''Volontaire'' was a 40-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 ...

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 ...

. On 20 November 1798, along with '' Insurgente'', ''Volontaire'', under Captain Laurent, captured the 14-gun corvette .Troude (1867), p. 168. She took part in the

Atlantic campaign of 1806 The Atlantic campaign of 1806 was a complicated series of manoeuvres and counter-manoeuvres conducted by squadrons of the French Navy and the British Royal Navy across the Atlantic Ocean during the spring and summer of 1806, as part of the Na ...

and was captured by on 4 March 1806. She sailed into

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 ...

, unaware that the British had captured

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. ''Diadem'', flying a Dutch flag, came alongside. When ''Diadem'' ran up the British flag, ''Volontaire'' surrendered. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

took her into service as HMS ''Volontaire''. Captain Josceline Percy commissioned her and sailed her to

St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

. There he took charge of a convoy for England. The transports ''Anacreon'' and sailed from the Cape of Good Hope on 11 March 1806 bound for France as

cartels A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

carrying ''Volontaire''s crew. On 21 March, ''Volontaire'' sailed as escort to 17 transports in a convoy to Great Britain carrying invalids and Dutch prisoners. In 1809, she took part in the

Battle of Maguelone The Battle of Maguelone was a minor naval action that occurred in late October 1809, during the Peninsular War, between the escort of a French convoy, comprising three ships of the line and two frigates, and a six-ship squadron of the Royal N ...

Fate

''Volontaire'' was broken up in February 1826.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Volontaire (1796 Virginie-class frigates 1796 ships Ships built in France Captured ships Frigates of the Royal Navy