French Ship Belle Poule (1765)

''Belle Poule'' was a French frigate of the , designed by Léon-Michel Guignace. She is most famous for her duel with the British frigate on 17 June 1778, which began the French involvement in the American War of Independence.

1768 – 1777

''Belle Poule'' was built in Bordeaux between March 1765 and early 1767. She served in two campaigns in the West Indies, where due to her good sailing performance she was selected for the first French attempt at covering her hull with copper to resist marine growths.

From 1772 to 1776, she was sent on hydrographic missions, during which the young La Pérouse came to the attention of his superiors.

On 12 December 1776, she left India to return to Brest. At the time, France was not yet engaged in the American War of Independence, but there had been numerous incidents involving French and British ships. Indeed, on 27 April 1777, ''Belle Poule'' was chased by a British ship of the line, which she easily evaded to reach Brest. In December 1777, Belle Poule was selected to ferry Silas Deane back to America, along with news of the French-American Alliance.

1778 – 1801

On 7 January, the British ships of the line and stopped her and demanded to inspect her. In spite of the overwhelming superiority of the British forces, her captain, Charles de Bernard de Marigny, answered:

The British offered apologies and let the frigate sail through. However, opposing winds prevented the ship from crossing the Atlantic, and after 36 days, ''Belle Poule'' had to return to Brest. Franklin later sailed to America aboard '' Sensible''.

Fight of ''Belle Poule'' and ''Arethusa''

When war broke out, ''Belle Poule'' was sent on a reconnaissance mission, along with the 26-gun frigate , the corvette , and the smaller ''Coureur'', to locate the squadron of Admiral Keppel. They encountered the British squadron, which chased them.

caught up with the French and a furious battle ensued. Eventually, ''Arethusa'' had to break off the fight, having lost her main mast. The British captured the smaller French ships, but the two frigates escaped the numerous ships of the line pursuing them. ''Belle Poule'' lost 30 killed and 72 wounded, among which her captain, Lieutenant Jean Isaac Chadeau de la Clocheterie. ''Arethusa'' had eight men killed and 36 wounded. The battle was so famous that ladies of the high society invented the hairstyle "Belle Poule", with a ship on the top of the head.

Between September and October 1778, ''Belle Poule'' teamed up with French ship ''Vengeur'' and captured five privateers. In 1779, ''Belle Poule'' served as coast guard and convoy escort.

Capture

On the evening of 14 July 1780 Captain Sir James Wallace of the 64-gun ship of the line was off the Loire where her boats were burning the French frigate ''Legere''. He observed three vessels to the north west, signalling each other and immediately gave chase. At about midnight ''Nonsuch'' caught up with one of the three off Île d'Yeu and commenced a two-hour action. When the French vessel struck she turned out to be ''Belle Poule''. She was armed with thirty-two 12-pounder guns, had a crew of 275 men and was under the command of Chevalier Kergariou-Coatlès. In the engagement ''Belle Poule'' lost 25 men killed, including Kergariou, and 50 other officers and men, including her second captain, wounded. ''Nonsuch'' had lost three men killed and ten wounded, two of whom died later. The two French vessels that escaped were the frigate ''Aimable'', of thirty-two 8-pounder guns, and the corvette ''Rossignol'', of twenty 6-pounder guns.

British service

She was commissioned in February 1781 into the British Royal Navy, retaining her name. She served for the next 21 months under Captain Philip Patton with William Bligh as the ship's Master. On 17 April she, with , captured the privateer ''Calonne'', under the command of Luke Ryan. ''Calonne'' was only two years old, a fast sailer, and well equipped for a voyage of three months and a crew of 200 men. She was armed with twenty-two 9-pounder guns, six 4-pounder guns and six 12-pounder carronades.

''Belle Poule'' participated in the 1781 battle of Dogger Bank. ''Hollandia'', one of the Dutch ships-of-the-line, sank after the battle. ''Belle Poule'' took away her flag, which was kept flying, and carried it to Admiral Parker.Allen, p. 319.

Fate

The Royal Navy put ''Belle Poule'' into ordinary at Chatham in November 1782. She then served briefly as a receiving ship from 1796 before the Admiralty sold her for breaking up in 1801.

Citations references

Citations

References

* Allen, Joseph, ''Battles of the British navy, Volume 1'' H. G. Bohn, London,(1852)
* Ferreiro, Larrie D. ''Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It''. New York: Alfred Knopf. 2016.
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belle Poule (1765)
Captured ships
Age of Sail frigates of France
Ships built in France
Dédaigneuse-class frigates
1766 ships
Frigates of the Royal Navy