HMS ''Quebec'' was a 32-gun fifth-rate

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 ...

launched in 1781 and broken up in 1816. She sailed under various captains, participating in 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 ...

, the

French Revolutionary Wars 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 ...

, and the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. During these wars she captured many enemy merchantmen and smaller

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 ...

s. One action led to her men qualifying for clasp to the Naval General Service Medal.

American Revolutionary War

Throughout 1782, Christopher Mason commanding, HMS ''Quebec'' operated in North American waters in the final year of the

. On 22 February that year she captured the

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 ...

''Betsy'', and in April two ships laden with flour, oil, bale goods, salt and wine. On 3 June and ''Quebec'' captured the privateer ''Pilgrim''. On 20 December ''Quebec'' was involved when and captured the American frigate ''South Carolina'', for which she shared in prize money awarded eighteen months later.

French Revolutionary Wars

In 1793 Admiral

John MacBride John MacBride (sometimes written John McBride; ga, Seán Mac Giolla Bhríde; 7 May 1868 – 5 May 1916) was an Irish republican and military leader. He was executed by the British government for his participation in the 1916 Easter Ris ...

became commander-in-chief on the Downs station, commanding a frigate squadron with his flag in , later transferring his flag to ''Quebec''. He took possession of

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerk ...

after the French retreat in early 1793, and in October transported reinforcements under General Sir Charles Grey to assist in the defence of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Nieuport, which was then being besieged by French forces, a relief force from Ostend arrived, and the French withdrew. From March 1794 a taskforce under Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis, with land forces under General Sir Charles Grey, operated against French possessions in the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

of the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. ''Quebec'' was an active participant, supplying some of the assault forces at

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 ...

(late March) where she lost one man killed. St Lucia fell on 4 April, whereupon ''Quebec'' (under Captain

Josias Rogers Captain Josias Roberts (1755-24 April 1795), was a British naval officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War and the campaigns in Grenada and Martinique. Life Born at Lymington, Hampshire, Rogers' father seems to have had a large intere ...

), ''Blanche'', ''Ceres'' and ''Rose'' were ordered to seize the smaller islands, the

Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

, which they did without loss on 5 April. Parts of

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 ...

fell to the British on 23 April 1794 with ''Quebec'' playing her part, and many enemy ships were captured as they attempted to leave the anchorage. Details of prize monies awarded for the capture of engineering and ordnance stores on Martinique, St Lucia and Guadeloupe named ''Quebec'' and thirty other warships, plus six gunboats. On 12 August 1794 a French ship, ''Adelle'', was captured, for which prize money was awarded a year later. Actions against

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

the following year in response to

Fédon's rebellion Fédon's rebellion (also known as the Brigands' War, or Fédon's Revolution, 2 March 1795 – 19 June 1796) was an uprising against British rule in Grenada. Although a significant number of slaves were involved, they fought on both sides (the majo ...

did not go so well. Rogers reported on 9 April 1795 persistent heavy rain had caused delays in the military operations on Grenada. Seemingly in desperation, an assault was made on the last stronghold of the French in the mountains, but the French repulsed the attack, causing heavy British casualties. In 1796, ''Quebec'' – now under the command of Captain John Cooke, Rogers having died of

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 ...

in April 1795 - was in home waters, reporting from

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 ...

the capture of a French national cutter ''Aspic'', off the Scilly Isles. ''Aspic'' had a crew of 57 men and carried 10 guns. She was ten days out of

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

and had captured the sloop ''John'', of and from

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, sailing to

Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

. ''Quebec'' was soon back in the Caribbean on the Jamaica station. On 3 December 1796 she captured the French corvette Affricaine'', of 18 guns, near St Domingo. On 18 April 1797 Vice-Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, who commanded the Jamaica station, ordered Captain Hugh Pigot to take his frigate , as well as the frigates ''Quebec'' and , the brig and the hired armed

cutters Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter, aka Stanley knife, a form of utility knife * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Side cutter * Cutter, a type of hydraulic rescue to ...

to cut out 14 vessels at the Battle of Jean-Rabel, Haiti. The squadron rendezvoused the next day and then the boats went in on the night of 20 April. They succeeded in bringing out nine merchant vessels that French

s had taken as prizes. In the same series of operations the 74-gun ships and destroyed the escorting French frigate, . While he commanded at Jamaica, Vice-Admiral Parker sent regular reports of warships and merchant vessels captured or destroyed by the ships under his command. At various times from October 1799 to February 1800, ''Quebec'' seized American, French or Danish merchant ships bound for ports in the Americas or Caribbean with cargoes as diverse as cocoa, lumber, wine, soap & sundries, flour, sugar, cotton, honey and hides. A Spanish vessel, ''Nostra Senora del Carmen'' "laden with fustie and brazil" was captured in March or April. Between May and August 1800, ''Quebec'' took captive an armed rowing boat with a crew of 19 men, a small schooner (name unknown) and six small merchant vessels cut out at different times. When the

Treaty 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 The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...

brought what would turn out to be a temporary peace in 1802, the Admiralty took ''Quebec'' out of commission. She did not return to active service until 1805.

