French ship Jean Bart (1786)
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name: | Jean Bart |
| Namesake: | Jean Bart |
| Builder: | Bayonne |
| Launched: | 1786 |
| Acquired: | Requisitioned in January 1794 in Nantes |
| Commissioned: | 1793 as a privateer |
| Captured: | By Britain on 15 April 1795 |
 Great Britain | |
| Name: | HMS Laurel |
| Fate: | Sold at Jamaica in 1797 |
| General characteristics [1][2] | |
| Class and type: | Corvette |
| Displacement: | 550 tons (French) |
| Tons burthen: | 423 18⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
|
| Beam: | 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m) |
| Sail plan: | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement: |
|
| Armament: |
|
Jean Bart was a merchant vessel built at Bayonne in 1786. Her owners commissioned her at Nantes in 1793 as a privateer. The French Navy requisitioned her in January 1794 and classed her as a corvette and listed her as Jean Bart No. 2 to distinguish her from the corvette French corvette Jean Bart (1793). The Navy intended to rename her Imposant in May 1795, but the Royal Navy captured her first.[1]
On 15 April 1795, a naval squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren gave chase to Jean Bart, described in the report of the capture as being a ship-corvette of 26 guns and 187 men. The actual captor, off the Île de Ré, was HMS Artois.[3]
The Royal Navy took Jean Bart into service as the post ship HMS Laurel. Between July and 8 December 1797 the Royal Navy had Laurel fitted a Portsmouth. She had been flush-decked, but received a small forecastle, quarterdeck, and extra platforms. She was commissioned under Captain Robert Rolles, who sailed her for the coast of Africa and then the Leeward Islands.[4] In May 1796 Laurel participated in the capture of Santa Lucia under Rear Admiral SirHugh Cloberry Christian and General Ralph Abercrombie.,[5] and shared in the prize money for the capture.[6]
Laurel was sold in 1797 at Jamaica.[2]
Citations and references
- Citations
- 1 2 Winfield and Roberts (2015), p. 177.
- 1 2 Winfield (2008), p.231.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 13773. p. 379. 25 April 1795.
- ↑ Schomberg (1802), p.
- ↑ Marshall (1823), Vol. 1, Part 2, p.677.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 15265. p. 623. 7 June 1800.
- References
- Marshall, John (1823–1835) Royal naval biography, or, Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains, and commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers at the commencement of the present year 1823, or who have since been promoted ... (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown).
- Schomberg, Isaac (1802) Naval Chronology, Or an Historical Summary of Naval and Maritime Events from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace 1802: With an Appendix, Volume 4. (London: T. Egerton).
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.
- Winfield, Rif & Stephen S Roberts (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786 - 1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. (Seaforth Publishing). ISBN 9781848322042