HMS ''Arethusa'' was a 38-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 ...

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 an ...

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 Fr ...

built at

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

in 1781. She served in three wars and made a number of notable captures before she was broken up in 1815.

American Revolutionary War

In February 1782, ''Arethusa'' captured the French ship ''Tartare'', of fourteen 6-pounder guns. ''Tartare'' was the former British

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 ...

''Tartar'', which the French ships ''Aimable'' and ''Diligente'' had captured in September 1780. The

took ''Tartare'' into service as . On 20 August 1782, ''Arethusa'' recaptured the former British warship . She was armed with 18 guns and carrying a crew of 71 men. She was also carrying a cargo of of

indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...

and eight

hogshead A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commodity). More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either imperial or US customary measures, primarily applied to alco ...

s of tobacco.

French Revolutionary Wars

''Arethusa'' was assigned to the British Western Frigate Squadron under Commodore

John Borlase Warren Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. Naval career Born in Stapleford, Nottinghams ...

. The squadron consisted of ''Flora'', Captain Sir John Warren, ''Arethusa'', Captain Sir

Edward Pellew Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother Is ...

(later Lord Exmouth), , Captain Thomas Wells, ''Concorde'', Sir Richard Strachan, and ''Nymphe'', Captain George Murray. These were all 36-gun ships, apart from ''Nymphe'' and ''Arethusa'' with 38. The Western Frigate Squadron engaged a French squadron off the

Île de Batz The Île de Batz ( br, Enez Vaz) is an island off Roscoff in Brittany, France. Administratively, it is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Climate Île de Batz has a oceanic climate ( Köppen climate cla ...

on 23 April 1794. The squadron had sighted four strange sail which, upon closure, were identified as three French

s and a

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 ...

. The French squadron included the new French frigate which, at 44 guns, was the most powerful ship in action that day. ''Flora'' and ''Arethusa'' were the first to close with ''Pomone'' and , the corvette of 20 guns. The opening shots were fired just before 6 a.m. For about forty-five minutes, the four ships manoeuvred against one another without any severe damage being done. Then ''Flora'' lost her mainmast and was forced to drop astern. With ''Flora'' out of action, Pellew ordered ''Arethusa'' to close with the corvette. ''Arethusa''s carronades quickly destroyed her resistance. Leaving ''Babet'' to be finished by ''Melampus'', ''Arethusa'' then engaged ''Pomone'', coming to within pistol range at 8.30 a.m. and raking her repeatedly. Within twenty-five minutes one of the finest new French frigates was a ruin, her main and mizzen masts shot away and a fire burning on her aft deck. Just after 9 a.m., ''Pomone'' struck her colors. ''Melampus'' and ''Arethusa'' captured ''Babet''. The action had cost ''Babet'' some 30 to 40 of her crew killed and wounded. ''Arethusa'' also captured ''Pomone'' which had between eighty and a hundred dead or wounded out of her 350-man complement. ''Arethusa'' had three men killed and five wounded, a tribute to her superior gunnery. The captured vessels were brought her into

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

, arriving on 30 April. The Royal Navy took ''Babet'' and ''Pomone'' into service under their existing names. Additionally ''Concorde'' captured ''Engageante'' in this action. ''Engageante'' suffered 30 to 40 men killed and wounded. ''Concorde'' lost one man killed and 12 wounded. Heavy mast damage to both vessels delayed their return to Portsmouth. ''Engageante'' was taken into British service as a

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. I ...

. Some four months later, on 23 August, ''Arethusa'' and ''Flora'' sent their boats into

Audierne Audierne (; br, Gwaien) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016 the former commune of Esquibien merged into Audierne.Alerte'' and ''Espion'', driving them ashore. The British took 52 prisoners. On 21 October, the British frigate captured at the action of 21 October 1794. ''Artois'' shared the prize money with the other frigates in her squadron, ''Arethusa'', , and . On 31 January 1795 ''Arethusa'' was part of a squadron under Captain Sir

that captured the Dutch East India ship ''Ostenhuyson''. Later that year ''Arethusa'', under the command of Captain Mark Robinson, was one of the Royal Navy vessels under Borlase Warren's command that participated in the unsuccessful

Quiberon Expedition The invasion of France in 1795 or the Battle of Quiberon was a major landing on the Quiberon peninsula by émigré, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the Chouannerie and Vendée Revolt, beginning on 23 June and finally definitively ...

