French frigate Uranie (1800)

Uranie was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her two-vessel class.

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Uranie.
History
France
Name: Uranie
Namesake: Urania
Builder: Louis, Antoine, and Mathurin Crucy, Basse-Indre, Nantes; Constructeur: Pierre Degay
Laid down: 24 September 1796
Launched: 30 October 1800
In service: April 1801
Fate: Scuttled by fire on 3 February 1814
General characteristics [1]
Displacement: 1,350 tons (French)
Length:
  • 47.26 m (155.1 ft) (overall)
  • 45.00 m (147.64 ft) (keel)
Beam: 12.18 m (40.0 ft)
Draught: 5.85 m (19.2 ft)
Propulsion: Sail
Complement:
  • 340 (wartime)
  • 260 (peacetime)
Armament:
  • UD:28 x 18-pounder long guns
  • Spardeck: 12 x 8-pounders + 4 x 36-pounder obusiers
Armour: Timber

Career

She served in the Mediterranean, first under captain Maistral, and later under Margollé, operating from Ancona.

On 6 July 1803, HMS Redbridge sailed from Malta carrying some supernumeraries for Admiral Nelson's fleet and escorting the transport Caroline, Dandison, master, which was carrying water.[2] On the evening of 3 August Redbridge encountered the frigate HMS Phoebe. Next morning Phoebe and Redbridge sighted four sail. Phoebe advised that they were probably French and the British ships set sail to escape. Phoebe was able to outpace their pursuers, but Redbridge was not and fell prey to them.[3]

The four sail were a squadron of French frigates, Cornélie, Rhin, Uranie, and Tamise,[4] and possibly some corvettes that had sortied in the night from Toulon. The French also captured the transport.[5] Redbridge's actual captor was Cornélie.[6] Admiral Nelson attempted to send into Toulon a boat under a flag of truce offering the French a prisoner exchange, but the French refused his letter and proposal.[5]

On 29 September 1810, the newly arrived French frigates Favorite, under Bernard Dubourdieu, and Uranie joined the Venetian squadron of Corona, Bellona, and Carolina. The force then sailed from Chiozzo to Ancona, arriving on 6 October, having sighted Hoste's Amphion in the distance during the passage.[7]

On 27 November 1811, HMS Eagle chased the French frigates Uranie and Corcyre (armed en flute), and corvette Scemplone near Fano. Uranie and Scemplone escaped but Eagle was able to overhaul and capture Corceyre.[8]

Fate

Uranie escaped from Ancona on 16 January 1814. She encountered HMS Cerberus and to avoid her took refuge in Brindisi. HMS Apollo and HMS Havannah then arrived at Brindisi and anchored outside the port. Captain John Taylor, of Apollo then sent a message to the authorities at Brindisi that he understood that the Neapolitan Government had joined the Allies and declared war on the French, and why a French vessel was sheltering there. When Apollo appeared on the scene and made signs of being about to enter the port, Uranie's captain removed the powder from his ship and set her on fire.[9][Note 1]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

  1. A first-class share of the head money for the destruction of the Uranie was worth £159 9s 7¾d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £1 0s 8½d.[10]

Citations

  1. Winfield & Roberts (2015), pp. 142-3.
  2. Lloyd's List, no.4391, - accessed 10 October 2014.
  3. Hepper (1994), p. 94.
  4. The Fireside Book: A Miscellany (1837), V.1, p.397.
  5. Nicholas and Nelson (1845), Vol. 5, p. 153.
  6. Winfield (2008), p. 385.
  7. James, Vol 5, p. 56.
  8. James, Vol. 5, p. 375
  9. "No. 16876". The London Gazette. 2 April 1814. p. 700.
  10. "No. 17389". The London Gazette. 18 August 1818. p. 1478.

References

  • Nicolas, Nicholas Harris and Horatio Nelson (1845) The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson, with Notes, Volume 5. (Colburn).
  • Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650–1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 0-948864-30-3.
  • James, William (1837). The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. R. Bentley.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
  • 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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