''Vénus'' was a 40-gun of the

French Imperial Navy The French Imperial Navy () was the navy of the First French Empire which existed between 1804 and 1815. It was formed in May 1804 from the navy of the French First Republic, and spent its existence fighting against the Royal Navy in concert with ...

. She was captured in 1810 by 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 ...

, and taken into British service as HMS ''Nereide''. She was broken up in 1816.

French service

On 10 November 1808, she departed Cherbourg, bound for

Île de France Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino aci ...

, where she served as Rear-Adm

Hamelin Hameln ( ; ) is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hameln-Pyrmont and has a population of roughly 57,000. Hamelin is best known for the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. History Hameln ...

's flagship, leading a squadron also comprising the frigate ''

Manche Manche (, ; Norman language, Norman: ) is a coastal Departments of France, French ''département'' in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by ...

'' and the sloop ''

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''. On the 29 and 30 December 1808, she captured and destroyed the East Indiamen ''Hiran'' and ''Albion''. On 4 November 1809, she captured the East Indiaman ''Lady Bentick'' and the American merchantman ''Samson''. She was central in the action of 18 November 1809, where the squadron captured three armed East Indiamen, including ''Windham''. From 20 to 26 August 1810, ''Vénus '' took a minor part in the

Battle of Grand Port The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle fought on 20–27 August 1810 between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France (now Mauritius), as part of ...

. On 17–18 September 1810, along with the privateer corvette ''Victor'', ''Vénus '' captured the 40-gun HMS ''Ceylon'', losing her fore-mast and her topgallant masts in the process. The next day, a British squadron composed of HMS ''Boadicea'', HMS ''Otter'' and the brig HMS ''Staunch'' captured ''Vénus'' and recaptured ''Ceylon''. ''Victor'' managed to escape.

British service

''Vénus'' was brought into British service as HMS ''Nereide'', in honour of the defence of HMS ''Nereide'' at Grand Port. She subsequently took part in the blockade and surrender of

Fate

She was broken up in 1816.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Venus (1808) Gloire-class frigates Age of Sail frigates of France Ships built in France 1806 ships Captured ships