French brig Ligurienne (1798)

Garnier designed Ligurienne to plans by François-Frédéric Poncet, following the design specifications of General Napoleon Bonaparte. What Napoleon wanted was a ship whose hull could be split into eight sections, joined by screw bolts so that she could be dismantled, carried in 10 wagons over land, and then be re-assembled on reaching water again. This would permit the French to transfer the ship from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, there being no Suez Canal at the time.[1] She had 16 gun-ports, and seven small ports for oars.[2]

On 21 March 1800, HMS Peterel and HMS Mermaid captured Ligurienne while she was off Marseilles escorting a convoy from Cette to Toulon.[1] Ligurienne was under the command of Lieutenant de vaisseau François Auguste Pelabon.

Her consorts, the demi-chébecs Cerf and Lejoille, ran aground; Ligurienne resisted until 6pm before striking her colours.[3] The French apparently were able later to refloat Cerf and Lejoille.

Peterel, under the command of Francis Austen, the brother of author Jane Austen and future admiral of the fleet, was sailing near Marseille with the frigate Mermaid. On 21 March 1800, Peterel spotted a large convoy with three escorts: the brig-sloop Ligurienne, armed with fourteen brass 6-pounder guns and two brass 36-pounder howitzers, the corvette Cerf, of fourteen 6-pounder guns, and the xebec Lejoille, of six 6-pounder guns.[4] Peterel captured a bark of 350 tons and a bombarde (ketch) of 150 tons, both carrying wheat and which their crews had abandoned, and sent them off with prize crews;[4] later that afternoon the escorts caught up to Peterel and attacked. Mermaid was in sight but a great distance to leeward and so unable to assist. Single-handedly, Peterel drove Cerf and Lejoille on shore, and after a 90-minute battle captured Ligurienne, which lost Pelabon and one sailor killed and two sailors wounded out of her crew of 104 men; there were no British casualties.[4] Some British accounts declare that Cerf was a total loss but that the French were able to salvage Lejoille.[5] The whole action took place under the guns of two shore batteries and so close to shore that Peterel grounded for a few minutes.

One month after the action, Austen received promotion post captain.[6] In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Peterel 21 March 1800" to the two surviving claimants from the action.

The British sent Ligurienne into Plymouth. Austen recommended, without success, that the Navy purchase Ligurienne, which was less than two years old.[4]

• Henderson, James (1972). "Jane's Brother". Sloops and Brigs: an account of the lesser warships during the great wars from 1793 to 1815. London: Adlard Coles Ltd. ISBN 0-229-98644-7.
• Long, William H. (1895) Medals of the British navy and how they were won: with a list of those officers, who for their gallant conduct were granted honorary swords and plate by the Committee of the Patriotic Fund. (London: Norie & Wilson).
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, 1671 - 1870. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 282. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
• Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France. Vol. 3. Challamel ainé.
• Winfield, Rif & Stephen S Roberts (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 - 1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. (Seaforth Publishing). ISBN 9781848322042