HMS Pomone (1794)

''Pomone'' was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, launched in 1785. The British captured her off the ÃŽle de Batz in April 1794 and incorporated her into the Royal Navy. ''Pomone'' subsequently had a relatively brief but active career in the British Navy off the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts of France before suffering sufficient damage from hitting a rock. Due to this, the ship was taken out of service and then broken up in 1803.

French service

''Pomone'' was built to a one-off design by Baron Charles-Etienne Bombelle. After her capture, her design inspired that of the Royal Navy's ''Endymion''-class frigates.

Between 17 February and 28 August 1793, ''Pomone'' was stationed at Rochefort under the command of ''captain de vaisseau'' Dumoutier. She cruised along the coasts of the Vendée and then arrived at Brest. Dumoutier continued in command in late September. From 26 February 1794 ''Pomone'' was at Cherbourg under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Étienne Pévrieu. He sailed her from Cancale.

The British captured her, along with ''Babet'' and ''Engageante'', off the ÃŽle de Batz during the action of 23 April 1794.

British service

She was recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS ''Pomone'' and the ''Endymion''-class frigates were built to her lines, but with the more robust British practice of framing and fastening.

1795

On 6 and 17 January 1795, ''Pomone'', under Captain Sir John Borlase Warren, with ''Arethusa'', ''Concorde'', ''Galatea'' and ''Diamond'', captured the French vessels ''David'' and ''Ormontaise'', and recaptured the ''Phoenix''.

On 31 January, ''Pomone'' was part of a squadron that seized the Dutch East India Ship ''Ostenhuyson''.

On 12 February, ''Pomone'' put to sea with a squadron comprising the frigates ''Anson'', ''Artois'' and ''Galatea'', and the hired lugger ''Duke of York''. ''Anson'' lost her topsail mast in bad weather on the 14th so Warren sent her back to Plymouth.

On 18 February, the British squadron spotted three French transports. Warren followed them and on the 21st caught up with a convoy of 20 vessels under the escort of a frigate that he believed to be the French frigate ''Néréide''. Warren pursued the convoy from the lighthouse on Île d'Oléron halfway up the Pertuis d'Antioche, capturing or destroying several of the vessels, before he had to break off the chase.

Then on 26 February, the squadron captured a schooner of eight brass guns off the ÃŽle de Groix, near Lorient. She was the American-built ''Curieuse'' (later corrected to ''Coureuse'') and she was escorting a convoy of three brigs and two luggers. They were sailing from Nantes to Brest with clothing for the Army.

Between 13 and 26 February, Warren's squadron captured and sent to England the following vessels: the sloop ''Petit Jean'', the brig ''St. Pierre'', the brig ''Deux Frères'', the ship ''Petite Magdalène'', the packet boat ''De Cayene'', the schooner ''Curieuse'' (''Coureuse''), the lugger ''Liberté'', the lugger ''Gloire'', and the brig transport ''Biche''. The squadron burned seven vessels: the schooner brig ''Désirée'', the brig ''Three Friends'', the brig ''Trois Frères'', the brig ''Guerrier'', the brig ''Liberté'', the brig ''Espérance'', and the lugger ''Patriote''. The British scuttled four brigs:''Graley'', ''Jean et Marie'', ''Pierre'', and ''Anne''. In all, Warren's squadron had taken nine prizes and destroyed 11 vessels.

On 15 April, Warren and his squadron chased the French privateer ''Jean Bart'', of 26 guns and 187 men, off the Île de Ré. ''Artois'' made the actual capture. The next day ''Pomone'', ''Artois'', ''Anson'' and ''Galatea'' captured two vessels. ''Galatea'' captured ''Expédition'', a corvette of 16 guns and 120 men, which had at one time been a British packet. The British also captured the ''Maria François Fidelle''.

