HMS ''Beaulieu'' was a 40-gun

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

of the

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 ...

. The ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

in 1790 as a private enterprise by the

shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

Henry Adams Henry Brooks Adams (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918) was an American historian and a member of the Adams political family, descended from two U.S. Presidents. As a young Harvard graduate, he served as secretary to his father, Charles Fra ...

and purchased by the Royal Navy in June of the same year. A well-armed and large ship, ''Beaulieu'' was built to the dimensions of a merchant ship and did not have good sailing qualities. Commissioned in January 1793 by Lord Northesk, the frigate was sent to serve on the

Leeward Islands Station The Leeward Islands Station originally known as the Commander-in-Chief at Barbadoes and the Leeward Islands was a formation or command of the Kingdom of Great Britain and then the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed at English Harbour, Antigua, L ...

. She participated in the capture of Martinique in February 1794, and then was similarly present at the capture of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

in April. The frigate also took part in the start of the invasion of Guadeloupe. Later in the year the ship's crew was beset by

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

and much depleted. ''Beaulieu'' was sent to serve on the

North America Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the t ...

to recuperate, returning to the Leeward Islands in 1795. In the following two years the ship found success in prizetaking and briefly took part in more operations at Saint Lucia. She returned to Britain at the end of 1796. In 1797 ''Beaulieu'' joined the

North Sea Fleet The Northern Theater Command Navy (), or the North Sea Fleet (NSF; ) is one of the three fleets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, under the Northern Theater Command. In September 1950 the Qingdao Army Base was redesignated as a naval ...

, in which she found herself part of the

Nore 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 ...

. Her crew mutinied twice, once in May and once in June, but both attempts were defeated. Four members of the crew were executed for their participation. ''Beaulieu'' then fought at the

Battle of Camperdown The Battle of Camperdown (known in Dutch as the ''Zeeslag bij Kamperduin'') was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797, between the British North Sea Fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Batavian Navy (Dutch) fleet under Vice-Admiral ...

in October as a repeating frigate, unsuccessfully chasing the escaping Dutch

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 ...

''Brutus'' after the battle. After brief service in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

''Beaulieu'' began to serve 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 ...

in 1800. By July of the following year she was a part of a frigate squadron based off

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

, and the boats of that squadron completed a hard-fought

cutting out Naval boarding action is an offensive tactic used in naval warfare to come up against (or alongside) an enemy marine vessel and attack by inserting combatants aboard that vessel. The goal of boarding is to invade and overrun the enemy perso ...

expedition against the French

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

''La Chevrette'' in

Camaret Bay Camaret Bay () is a small bay on the north coast of Brittany, France. In 1694 it was the site of the battle of Camaret, a naval action between French and English forces, which culminated in a disastrous amphibious landing by the English as part o ...

. ''Beaulieu'' was put

in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...

for the duration of the

Peace of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...

, but was brought back into service in 1804. The frigate was sent to serve in the Leeward Islands again, re-capturing one British merchant ship before returning home in 1806. She was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship in ...

in March or April of that year, and sent to

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and many significant events a ...

where she was

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of parts, which can be sold for re-use, or for the extraction ...

in 1809.

Design and construction

Buckler's Hard Maritime Museum 05 - HMS Bealieu model

''Beaulieu'' was a 40-gun,

18-pounder The Ordnance QF 18-pounder,British military traditionally denoted smaller ordnance by the weight of its standard projectile, in this case approximately or simply 18-pounder gun, was the standard British Empire field gun of the First World War ...

. She was designed and built by the

at his shipyard,

Buckler's Hard Buckler's Hard is a hamlet on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire. With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Buckler's Hard is part of the Beaulieu Estate. The hamlet is some south of the village of ...

, during the peace between the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

and

French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

. There being a slump in ship construction between the wars, the ship was a private venture by Adams to ensure that his workmen were kept in employment. She was the only 18-pounder frigate procured by the

during this period and would continue to be a rarity; in 1793 she was one of only eight serving British frigates to have thirty-eight or more guns. ''Beaulieu'' was laid down some time in the first half of 1790, and was purchased by the Royal Navy on 16 June mid-way through construction, after 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, Tr ...

