French frigate Désirée (1796)

Désirée was a Romaine-class frigate of the French Navy, launched at Dunkirk in 1794. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1800 and took her into service under her existing name. she was laid up in 1815, converted to a slop ship in 1823, and sold in 1832.

Capture of Désirée by HMS Dart
History
French Navy EnsignFrance
NameDésirée
Ordered19 March 1794
BuilderDunkirk
Laid down10 February 1794
Launched23 April 1796
RN EnsignGreat Britain
NameHMS Desiree
Acquired8 July 1800 by capture
FateSold 22 August 1832
General characteristics [1][2]
Class and typeRomaine-class frigate
Displacement700 tonnes
Tons burthen1,01650⁄94 (bm)
Length45.5 m (149 ft 3 in)
Beam11.8 m (38 ft 9 in)
Draught5 m (16 ft 5 in)
PropulsionSail
Complement
  • French:340
  • British: 264
Armament
  • French
    • Original: 24 × 24-pounder guns (upper deck) + 16 × 8-pounder guns (spar deck)
    • Later: 24 × 18-pounder guns + 12 × 8-pounder guns + 4 × 36-pounder obusier de vaisseau
  • British
    • Upper deck: 26 × 18-pounder guns
    • QD: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 8 × 32-pounder carronades
    • Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades
ArmourTimber

Capture

HMS Dart, under Patrick Campbell, captured Désirée on 8 July 1800 in the Raid on Dunkirk.[3] Many British vessels shared in the proceeds of the capture.[4]

British career
Desiree at Copenhagen, 1801

Desiree shared with Britomart in the proceeds of the capture on 5 January 1810 of Lynboom, Myden, master.[5]

On 7 May 1813, she was under the command of Captain Arthur Farquarh when she captured the American schooner Decatur.[lower-alpha 1]

On 17 July 1813 she captured the French privateer Esperance.[lower-alpha 2]

Fate

Desiree was laid up at Sheerness in August 1815. Between January and November 1823 she was fitted as a slop ship. She was sold for £2,020 on 22 August 1832 to Joseph Christie at Rotherhithe.[2]

Notes
  1. A first-class share of the prize money was worth £187 11s 3½d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £1 12s 5¼d.[6]
  2. A first-class share of the head money paid in October 1832 was worth £12 3s 6½d; a sixth-class share was worth 1s 1½d.[7]

Citations
  1. Winfield & Roberts (2015), pp. 105–6.
  2. Winfield (2008), p. 162.
  3. "No. 15274". The London Gazette. 5 July 1800. pp. 782–784.
  4. "No. 15297". The London Gazette. 27 September 1800. p. 1123.
  5. "No. 16527". The London Gazette. 1 October 1811. p. 1935.
  6. "No. 17025". The London Gazette. 17 June 1815. pp. 1171–1172.
  7. "No. 18981". The London Gazette. 2 October 1832. p. 2192.

References
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.
  • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.
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