French corvette Republicaine (1795)

Republicaine
Career (France)
Name: Republicaine
Acquired: 1795 by requisition
Captured: October 1795
Career (UK)
Name: Republican
Acquired: by capture October 1795
Fate: Sold 1803
General characteristics [1][2]
Tons burthen:200 (bm)
Complement:French service:240-250 men (including passengers) at capture
British service:100
Armament:French service: 18 x 4-pounder guns
British service: 18 guns

The French corvette Républicaine (AKA Republican and Republique) was a merchant ship that the French Navy requisitioned in 1795 at Grenada. On 14 October 1795 Mermaid captured her in the Leeward Islands. The Royal Navy took Republicaine into service as HMS Republican, a lugger of 18 guns. It is not clear that Republican was ever commissioned. The Navy sold her at Grenada in 1803.

Capture

On 10 October 1795 Mermaid captured the 10-gun French brig Brutus off Grenada.[3] Brutus had been in the company of a ship, which temporarily escaped. However, on 14 October Mermaid was able to find and capture the ship after a fight of half an hour that cost Mermaid one man killed and three men wounded. The French ship was the French corvette Républicaine, and she was armed with eighteen guns. She had some 250-260 men aboard at the start of the action, one of whom was a French general, with his staff, on his way to take command of Grenada. In the action, the French lost 20 men killed and some wounded.[3] Zebra shared by agreement.[4] The Royal Navy took Republicaine into service as HMS Republican.[1]

Citations and references

Citations
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Winfield and Roberts (2015 forthcoming), Chap. 7.
  2. ↑ Winfield (2008), p.356.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 The London Gazette: no. 13849. p. 9. 2 January 1796.
  4. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 15205. p. 1201. 19 November 1799.
References