''La Bienvenue'' was a 20-gun French warship launched at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

in 1788 that made several changes in ownership and name during military conflict with the British. She briefly became ''La Royalist'' in October 1792 before reverting to her original name in January the following year. She was serving as a prison ship at

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

when she was captured by the British in 1794.

Construction

La Bienvenue was a 20-gun French flûte designed by

Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait (21 April 1752, Rouen – 8 November 1807, Rouen) was a French engineer, hydrographer and politician, and Minister of the Navy. Career Born to a family of rich merchants, Forfait studied at a Jesuit college in Ro ...

and built by the renowned French ship builders Gouet and Deros. She was constructed in the port of Le Havre on the north coast of France between November 1787 and June 1788, and launched on 7 May 1788.Demerliac (p.106)Winfield (p.224) She was 699

tons burthen Builder's Old Measurement (BOM, bm, OM, and o.m.) is the method used in England from approximately 1650 to 1849 for calculating the cargo capacity of a ship. It is a volumetric measurement of cubic capacity. It estimated the tonnage of a ship bas ...

and her French measurements, as built were; 130 ft (length) x 31 ft (beam) x 15 ft 7in (depth). This equates to the modern metric dimensions of x x . Initially ''La Bienvenue'' was armed with 20 x 8 pounders (livre de Paris)

Career (France)

After setting sail from

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

for France in December 1791, ''La Bienvenue'' was seized by her crew, handed over to the British and renamed. She was retaken by the French Royalist forces on 4 October 1792 at

St Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

and was renamed ''Royaliste''; her original name was restored in January 1793. She served as a prison ship at

from July that year until she was recaptured by the British.

Martinique

On 5 February 1794, a British fleet under Sir John Jervis and escorting 7,000 troops under Sir Charles Grey, arrived at the island of Martinique.Heathcote (p.173) In spite of the strong opposition from the occupying forces and difficult terrain, the island was substantially under British control by 28 February, save for two forts covering the town of

Fort Royal Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Histo ...

. A siege was subsequently conducted by both British Army and Royal Navy forces, supported by gunfire from Jervis' fleet which was now occupying the harbour. On the morning of Thursday 20 March 1794, ''Bienvenue'' was moored between Fort St Louis and the town of Fort Royal on

. The fort came under attack from and the far larger (64 guns) who were ordered to give covering fire for the landing of 500 marines (from other smaller ships) who were under the direct command of Captains

Edward Riou Edward Riou FRS (20 November 17622 April 1801) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary Wars under several of the most distinguished naval officers of his age and won fame and honour for two incidents in part ...

and Charles Nugent. Only the smaller ''Zebra'', commanded by Robert Faulknor, got through and he led a heroic charge with only 100 men on the fort capturing it in seven minutes. Admiral Jervis witnessed Faulknor's action from sitting beyond the range of the cannon fire. As the ''Zebra'' passed the stern of the ''Boyne'' to go back to her position in the fleet, Jervis's band played

See, the Conqu'ring Hero Comes ''Judas Maccabaeus'' ( HWV 63) is an oratorio in three acts composed in 1746 by George Frideric Handel based on a libretto written by Thomas Morell. The oratorio was devised as a compliment to the victorious Prince William Augustus, Duke of C ...

and the whole crew cheered his actions. Jervis then called Faulknor on board, embraced him and promoted him to captain on the spot. Faulknor was given immediate command of the ''Bienvenue''.

Career (Great Britain)

She was subsequently commanded by Captain James Carpenter, then on 4 May she was handed to the newly promoted post-captain,

Henry William Bayntun Admiral Sir Henry William Bayntun GCB (1766 – 16 December 1840) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy, whose distinguished career in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars was a catalogue of the highest and lowest points of the Navy duri ...

. The ship was later taken to England, arriving at

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...

on 24 September. She was registered and renamed HMS ''Undaunted'' 30 March 1795 and sold at

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

on 24 July having served only 16 months as a British ship.

Notes

a The ''livre poids de marc'' or ''livre de Paris'' was a French measure of mass equivalent to approximately 489.5 grams. It was used from the 1350s to the late 18th century when it was superseded by the ''livre métrique''. b Not to be confused with

Fluyt A fluyt (archaic Dutch: ''fluijt'' "flute"; ) is a Dutch type of sailing vessel originally designed by the shipwrights of Hoorn as a dedicated cargo vessel. Originating in the Dutch Republic in the 16th century, the vessel was designed to facilit ...

. The French Flûte was a warship with an unarmed lower deck which could be used for storage and troop carrying. Often the lower deck had sealed gunports so additional armament could be carried if required. c Not to be confused with

Imperial measurements The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed thro ...

Citations

References

*Demerliac, Alain (1996) ''La Marine De Louis XVI: Nomenclature Des Navires Français De 1774 À 1792''. (Nice: Éditions OMEGA). * *Winfield, Rif (2005) ''British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates.'' Seaforth Publishing. . {{DEFAULTSORT:La Bienvenue Captured ships Age of Sail naval ships of France Age of Sail naval ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in France 1788 ships