HMS Imogen (1800)
| History | |
|---|---|
 France
|
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| Name: | Diable à Quatre |
| Builder: | Bordeaux |
| Launched: | 1792 |
| Commissioned: | 1799 |
| Fate: | Captured 1800 |
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | HMS Imogen |
| Acquired: | by capture, 1800 |
| Commissioned: | 1801 |
| Fate: | Foundered 1805 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Sloop |
| Displacement: | 350 tons (French) |
| Tons burthen: | 399 91⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 29 ft 4 in (8.9 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 15 ft 0 in (4.6 m) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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HMS Imogen (or Imogene) was the French privateer Diable á Quatre, built at Bordeaux in 1792, that Thames and Immortalite captured in 1800. The Royal Navy took her into service in 1801 as HMS Imogen. She foundered in 1805.
Diable à Quatre was believed to have been built in 1792. She was commissioned as a privateer corvette at Bordeaux in October 1799, under the command of a Le Mestre or Le Maître.
On 26 October 1800 Thames encountered a French privateer at about 9:30 in the morning. Thames pursued her quarry for five hours. During the pursuit they came upon Immortalite, which joined in. The two British vessels finally captured Diable à Quatre some 36 leagues from the Cordouan lighthouse. She was armed with sixteen 6 and 12-pounder guns and had a crew of 150 men. She was only one day out of Bordeaux. Captain William Lukin of Thames described Diable a Quatre as "a fast Sailer, and is extremely well found".Beaulieu shared in the prize money for Diable à Quatre.
The Royal Navy took her into service as Imogen. The Naval Chronicle reported that on 6 March 1801, "that beautiful corvette La Diable Quatre, of 22 guns, was this day taken into Government service, at the price of £2,500, exclusive of her apparel, guns, and furniture."
The Royal Navy renamed Diable Imogen. Between May and August 1801, Imogen was at Plymouth, fitting out. There, in June Commander Richard Prater commissioned her. The new name apparently took some time to take.
The Naval Chronicle reported that on 28 October "Diable in Quatre" and Rosario had come into Plymouth Sound. Then on 15 November, Diable à Quatre was reported coming into Plymouth from a cruise. Finally, the Naval Chronicle reported that on 31 December, Imogene had come into Plymouth Sound from a cruise.
In November 1801, Commander Henry Vaughn replaced Prater.
After the signing of the Treaty of Amiens, ending the French Revolutionary Wars, on 14 April 1802 Imogene was one of several naval vessels transporting to Wexford, Waterford, Dublin, and Belfast Irish seamen who had been paid off at war's end. The Naval Chronicle opined that "this measure saves the gallant tars much expense, and reflects the highest credit on the Board of Admiralty."
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Wikipedia