French frigate Piémontaise
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=La Pie'montaise (French Frigate) on the 21,st June 1806 1806 or later RCIN 735129 680309-1492681654 (cropped).jpg |Ship caption=Piémontaise in 1806 }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=France |Ship flag=File:Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg |Ship name=Piémontaise |Ship namesake=Piedmont |Ship ordered= |Ship builder=Saint Malo |Ship laid down=22 March 1803 |Ship launched=15 December 1804 |Ship acquired= |Ship commissioned=23 September 1805 at Saint Servan |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship captured=8 March 1808 |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship fate= |Ship honours= |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=title |Ship country=United Kingdom |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|UKGBI|naval}} |Ship ordered= |Ship acquired=8 March 1808 |Ship commissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship honours= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Broken up in 1813 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption={{sfnp|Winfield|Roberts|2015|p=145}}{{sfnp|Winfield |2008|p=179}} |Ship class=Consolante-class frigate |Ship displacement=1400 tons (French) |Ship tons burthen= 1091{{small|{{fraction|83|94}}}} (bm) |Ship length={{convert|157|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}} (overall); {{convert|128|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} (keel) |Ship beam={{convert|39|ft|11|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|6.17|m|abbr=on}} [http://forum.aceboard.net/5500-323-36505-0-Fregate-Piemontaise.htm Frégate La Piémontaise] |Ship hold depth={{convert|12|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion=Sail |Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship complement= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=*Originally
|Ship armour=Timber |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} |
Piémontaise was a 40-gun Consolante-class frigate of the French Navy. She served as a commerce raider in the Indian Ocean until her capture in March 1808. She then served with the British Royal Navy in the East Indies until she was broken up in Britain in 1813.
French service
Piémontaise was built by Enterprise Étheart at Saint Malo to a design by François Pastel.
On 18 December 1805 she sailed from Brest for Île de France. There she served as a commerce raider under captain Jacques Epron. On 21 June 1806, she captured the East Indiaman {{ship||Warren Hastings|1802 EIC ship|2}}. On 6 September, she captured the 14-gun East India Company brig {{ship|HCS |Grappler |1804|6}}, the three-masted country ship Atomany, and the East Indiaman {{ship||Fame|1801 ship|2}}.
Between September and October 1807, Piémontaise captured Caroline, Eggleton or Eggleson, master, Sarah, Henderson, master, {{ship||Maria|1804 ship|2}}, James, master, Udny, Walteas or Wallis, master, Danneberg or Danesburgh or Castel Dansborg, Winter, master, Highland Chief, Mahapice or Makepiece, master, Eliza, Sparkes, master, and Calcutta.Lloyd's List [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.c2735023?urlappend=%3Bseq=273 №4243.]Asiatic Annual Register, Vol. 10, p.123. Calcutta was a "native ship". Captain James, of Maria, died aboard Piémontaise on 29 September.
Piémontaise captured {{ship||Resource|1804 ship|2}} on 9 October 1807. She was carrying toile and 7,500 sacks of rice. The value of the prize was 215,930.24 francs.{{sfnp|Roman|2007|p=223}}
In early March 1808, Piémontaise captured three more merchantmen off Southern India.
Capture
On 6 March 1808, Piémontaise encountered HMS St Fiorenzo.{{Cite web |url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval_History/Vol_V/P_022.html |title=NAVAL HISTORY of GREAT BRITAIN - Vol V |access-date=20 January 2009 |archive-date=6 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061106233458/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Naval_History/Vol_V/P_022.html |url-status=dead }} The two ships battled for three days until Piémontaise, out of ammunition and having suffered heavy casualties, had to strike her colours on 8 March. The evening before she struck, Lieutenant de vaisseau Charles Moreau, who had been severely wounded, threw himself into the sea. Captain Hardinge, of St Fiorenzo, was killed in the fighting on the last day. Over the three days the British suffered 13 dead and 25 wounded. The French suffered some 48 dead and 112 wounded.{{London Gazette|issue=16171|date=13 August 1808|page=1108}}{{London Gazette|issue=16210|date=17 December 1808|page=1711}}
Lieutenant William Dawson took command and brought both vessels back to Colombo, even though Piémontaise's three masts fell over her side early in the morning of 9 March. Piémontaise had on board British Army officers and captains and officers from prizes that she had taken. These men helped organize the lascars to jury-rig masts and bring Piémontaise into port. St Fiorenzo had too few men, too many casualties, and too many prisoners to guard to provide much assistance. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "San Fiorenzo 8 March 1808" to any surviving claimants from the action.
British service
File:Banda1810Cole.jpg, depicting three of the four ships used to capture the island from the Dutch in 1810, from a sketch by Capt. Cole of {{HMS |Caroline |1795|6}}]]
The British brought Piémontaise into service as HMS Piedmontaise, commissioning her under Captain Charles Foote. From May to August 1810, she took part in the successful expedition to the Banda Islands, along with {{HMS| Caroline|1795|2}} and {{HMS|Barracouta|1807|2}}.{{London Gazette|issue=16905|date=4 June 1814|page=1159}} The expedition also included {{HMS|Mandarin|1810|2}}.
Foote died in September and Commander Henry D. Dawson replaced him, only to die shortly thereafter.{{efn|A newspaper report states that it was Captain William Dawson who was Piedmontaise{{'}}s captain. He died on 28 September 1811 at Madras, aged 29."CAPTAIN W. DAWSON". 3 April 1812. Liverpool Mercury (Liverpool, England) Issue: 40.}} Piedmontaise{{'}}s next captain was T. Epworth, who was replaced in turn by Captain Henry Edgell.{{sfnp|Winfield |2008|p=179}}
Fate
Piémontaise was taken out of commission at Woolwich on 12 August 1812. She was broken up in January 1813.{{sfnp|Winfield |2008|p=179}}
Notes
{{Notelist}}
Citations
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book|first=Jean-Michel|last=Roche|year=2005|title=Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours|isbn=978-2-9525917-0-6|oclc=165892922|publisher=Group Retozel-Maury Millau|volume=1|pages=352–353}}
- {{cite book|title=Robert Surcouf et ses frères|trans-title=Robert Surcouf and his brothers|first=Alain|last=Roman|others=Preface by Olivier Roellinger|publisher=Editions Cristel|year=2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pIc-AQAAIAAJ|language=French|oclc=159954380|isbn=978-2-84421-050-0}}
- {{citation |first=Rif|last=Winfield|title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates|publisher=Seaforth|year=2008|isbn=978-1-86176-246-7}}
- {{cite book|last1=Winfield |first1=Rif|last2=Roberts |first2=Stephen S. |year=2015 |title=French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates |publisher=Seaforth Publishing |isbn=978-1-84832-204-2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piemontaise (1804)}}
Category:Age of Sail frigates of France
Category:Frigates of the French Navy