The ''Vénus'' was a 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 ...
. She was captured in 1810 by the Royal Navy, and taken into British service as HMS ''Nereide''. She was broken up in 1816.
French service
On 10 November 1808, she departed Cherbourg, bound for
Île de France, where she served as Rear-Adm
Hamelin
Hamelin ( ; german: Hameln ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
H ...
's flagship, leading a squadron also comprising the frigate ''
Manche
Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.[Créole
Creole may refer to:
Anthropology
* Creole peoples, ethnic groups which originated from linguistic, cultural, and often racial mixing of colonial-era emigrants from Europe with non-European peoples
* Criollo people, the historic name of people ...]
''.
On the 29 and 30 December 1808, she captured and destroyed the East Indiamen ''Hiran'' and ''Albion''. On 4 November 1809, she captured the East Indiaman ''Lady Bentick'' and the American merchantman ''Samson''.
She was central in the
action of 18 November 1809
The action of 18 November 1809 was the major engagement of a six-month cruise by a French frigate squadron in the Indian Ocean, during the Napoleonic Wars. The French commander, Commodore Jacques Hamelin, was engaged in commerce raiding across ...
, where the squadron captured three armed East Indiamen, including
''Windham''.
From 20 to 26 August 1810, ''Vénus '' took a minor part in the
Battle of Grand Port
The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy. The battle was fought during 20–27 August 1810 over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Isle de France (now Maur ...
.
On 17–18 September 1810, along with the privateer corvette
''Victor'', ''Vénus '' captured the 40-gun
HMS ''Ceylon'', losing her fore-mast and her topgallant masts in the process. The next day, a British squadron composed of
HMS ''Boadicea'', HMS ''Otter'' and the brig
HMS ''Staunch'' captured ''Vénus'' and recaptured ''Ceylon''. ''Victor'' managed to escape.
British service
''Vénus'' was brought into British service as HMS ''Nereide'', in honour of the defence of
HMS ''Nereide'' at Grand Port. She subsequently took part in the blockade and surrender of
Île de France.
Fate
She was broken up in 1816.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Venus (1808)
Gloire-class frigates
Age of Sail frigates of France
Ships built in France
1806 ships
Captured ships