HMS ''Pompee'' was a

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

of the British

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 ...

. Built as ''Pompée'', a ship 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 handed over to the British at

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...

by French royalists who had fled France after the

Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-S ...

(September–December 1793) by the French Republic, only a few months after being completed. After reaching Great Britain, ''Pompée'' was registered and recommissioned as HMS ''Pompee'' and spent the entirety of her active career with the Royal Navy until she was broken up in 1817.

Service

During the

, Captain Poulain, her commanding officer, joined the British. ''Pompée'' fled Toulon when the city fell to the French Republicans and sailed to Britain under the temporary command of Lieutenant John Davie. She arrived at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 3 May 1794, and was registered on the

navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

under an

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

order dated 29 October 1794. ''Pompée'' was recommissioned as HMS ''Pompee'' under her first commanding officer, Captain

Charles Edmund Nugent Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Edmund Nugent (c.1759 – 7 January 1844) was a Royal Navy officer. He saw action as a junior officer in the 50-gun at the Battle of Sullivan's Island during the American Revolutionary War. He was held as a pr ...

, in May 1795 and entered service with the

Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...

after a period of refitting. The ship retained its original French spelling of the

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

name and not the

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

form. From August 1795 she was under Captain

James Vashon Admiral James Vashon (9 August 1742 – 20 October 1827)Memorial plaque in St. Laurence Churchyard, Ludlow. Find a Grave memorial I160048028/ref> was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American ...

, and she was later one of the ships involved in the

Spithead mutiny The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. They were the first in an increasing series of outbreaks of maritime radicalism in the Atlantic World. Despite their temporal proximity, the mutinies d ...

in 1797. , ''Pompee'', , , and shared in the proceeds of the capture on 10 September of ''Tordenshiold''. Under Captain

Charles Stirling Charles Stirling (28 April 1760 – 7 November 1833) was a vice-admiral in the British Royal Navy. Early life and career Charles Stirling was born in London on 28 April 1760 and baptised at St. Albans on 15 May. The son of Admiral Sir Walter ...

, she fought at the Battle of Algeciras Bay in 1801. In 1807 the ship, under the command of Captain Richard Dacres served in the Mediterranean squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir

Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Early life and education Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801), ...

, as part of the Vice-Admiral Duckworth's Dardanelles Operation and later the

Alexandria expedition of 1807 The Alexandria expedition of 1807, also known as the Fraser expedition, ( ar, حملة فريزر) was a failed attempt by the British to capture the Egyptian city of Alexandria during the Anglo-Turkish War in order to secure a base of operation ...

. ''Pompee'' was on her way to Barbados on 20 October 1808 when she encountered ''Pylade''. After a chase of 18 hours, ''Pompee'' was able to catch ''Pylade'', which struck. ''Pilade'' was under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Cocherel. She was eight days out of Martinique but had not made any captures. Captain

George Cockburn Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a British Royal Navy officer. As a captain he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars an ...

of ''Pompee'' described ''Pylade'' as "only Three Years old, in perfect good State, and in every Respect fit for His Majesty's Service." Her officers had also told him that she was "the fastest sailing Vessel the French had in these Seas." The Navy took ''Pylade'' into serevice as . ''Pompee'' shared with , , and in the prize money pool of £772 3 s 3 d for the capture of ''Frederick'' on 30 December 1808. This money was paid in June 1829. ''Pompee'' participated in the capture of Martinique in January 1809. Later, she and took part in an action on 17 April 1809. In April 1809, a strong French squadron arrived at the

Îles des Saintes The Îles des Saintes (; "Islands of the Female Saints"), also known as Les Saintes, is a group of small islands in the archipelago of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. It is part of the Canton of Trois-Rivières and is divided int ...

, south of Guadeloupe. There they were blockaded until 14 April, when a British force under Major-General

Frederick Maitland General Frederick Maitland (3 September 1763 – 27 January 1848) was a British Army officer who fought during the American War of Independence, the Peninsular War and later served as Lieutenant Governor of Dominica. Life The youngest son ...

and Captain Philip Beaver in , invaded and captured the islands. ''Pompee'' was among the naval vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture of the islands.

Fate

''Pompee'' was fitted out for service as a

prison hulk A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many natio ...

between September 1810 and January 1811. She was finally broken up at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

in January 1817. The acquisition of ''Pompée'' allowed the British to design a copy of the ''Téméraire'' class, the .

Pompey nickname

The Portsmouth nickname ''Pompey'' may have originated from HMS ''Pompee'', which served as

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

and prison hulk within Portsmouth Harbour. The northern England slang for prison is ''Pompey'', possibly derived from criminals who may have served time aboard the prison ship ''Pompee''. The ship's career as Portsmouth guard ship and prison hulk may have led to the ship becoming nationally associated with Portsmouth itself, although the ship's original French name becoming anglicised from ''Pompée'' to ''Pompey''.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * Howard, Edward, ''Memoires of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, K.C. B., & c.,'' Volume 2, Adamant Media Corporation, 2003 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pompee (1793) Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ships of the line of the French Navy Téméraire-class ships of the line 1791 ships Captured ships Ships built in France