Order was finalised on 2 June as part of the navy's reaction to the

Spanish Armament The Nootka Crisis, also known as the Spanish Armament, was an international incident and political dispute between the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, the Spanish Empire, the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the fledgling United States of America triggered b ...

that saw it begin to bolster the fleet. Adams had named the ship after the river on which she was being built, the

Beaulieu River The Beaulieu River ( ), formerly known as the River Exe, is a small river draining much of the central New Forest in Hampshire, southern England. The river has many small upper branches and its farthest source is from its -long tidal estuary. ...

, and this name was kept on by the Royal Navy. In service the crew nicknamed her "Bowly". ''Beaulieu'' was launched on 4 May 1791 with the following dimensions: along the

upper deck The Upper Deck Company, LLC (colloquially as Upper Deck and Upper Deck Authenticated, Ltd. in the UK), founded in 1988, is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards. Its headquarters are in Carlsbad, California, United State ...

, at the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a depth in the

hold Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Fermat ...

of . Her draught was forward and aft, with the ship measuring 1,019

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 ...

. ''Beaulieu'' was fitted out to go

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

because the navy was on peacetime mobilisation levels, and this work was completed on 31 May. She stayed in ordinary until the French Revolutionary War began, and was finally fitted for sea on 14 March 1793. Her construction and initial fittings costed a total of £17,788. While the ship was fitted out to Royal Navy standards after her purchase, the initial design had been down to Adams. As such, ''Beaulieu'' was not built in the slim fashion of other frigates, and was instead closer in proportion to a merchant ship of the period. This meant that her hold space was much greater than the average frigate, allowing her to take on around double the amount of water and

ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...

. The unusual proportions of the frigate did negate her sailing qualities, however. While no official report on ''Beaulieu''s sailing survives, naval historian Robert Gardiner suggests that it is "unlikely she was much of a sailer". The frigate was crewed by 280 men (from 1794 this was lowered to 274), and she held forty long guns. The ship was internally laid out in the standard fashion for a 38-gun frigate, but with the addition of two extra

gun port A gunport is an opening in the side of the hull of a ship, above the waterline, which allows the muzzle of artillery pieces mounted on the gun deck to fire outside. The origin of this technology is not precisely known, but can be traced back to ...

s. Twenty-eight 18-pounders were held on the upper deck, with eight 9-pounders on the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

and a further four on the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

. On 20 February 1793 an Admiralty Order had ''Beaulieu'' take on a number of

carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...

s, with two 32-pounders on the upper deck and six 18-pounders on the quarterdeck. On 29 December six of the carronades were replaced with newer models, but they were all removed from the ship later on. ''Beaulieu''s upper deck had fifteen gun ports on each side, but only fourteen of these were ever put into regular use, with the final pair briefly holding the 1793 carronades but otherwise being left empty.

Service

West Indies

''Beaulieu'' was commissioned in January 1793 by Captain Lord Northesk, under whom she sailed to serve on the

on 22 April. At a time when the Royal Navy was bolstering its forces against France and was looking to keep its most powerful frigates close to home, Gardiner posits that the Royal Navy chose not to keep ''Beaulieu'' there, despite her being one of the larger frigates, because she was "never highly regarded". By November Northesk had been replaced in command by Captain John Salisbury, and ''Beaulieu'' formed part of Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis's Leeward Islands fleet; she then captured the French merchant ship ''America'' on 31 December. ''Beaulieu'' sailed from

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

on 2 February 1794 as part of an expedition containing 6,100 troops for the capture of Martinique. They arrived on 5 February and by 16 March all but two fortifications on the island had been successfully captured by the landing forces; seamen were used to move and operate gun batteries and

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

in the fighting. ''Beaulieu'' continued on with the expedition, arriving off

on 1 April to similarly capture that place. Saint Lucia surrendered on 4 April, and Jervis moved on to invade Guadeloupe, a campaign that would end in December. In November Salisbury handed command of the ship over to Captain

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 ...

