The Battle of the Basque Roads

[Bligh]

HMS Imperieuse .





She was a 38-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Built in Ferrol, Spain, for the Spanish Navy she was launched as Medea in 1797. In 1804 she was part of a squadron carrying gold from South America to Spain that was seized by the British while Spain and Britain were at peace. Medea was subsequently taken into service with the Royal Navy and was briefly named HMS Iphigenia before being renamed Imperieuse in 1805.



In 1806 command of Imperieuse was given to Lord Cochrane. She was dispatched to the Mediterranean where she undertook a series of notable exploits, capturing a large number of war prizes and carrying out raids against enemy positions along the French and Spanish coastline. After a brief return to England, Imperieuse assisted with the attack on the French fleet at Basque Roads in 1809. During the battle she was heavily engaged, assisting with the destruction of four French ships of the line and a frigate. Later that year she took part in the unsuccessful Walcheren Campaign.



In 1811 Imperieuse returned to the Mediterranean under the command of Henry Duncan where she was employed along the coast of Italy, operating with success against Neapolitan and French shipping and shore fortifications. She returned to England in 1814 and was paid off and placed in ordinary the following year. Converted to a quarantine ship in 1818, she was eventually sold and broken up in 1838.




Spanish service.



Medea was a 40-gun frigate of the Spanish Navy designed by Julian Martin de Retamosa. She was launched in Ferrol in November 1797, and was given the religious alias Santa Bárbara. Her dimensions were 147 feet 2 inches (44.9 m) along the gun deck, 122 feet 4 ¹⁄₄ inches (37.3 m) at the keel, with a beam of 40 feet 1 inch (12.2 m) and a depth in the hold of 12 feet (3.7 m). This made her 1,045  ​ tons burthen (bm).


Battle of Cape Santa Maria.



Action of 5 October 1804







Medea (fourth ship from the left) in close action with HMS Indefatigable.



In August 1804, Medea was commanded by Capitán Francisco de Piedrola y Verdugo when she departed Montevideo for Cadiz. She was accompanied by the frigates Fama, Mercedes and Santa Clara and carried Rear Admiral José de Bustamante y Guerra who assumed overall command of the squadron. Receiving intelligence the Spanish ships were laden with treasure that was to be used to bolster Spanish finances prior to a declaration of war against Great Britain, the Royal Navy sent a squadron of four frigates to seize the Spanish ships and their cargo.



The British intercepted the Spanish squadron off the southern coast of Portugal on 5 October and demanded their surrender but Bustamante refused. HMS Indefatigable, the British flagship commanded by Captain Graham Moore, fired a warning shot across Medea's bow and a general exchange of fire subsequently broke out between the squadrons. After ten minutes Mercedes was destroyed by an explosion in her magazine and soon after Santa Clara and Medea, which had been in close action with Indefatigable, both surrendered. Fama broke away in an attempt to escape but was captured hours later by HMS Lively. Medea suffered two killed and ten wounded. The capture of the squadron incited outrage in Spain and hastened a formal declaration of war against Britain in December.

British service.

The captured Medea arrived at Plymouth dockyard in October 1804 and was subsequently taken into service with the Royal Navy. She was initially registered as HMS Iphigenia but renamed HMS Imperieuse in December 1805. Between February and November 1806 she underwent a large repair at Plymouth. Classed as a 38-gun fifth-rate, she was given twenty-eight 18-pounder (8.2 kg) cannon on the upper deck, ten 32-pounder (15 kg) carronades on the quarterdeck and two 9-pounder (4.1 kg) and two 32-pounder (15 kg) carronades on her forecastle.

Bay of Biscay.

On 2 September 1806 Lord Cochrane was commissioned as the captain of Imperieuse. After her repairs were completed in November, Imperieuse joined a British squadron under Commodore Richard Keats stationed off Basque Roads. Cochrane was given orders to cruise independently of the squadron and captured two prizes off Les Sables d'Olonne on 19 December and another at the entrance of the Garonne on 31 December. On 7 January 1807 a number of boats from Imperieuse led by Lieutenant David Mapleton stormed a fort protecting the Arcachon Bay destroying its battery of four 36-pounders, two field guns and a 13-inch mortar. Requiring repairs to her rudder, Imperieuse returned to Plymouth in February 1807.

Mediterranean.

After Cochrane was given a leave of absence due to ill-health, Captain Alexander Skene took temporary command of Imperieuse and she sailed for Ushant to join a blockading fleet off Brest. She returned to Plymouth in August 1807 whereupon Cochrane resumed command and was given orders to escort a convoy of merchant ships to Malta. She arrived at Valletta in October and proceeded north to join the Mediterranean Fleet off Toulon. On 14 November, Imperieuse encountered an armed polacre off the coast of Montecristo which Cochrane suspected was a Genoese privateer. After the polacre's captain refused to allow boats from Imperieuse to investigate the ship, she was captured in a brief but violent boarding action which cost Imperieuse two killed and 13 wounded, and the privateer one dead and 15 wounded. However, the polacre later proved to be Maltese—a friendly vessel—operating under a letter of marque.








Lord Cochrane's exploits in the Mediterranean earned Imperieuse a reputation as a highly effective coastal raider


In December 1807, Imperieuse was given a two-month cruise in the Adriatic and seized three merchant vessels carrying illegal licences to trade. She was subsequently dispatched to the western Mediterranean in February where she sank two gunboats and captured a third off the coast of Cartagena, Spain. On 21 February 1808 Imperieuse launched a surprise attack on a French privateer—L'Orient—and two merchant vessels moored under the gun batteries at Almeria. Flying a neutral US flag—a legitimate ruse de guerre—she anchored alongside the privateer before swiftly hoisting her British colours and launching her boats in a cutting out expedition led by Lieutenant Edward Hunt Caulfield. Although the Spanish battery consequently opened fire, all three enemy vessels were taken with little damage. During the boarding action Caulfield was killed by a volley of musketry as he leapt aboard the privateer and 10 others were injured. After bringing her prizes in to Gibraltar, Imperieuse sailed for the Balearic Islands on 5 March. Patrolling the coasts of Majorca and Menorca, she captured 10 small prizes and bombarded the Spanish army barracks at Ciutadella. She then proceeded to carry out a series of raids along the coast of Catalonia before returning to Gibraltar for a refit.



In June 1808, Spain switched allegiance and became an ally of Britain, and Cochrane was subsequently given orders by Vice Admiral Lord Collingwood, Commander of the Mediterranean fleet, to assist Spanish efforts to drive the French garrison out of Barcelona. Arriving at Port Mahon on 16 July, Imperieuse, HMS Hind and HMS Kent escorted a convoy of Spanish troops from Majorca to the mainland. Cochrane then proceeded to disrupt the French supply lines sending landing parties ashore to attack the main coastal road between Barcelona and Blanes and assisted Catalan militia in the capture of a castle at Montgat.



