HMS Arethusa (1759)
| File:Belle-Poule-10 lbp1.jpg The battle between HMS Arethusa and the Belle-Poule. | |
| Career (Kingdom of France) | Royal French Navy Ensign |
|---|---|
| Name: | Aréthuse |
| Namesake: | Arethusa (mythology) |
| Builder: | Le Havre |
| Launched: | December 1757 |
| Commissioned: | 1757 |
| Captured: | by the Royal Navy, 18 May 1759 |
| Fate: | Captured |
| Career (United Kingdom) |  |
| Name: | HMS Arethusa |
| Acquired: | 18 May 1759 |
| Fate: | Wrecked, 19 March 1779. |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Frigate, 5th Rate. |
| Displacement: | 700 tons. |
| Length: | 132 ft |
| Beam: | 34 ft |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Complement: | 270 |
| Armament: | Pierced for 36 guns, 32 mounted (1759)[1] |
The Aréthuse was a French frigate, launched in 1757 during the Seven Years' War. She was subsequently captured by the Royal Navy and became the fifth-rate HMS Arethusa.
Aréthuse was built at Le Havre for privateer warfare, as Pélerine. Soon after her launch, she was bought by the King, and commissioned as Aréthuse on 21 January 1758.
In June, under captain Vauquelin, she sailed through the British blockade of Louisbourg. She helped defend the place, and later departed, again forcing the blockade.
On the 18th of May 1759, she was in transit from Rochefort to Brest, under the command of the Marquis Vandrenil, when she was intercepted near Audierne Bay (Baie d'Audierne) by three Royal Navy ships - HMS Thames, HMS Venus and HMS Chatham[1]. She attempted to escape but after two hours, she lost her top-masts and was overtaken by her pursuers. The Thames and Venus engaged her with heavy fire, causing 60 casualties before she surrendered.[1]
She entered service with the Royal Navy. For the rest of the war, she was in service in British home waters and was responsible for the capture of several French, privateer cutters.
In 1777, a Scotsman, James Hill [2], known as "Jack the Painter", was hanged from her mizzenmast for burning the Rope House at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard on 7 December 1776, to aid the cause of American independence [3]. The mast was struck from the ship and re-erected at the dockyard entrance so as many as possibly could watch the execution.
On 17 June 1778, she fought a famous duel against the French, 26-gun frigate, Belle Poule. The Belle-Poule was on a reconnaissance mission, along with the 26-gun frigate Licorne, the corvette Hirondelle and the smaller Coureur when she encountered a large British squadron that included the Arethusa.
The Arethusa was the first to reach the French ships. A furious battle between her and the Belle Poule resulted in the deaths of the French second captain and 30 of the crew. But the Arethusa was crippled by the loss of a mast and had to withdraw, allowing the Belle Poule and the Licorne to escape the approaching British, although the two smaller French ships were captured.
This battle was the first between British and French forces during the American Revolutionary War [4] and was widely celebrated in France as a victory, even inspiring a hair-style in court circles that included a model of the Belle Poule.[5] It was also viewed as a victory in Britain and became the subject of a traditional Sea shanty, The Saucy Arethusa (Roud # 12675). The Arethusa is also the subject of a song by The Decemberists.
On the 18 March 1779, under captain Charles Holmes Everitt, the Arethusa engaged the French Aigrette, sustaining considerable damage in the fight. Arethusa was wrecked the next day off Ushant, at a point 48°27′4″N 5°4′4″W / 48.45111°N 5.06778°W.[6]
It was apprently the fame which this Arethusa which induced the Royal Navy, during the following two centuries, to bestow the name on a further seven cosecutive individual ships (see HMS Arethusa) and two consecutive classes of cruisers (see Arethusa class cruiser).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Extract of a letter from Captain Lockhart". The London Chronicle. 1759-05-29.
- ↑ The Terrific Register: Or, Record of Crimes, Judgments, Providences, and Calamities. London: Sherwood, Jones, and co.. 1825. p. 647.
- ↑ "History 1690 - 1840". Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust. 2007. http://www.portsmouthdockyard.org.uk/Page%206.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
- ↑ "The French Navy and the American War of Independence". 2007. http://xenophongroup.com/mcjoynt/bonnel.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
- ↑ "Hair and Hairdos of the 18th Century". 2007. http://www.marquise.de/en/1700/howto/frisuren/frisuren.shtml. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- ↑ "HMS Arethusa (+1779)". Wrecksite. 2007. http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?16161. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