, who brought with him several new officers because ''Beaulieu'' had taken severe losses from

in the previous three months. ''Beaulieu'' was then sent to serve on the

temporarily, so that her crew could recover from their illnesses and to bolster the station amid fears that a heavy squadron of French frigates was sailing for

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. On 2 December the frigate captured a fast sailing French 10-gun

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

, which was taken into

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

. ''Beaulieu'' spent her time in North America patrolling off the coast of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, before returning to the Leeward Islands. The ship then began a period of cruising throughout the West Indies, and she captured the French privateer

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Le Spartiate'' on 14 April 1795. Also under Riou, at an unknown date, ''Beaulieu'' encountered a French 18-gun store ship grounded under the cover of a battery near Saint-François. The frigate sailed up to the French vessel, and Lieutenant Bendall Robert Littlehales boarded her via ''Beaulieu''s

hawser Hawser () is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, third edition, ...

. He attempted to dislodge the ship from her position, but she would not move, and so he took the crew as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

and set her on fire. For this Littlehales was promoted to serve in the 74-gun

HMS ''Majestic''. Riou was invalided home and replaced by 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 ...

in September, and in turn Captain

Francis Laforey Admiral Sir Francis Laforey, 2nd Baronet, KCB (31 December 1767 – 17 June 1835) was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, whose distinguished service record included numerous frigate commands ...

took over from him in December of the same year. This quick turnover of captains for ''Beaulieu'' continued into 1796, with Captain

Lancelot Skynner Captain Lancelot Skynner (1766–9 October 1799) was an 18th century Royal Navy commander. He was drowned at the sinking of the infamous HMS ''Lutine'' famed for the ship's bell: the Lutine Bell. Life Skynner was born in 1766 at the vicarag ...

assuming command in March when Laforey was translated into the 64-gun ship of the line HMS ''Scipio''. Under Skynner the frigate captured the French 26-gun flûte ''Le Marsouin'' on 11 March off

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

while in consort with the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Ganges''; she was bought in by the Royal Navy but never commissioned. With resistance and fighting on Saint Lucia having continued since the initial invasion, ''Beaulieu'' participated in further operations there. Towards the end of April the frigate was sent to support landings at

Anse La Raye Anse La Raye or Anse-La-Raye is the largest town and seat of the Anse la Raye District of Saint Lucia. It is located on the island's western side, near Marigot Bay, and has several examples of French and English colonial architecture. History ...

, but these were called off because of bad sea conditions. On 3 May the ship supported an attack by three columns of soldiers against two French batteries, but the endeavour was unsuccessful, with ''Beaulieu'' having three men wounded and her

foremast The mast of a Sailing ship, sailing vessel is a tall spar (sailing), spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessa ...

damaged. ''Beaulieu'' was then present at the capture of the Russian

hoy Hoy ( sco, Hoy; from Norse , meaning "high island") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring – the second largest in the archipelago, after Mainland. A natural causeway, ''the Ayre'', links the island to the smaller South Walls; the two ...

''Leyden and Fourcoing'' by the 18-gun

brig-sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

HMS ''Harpy'' on 8 May, sharing in the capture with the 14-gun sloop HMS ''Savage''. On 8 August she arrived at the aftermath of an inconclusive duel between the 32-gun frigate HMS ''Mermaid'' and the French 40-gun frigate ''Vengeance'' off

Basseterre Basseterre (; Saint Kitts Creole: ''Basterre'') is the capital and largest city of Saint Kitts and Nevis with an estimated population of 14,000 in 2018. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kitt ...

, with her presence forcing the French vessel to disengage and retreat to safety under the guns of a battery in Basseterre Roads. Towards the end of the year ''Beaulieu'' returned to Britain, carrying as passengers Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh Christian, who had been replaced as commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands, and Rear-Admiral

Charles Pole Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Morice Pole, 1st Baronet GCB (18 January 1757 – 6 September 1830) was a Royal Navy officer, colonial governor and banker. As a junior officer he saw action at the siege of Pondicherry in India during the Ame ...