Imperieuse arrived off the mouth of the Rhône on 16 August and proceeded to destroy a string of signal stations and barracks along the French coast. On 7 September, Imperieuse was joined by HMS Spartan commanded by Captain Jahleel Brenton, and continued amphibious operations against the French. At dawn on 10 September, boats from Imperieuse and Spartan launched an attack on a series of gun batteries near Port-Vendres. Landing at the southernmost battery, the guns were briskly spiked and barracks blown up. As French troops gathered to respond to the threat, Cochrane and Brenton responded by sending a detachment of boats filled with the ship's boys disguised in the scarlet jackets of the Royal Marines to launch a diversionary attack to the north. Meanwhile the main assault successfully destroyed the remaining batteries while Imperieuse anchored close to the shore and drove back an advancing body of cavalry with grapeshot. Three days later Imperieuse and Spartan captured five merchant vessels and Spartan subsequently returned to port with the prizes while Imperieuse continued with her cruise.



Imperieuse arrived at the Gulf of Roses in November to assist with the defence of Rosas which was under siege by some 12,000 French and Italian troops under General Honoré Charles Reille. Situated on the coastal road linking France to Barcelona, the town was flanked by a citadel and a fort built on a promontory near the coast. Although a breach had been created by French cannon on high ground to the east, Cochrane assumed command of the fort and brought over two-thirds of his crew ashore to lay booby traps and bolster its defences. After gaining possession of the town the French launched an assault on the fort on 30 November which was repulsed with heavy losses inflicted on the attackers. However, on 5 December, the Spanish garrison in the citadel surrendered and Cochrane found his position in the fort untenable. Covered by the Imperieuse's guns, Cochrane and his men returned to their ship and set off demolition charges which partially destroyed the fort. Continuing northward along the Catalonian coast Imperieuse sighted a convoy of French merchant vessels moored near Cadaqués. Cochrane brought Imperieuse inshore and captured eleven vessels laden with supplies for the French army and the convoy's escorts—a 7-gun cutter and 5-gun lugger.




Battle of Basque Roads.






Imperieuse advancing on the grounded French fleet on the morning of the 12th of April 1809. Robert Dodd (1748–1815)

Imperieuse returned to Plymouth on 19 March 1809 and was ordered to depart again just 10 days later to join Admiral Lord Gambier's blockading squadron at Basque Roads, France. A French fleet lay at anchor in the narrow roadstead and the British Admiralty sought to destroy it by means of a fire ship attack planned and executed by Cochrane. Arriving at Basque Roads on 3 April Cochrane took Imperieuse inshore to reconnoitre the French position and began preparations for an assault against the eleven French ships of the line and two frigates anchored in a narrow channel under the batteries of the Île-d'Aix. On 11 April, three explosion vessels and 20 fire ships were launched against the French position while Imperieuse, HMS Aigle, HMS Pallas and HMS Unicorn took up position north of the anchorage to receive the crews returning from the fire ships. Although the fire ships inflicted only minor damage, all but two French vessels ran aground in the estuary of the River Charente while attempting to escape the threat.



Imperieuse was the closest British ship to the anchorage and the first to observe the grounded French fleet at dawn the following day. Cochrane was eager to follow up the attack and spent the morning issuing a frantic series of signals to Gambier imploring him to dispatch the British fleet which were ignored. As a consequence Cochrane allowed Imperieuse to slowly drift towards the French ships and made a final signal which he believed Gambier could not overlook: "The ship is in distress and requires to be assisted immediately". Imperieuse subsequently brought her starboard broadside to bear upon Calcutta, Aquilon and Ville de Varsovie, and opened fire, inflicting severe damage upon the Calcutta's hull. Gambier reluctantly dispatched a squadron of British ships to support Imperieuse prompting the demoralised crew of the Calcutta to abandon ship. Cochrane sent boats to take possession of her but the vessel was mistakenly set on fire and destroyed. The British reinforcements formed a line of battle and opened fire, forcing the surrender of two ships of the line and the scuttling of another. During the engagement Imperieuse suffered extensive damage to her masts, rigging and sails in addition to three dead and eleven wounded.



The British ships were ordered to return to the main fleet in Basque Roads at dawn the following day but Imperieuse remained—Cochrane argued the orders only applied to his reinforcements—and she was joined by Pallas, HMS Beagle, HMS Aetna and eight other smaller ships. Cochrane ordered a renewed attack on the remaining grounded ships but it had little effect. On the morning of 14 April Gambier directed a signal of recall to the Imperieuse and the next day she was ordered back to England with Gambier's dispatches.

Walcheren Campaign.

After creating a scandal by publicly denouncing Gambier's conduct at Basque Roads, Cochrane's naval career was ruined and he turned his attention to politics. In June 1809 command of Imperieuse passed to Captain Thomas Garth who set sail from the Downs on 30 July with a large British fleet bound for the Netherlands. The fleet formed part of the unsuccessful Walcheren Campaign – a joint expedition with the army that aimed to destroy French dockyards at Flushing and Antwerp. While ascending the River Scheldt on 16 August, Imperieuse mistakenly entered a channel which took her within range of a fort at Terneuzen. During an exchange of cannonade Imperieuse discharged a number of Shrapnel shells from her carronades, one of which exploded in the fort's magazine. Consequently, some 3,000 barrels of gunpowder exploded killing 75 men of the fort's garrison.

Return to the Mediterranean.

On 22 September 1810, Captain Henry Duncan assumed command of Imperieuse in Gibraltar and in June the following year she was dispatched to the Mediterranean to join the Royal Navy's blockading fleet off Toulon. The commander of the fleet, Sir Edward Pellew, gave Imperieuse orders to patrol the coast of Naples and on 11 October Duncan discovered three gunboats moored under a fort at Positano. Boats from Imperieuse under the command of Lieutenant Eaton Stannard Travers were sent to silence the fort. Despite coming under heavy musket fire, the British sailors drove out the fort's defenders and destroyed the battery before returning to their boats and capturing two of the gunboats. During the attack one marine was killed and two crewmen injured while Imperieuse, which had come under heavy fire from the fort, had her foretopsail yard shot away.



Imperieuse was subsequently joined by the 32-gun frigate HMS Thames commanded by Captain Charles Napier. On 19 October, they anchored near Palinuro and dispatched their boats to the shore, capturing 10 armed polacres laden with oil.^[ Two days later they discovered 10 Neapolitan gunboats and several merchant vessels moored under a fort in the port at Palinuro. Deeming their numbers insufficient to attack the port, Duncan dispatched Thames to British-occupied Sicily to request reinforcements and on 28 October she returned with 250 men of the 62nd Regiment of Foot.^[ On 1 November the infantry and a party of marines and sailors launched their attack, capturing the high ground overlooking the harbour. The following morning Imperieuse and Thames bore down on the port and ran along within close range of the gunboats while discharging their broadsides, sinking two of the vessels and forcing the surrender of the others. They then anchored close to the fort and commenced a brisk cannonade that forced the fort to surrender within 30 minutes. Over the next two days the fort was blown up and once the troops re-embarked the two frigates departed with six gunboats and 22 feluccas and 20 large spars.






