''Immortalité'' was a of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. She took part in the

Expédition d'Irlande The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republica ...

, and was captured shortly after the

Battle of Tory Island The Battle of Tory Island (also known as the Battle of Donegal, Battle of Lough Swilly or Warren's Action) was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwest c ...

by . She was recommissioned in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

as HMS ''Immortalite'' and had an active career on the

Western Squadron The Western Squadron was a squadron or formation of the Royal Navy based at Plymouth Dockyard. It operated in waters of the English Channel, the Western Approaches, and the North Atlantic. It defended British trade sea lanes from 1650 to 1814 an ...

French Revolutionary Wars

As the merchant ship , Davidson, master, was sailing to England from Quebec with a cargo of wood, on 16 September 1800 she encountered the French

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding 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 o ...

''Bellone'', which captured her. However, four days later, ''Immortalite'' recaptured ''Monarch'', of 645 tons (bm), and sent her into Plymouth.

Napoleonic Wars

In the months before the resumption of war with France, the Navy started preparations that included impressing seamen. The crews of outbound Indiamen were an attractive target. and were sitting in the Thames in March 1803, taking their crews on board just prior to sailing. At sunset, a press gang from ''Immortalite'' rowed up to ''Woodford'', while boats from and approached ''Ganges''. As the press gangs approached they were noticed, and the crews of both Indiamen were piped to quarters. That is, they assembled on the decks armed with pikes and cutlasses, and anything they could throw. The officers in charge of the press gangs thought this mere bravado and pulled alongside the Indiamen, only to meet a severe resistance from the crewmen, who had absolutely no desire to serve in the

. The men from ''Immortalite'' suffered several injuries from shot and pike that were thrown at them, and eventually opened fire with muskets, killing two sailors on ''Woodford''. Even so, the press gangs were not able to get on board either Indiaman, and eventually withdrew some distance. When ''Woodford''s officers finally permitted the press gang from ''Immortalite'' to board, all they found on board were a few sickly sailors.Crawford (1851), pp. 103–7.

Fate

''Immortalite'' was broken up in July 1806.

Citations

References

*Crawford, Abraham (1851) ''Reminiscences of a Naval Officer, During the Late War: With Sketches and Anecdotes of Distinguished Commanders, Volume 1''. (H. Colburn). *

External links

Naval Database

Age of Nelson Website – HMS ''Immortalite''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Immortalite (1795) Age of Sail frigates of France Romaine-class frigates 1795 ships Ships built in France Captured ships Frigates of the Royal Navy