French corvette Republicaine (1795)

Republicaine
History
France
Name: Republicaine
Acquired: 1795 by requisition
Captured: October 1795
UK
Name: Republican
Acquired: by capture October 1795
Fate: Sold 1803
General characteristics [1][2]
Tons burthen: 200 (bm)
Complement:
  • French service:240-250 men (including passengers) at capture
  • British service:100
Armament:
  • French service: 18 x 4-pounder guns
  • British service: 18 guns

The French corvette Républicaine (AKA Republican and Republique) was a merchant ship that the French Navy requisitioned in 1795 at Grenada. On 14 October 1795 Mermaid captured her in the Leeward Islands. The Royal Navy took Republicaine into service as HMS Republican, a lugger of 18 guns. It is not clear that Republican was ever commissioned. The Navy sold her at Grenada in 1803.

French service

On 5 September 1794, the ship Esther, Devonish, master, encountered Republicaine, which Devonish described as being armed with twenty 6-pounder guns and 18 swivel guns, and having a crew of 100-150 men.[Note 1] At 5p.m. a four-hour engagement commenced, that resumed the next morning, when after two-and-a-half hours Republicaine withdrew. Esther had one man fatally wounded, her mate, out of a crew of 18 men and three boys.[3][Note 2]

Capture

On 10 October 1795 Mermaid captured the 10-gun French brig Brutus off Grenada.[4] Brutus had been in the company of a ship, which temporarily escaped. However, on 14 October Mermaid was able to find and capture the ship after a fight of half an hour that cost Mermaid one man killed and three men wounded. The French ship was the French corvette Républicaine, and she was armed with eighteen guns. She had some 250-260 men aboard at the start of the action, one of whom was a French general, with his staff, on his way to take command of Grenada. In the action, the French lost 20 men killed and some wounded.[4] Zebra shared by agreement.[5] The Royal Navy took Republicaine into service as HMS Republican.[1]

Notes, citations and references

Notes
  1. ↑ Although this engagement occurred before the French Navy acquired Republicaine, Powell identifies Republicaine as the vessel the Royal Navy later captured.[3]
  2. ↑ When Esther arrived at port she accidentally sank, with the loss of her entire cargo. Esther was refloated on 9 October and in November sailed again. The French succeeded in capturing her on 24 October 1795 as Esther was sailing from Jamaica to London.[3]
Citations
  1. 1 2 Winfield and Roberts (2015), p. 7.
  2. ↑ Winfield (2008), p.356.
  3. 1 2 3 Powell (1930), pp.333-4.
  4. 1 2 The London Gazette: no. 13849. p. 9. 2 January 1796.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 15205. p. 1201. 19 November 1799.
References
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