The Leviathan, Imperieuse, Curacoa, and Eclair attacking two towns on the coast of Genoa, June 27th 1812



In June 1812, Imperieuse was part of a squadron commanded by Captain Patrick Campbell of the 74-gun ship of the line HMS Leviathan patrolling the western coast of Italy. On 27 June, the squadron launched boats to attack a convoy of 18 French vessels anchored off Alassio and Laigueglia. Although the British destroyed two batteries on the shore, they encountered heavy resistance from the French defenders. Attempts to bring off the French vessels were abandoned and they were instead destroyed by the British guns. While carrying out the expedition Imperieuse sustained four killed and eleven wounded.



Later that year Imperieuse returned to Port Mahon for an extensive refit and while she was undergoing repairs Duncan was offered the command of the frigates HMS Resistance and HMS Undaunted. However, he decided to remain with Imperieuse after receiving a letter from the crew expressing their admiration for the captain and their desire for him to remain with the ship. In April 1813 Imperieuse departed Mahon leading a squadron of three frigates and two brigs to resume the blockade of Naples.



In September the squadron arrived off the Port of Anzio where it discovered a French convoy of 29 merchant vessels protected by two batteries on a mole, a tower to the north and another battery covering the mole to the south. The squadron was reinforced by the 74-gun HMS Edinburgh under Captain George Dundas on 5 October and an attack on the port was launched that same day. Imperieuse and Resistance took up position opposite the mole, HMS Swallow anchored near the tower while HMS Eclair, HMS Pylades and Edinburgh took station alongside the covering battery. After opening fire, a landing party led by Lieutenant Travers captured the southern battery while another of Imperieuse's officers, Lieutenant Mapleton, led a party that took possession of the mole. The batteries were subsequently blown up by the British and the entire convoy was captured without any losses sustained by the attackers.

Fate.

After the Treaty of Paris and the end of hostilities with France, Imperieuse returned to England in July 1814 and upon arrival Duncan was appointed to the newly built fifth-rate frigate HMS Glasgow. Imperieuse briefly came under the command of Captain Philip Dumaresq and Captain Joseph James before she was paid off and placed in ordinary at Sheerness in 1815. In 1818 she was converted to a lazarette (quarantine ship) and moved to Stangate Creek in the estuary of the River Medway. In September 1838, she was sold at Sheerness for £1,705 and subsequently broken up at Rotherhithe.

[Bligh]

HMS Aigle


She was a 36-gun, fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Ordered on 15 September 1799 and built at Bucklers Hard shipyard, she was launched 23 September 1801. More than fifty of her crew were involved in the Easton Massacre when she visited Portland in April 1803 to press recruits. Much of her career as a frigate was spent in home waters where she fought the Battle of Basque Roads in 1809; initially providing support to the crews of the fireships, then forcing the surrender of the stranded French ships, Varsovie and Aquilon. Later that year she left The Downs to take part in the Walcheren Campaign where she carried out a two-day long bombardment of Flushing, leading to its capitulation on 15 August.



In October 1811, Aigle was sent to the Mediterranean where she and her crew raided the island of Elba before being asked to provide naval support during the invasion and occupation of Genoa. Refitted in January 1820, her square stern was replaced with a circular one, giving her a wider angle of fire and improved protection at the rear. Converted to a corvette in 1831, she returned to the Mediterranean under Lord Paget. From 1852, she became a coal hulk, then a receiving ship before being used as a target for torpedoes and broken up in 1870.

Construction and armament.

History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Aigle
Ordered:	15 September 1798
Builder:	Balthazar and Edward Adams
Cost:	£14,335
Launched:	23 September 1801
Commissioned:	December 1802
General characteristics
Class and type:	Aigle-class fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen:	970 ​
Length:	·146 ft 2 in (44.6 m) (gundeck) ·122 ft 1 in (37.2 m) (keel)
Beam:	38 ft 8 in (11.8 m)
Depth of hold:	13 ft 0 in (4.0 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Fully Rigged Ship
Complement:	264
Armament:	·Gundeck: 26 × 18-pounder guns ·QD: 4 × 9-pounder guns + 8 × 32-pounder carronades ·Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades

Aigle was the first of two, Aigle-class frigates designed by naval surveyor, Sir John Henslow. Built under contract by Balthazar Adams, she was ordered on 15 September 1798 and her keel was laid down in November at Bucklers Hard shipyard in Hampshire. Launched on 23 September 1801, her dimensions were: 146 feet 2 inches (44.6 metres) along the gun deck, 122 ft 1 in (37.2 m) at the keel, with a beam of 38 ft 8 in (11.8 m) and a depth in the hold of 13 ft 0 in (4.0 m). This made her 970 ​tons burthen .



Although classed as a 36-gun fifth-rate, Aigle was armed with a main battery of twenty-six 18 pounders (8.2 kilograms) on her upper gun deck, four 9 pdr (4.1 kg) on the quarter deck and two on the forecastle. She additionally carried ten 32 pdr (15 kg) carronades, eight on the quarter deck and two on the forecastle.

Service.







A plaque in St George's Church, Portland, remembering two quarrymen, a blacksmith and a young lady who died during the Easton Massacre

Aigle was first commissioned for the English Channel, under Captain George Wolfe in December 1802. A large press gang from Aigle, of more than 50 marines and sailors, led by Wolfe, put ashore in Portland on 2 April 1803. In what became known as the Easton Massacre, a scuffle broke out between the inhabitants and Wolfe's forces. Several civilians were shot and four were killed, while sixteen members of the press gang received injuries. Nine were wounded so seriously they had to be discharged. Wolfe and three officers stood trial for murder but were acquitted and left Portland, aboard Aigle, on 10 April to continue their patrol in home waters. Taking a French frigate, Franchise on 28 May, Aigle went on to capture six merchant vessels over the course of a week. A French privateer, Alerte, of 14 guns was taken on 27 September, off Vigo.

Not far from the Cordouan Lighthouse, on 12 July 1804, Aigle encountered two French naval vessels, the 20-gun Charente and the 8-gun Joie out of Rochefort. At 17:00 Aigle caught up with them. The French ships shortened sail and looked as if they were about to do battle but after discharging their guns, both ran aground. Many of the French sailors were drowned when the boats they were attempting to escape in were engulfed by the large waves. Unable to re-float the stranded ships due to the heavy swell; Wolfe ordered them destroyed.



Boats from Aigle were sent after some small craft, seen in the early hours of 27 November 1804 in the Bay of Gibraltar. On hearing some small-arms fire, Captain Thomas Dundas in Naiad set off in the direction of the noise and discovered a flotilla of Spanish gun-boats of which he managed to capture two. The boats and crew of Aigle were recovered without loss of life.



In January 1805 Aigle accidentally ran down and sank His Majesty's hired armed schooner Flying Fish. Aigle rescued the crew. That same month the Danish vessel Frederica Dorothea foundered while sailing from Bourdeaux to London. Here too Aigle rescued the crew.