Off Belle ÃŽle, the squadron then caught up with a French convoy. The squadron burned and sank a brig and a sloop that were sailing in ballast. ''Artois'' captured two sloops with cargoes of fish. Later ''Artois'' reported that she had chased a ship and a brig from the convoy onto the rocks near the island of Hedic, where they were wrecked.

In June, ''Pomone'' participated at the landing of the ill-conceived and ill-fated Royalist expedition to Quiberon Bay. ''Pomone'' shared in the prize money for the capture, on 23 June, of the French men of war, ''Alexander'', ''Formidable'' and ''Tigre''.

On 2 September, ''Pomone'' caught ''Rude'', of 12 guns, in Bourneaux Bay and burnt her. However, there are discrepancies between the British and French records. French records show that the crew of ''Rude'', of three guns (not 12), and under the command of '' enseigne de vaisseau non-entretenu'' Cheneau, ran her aground on Noirmoutier on 25 September to block the British from capturing her. The records do agree on the approximate location: Bourneaux Bay was a British name for Bourgneuf Bay, and Noirmoutier is on that bay.

On 15 October, and , and later and , and later still ''Pomone'' and ''Concorde'', chased three French frigates, ''Tartu'' and ''Néréide'', and the 50-gun frigate ''Forte'', and the brig-aviso (or corvette) . The British ships had to give up on the frigates due to the closeness of the shore. However, ''Pomone'' and the 74-gun third rate , which had joined the chase, were able to take the ''Eveillé'', of 18 guns, and 100 men. The French force had been out for 60 days and had captured 12 West Indiamen, two of which, ''Kent'' and ''Albion'', the British had already recaptured. ''Pomone'' and her squadron had recaptured ''Kent'' on 9 October. ''Orion'' recaptured ''Albion''. Warren's squadron returned to England in December with the remnants of the expedition to Quiberon Bay.

1796

On 6 and 7 March 1796, the squadron captured ''Sultana'' and ''Nancy''. Then on 11 and 13 March the squadron captured ''Harmony'', ''Sans Peur'' and ''Agréable'', on the coast of France. On the 15th, ''Pomone'' captured the 22-gun corvette ''Robuste'', which had a crew of 145 men. She was sailing from Brest to L'Orient. The Royal Navy took ''Robuste'' into service as HMS ''Scourge''.

Some two weeks later, on 20 March, ''Pomone'', ''Artois'', ''Anson'', and ''Galatea'' engaged a French squadron escorting a convoy near the Bec du Raz. The British captured four brigs from the convoy and Warren instructed the lugger ''Valiant'' to take them to the nearest port. (The four brigs were ''Illier'', ''Don de Dieu'', ''Paul Edward'', and ''Félicité''.)

The British squadron then engaged the French warships escorting the convoy but were not able to bring them to a full battle before having to give up the chase due to the onset of dark and the dangerous location. ''Galatea'' was the only vessel in the British squadron to suffer casualties; she lost two men killed and six wounded. The store-ship ''Etoile'', under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Mathurin-Théodore Berthelin, struck. She was armed with thirty 12-pounder guns and had a crew of 160 men. Four French frigates, a corvette, a brig and the rest of the convoy escaped.

Another small convoy fell to Warren's squadron on 7 April also near the Bec du Raz. The squadron captured four brigs and a sloop, four of which they sent in to England. One brig they scuttled. All were carrying flour and corn. One sloop escaped, as did the aviso ''Voltigeur'', of 16 guns, which was escorting the convoy. The four captured vessels were ''Marie'', ''Union'', ''Bonne'', and a brig of unknown name. On 18 April the squadron captured ''Jean Marie''.

On 25 May, ''Pomone'' captured the French privateer ''Fantaisie'', of 14 guns and 75 men, near Morlaix. She was only one day out of port and had not captured anything.

Commodore Warren's squadron, including ''Pomone'', ran the 44-gun French frigate ''Andromaque'' ashore on 23 August near the river Gironde. Boats from ''Galatea'' and ''Artois'' then boarded her. Some of ''Andromaque''s crew had endeavored to get to shore, many drowning in the surf in the attempt. Warren's squadron took on board the captain, a number of the officers, many of her crew, and a number of Portuguese prisoners from two vessels that the French squadron to which ''Andromaque'' had belonged had taken. The 18-gun brig then destroyed the French vessel with gunfire.

