''D'Hautpoul'' 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

launched at

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

on 2 September 1807. She was previously named ''Alcide'' and ''Courageux''.

French service

On 16 February 1809

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Amand Leduc Amand Leduc ( Dunkirk, 11 August 1764Quintin, p.212 — Dunkirk, 18 March 1832Quintin, p.215) was a French sailor and Navy officer of the First French Empire. Career Born to a family of merchants, Leduc started sailing in the merchant navy on 4 Ap ...

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

of the ''

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

'', commanded ''D'Hautpoul'' on her maiden voyage, a mission to

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 ...

with reinforcements and supplies, as the flagship of a squadron of three 74-gun ships. (The other vessels were and ), and two frigates, under the overall command of Commodore

Amable Troude Amable Gilles Troude (Cherbourg, 1 June 1762 – Brest, 1 February 1824) was a French Navy officer, who served in the Napoleonic Wars. Early career Troude joined the commerce navy in 1776. During the American Revolutionary War, he joined the Na ...

.) Learning of the capture of Martinique, Troude's squadron turned back but was pursued by the British.Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy vol. 5, p.435. ''D'Hautpoul'' was captured by her now-British

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

, on 17 April 1809 off

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after a chase over three nights and two days by ''Pompée'', , and .Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy vol. 5, p.559. ''Recruit'' hung on the tail of the French squadron and managed to cripple ''D'Hautpoul''s mizzen mast, so ''Pompée'' could bring her to action and capture her after exchanging fire for 75 minutes. Between 80 and 90 men from ''D'Hautpoul'' were killed or wounded, including several officers.Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy vol. 5, p.436.

British service

Taken as a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

, she was renamed ''Abercrombie'', and was briefly given to the commander of ''Recruit'', Charles Napier, who was made

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

for his part in the action, as acting captain. Captain William Fahie of ''Pompée'', who had fallen ill after capturing her, then replaced Napier. ''Abercrombie'' participated in the capture of Guadeloupe in January and February 1810.Winfield, British Warships, p. 226. In 1847 the

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 ...

awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Guadaloupe" to all surviving participants of the campaign. In February 1810 Captain Fahie was appointed a

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

to assist with landings.Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy vol. 5, p.290. His squadron comprised ''Abercrombie'', , , , , , , and .Michael Phillips
''Abercrombie'' (74) (1809)
Michael Phillips' Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 7 March 2021. The squadron arrived off St Martin's on 14 February, and the combined might of the ships and a company of the

25th Regiment of Foot Fifth is the Ordinal number (linguistics), ordinal form of the number 5, five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth ...

forced the French and Dutch occupants to surrender by 16 February. On 21 February ''Abercrombie'' sailed to Saint Eustatius with ''Ringdove''; the island also quickly capitulated. After being repaired at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

at the cost of £16,375, ''Abercrombie'' sailed for Portugal on 30 December 1810 as part of Admiral

George Berkeley George Berkeley (; 12 March 168514 January 1753) – known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland) – was an Anglo-Irish philosopher whose primary achievement was the advancement of a theory he called "immate ...

's squadron off

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. On 5 September 1811 she took the French brigs ''Les Deux Amis'' and ''Le Jean Baptiste'', and the sloop ''La Marie French'' while in company with ''Pompée'', HMS ''Dryad'', and HMS ''Arrow''. While she was at anchor in the

Basque Roads Basque Roads, sometimes referred to as ''Aix Roads'', is a roadstead (a sheltered bay) on the Biscay shore of the Charente-Maritime département of France, bounded by the Île d'Oléron to the west and the Île de Ré to the north. The port of La ...

on 26 October 1811, lightning damaged her fore topmast and foremast. Between 1812 and 1813 ''Abercrombie'' served in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. On 14 January 1813 ''Abercrombie'', still under the command of Captain Fahie, recaptured the British trader ''Industry''. On 17 July 1813 she shared the proceeds of the capture of ''Union'' with HMS ''Dublin'', and on 17 December captured ''Marie Antoinette''.

Fate

By May 1814 ''Abercrombie'' was lying decommissioned in the

Hamoaze The Hamoaze (; ) is an estuarine stretch of the tidal River Tamar, between its confluence with the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound, England. The name first appears as ''ryver of Hamose'' in 1588 and it originally most likely applied just to a ...

. She was sold for £3,810 at Plymouth on 30 April 1817.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * Clowes, William Laird (1898) ''The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to 1900 Volume Five.'' Sampson Low, Marston and Company. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Hautpoul 1807 ships Conflicts in 1813 Ships of the line of the French Navy History of the Royal Navy Ships built in France Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Téméraire-class ships of the line Captured ships

French service

British service

Fate

See also

Notes, citations, and references

External links