French frigate Poursuivante (1798)
Fight of the Poursuivante against the HMS Hercules, 28 June 1803
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| History | |
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 France
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| Namesake: | “Chaser” |
| Builder: | Dunkirk shipyard. Design by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. |
| Laid down: | 20 February 1794 |
| Launched: | 23 May 1796 |
| Commissioned: | May 1798 |
| Struck: | 1 September 1805 |
| Homeport: | Bordeaux |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Romaine class frigate |
| Displacement: | 700 tonnes |
| Length: | 45.5 m (149 ft) |
| Beam: | 11.8 m (39 ft) |
| Draught: | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Armament: |
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| Armour: | Timber |
The Poursuivante ("chaser") was a Romaine class frigate of the French Navy.
In June 1800, the Poursuivante took part in the battle of Dunkirk under commander Oreille. In 1802, she departed Flushing to ferry troops to Saint-Domingue, under capitaine de vaisseau Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez. She arrived as the Haitian Revolution raged. The ships Duguay-Trouin, Annibal and Swiftsure, as well as frigate Précieuse, Infatigable were also in Haiti. General Pamphile Lacroix ordered the Blacks of the island to be drowned, and the ships started throwing the Blacks of the island overboard. Only Willaumez refused the order, arguing that “sailors of the French Navy were no executioners”.
On 18 May 1803, after the Treaty of Amiens was cancelled and war broke out between France and the Great Britain. En route for Saint-Domingue with the 16-gun corvette Mignonne, she encountered a British convoy, was chased by the HMS Hercule, and took part in the fights of the Blockade of Saint-Domingue. Largely outgunned, the Poursuivante managed to manoeuvre behind the Hercule and in the Action of 28 June 1803, managed to rake her, disturbing her operations enough to be able to reach harbour. Mignonne was captured by HMS Goliath
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