Temporary command was given to Henry Sturt in February 1805 but Wolfe was back in charge by 21 August 1805, when Aigle discovered a small British squadron under Captain John Tremayne Rodd comprising the frigates Indefatigable and Niobe and three smaller vessels. Rodd had been shadowing the French fleet at Brest under Vice-Admiral Ganteaume, which had since left and was now at anchor between Camaret and Bertheaume. Shortly after her arrival, Aigle was dispatched to update the Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet, Admiral William Cornwallis of this development.



Nine Spanish gun boats attacked Aigle in Vigo Bay on 28 September 1805. For an hour she had to endure their fire before the wind got up and the previously becalmed Aigle was able to launch a counter-offensive; capturing one gun boat and driving the others away. Two Chasse-marées were taken by the crew of Aigle, in a cutting-out expedition on 15 October 1807 and while cruising with the 32-gun Pallas and 74-gun Gibraltar in December, she assisted with the capture of a Spanish schooner, Bueno Vista. A few days later the same three ships took a French Lugger and had more success in the first quarter of the following year, when four more Chasse-marées were seized and a former British brig, Margaret was recaptured.

Action off Groix.





A painting by Thomas Whitcombe thought to be Aigle capturing Le Sirene.



Aigle was in action again on 22 March 1808 against two large, French frigates; Italienne of 40 guns and the 38-gun Sirene. A squadron comprising Aigle, the 32-gun frigate Narcissus, the two seventy-fours Impétueux and Saturn, and two or three smaller vessels were anchored between the Glénan islands, whilst being resupplied by a transport convoy. At 15:45, two French frigates to the south-east were simultaneously seen from Aigle's masthead and by the British schooner Cuckoo, which was stationed midway between the squadron and the island of Groix. Aigle immediately gave chase, and coming within hailing distance at 19:30, Wolfe directed Cuckoo to relay to Impétueux and Narcissus, now following two miles behind, his intention to cut off the French ships by sailing between Groix and the mainland.



An hour later, having endured the fire of the guns on both shores, Aigle was in a position to attack the rear-most frigate of the pair as they emerged from the western side of the island. This frigate sought the shelter of Groix' batteries, so Aigle set off in pursuit of the other which was now making for Lorient. As it was now dark, Aigle displayed a blue light to indicate her position to the closing Impétueux, and at 21:00, coming within 50 yards, exchanged fire with the Frenchman. To prevent a boarding, which Wolfe was determined upon, the frigate came about and, shortly after the British had broken off their attack for lack of sea room, ran aground on the Pointe de Chats on the eastern edge of Groix.


Saturn, Narcissus and Cuckoo joined Aigle and Impétueux during the night and the following morning at dawn, the five British returned to the island but no further attempt was made on either of the French frigates. Six days later the stranded ship was re-floated and both vessels arrived safely in Lorient.



Early in 1809, Aigle was back chasing merchantmen, securing five in January and February.

Battle of Basque Roads.






Map illustrating the position of Aigle off the Boyart Shoal shortly before the British attack on the night of 11 April

Aigle was part of the fleet under Admiral James Gambier that fought the Battle of the Basque Roads in April 1809. The French ships were anchored under the protection of the powerful batteries on the Isle d'Aix when on 11 April Lord Cochrane led an attacking force of fireships and explosive vessels. Just prior to the attack, Aigle took up a position just north-east of the Boyart Shoal; anchored behind HMS Imperieuse, and ahead of Unicorn and Pallas. It was the job of these four frigates to take on board the returning fireship crews and give assistance to the escorting boats, if required. The fireships had a partial success; the French, having anticipated such an attack, had rigged a boom across the channel. One of the explosive vessels however breached the boom, leading the French to cut their cables and drift on to the shoals.



The following day, after much delay, Gambier took the rest of his fleet into the Basque Roads. The British ships anchored, with springs, in a crescent around the stranded French, and exchanged fire. Aigle took up a position, second in line behind Unicorn, and just ahead of Emerald and Indefatigable. These ships directed their fire mainly towards the French ships of the line, Varsovie and Aquilon, both of which struck at around 17:30.


Walcheren Campaign.





The bombardment of Flushing

Aigle was part of a large expeditionary force in the summer 1809. Comprising more than 600 vessels and nearly 40,000 troops, it left The Downs on 28 July, intent on destroying the dockyards and arsenals at Antwerp, Terneuse and Flushing, and capturing the French fleet stationed in the river Scheldt.

Troops were landed on the Island of Walcheren at 16:30 on 30 July, while bomb-vessels and gun-boats began a bombardment of Veere. The town surrendered immediately but it took several days of fighting, before the fort was captured on 1 August. The British then mounted an attack on Flushing, and the island of Zuid-Beveland which was taken unopposed; the forts there having already been deserted. However, the British neglected Cadzand on the south-west side of the Scheldt, where more than 5,700 French troops crossed the river to reinforce Flushing. The capitulation of Fort Rammekens allowed the British to besiege the town on 3 August. and to prevent further aid being sent, a flotilla of gunboats was dispatched to the western arm of the Scheldt, to cut it off on the seaward side. The British then began locating and marking a channel for larger ships on 6 August.

A large squadron of ten frigates, including Aigle, was eventually able to make its way up the western passage on 9 August, enduring fire from batteries on both sides of the river for more than two hours. Aigle, in the centre, had her stern frame shattered when a shell fell through the deck and exploded, killing a marine and wounding four other members of the crew. She was the only ship to suffer any damage and her casualties amounted to almost half the total of two killed and nine wounded.





Sick troops being evacuated from Walcheren on 30 August 1809

A two-day long bombardment of Flushing forced its capitulation on 15 August. Ratified the following day, it left the British in control of Walcheren which they garrisoned with 10,000 troops. Schouwen and Duiveland on the Eastern branch of the Scheldt, were occupied peacefully on 17 August. The French fleet had already withdrawn to Antwerp however, having been informed on 29 July when the British were still at sea. Between the British and their objective were now more than 35,000 French soldiers, garrisoned in heavily armed forts at Lillo, Liefkenshoech, and Antwerp. The deliberate destruction of dykes by the French had led to widespread flooding, and with disease spreading through the British army, it was decided to abandon the expedition in early September.

After a 13 hour chase across the Atlantic on 12 September 1810, Aigle captured a French privateer from Bordeaux: Phoenix, armed with eighteen 18-pounder carronades and carrying a well trained crew of 129, had been successfully preying on British and American shipping.

Mediterranean service.

Sir John Louis was appointed captain in October 1811 and took Aigle to the Mediterranean. Aigle and Curacoa used boats to land marines and seamen near the harbour of Campo del Porto, Elba, on 20 June 1813. When the batteries protecting the town were over-run and the troops there routed, the French scuttled three of their own ships to prevent them from becoming prizes. The following morning, having returned to the boats, the marines captured a small convoy of three settees and drove the brig protecting them into Portoferraio. Two large feluccas were taken from the town of Mesca in the Gulf of Spezia, on the 28 June. Prevented by the wind from using the ships, the British once more took to boats but only succeeded in driving their quarry inshore. Later that evening the wind changed direction and Aigle and Curacoa were able to bombard the town while marines took the feluccas from the beach.

