Virginie was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of its class.
 Virginie fighting HMS Indefatigable
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
  France | |
| Name | Virginie |
| Ordered | 17 October 1793 |
| Builder | Brest |
| Laid down | March 1794 |
| Launched | 26 July 1794 |
| In service | December 1794 |
| Captured | 22 April 1796 |
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Virginie |
| Acquired | 22 April 1796 |
| Out of service | 1827 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Virginie-class frigate |
| Displacement | 1400 tonnes |
| Length | 47.4 m (156 ft) |
| Beam | 11.9 m (39 ft) |
| Draught | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
| Armament |
|
Career
editFrench service
editShe took part in the First Battle of Groix and in the Battle of Groix.
On 22 April 1796, Virginie was cruising off Ireland under captain Jacques Bergeret when she encountered a British squadron under Commodore Edward Pellew, comprising the Razee 44 gun HMS Indefatigable and the frigates Argo, Concord, Révolutionnaire, Amazon and their prize Unité, captured on 13 April.[1]
Virginie retreated and the British squadron gave chase, joining with the French frigate around 23:00. Indefatigable closed in and exchanged broadsides, without succeeding in her attempts at raking Virginie. The gunnery exchange lasted for 4 hours, until the British frigates caught up. Bergeret then struck his colours in the face of an overwhelming opponent.[1][Note 1]
She was subsequently recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Virginie.
British service
editIn January 1799, Virginie was with British squadron at the defence of Macau during the Macau Incident.
On 20 May 1808, she captured the Dutch frigate Guelderland.
In Royal Navy service the armament consisted of 46 guns:
- 8 carronades (32-pounders) on the quarterdeck and forecastle
- 28 long ordnances (18-pounders) on the main deck
- 10 long ordnances (9-pounders) on the quarterdeck and forecastle[3]
Notes
edit- ^ Britain returned Bergeret in exchange for Sir Sidney Smith, whom the French had captured. However, the Convention rejected the exchange, refusing to release Smith. Bergeret honoured his parole and returned to Plymouth on the cartel Displai, which was returning the officers from Arab.[2]
Citations
editReferences
edit- Grocott, Terence (1997) Shipwrecks of the revolutionary & Napoleonic eras (Chatham). ISBN 1-86176-030-2
- Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). "Virginie". Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
- Naval Database Archived 2005-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
- Lines of Virginie at the National Maritime Museum
External links
edit
Media related to Virginie (ship, 1794) at Wikimedia Commons