. ''Arethusa'' was part of a fleet under the command of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Sir Henry Harvey, commander-in-chief for the Navy 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 Sea North Atlantic Ocean , co ...

, aboard , that in February 1797 captured the Spanish-held Caribbean island of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

. The flotilla sailed from

Carriacou Carriacou is an island of the Grenadine Islands. It is a dependency of Grenada, and is located in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island Grenada and the north coast of South America. The name is derived from the Carib lang ...

on 15 February and arrived off

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a muni ...

the next day. At Port of Spain they found a Spanish squadron consisting of four

ships 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 ...

and a frigate, all under the command of Rear-Admiral Don Sebastian Ruiz de Apodaca. Harvey sent and some of the other smaller ships to protect the transports and anchored his own ships of the line opposite the Spanish squadron. At 2am on 17 February the British discovered that four of the five Spanish vessels were on fire; they were able to capture the 74-gun ''San Domaso'' but the others were destroyed. Later that morning General Sir

Ralph Abercrombie Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British people, British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Gov ...

landed the troops. Captain Wolley of ''Arethusa'' superintended the landing. The Governor of Trinidad,

José Maria Chacón José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

, surrendered the next day. The flotilla shared in the allocation of £40,000 for the proceeds of the ships taken at Trinidad and of the property found on the island. On 17 April, ''Arethusa'', along with 60 other warships and transports, appeared off the Spanish colonial port city of

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...

. The fleet landed a 7,000-man invasion force of

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...

, German mercenaries, and black militia troops from the island of

Tobago Tobago () is an island and ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trinidad and about off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. It also lies to the southeast of Grenada. The offic ...

, commanded by General Sir Ralph Abercromby (also spelled "Abercrombie"). However, the resolute Spanish defense forced the British to withdraw after two weeks. At daybreak on 10 August, ''Arethusa'', commanded by Captain Thomas Wolley, was in the Atlantic Ocean at when she sighted three ships to

windward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

. At 7:30 a.m. one of the ships bore down to within half gunshot, and opened fire. She proved to be the French 514-ton corvette ''Gaieté'', commanded by ''

Enseigne de vaisseau Ensign (; Middle English#Late Middle English, Late Middle English, from Old French (), from Latin (plural)) is a junior rank of a Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normal ...

'' Jean-François Guignier. Having taken on a ship almost twice her size, mounting forty-four 18-pounder guns, there could only be one outcome, and the French ship was captured within half an hour, having sustained considerable damage to her sails and rigging, and lost two seamen killed and eight wounded. ''Arethusa'' lost one seaman killed, and the captain's clerk and two seamen wounded. The Royal Navy took ''Gaieté'' into service as . On 22 August 1798 a force of 1,100 French soldiers landed in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

to support a major rebellion in Ireland and the militias across the whole of the south of England were mobilized. On 30 August ''Arethusa'' arrived at Portsmouth from the coast of France and immediately sailed for Southampton River to embark the Dorset and Devon Militias In May 1799 ''Arethusa'' came upon seven enemy vessels which made to engage her, but then turned away when she sailed towards them in "a spirited style". ''Arethusa'' captured one, an armed ship, which was carrying sundries from

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to ref ...

. took the prize into

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, 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 ...

on the 23rd while ''Arethusa'' sailed off in search of the other six.

Napoleonic Wars

On 12 December 1805, ''Arethusa'', and left Cork, escorting a convoy of 23 merchant vessels. Four days later the convoy encountered a French squadron consisting of five ships of the line and four sailing frigates, as well as nine other vessels that were too far away for assessment. A letter writer to the ''Naval Chronicle'', describing the encounter, surmised that the distant vessels were the Africa squadron that had been escorted by and that they had captured. On this occasion, the British warships and six merchant vessels went one way and the rest went another way. The French chased the warships and the six for a day, ignored the 17, and eventually gave up their pursuit. ''Boadicea'' then shadowed the French while ''Wasp'' went back to French and Spanish coasts to alert the British warships there. ''Arethusa'' and her six charges encountered the French squadron again the next day, but after a desultory pursuit the French sailed off. During the action of 23 August 1806, ''Arethusa'' and captured the Spanish frigate ''Pomona'', as well as destroying a shore battery and defeating a fleet of gunboats. The captured frigate was taken into the Royal Navy as . Capture of Curacoa

On 1 January 1807 ''Arethusa'', , , , and captured

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coa ...