Four merchant vessels surrendered to Pembroke, Alcmene and Aigle on 11 April 1814, then when a Sicilian army under Lord William Bentinck invaded and occupied Genoa eight days later, Aigle provided naval support as part of a fleet under Vice-Admiral Edward Pellew.

Re-rated as a 42-gun frigate in February 1817, Aigle underwent repairs and alterations at Woolwich from March 1817. In accordance with Surveyor of the Navy, Robert Seppings' designs, in January 1820, Aigle had her square transom removed and a circular stern fitted. This gave her improved protection in the rear and allowed a better field of fire. She was subsequently laid up then repaired and cut down to a 24-gun corvette between March and July 1831. Recommissioned in August 1841 under Lord Clarence Paget, she was sent to the Mediterranean.

Fate.

Aigle returned to Woolwich in October 1852 where she was converted to a coal hulk and receiving ship. She moved to Sheerness in September 1869 and in the following August, she became a target for torpedoes before being sold and broken up in November 1870.

[Bligh]

HMS Emerald.


She was a 36-gun Amazon-class frigate that Sir William Rule designed in 1794 for the Royal Navy. The Admiralty ordered her construction towards the end of May 1794 and work began the following month at Northfleet dockyard. She was completed on 12 October 1795 and joined Admiral John Jervis's fleet in the Mediterranean.

In 1797, Emerald was one of several vessels sent to hunt down and capture the crippled Santisima Trinidad, which had escaped from the British at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Emerald was supposed to have been present at the Battle of the Nile but in May 1798 a storm separated her from Horatio Nelson's squadron and she arrived in Aboukir Bay nine days too late. She was part of Rear-Admiral John Thomas Duckworth's squadron during the Action of 7 April 1800 off Cadiz.

Emerald served in the Caribbean throughout 1803 in Samuel Hood's fleet, then took part in the invasion of St Lucia in July, and of Surinam the following spring. Returning to home waters for repairs in 1806, she served in the western approaches before joining a fleet under Admiral James Gambier in 1809, and taking part in the Battle of the Basque Roads. In November 1811 she sailed to Portsmouth where she was laid up in ordinary. Fitted out as a receiving ship in 1822, she was eventually broken up in January 1836.

Construction.

Name:	HMS Emerald
Ordered:	24 May 1794
Builder:	Thomas Pitcher
Cost:	£14,419
Laid down:	June 1794
Launched:	31 July 1795
Commissioned:	August 1795
Fate:	Broken up, January 1836
General characteristics
Class and type:	Amazon-class fifth-rate frigate
Tons burthen:	933 ​
Length:	143 ft 2 1⁄2 in (43.6 m) (gundeck) 119 ft 5 1⁄2 in (36.4 m) (keel)
Beam:	38 ft 4 in (11.7 m)
Depth of hold:	13 ft 6 in (4.1 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Complement:	264
Armament:	Gundeck: 26 × 18-pounder guns QD: 8 × 9-pounder guns + 6 × 32-pounder carronades Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades

Emerald was a 36-gun, 18-pound, Amazon-class frigate built to William Rule's design. She and her sister ship, Amazon, were ordered on 24 May 1794 and were built to the same dimensions: 143 feet 2 ¹⁄₂ inches (43.6 m) along the gun deck, 119 feet 5 ¹⁄₂ inches (36.4 m) at the keel, with a beam of 38 feet 4 inches (11.7 m) and a depth in the hold of 13 feet 6 inches (4.1 m). They measured 933 ​tons burthen.
Emerald was completed at Thomas Pitcher's dockyard in Northfleet at a cost of £14,419 and launched on 31 July 1795, twenty-seven days after Amazon. Her coppering at Woolwich was finished on 12 October 1795 and she was fitted-out at a further cost of £9,390. The Admiralty ordered a second pair of Amazon-class ships on 24 January 1795. They were marginally smaller at 925​⁸⁷⁄₉₄ tons (bm) and were built from pitch pine.

Service.

Mediterranean.



Santisima Trinidad being rescued at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Emerald was one of the British frigates sent out to track her down afterwards.

Emerald was first commissioned in August 1795, under Captain Velters Cornewall Berkeley and in January 1797, she sailed for the Mediterranean. Spain had become allied to France and declared war on Britain in October 1796. Early in 1797, a Spanish fleet of 27 ships of the line was at Cartagena with orders to join the French fleet at Brest. A storm blew the Spanish fleet off course, enabling Admiral John Jervis' fleet of 15 ships of the line to intercept it off Cape St Vincent on 14 February. Although attached to Jervis' fleet at the time, as a frigate Emerald was too lightly built to take part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent; instead she anchored in nearby Lagos Bay with other vessels.

On 16 February, the victorious British fleet and its prizes entered the bay. Jervis ordered the three frigates—Emerald, Minerve, and Niger, of 40 and 32 guns respectively—to search for the disabled flagship, Santisima Trinidad, which had been towed from the battle. Two smaller craft—Bonne-Citoyenne, a corvette of 20 guns, and the 14-gun sloop Raven—joined the frigates. The British squadron on 20 February sighted Santisima Trinidad under tow by a large frigate and in the company of a brig. Berkeley, considering the small squadron under his command insufficient, declined to engage and eventually the Spanish ships sailed from sight. The 32-gun HMS Terpsichore, while cruising alone, later located Santisima Trinidad and engaged her but the out-gunned British frigate was forced to abandon her attack.

Action of 26 April 1797.

Following the Battle of Cape St Vincent, the British pursued the remainder of the Spanish fleet to Cadiz, where Jervis began a long-running blockade of the port.

On 26 April, while cruising in the company of the 74-gun Irresistible, Emerald helped to capture a 34-gun Spanish ship and to destroy another. The Spanish vessels were close to the coast when Jervis's fleet sighted them. Sent to investigate, Emerald and Irresistible, under Captain George Martin, discovered the ships were the frigates Santa Elena and Ninfa^]—the Spanish ships had been carrying silver from Havana to Cadiz, but had transferred their cargo the previous night to a fishing boat that had warned them of the proximity of the British fleet.

The Spanish ships sought shelter from the British north of Trafalgar in Conil Bay, the entrance to which was protected by a large rocky ledge. Irresistible and Emerald negotiated this obstacle at around 14:30 and engaged the Spanish ships, which were anchored in the Bay. The Spanish ships surrendered at approximately 16:00. Eighteen Spaniards were killed and 30 wounded during the fighting; one Briton was killed and one wounded. The remaining crew of Santa Elena avoided capture by cutting her cables and drifting her on shore so they could flee on foot. The British managed to drag Santa Elena off the beach but, badly damaged, she sank at sea.

The British took Ninfa into service as HMS Hamadryad, a 36-gun frigate with a main battery of 12-pounders, but were unable to retrieve the cargo of silver, which later arrived safely in Cadiz.

Second bombardment of Cadiz.

