French brig Voltigeur (1804)
| History | |
|---|---|
 France
|
|
| Name: | Voltigeur |
| Ordered: | 18 April 1804 (contract) |
| Builder: | Danet (Antwerp) |
| Laid down: | June 1803 |
| Launched: | 7 September 1804 |
| Completed: | 24 September 1804 |
| Captured: | 26 March 1806 |
 UK
|
|
| Name: | Pelican |
| Acquired: | 26 March 1806 by capture |
| Fate: | sold 16 April 1812 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Palinure-class Brig |
| Displacement: | 280 tons (French) |
| Tons burthen: | 328 4⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 28 ft 5 in (8.7 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 8 ft 1 1⁄2 in (2.5 m) |
| Sail plan: | Brig |
| Complement: |
|
| Armament: |
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The French brig Voltigeur was a Palinure-class brig launched in 1804. The British captured her in 1806 and renamed her HMS Pelican. She was sold in 1812.
In late 1805, the sister-ships Phaeton and Voltigeur, both armed with 16 guns and having crews of 120 men and 115 men, were under the command of Lieutenants de vaisseau Louis-Henri Saulces de Freycinet and Jacques Saint-Cricq. They cruised the coasts of Schleswig-Holstein before they set sail for Santo Domingo. On 24 March, a little south-east of Puerto Rico, they encountered Reindeer and exchanged fire for about four hours before nightfall ended the encounter. During that engagement the French vessels had suffered damage and possibly casualties. They then sailed towards Curacoa. )
Two days later, on 27 March 1806, Pique, under the command of Captain Charles B.H. Ross, was sailing from Santo Domingo to Curacoa when she encountered two French navy brigs. At 1pm, Pique began firing at long range, and by 2pm had caught up with them. After an intensive cannonade that lasted some 20 minutes, Pique was able to send a boarding party aboard one of the two French vessels. A terrible struggle ensued before the French vessel struck. The French crew had concealed themselves under sails and in the wreckage, emerging once the boarding party arrived and subjecting it to a devastating fusillade that killed or wounded most of the boarding party. Ross then sent over more men, before returning to the chase of the second brig. After the exchange of several more broadsides, the second French vessel struck. The two French brigs were Phaeton and Voltigeur.
Pique had one man wounded during the chase, and nine men killed and 13 wounded during the boarding of Phaeton. Ross estimated that the French vessels had lost half their crews dead and wounded. Later reports suggested that although French casualties on Phaeton had been heavy, those on Voltigeur were slight.
The British took Phaeton into service as Mignonne, and Voltigeur as Pelican. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Pique 26 March 1806" to all surviving claimants from the action.
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Wikipedia