. The Dutch resisted and ''Arethusa'' lost two men killed and five wounded; in all, the British lost three killed and 14 wounded. On the ships alone, the Dutch lost six men killed, including Commandant Cornelius J. Evertz, who commanded the Dutch naval force in Curaçao and seven wounded, of whom one died later. With the colony, the British captured the frigate ''Kenau Hasselar'', the sloop ''Suriname'' (a former Royal Naval sloop), and two naval schooners. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Curacoa 1 Jany. 1807" to any surviving claimants from the action; 65 medals were issued. On 29 November 1808, ''Arethusa'' was some north west of

Alderney Alderney (; french: Aurigny ; Auregnais: ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making i ...

when she sighted and gave chase to a

lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively ...

making for the coast of France. After four hours ''Arethusa'' captured her quarry, which turned out to be the privateer , of

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, but eight days out of

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Febr ...

without having made any captures. She was armed with 16 guns and had a crew of 58 men under the command of Jacques Antoine de Boulogne. Boulogne had some 15 years experience of successful cruising against British trade, all without ever having been captured. Captain Robert Mends, in his letter, was fulsome in his praise of ''Général Ernouf'', recommending that the Royal Navy acquire her. On 4 April 1809, , , and ''Arethusa'' encountered the newly built French frigate ''Niémen''. ''Amethyst'' and ''Emerald'' gave chase, with ''Emerald'' falling behind. ''Amethyst'' caught up the next day. ''Amethyst'' and ''Niémen'' engaged each other in a bitter battle. ''Arethusa'' arrived on the scene that evening, firing a couple of broadsides at the badly damaged French ship. Either at this point, or the next morning, ''Niémen'' surrendered. The Royal Navy took her into service as . Between 26 and 27 February, ''Arethusa'' and captured four vessels off the coast of Spain: the 1-gun ''Mouche No. 4'', ''Etiennette'', Charsier, master, ''Nancy'', Subibelle, master, and a chasse-maree of unknown name. ''Arethusa'' shared in the proceeds of the capture of ''Mouche No. 4'', which was under the command of M. Sorrel. A boat under the command of Lieutenant Joseph William Bazalgette of ''Resistance'', captured ''Mouche'' on 26 February 1809 in an action that resulted in the death of the ''lieutenant de vaiseau'' commanding her. In May 1811 ''Arethusa'' sailed to Cape Verde as escort to a convoy

East Indiamen East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

bound for the India and China. Captain Cofffin's orders were to separate from the convoy at Cape Verde, sail to Goree, and then cruise the coast of West Africa as far as the Island of Saint Thomas and back to Cape Verde, then returning to Spithead. While cruising the coast ''Arethusa'' was to examine bays and creeks looking for vessels engaged in the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. In late June ''Arethusa'' grounded on a sunken rock off Factory Island in the Isles de Los. Her launch reached Freetown, Sierra Leone on 1 July, and and sailed to her assistance, joined a few days later by . On 7 July ''Arethusa'', making six feet of water per hour, set sail for Freetown, together with ''Tigress'' ''Myrtle'', and ''Protector'', and ''Arethusa''s two prizes, the American schooner ''Hawke'' and ''Harriet''. They arrived at Freetown on 9 July. The court at Freetown condemned both ''Hawke'' and ''Harriet'', though ''Harriet'' was later restored to her owners. ''Arethusa'' was repaired at Freetown but cut her mission short and arrived back at Plymouth on 12 September for further repair and refitting.Grindal (2016), Location 3415.

Fate

''Arethusa'' was broken up in 1815.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * Sir Ralph Abercrombie's Expedition, ''The Times'', 9 June 1797. * Abercrombie to Dundas, 2 May 1797; C.O. 319/6. (Washington: Gideon & Co.) * Alonso, F. M. Flores (1998) ''The Caribbean in the XVIII Century and The British Attack to Puerto Rico in 1797''. (Puerto Rico: Publicaciones Puertorriqueñas). * * Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations; divisions et stations navales; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier : BB4 1 à 209 (1790-1804

* Gardiner, Robert (1994) ''The Heavy Frigate''. (London: Conway Maritime Press). * * * Rose, Newton ed. The Cambridge History of Foreign Policy, 1783–1919, Vol. II 1783–1870, Cambridge U. Press, 1940. * O'Byrne, William R. (1849) ''A naval biographical dictionary: comprising the life and services of every living officer in Her Majesty's navy, from the rank of admiral of the fleet to that of lieutenant, inclusive''. (London: J. Murray), vol. 1. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arethusa (1781) Minerva-class frigates 1781 ships Ships built in Bristol