Bay. On 15 May 1806, she recaptured the French privateer ''Île de France'', taken by circa April 1804, and scuttled ''Île de France'' as she was "of low value and a poor sailor".

On 8 June 1806, ''Sémillante'' captured the country ships ''Acteon'', , and ''Active''. Later she also captured the country ships ''James Drummond'' and ''Fame''. Members of her crew recaptured ''Fame''. ''Sémillante'' put a prize crew on ''Fame'' but also left her fourth officer and many lascars on board. These overpowered the prize crew and took ''Fame'' into Bombay.

On 11 November, she encountered and ; an engagement developed on 13 November that resulted in the British ships withdrawing.

On 22 August 1807 ''Experiment'', Cripps, master, was sailing from Rangoon to Calcutta when she encountered ''Sémillante'', which captured ''Experiment'', took off her officers, and put on a prize crew of four or five men with orders to sail to Île de France. The lascars overpowered the prize crew on 22 October, and forced the French to sail ''Experiment'' to Ganjam, where she arrived on 4 November. In the meantime, ''Sémillante'' had landed on the coast of India a number of captains and officers of vessels she had captured, and these men had made their way back to Calcutta. ''

Between 15 March and 18 March 1808, ''Sémillante'' fought a running battle with , and escaped to Île de France. ''Terpsichore'' suffered 21 men killed and 20 wounded. ''Sémillante'' was so seriously damaged that the French removed her armament and decommissioned her on 10 July. However, the principal damage to ''Sémillante'' apparently was due to an explosion in a room near the magazine during the action. To reduce risk, the crew flooded the magazine, leaving her without usable powder, ''Sémillante'' had no choice but to break off the action with ''Terpsichore'' and return to port. ''Sémillante'' reportedly had five men killed and six wounded, including Motard, who may have had to have his arm amputated. It is not clear from the report how many casualties were due to the action and how many to the explosion.

''Charles''

In September Robert Surcouf purchased ''Sémillante'', after his own ship, the , had been requisitioned for the defence of the island. He renamed ''Sémillante'' ''Charles'' after his late brother and sailed her to Saint Malo, laden with the spoils of his campaign. (By some accounts he brought with him almost 8 million French francs.) He arrived in February 1809, and did not go to sea again, though he did arm and fit out privateers.

On 5 February 1809, the day after she arrived, ''Charles'' sank in Saint-Servan harbour; she was later raised and rebuilt. In 1810 she was recommissioned in Saint-Malo with 22 guns and a crew of 195 men, under the command of Pierre Alexandre Marrauld.

On 15 October 1810 the privateer ''Charles'', of 20 guns and 200 men, captured the ''Howe'', Pentrick, master. ''Howe'' had sailed for Penzance from Quebec in a convoy of 25 vessels under escort by , but had separated from the convoy five days earlier. ''Charles'' detained ''Howe'' for some six hours, took a few things, but then permitted ''Howe'' to proceed. ''Howe'' arrived at Penzance on 19 October.

On 16 October, a French privateer brig detained the ''Hope'', Craig, master, as ''Hope'' was sailing from New Brunswick to Plymouth. The privateer took all the sails, rigging, stores, etc. from ''Hope''. On the next day the privateer ''Charles'' came upon ''Hope'' and offered her anything she might need. A gale on 22 October cost ''Hope'' the rigging, sails, and the like that ''Charles'' had provided, as well as her bowsprit, foremast, and maintopmast. ''Hope'' nevertheless arrived safely at the Scilly Islands on the 28th.

On 26 October, ''Charles'' captured the ''Americana'', Fousica, master, which was sailing from Bahia to London. recaptured ''Americana'' on 31 October; ''Americana'' then arrived at Plymouth on 9 November.

Fate

On 8 November 1810 about west of Finisterre (). ''Charles'' encountered the British frigate . A 13-hour running chase ensued, with speeds reaching as much as 12½ knots, before ''Charles'' struck. ''Amelia'' then sent her into Plymouth. Too old and damaged to be brought into British service, she was broken up.''Die Geschichte der französischen Fregatte SEMILLANTE (36) von 1791 bis 1809''
fregate la Semillante.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Semillante (1792)
Sémillante-class frigates
Ships built in France
1791 ships