Nore Mutiny

''Beaulieu'' received a refit at

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roy ...

between December of the same year and February 1797, at the cost of £7,315. In July Captain Francis Fayerman assumed command of the rejuvenated frigate, and ''Beaulieu'' joined Admiral Adam Duncan's

. The fleet, based at

the Nore The Nore is a long bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades into the cha ...

, mutinied in April in the

. ''Beaulieu'' was not present with the fleet at the time, being instead in the Downs. Despite this her crew went into a state of mutiny on 20 May, with this being quelled on 16 June. Fayerman kept a number of men imprisoned after the mutiny, and in order to have these released, the crew mutinied again on 25 June under the control of their

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...

, Mr Redhead. Redhead announced that his aim was "to turn every bastard of an officer on shore, and if any of the seamen were not true to the cause to hang them immediately". The

officer of the watch Watchkeeping or watchstanding is the assignment of sailors to specific roles on a ship to operate it continuously. These assignments, also known at sea as ''watches'', are constantly active as they are considered essential to the safe operation o ...

called the alarm to ''Beaulieu''s officers and

marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

, and they engaged the mutineers. In the ensuing fight thirteen men were wounded, of which one later died, and the mutineers were defeated. The loyal members of ''Beaulieu''s crew were assisted in the fight by the 40-gun frigate HMS ''Virginie'', which saw the plight of ''Beaulieu'' and sailed up to her, providing thirty marines to assist and having her band play

God Save the King "God Save the King" is the national anthem, national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in ...

. In the aftermath thirteen seamen were identified as mutineers, and ten of these were brought to

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

. Four were

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, with another four imprisoned. Of the final two, one was

flogged Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging ...

and the other given a lesser punishment. The rest of the crew were pardoned. Lieutenant John Burn of ''Beaulieu'' was awarded a silver-gilt presentation sword by the Committee of London Merchants for his heroic conduct during the mutiny.

Camperdown

On 9 October news reached Duncan that the Dutch fleet was at sea, and his fleet sailed from

Yarmouth Roads Yarmouth Roads is a coastal feature in Norfolk, England that was used by merchant and naval ships as an anchorage or roadstead off Great Yarmouth. Description The following is a description of Yarmouth Roads that appeared in The Nautical Magazi ...

to meet them. ''Beaulieu'' was already at sea, having been sent in advance with the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Russell'' and 50-gun

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

HMS ''Adamant'' to patrol off the

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of De ...

. Duncan had them follow the Dutch, expecting that the fleet would attempt to sail towards the British coast. At 7 a.m. on 11 October the three ships signalled a sighting of the enemy fleet to Duncan. The

began at around 11:30 a.m., with ''Beaulieu'' one of only two British frigates present, alongside the 28-gun HMS ''Circe''. Tasked as a repeating frigate, she was assigned to Duncan's

larboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...

division of the fleet during the battle, with the Dutch commander surrendering his ship at 3 p.m. ''Beaulieu'' received no casualties while performing her duties. One of the Dutch ships taken in the battle was the 44-gun frigate ''Monnikkendam''. ''Beaulieu'' was sent to secure her, putting a

prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew had sufficie ...