Between 9 August and 10 September Warren's squadron captured or destroyed a number of small merchant vessels as well as ''Andromache''. These were:
*''Jean Porte'', a gabarre, of 140 tons burthen.
*''Jean de Blaignal'', gabarre, of 140 tons.
*''Liberté'', chasse maree, of 95 tons.
*''Catherine'', chasse maree, of 80 tons.
*''Marie Anne'', chasse maree, of 95 tons.
*''St. Pierre'', chasse maree, of 90 tons.
All these were burnt at the mouth of the Garonne. The remaining three were captured.
*''Charlotte'', chasse maree, of 80 tons, loaded with wine and brandy.
*''Véronique'', chasse maree, 95 tons, loaded with wine and brandy.
*Sloop, loaded with canvas, taken by the lugger ''Argus'' and the cutter ''Dolly'' on their return from Plymouth to rejoin the squadron.

On 2 November, and ''Artois'' were in a chase that ''Pomone'' joined. ''Artois'' finally caught their quarry about 11 leagues from Ushant. The quarry turned out to be ''Franklin'', armed with twelve 6-pounder guns and with a crew of 100 men.

1797

Between 24 January and 7 March, Warren's squadron sank or burnt four French vessels and two Spanish vessels. The French vessels were the sloops ''Providence'' and ''Intrépide'', the brig ''Jenée'', and another brig of unknown name. The Spanish vessels were the brigs ''Santa Theresa'' and ''St Jago de Compostella''.

In July, ''Pomone'' and Warren's squadron intercepted a convoy in Hodierne Bay consisting of 14 cargo vessels with a frigate, a ship, a corvette, and a brig as escorts. The British drove the French 36-gun frigate ''Calliope'' onshore and holed her hull with gunfire, ''Sylph'' being particularly aggressive. The brig they sank with gunfire also. They burnt ''Freedom'', a large British-built ship armed en flute and laden with squared timber. The French had run her onshore and the crew, with the wounded, had gotten away in their boats. The British also captured eight vessels:
*''Thalia'', a transport carrying an anchor weighing 6000 lbs., a crane, flour, bread, beef, pork, brandy, soldiers' clothing, etc.
*Brig, name unknown, laden with brandy and wine.
*Brig, name unknown, laden with brandy and salt.
*Brig, name unknown, laden with flour, biscuit and a mooring chain.
*Three chasse marees, name of unknown names, laden with brandy, wine and provisions.
*''St. René'', chasse maree, laden with coffee, sugar, etc.

A few days later, boats from the squadron destroyed two French merchant ships, the brig ''Fidèle'' and the sloop ''Henri'', also in Hodierne Bay. The next day the squadron captured ''Boston''. In August, the squadron destroyed one French vessel and captured another. On 28 August, the squadron chased and captured vessels from a French convoy. On 27 August ''Pomone'' ashore near Arcachon the French naval cutter ''Petit Diable'', where she was lost.

1798

On 5 January, ''Pomone'' was 94 leagues off Ushant when she encountered a large ship which she pursued. In the haze, the quarry underestimated ''Pomone''s size and armament and opened fire. The two vessels exchanged several broadsides before the quarry struck. She was the French privateer ''Chéri'', from Nantes, and was armed with a mix of twenty-six 12, 18 and 24-pounder guns. She had a crew of 230 men under the command of Mons. Chaffin. The engagement cost ''Pomone'' one man killed and four wounded, plus damage to masts and rigging. ''Chéri'' had 12 men killed and 22 wounded, and had lost her mizzen mast and all sails, and had taken several holes to her hull as well. Reynolds took her in tow and sent over his carpenter to plug the holes when she started to sink. He sent over ''Pomone''s boats and they were able to get everyone off ''Chéri'', including the wounded, before she sank. Six days later, ''Pomone'' captured the French privateer ''Emprunt Fossé'', of two guns, in the Channel.