Captain Thomas Waller took command of Emerald in mid-1797, and was stationed with Admiral Jervis' fleet off Cadiz. On 3 July, Jervis attempted to end the protracted blockade by ordering a bombardment of the town. A first attempt resulted in the capture of two Spanish mortar boats but achieved little else. During a second bombardment on the night of 5 July, Emerald, in the company of Terpsichore and the 74-gun Theseus, provided a protective escort for three bomb vessels, Thunder, Terror, and Strombolo. This attack caused considerable damage; the next morning, the Spanish hurriedly moved ten of their line-of-battle ships out of range. The British cancelled a third bombardment, planned for 8 July, when the weather became unfavourable.

Attack on Santa Cruz.



The British attack on Santa Cruz de Tenerife, painted in 1848 by Francisco de Aguilar
Main article: Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)


Later in July 1797, Emerald took part in an unsuccessful attack on Santa Cruz. A planned attack in April, proposed by Admiral Nelson, had been aborted as the troops required to execute it were unavailable. When Jervis was subsequently advised that the Spanish treasure fleet was anchored there, he revived Nelson's idea.

For the new attack, Nelson was to take three ships of the line, three frigates, including Emerald, and 200 marines, for an amphibious landing outside the Spanish stronghold. The frigates would then engage the batteries to the north-east of Santa Cruz while the marines stormed the town. However, a combination of strong currents and heavy Spanish fire forced the British to abandon the attack. Several further attempts were made between 22 and 25 July; although the British were able to land troops, Spanish resistance was too strong and the British had to ask for an honourable withdrawal.

After the attack, Nelson sent Emerald with his report to Jervis, who in turn sent her on to England with dispatches. Waller arrived at the Admiralty on 1 September, with the news of the failed attacks.

Alexandria.

While serving with Jervis on the Lisbon station in December 1797, Emerald, under the temporary command of Lord William Proby, captured the 8-gun privateer, Chasseur Basque. Waller returned as captain in April 1798.^[1] In May, Jervis dispatched a squadron of five ships, including Emerald and commanded by Nelson in the 74-gun Vanguard, to locate a large invasion fleet that had left Toulon. After receiving intelligence on 22 May, Nelson correctly predicted the French fleet's destination and set course for Alexandria where the British captured or destroyed all but two of the French ships at the Battle of the Nile, which occurred between 1–3 August 1798. Emerald missed the battle; having previously become separated from the rest of the squadron in a storm on 21 May, she arrived at Aboukir Bay on 12 August.

When Nelson left for Naples on 19 August 1798, he left behind a squadron—comprising three 74s Zealous, Goliath, Swiftsure, three frigates Emerald, Seahorse, and Alcmene, and the corvette Bonne Citoyenne—under Samuel Hood to patrol the waters around the port and along the coast. On 2 September, it encountered and destroyed the French aviso Anémone.

Emerald and Seahorse chased Anemone inshore, where she anchored in shallow water out of their reach. When they launched their boats to cut-out Anėmone, her crew cut the anchor cable and their ship drifted on to the shore; as the Frenchmen were attempting to escape along the coast, hostile Arabs captured them and stripped them of their clothes, shooting those who resisted. A heavy surf prevented the British boats from landing, so a midshipman from Emerald, the young Francis Fane, swam ashore with a line and empty cask to rescue the commander and seven others who had escaped naked to the beach. Anėmone had a crew of 60 men under the command of Enseigne de Vaisseau (Ensign) Garibou, and was also carrying General Camin and Citoyen Valette, Aide-de-Camp to General Napoleon Bonaparte, with dispatches from Toulon. Camin and Valette were among those the Arabs killed. Emerald remained stationed off Alexandria for the rest of the year.

Action on 18 June 1799.

Emerald and Minerve, while cruising together on 2 June, took Caroline, a 16-gun French privateer, off the south-east coast of Sardinia. Later, Emerald assisted in the capture of Junon, Alceste, Courageuse, Salamine, and Alerte in the Action of 18 June 1799. The British fleet under George Elphinstone was some 69 miles off Cape Sicié when three French frigates and two brigs were spotted. Elphinstone engaged them with three seventy-fours, Centaur, Bellona and Captain, and two frigates, Emerald and Santa Teresa. The next evening, after a 28-hour chase, the French ships were forced into an action. The French squadron had scattered, enabling the British to attack it piecemeal. Bellona fired the first shots at 19:00 as she, Captain, and the two frigates closed with Junon and Alceste, both of which struck their colours immediately. Bellona then joined Centaur in chasing Courageuse. Faced with overwhelming odds, Courageuse also surrendered. Emerald then overhauled Salamine, and Captain took Alerte at around 23:30.

Action on 7 April 1800.




Rear-Admiral John Duckworth, commander of the squadron blockading Cadiz, of which Emerald was a part when she fought in the Action of 7 April 1800

Emerald returned to blockade duty at Cadiz in April 1800, joining a squadron under Rear-Admiral John Thomas Duckworth that included the 74-gun ships Leviathan and Swiftsure, and the fireship Incendiary. The squadron sighted a Spanish convoy on 5 April, which comprised 13 merchant vessels and three accompanying frigates, and at once gave chase. At 03:00 the following day, Emerald managed to overhaul and cross the bow of a 10-gun merchantman, which, having nowhere to go, immediately surrendered. By daybreak, the remainder of the Spanish convoy had scattered and the only ship visible was a 14-gun brig, Los Anglese. The absence of wind prevented the becalmed British vessels approaching her. Instead, Leviathan and Emerald lowered boats that rowed towards the brig, which they captured after a short exchange of fire.

Other sails were now spotted in the east, west and south, forcing the British to divide their force: Swiftsure went south, Emerald east, and Leviathan west. At midday, Emerald signalled that there were six vessels to the north-east, and Leviathan wore round to pursue. By dusk, the two British ships had nine Spanish craft in sight. Three ships were seen at midnight to the north-north-west, and by 02:00 the following morning, two had been identified as the enemy frigates Carmen and Florentina. Duckworth ordered Emerald to take a parallel course to the enemy frigates in anticipation of a dawn attack, and at first light, the British closed with their opponents.

The Spaniards had assumed the approaching vessels were part of their convoy, but by daybreak they had realised their error and vainly set more sail to escape. Being close enough to hail the Spanish crews, Duckworth ordered that they surrender. When the Spaniards ignored the demand, he ordered Leviathan and Emerald to open fire on the rigging of the Spanish vessels in order to disable them. Both Spanish frigates quickly surrendered. Carmen had had 11 men killed and 16 wounded; Florentina 12 killed and 10 wounded, including her first and second captains. The two Spanish frigates were each carrying 1500 quintals of mercury.
A third frigate was visible on the horizon. Emerald immediately set off in pursuit but Duckworth recalled her and instead ordered her to locate the merchant ships; she secured four of the largest vessels by nightfall. The need to make the two captured frigates ready to sail delayed Leviathan, and by the time this was completed the third frigate had made her escape. Leviathan then returned to rendezvous with Emerald, managing to take a further enemy brig before night fell. The following day, both British vessels sailed for Gibraltar with their prizes. On arrival, they encountered Incendiary, which had made port the previous day with two captured vessels of its own. The small British squadron managed to secure nine merchant vessels and two frigates in total.

Caribbean.