on board for the journey back to Britain under the command of Lieutenant James Robert Philips. While making this journey the frigate was wrecked on sands off West Capel. Philips and his crew survived, but were all taken as prisoners of war. After the battle bad sea conditions meant that many damaged warships were struggling to stay away from the shore, and ''Beaulieu'' was sent off by Duncan to search out and assist any distressed ships that she could find. The 40-gun frigate HMS ''Endymion'' had joined the fleet after the battle, and on 12 October discovered the Dutch 74-gun ship of the line ''Brutus'', which had escaped the battle, close to shore. ''Endymion'' was unable to attack her because of the Dutch ship's well-chosen position, and she looked for assistance. ''Endymion'' sailed back towards Duncan's fleet firing rockets to attract attention, and at 10:30 p.m. on 13 October these found ''Beaulieu''. Together the frigates returned to ''Brutus'', arriving at 5 a.m. on the following day. The two frigates chased the ship of the line, but she succeeded in reaching the safety of the port of Goree before they were able to engage her; ''Brutus'' was one of seven ships to escape Camperdown. ''Beaulieu'' was sent out again by Duncan to assist damaged ships on 15 October, in company with the 64-gun ship of the line HMS ''Lancaster''. Having completed these duties, she was subsequently sent to join a squadron commanded by Captain Sir Richard Strachan in 1798.

English Channel

On 1 June 1799 Fayerman sailed ''Beaulieu'' to the

; she recaptured the merchant

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

''Harriet'' on 3 December, and soon afterwards began serving with the 36-gun frigate HMS ''Amethyst''. Together they recaptured the merchant ships ''Cato'', on 6 December, ''Dauphin'', on 14 December, and ''Cabrus'' and ''Nymphe'', on 15 December. Continuing their spree of recaptures, the two frigates took the merchant brig ''Jenny'' on 18 December. Some time before 24 December ''Beaulieu'' also recaptured the American merchant ship ''Nonpareil''. In the following year she moved to serve in 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 ...

, and on the morning of 27 August she was sailing in company with the 18-gun sloop HMS ''Sylph'' when they captured the French letter of marque sloop ''Dragon'', which had been attempting to reach

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

with a cargo of sugar, coffee, and cotton. ''Beaulieu'' was then present at, but did not participate in, the capture of the French 16-gun privateer ''Le Diable á Quatre'' by the 32-gun frigate HMS ''Thames'' and 40-gun frigate HMS ''Immortalite'' off

Cordouan Lighthouse Cordouan lighthouse () is an active lighthouse located at sea, near the mouth of the Gironde estuary in France. At a height of , it is the tenth-tallest "traditional lighthouse" in the world. The Tour de Cordouan, the 'Patriarch of Lighthouses ...

on 26 October. Still serving there in 1801, on 1 January Fayerman was replaced by Captain Stephen Poyntz.

''La Chevrette'' action

John Christian Schetky (1778-1874) - Cutting Out the 'Chevrette', 21 July 1801 - BHC0531 - Royal Museums Greenwich

By July ''Beaulieu'' was serving on the blockade of

in a frigate squadron that also included the 36-gun HMS ''Doris'' and 40-gun HMS ''Uranie''. Sailing off

Pointe Saint-Mathieu The pointe Saint-Mathieu (Lok Mazé in Breton) is a headland located near Le Conquet in the territory of the commune of Plougonvelin in France, flanked by 20m high cliffs. Village At present, there are only a few houses on the point, grouped aroun ...

, the squadron discovered that the French 20-gun

''La Chevrette'' was at anchor in the nearby

, under the cover of a shore battery. The British decided to make an attempt to capture the corvette, and Admiral

William Cornwallis Admiral of the Red Sir William Cornwallis, (10 February 17445 July 1819) was a Royal Navy officer. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British commander at the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis took part in a n ...

sent out Lieutenant

Woodley Losack Captain Woodley Francis Losack (5 October 1769 – 30 May 1838) was an officer of the British Royal Navy, who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He participated in the Battle of Tamatave (1811) as captain of ...