In September, ''Pomone'', , and HMS ''Cormorant'' convoyed a large fleet of merchantmen and transports to Lisbon. The convoy included the East Indiamen ''Royal Charlotte'', ''Cuffnells'', , and ''Alligator''. On 25 September the convoy encountered a French fleet of nine sail, consisting of one eighty-gun ship and eight frigates. The convoy commander signalled the Company's ships to form line of battle with the Royal Navy ships, and the convoy to push for Lisbon. This manoeuvre, and the warlike appearance of the Indiamen, deterred the French admiral from attacking them; the whole fleet reached Lisbon in safety.

1799

On 18 March, ''Pomone'' recaptured the West Indiaman ''Minerva'', of Liverpool. She had been a prize to the French privateer brig , of Bordeaux.

On 3 April, ''Pomone'' had the good fortune to meet and capture ''Argus'' after a pursuit of 108 miles that hit 12 knots. ''Argus'' was only six months old and was pierced for 22 guns, though she carried 18 brass 9-pounders. In addition to ''Minerva'', ''Argus'' had captured two brigs from Teignmouth whose masters and crews were aboard her. ''Argus'' had a crew of 90 men.

Six days later ''Pomone'' recaptured an American schooner that had been sailing from Caracas to Corunna with a cargo of cocoa and indigo. She had had the misfortune to meet the French privateer on 1 April. Earlier, ''Pomone'' had captured two vessels off Cartagena, Spain, the French privateer ''Mucius Scaevola'', of Genoa, and a Spanish coaster.

In April ''Pomone'' returned to Plymouth after having convoyed three ordnance transports to Minorca. She then went in for a refit.

1801

On 3 August, while cruising off the west side of Elba during the Siege of Porto Ferrajo, ''Pomone'', Captain Edward Leveson-Gower commanding, took another prize, the , of 44 guns and 356 men. ''Pomone'' lost two men dead and three wounded, one of whom died of wounds shortly thereafter.

Less than a month later, on 2 September, the frigates , ''Minerve'' and ''Pomone'' recaptured and destroyed the 46-gun frigate ''Bravoure''. (The French had captured ''Success'', a 32-gun frigate, in February, off Toulon.) In the middle of the month, men from ''Pomone'' were involved in operations ashore at Portoferraio, Elba.

''Pomone'' shared with , ''Pigmy'', and the privateer ''Furioso'' in the proceeds of the capture on 2 October of the ''Bella Aurora''.

1802

In April ''Pomone'' and escorted a convoy to the Mediterranean. She returned to Portsmouth on 16 July and then on 23 July sailed with a number of other ships for Lymington and Jersey to collect Dutch troops they were to carry to Cuxhaven.

Fate

On 23 September 1802, ''Pomone'' struck a rock while entering St. Aubin's Bay and sank. shuttled back and forth between Portsmouth and Jersey bringing back stores and taking out artificers. ''Pomone'' was refloated and towed into Portsmouth in October but was not worth repairing. On 31 October arrived from Jersey with more stores.''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 8, p.437.

A court martial on 27 October on in Portsmouth Harbour, tried the pilot, John Geram, for her loss. The court ruled that he should not have attempted to enter the bay at night as he could have safely waited at sea until daylight. The court fined him all pay and allowances due to him for his services as pilot on ''Pomone'' and sentenced him to imprisonment in the Marshalsea for three months.

''Pomone'' was broken up in 1803.

See also

*List of ships captured in the 18th century

Notes

Citations

References

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External links

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Naval Database

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomone (1787)
Age of Sail frigates of France
1785 ships
Ships built in France
Sailing frigates of the French Navy
Maritime incidents in 1802
Captured ships
Frigates of the Royal Navy
Shipwrecks in the English Channel