1798 map showing the Dutch colonies of Essequibo and Demarara

Britain declared war on France in May 1803 following the short-lived Peace of Amiens and by June, Emerald, under the command of Captain James O'Bryen, had joined Samuel Hood's squadron in the Leeward Islands. Prior to the British invasion of St Lucia on 21 June, she harassed enemy shipping, disrupting the island's resupply.

The invasion force left Barbados on 20 June. It comprised Hood's 74-gun flagship Centaur, the 74-gun Courageux, the frigates Argo and Chichester, and the sloops Hornet and Cyane. The following morning, Emerald and the 18-gun sloop Osprey had joined them. By 11:00, the squadron was anchored in Choc Bay. The troops were landed by 17:00 and half an hour later the town of Castries was in British hands. In the island's main fortress, Morne-Fortunée, the French troops refused to surrender; the British stormed it at 04:00 on 22 June, and by 04:30 St Lucia was in British hands. Following this easy victory, the British sent a force to Tobago, which capitulated on 1 July.

Emerald was between St Lucia and Martinique on 24 June, when she captured the 16-gun French privateer Enfant Prodigue after a 72-hour chase. The French vessel was under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Victor Lefbru and was carrying dispatches for Martinique. The Royal Navy took Enfant Prodigue into service as HMS St Lucia.

While in the company of the 22-gun brig HMS Heureux, Emerald intercepted and captured a Dutch merchant vessel travelling between Surinam and Amsterdam on 10 August. On 5 September, she captured two French schooners, and later that month took part in attacks on Berbice, Essequibo and Demarara.

Fort Diamond.

Emerald's first lieutenant, Thomas Forest, commanded the 6-gun cutter Fort Diamond on 13 March 1804 when, with 30 of Emerald's crew aboard, she captured a French privateer off Saint-Pierre, Martinique. Contrary winds prevented the privateer, Mosambique, from entering St Pierre and she had sought shelter beneath the batteries at Seron. Because Emerald was too far downwind, Captain O'Bryen used boats and crew from Emerald to create a diversion and draw fire from the battery while Fort Diamond approached from the opposite direction, rounded Pearl Rock (some two miles off the coast), and bore down on Mosambique. Forest put the cutter alongside with such force that a chain securing the privateer to the shore snapped. The 60-man French crew abandoned their vessel and swam ashore.^[ The Royal Navy took Mosambique into service.

Capture of Surinam.



1773 map of the Dutch colony of Surinam showing the respective positions of the Surinam and Commewine rivers, Warapee Creek, Braam's point, and the forts Leyden and New Amsterdam

In the spring of 1804, Emerald and her crew took part in an invasion of Surinam. The invasion force consisted of Hood's flagship Centaur, Emerald, the 44-gun heavy frigates Pandour and Serapis, the 28-gun sixth-rate Alligator, the 12-gun schooner Unique, the 12-gun corvette Hippomenes, and the 8-gun Drake, together with 2,000 troops under Brigadier-General Sir Charles Green. The force arrived from Barbados on 25 April after a twenty-two-day journey. The sloop Hippomenes, a transport and a further three armed vessels, landed Brigadier-General Frederick Maitland and 700 troops at Warapee Creek on the night of 30 April. The following night, O'Bryen was ordered to assist Brigadier-general Hughes in the taking of Braam's Point. A sandbar initially prevented Emerald from entering the Surinam River but O'Bryen forced her across on the rising tide, with Pandour and Drake following. Anchoring close by, the three British ships quickly put the Dutch battery of 18-pounders out of action and captured the fort without loss of life.

Emerald, Pandour, and Drake then pushed up the river, sometimes in less water than the frigates required to float properly, until on 5 May they arrived close to the forts Leyden and Frederici. The British landed a detachment of troops under Hughes some distance away, which marching under the cover of the forests and swamps, launched an attack that resulted in the swift capture of the two forts. By this time, most of the squadron had managed to work its way up the river as far as Frederici, Maitland was advancing along the Commewine River, and with troops poised to attack the fort of New Amsterdam, the Batavian commandant, Lieutenant-Colonel Batenburg, duly surrendered.

Emerald captured the vessel Augusta, which was under American colours, on 22 August and sent her into Antigua with the cargo of wine that she had been carrying from Leghorn to Guadeloupe. Emerald left Tortola on 26 October as escort to a convoy of 50 vessels for England but having parted from them in a storm, she put into Madeira in distress on 11 December.

Service on the Home Station.

Between February and June 1806, Emerald underwent repairs at Deptford dockyard and was recommissioned under Captain John Armour; Frederick Lewis Maitland assumed command in the first quarter of 1807. While in the Basque Roads in April, Emerald captured the 14-gun privateer Austerlitz, a brig from Nantes under the command of Captain Gatien Lafont. Emerald, while escorting a Spanish polacca that she had taken, spotted and captured the privateer on 14 April after a ten-hour chase. Austerlitz had been out of port two days but had made no captures; the polacca was the Spanish ship Prince of Asturias, which had sailed from La Guayra with a cargo of cocoa, bark and indigo. Emerald sent both prizes into Plymouth, where they arrived on 22 April. Emerald herself set off in pursuit of another vessel from La Guayra.

Emerald recaptured Zulema which had been plundered and taken by a French privateer as she sailed from Philadelphia to Liverpool. She arrived in Plymouth under her master, Mr Howard, on 4 May. During December, Plymouth received more of Emerald's captures. At the beginning of the month, Young Elias was detained. Her master Monsieur Delance, had been sailing from Philadelphia to Bordeaux. On 26 December, Mr Seaton's vessel, Friendship was caught returning from France.

Apropos.

Emerald's boats participated in a cutting-out expedition in Viveiro harbour on 13 March 1808. While cruising inshore at around 17:00, Emerald spotted a large French schooner, Apropos,^[ of 250 tons (bm), anchored in the bay. Apropos was armed with twelve 8-pounder guns, though pierced for 16, and had a crew of more than 70 men under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Lagary.

The crews of the schooner and of the two batteries guarding the harbour had seen Emerald but Maitland still made plans to attack Apropos. He soon discovered it was not possible to place Emerald so as to engage both enemy batteries simultaneously, and instead sent landing parties to silence the guns, which had been firing on his ship since 17:30. The first landing party, led by Lieutenant Bertram and accompanied by two marine lieutenants and two master mates, stormed the outer fort. Maitland then positioned Emerald close to the second battery while a boat under the command of his third lieutenant, Smith, landed about a mile along the shore. This second landing party encountered Spanish soldiers, but drove them off and pursued them inland. By the time Smith's party returned to the beach, Emerald had already silenced the battery. In the darkness, Smith subsequently failed to locate the fort.

The crew of Apropos had run her ashore soon after Emerald had entered the harbour. The harbour batteries having been destroyed, Captain Maitland sent a further force under Midshipman Baird to secure and refloat the French ship. The original landing party under Lieutenant Bertram, which had already encountered and dispersed 60 members of the schooner's crew, met Baird's party on the beach. The British made several unsuccessful attempts to re-float the schooner before being forced to set her afire and depart.^] British casualties were heavy. Emerald had nine men killed, and 16 wounded, including Lieutenant Bertram. Maitland estimated that French casualties too had been heavy.