from his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

to undertake the

expedition. With volunteer boat crews from ''Beaulieu'' and ''Doris'' under his command (''Uranie'' having left the station), Losack set out on 20 July for ''Chevrette''. While rowing for the bay the group of boats was split up, and some returned to the frigates instead of continuing on. Not being aware of this, the remaining boats waited until the morning of 21 July for the others, at which point the daylight revealed them to ''Chevrette'', which began to prepare to defend herself. ''Chevrette'' sailed a mile closer to Brest, taking advantage of the protection of more gun batteries on shore, and brought on board a group of soldiers that increased her complement to 339 men. The French also set up temporary fortifications along the coast, and set a small guard boat between the boats and ''Chevrette'' to warn the French of any advance by the British. Some time later in the day ''Uranie'' returned to the squadron and she added her manpower to the expedition, alongside that of two boats from the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Robust''. This gave Losack a total force of 280 men in fifteen boats, with which he set out from ''Beaulieu'' for a second attempt at the bay at 9:30 p.m. Soon after this Losack took six of the boats in chase of a French lookout boat that was sailing close to the shore. With the element of surprise provided by the night dwindling as time went on, the senior officer of the remaining boats, Lieutenant Keith Maxwell of ''Beaulieu'', continued the journey without Losack. This meant that the cutting out force now consisted of only 180 men. They arrived at ''Chevrette'' at 1 a.m. on 22 July, and the French ship began to fire at the boats with

grape shot Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat. In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of ...

and muskets. The boats containing ''Beaulieu''s crew rowed up to the starboard side of the French vessel, with the remainders of the British force going to her port side. The French resisted the boarding in hand-to-hand fighting, by both attacking the British as they came aboard and by attempting in turn to board their boats. Despite this, members of the British force succeeded in both cutting her anchor cable and in setting her sails. Maxwell's force having been on board ''Chevrette'' for only three minutes, the ship began to drift out of the bay. A

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

from ''Beaulieu'' took control of the

helm Helm may refer to: Common meanings * a ship's steering mechanism; see tiller and ship's wheel * another term for helmsman * an archaic term for a helmet, used as armor Arts and entertainment * Matt Helm, a character created by Donald Hamilton * ...

, and the remaining French defenders chose to either jump overboard or run below into the ship. Those defenders hiding below deck began to fire up at the British with muskets, but they were forced to surrender upon the threat of them all being killed. ''Chevrette'' resisted the fire of the French batteries on the coast and successfully left the bay. Here Losack joined the ship and took command. In the battle the British had lost eleven men killed, with a further fifty-seven wounded and one drowned when one of ''Beaulieu''s boats was sunk by ''Chevrette''. Ninety-two Frenchmen were killed with sixty-two wounded. ''Chevrette'' was taken to Plymouth, arriving on 26 July. Historian Noel Mostert describes the event, with its high casualties and zeal demonstrated by the British in pushing forwards with an attack that the French were fully prepared for, as "an episode without parallel". Losack was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

for his part in the affair, but a controversy ensued when Maxwell was not also rewarded for his service despite having been the officer actually in command at the capture. The letter published in the ''London Gazette'' outlining the action named Losack as the commander, and Maxwell wrote to Cornwallis explaining the unfairness of the situation. The admiral held a court of enquiry on board the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Mars'' to investigate Losack's conduct on 9 August. Both lieutenants were found to have behaved correctly, and Maxwell too was promoted.

Later service

''Beaulieu'' continued to serve in the Channel until the end of the French Revolutionary War. With the

coming into effect, she was put back in ordinary at Portsmouth in April 1802, with Poyntz leaving her in May. The Peace having expired, she was fitted for service again between January and May 1804, being recommissioned by Captain

Charles Ekins Admiral Sir Charles Ekins Order of the Bath, GCB (1768 – 2 July 1855) was an officer of the Royal Navy who served in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, the French Revolutionary Wars, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and rose to the rank of Ad ...

on 16 April. ''Beaulieu'' sailed to again serve in the Leeward Islands in June, and in January 1805 she recaptured the merchant brig ''Peggy''. Captain Kenneth Mackenzie replaced Ekins a month later when the latter was appointed to the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Defence''. Still serving in the Leeward Islands by October, the frigate returned to Britain some time after this and was

in March or April 1806. She was sent to

to be

on 3 June; this was completed some time during 1809.

Prizes

Notes and citations

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beaulieu, HMS 1791 ships Fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy Ships built on the Beaulieu River