Napoleonic Wars

On 28 May 1806 ''Quebec'' and were in company and shared in the capture of ''Frau Geziner''. In April 1807 the vessel ''Providentia'' fell to ''Quebec'', and between 16 August and 2 September 1807, ''Quebec'' and her consorts took nineteen Danish merchant ships. ''Quebec''s station during this time was the Downs and the North Sea. On 22 March 1808, while Danish harbours were still largely frozen in, ''Quebec'' was operating in the Great Belt and Kattegat as the Royal Navy gathered. The last operating Danish ship-of-the-line was under orders to clear the Great Belt of enemy (British) warships but was closely watched that morning by ''Quebec'', with the

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 ...

in company. In the early afternoon joined them in Sejerø Bay, as the Danish ship sailed north and east around Zealand Point. Two hours later the British ships-of-the-line ''Nassau'' and were sighted and ''Quebec'' and the two sloops observed the ensuing battle without putting themselves in harm's way. A few days later off Nyborg, a late winter storm dismasted ''Quebec''. ''Falcon'' then helped her to erect a new mast and rigging. In 1810, ''Quebec'' was stationed in the North Sea primarily off the Frisian Islands of Texel and

Vlie The Vlie or Vliestroom is the seaway between the Dutch islands of Vlieland, to its southwest, and Terschelling, to its northeast. The Vlie was the estuary of the river IJssel in medieval times. In 1666 the English Admiral Robert Holmes burnt a ...

to help enforce the naval blockade of that coast. In March she retook ''Susannah Margaretta'', and boats from the hired armed cutters and , under ''Quebec''s command, captured a French privateer schutt of four guns, while subject to heavy small arms fire. On 21 March ''Quebec'' captured another French privateer, the lugger ''Imperatrice'' of 14 guns and 42 men off the

Dogger Bank Dogger Bank (Dutch: ''Doggersbank'', German: ''Doggerbank'', Danish: ''Doggerbanke'') is a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea about off the east coast of England. During the last ice age the bank was part of a large landmass c ...

. On 23 May, when ''Desiree'' captured ''Financier'', ''Quebec'' (under Charles Hawtayne) and were in company and shared the prize money. Also on 23 May, ''Quebec'' captured ''James Cook''. Six days later a cutting out expedition at Vlie with boats from ''Desireee'', ''Quebec'', and ) yielded a French lugger (12), a French privateer (4), a Dutch gunboat and a small rowboat. The British had no casualties; the French lost one man killed and three wounded. On the last day of May, ''Quebec'' took three more ships: ''St Jean Baptiste'', ''Comtessa'', and ''Forben''. One more ship was taken on 17 September (''Bienenstock'') and two ships were recaptured during October 1810 (''Jonge Edward'' and ''Perle''). On 8 November ''Quebec'' cut out a "fine French privateer schooner, ''La Jeune Louise'' (14)" from the Vlie Stroom, an area of difficult and shallow navigation. The year finished with the capture on 2 December of the French privateer cutter ''Renard'', of six guns. ''Quebec'' shared the prize money with . In 1811 ''Quebec'' was still under the command of Captain Hawtayne and on the same station when she recaptured ''Aquator'' on 26 May. In August 1811, in company with five lesser warships, ''Quebec'' captured a ''Vaisseau de Guerre'' of the Imperial Customs Service, later named as a privateer ''Christine Charlotte'', with her crew of one officer and twelve men, as she was leaving

Nordeney Norderney ( nds, Nördernee) is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany. The island is , having a total area of about and is therefore Germany's ninth-largest island. Norderney's population amounts ...

( East Frisian Islands) with a merchant vessel in tow. One of the men on ''Christine Charlotte'' was killed before she surrendered.) Boats from ''Quebec'' and her consorts then attacked and after a hard fight captured four enemy gunboats (Nos. 22, 28, 31, 71) in the harbour at Nordeney. British casualties were four men killed and 14 wounded; enemy casualties were two men killed and 12 wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the NGSM to all surviving claimants from the action. Two months later, on 30 October, ''Quebec'' was off the Flemish Banks when after a long chase she captured the privateer ''Olympia'', of ten 18-pounder guns and 78 men. This was the former schooner .

Fate

At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy laid up many of its ships, ''Quebec'' among them. She was advertised for sale in April 1816 for breaking up within twelve months: "Lying at Sheerness, ''Quebec'' of 32 guns and 700 tons". She was broken up in July.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

Citations

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quebec (1781) Frigates of the Royal Navy 1781 ships Ships built on the River Hamble