In 1847 the Admiralty issued the clasp "Emerald 13 March 1808" to the Naval General Service Medal to the ten surviving claimants from the action.

Back in the Basque Roads.


British chart of the Basque Roads, 1757

A French schooner Amadea arrived in Plymouth on 15 December 1808 having previously been captured and sent in by Emerald.
Back in the Basque Roads on 23 February 1809, Emerald was this time part of a squadron under Robert Stopford. Stopford's flagship, the 80-gun Caesar, was also accompanied by the seventy-fours Defiance and Donegal, and the 36-gun frigates Amethyst and Naiad. At 20:00, Stopford's squadron was anchored off the Chassiron Lighthouse, to the north-west of Ile d'Oléron, when the sighting of several rockets prompted him to investigate. About an hour later, sails were seen to the east which the British followed until daylight the following morning. The sails belonged to a French squadron that Stopford deduced to be out of Brest and which heaved to in the Pertuis d'Antioche.
The French force comprised eight ships of the line and two frigates, and Stopford immediately sent Naiad to apprise Admiral James Gambier of the situation. Naiad had not gone too far however when she signalled that there were three other vessels to the north-west. Stopford ordered Amethyst and Emerald to remain while he and the rest of the squadron set off in pursuit. The British frigate Amelia and the sloop Doterel also joined the chase. Caesar, Donegal, Defiance, and Amelia eventually drove the three French frigates ashore and destroyed them.

Emerald and Amethyst had more success in the spring of 1809 when on 23 March they captured the brigs Caroline and Serpent. In April, Emerald assisted Amethyst in the chase of a large 44-gun frigate off Ushant. Emerald sighted Niemen, with a main battery of 18-pounders and under the command of Captain Dupoter, at 11:00 on 5 April and immediately signalled Amethyst for assistance. Amethyst caught a glimpse of the French forty-four just as she turned away to the south-east and gave chase but by 19:20 had lost sight of both Niemen and Emerald. Amethyst fell in with Niemen again at around 21:30 and engaged her. Niemen was forced to strike when a second British frigate, Arethusa came into view and fired a broadside.^] The Royal Navy took Niemen into service under her existing name.^]
On 26 March, Enfant de Patria arrived at Plymouth. Patria, of 500 tons (bm), 10 guns, and 60 men, had sailed from France for Île de France when Emerald and Amethyst captured her. Two days later Emerald captured a second letter of marque, the 4-gun Aventurier, bound for the relief of Guadeloupe. She had a crew of 30 men.

Battle of the Basque Roads.



Map illustrating the position of the anchored French fleet shortly before the British attack on the night of 11 April

Emerald was part of the fleet under Admiral Lord Gambier that fought the Battle of the Basque Roads in April 1809. The French ships were anchored under the protection of the powerful batteries on the Isle d'Aix when on 11 April Lord Cochrane attacked them with fireships and explosive vessels. Emerald provided a diversion to the east of the island with the brigs Beagle, Doterel, Conflict, and Growler. The fireships met with only partial success; the French, having anticipated such an attack, had rigged a boom across the channel. One of the explosive vessels breached the boom, leading the French to cut their cables and drift on to the shoals.

The following day, after much delay, Gambier ordered a battle squadron to reinforce Cochrane in the Basque Roads. The British ships anchored, with springs, in a crescent around some of the stranded French ships, and exchanged fire. Emerald took up position ahead of Indefatigable and behind Aigle and Unicorn, and directed her fire mainly towards the French ships of the line, Varsovie and Aquilon, both of which struck at around 17:30.

At 20:00, Emerald, along with the other British frigates and brigs, weighed and anchored with the 74-gun HMS Revenge in the Maumusson passage to the south of Oléron while a second fireship attack was under preparation. Although the fireships were ready in the early hours on the 13th, contrary winds prevented their deployment. The British instead set Varsovie and Aquilon alight just after 03:00, on the orders of Captain John Bligh, after removing their crews. Emerald, and the other vessels moored with her, were recalled at 05:00 but owing to the lack of water, only the brigs were able to pass further up the river. Emerald therefore took no further part in the attack, which continued until 29 April when the last French ship was able to free herself from the mud and escape up the river to Rochefort.

Later service.

Emerald took two French sloops in July 1809. Deux Freres, en route for Guadeloupe from Rochelle when captured, arrived in Plymouth on 26 July. A week later, Emerald captured the French schooner Balance, which had been sailing to France from Guadeloupe. Both captures carried letters of marque, a government licence authorising the attack and capture of enemy vessels. The first, of four guns, was carrying a small reinforcement for Guadeloupe's garrison. The second, also of four guns, was carrying a cargo of coffee and other colonial produce.

While off the coast of Ireland on 8 October, Emerald rescued a British brig by capturing Incomparable, an 8-gun French privateer. The Frenchman was about to take the British vessel when Emerald intervened. Incomparable had a crew of 63 men and was four days out of Saint-Malo, but had not yet captured any other vessel. Still in Irish waters on 6 November, Emerald took the 16-gun French brig Fanfaron, two days out of Brest and bound for Guadeloupe. After an all-night chase, Emerald caught up. Capitaine de fregate Croquet Deschateurs of Fanfaron resisted, firing several broadsides and a final double-shotted broadside. Unable to escape, Deschateurs prepared to board but Emerald evaded the manoeuvre and fired a broadside that dismasted Fanfaron, leaving Deschateurs no option but to surrender his vessel. The subsequent French court-martial not only absolved Deschateurs of any liability for the loss but also commended him for his conduct. Four days later Emerald arrived at Cork with Fanfaron and Luna. Fanfaron, with a crew of 113, had been carrying a cargo of flour, salt, and other provisions, as well as iron, lead, and nails, all for Guadeloupe.

At the beginning of February 1810, Emerald captured and sent into Plymouth, Commerce, Hanson, master, which had been sailing from Drontheim to Bordeaux. Then on 22 March, Emerald captured the 350-ton (bm) Belle Etoile in the Bay of Biscay. Caught after a twelve-hour chase during which she jettisoned much of her cargo; Belle Etoile, out of Bayonne, was pierced for 20 guns but only carried eight. Carrying a cargo of wine, flour, oil, and other merchandise to Île de France, she was sent into Cork with her 56-man crew. Emerald captured an American ship, Wasp, in July 1810. Wasp was carrying 91 passengers from New York to Bordeaux; they arrived at Plymouth on 30 July.

Emerald was still serving on the Home Station on 11 April 1811 when she sent into Cork a French privateer. This was the 18-gun Auguste (or Augusta), which had been taken on 6 April. Nearly a month later, on 5 July, Emerald left Madeira in the company of five East Indiamen and was still on convoy duties later that month when a transport ship spotted her escorting thirteen vessels off the coast of West Africa on 18 July.

Fate.

In November 1811, Emerald sailed to Portsmouth and was laid up in ordinary. Fitted out as a receiving ship in 1822, she was eventually broken up in January 1836.