HMS Marie Antoinette (1793)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Originally Marie Antoinette, changed to Convention Nationale reverted to HMS Marie Antoinette |
| Captured: | September 1793 by a squadron under Commodore John Ford off Saint-Domingue |
| Fate: | December 27, 1797 crew mutinied and took her to a French Port in the West Indies |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | 10-gun schooner |
| Tons burthen: | 187 bm |
| Length: | 85 feet 5 inches (26.04 m) |
| Beam: | 23 feet 0 inches (7.01 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Two-masted schooner |
| Armament: | 10 x 4-pounders |
HMS Marie Antoinette was a 10-gun two masted sloop.[1] She was built in France and was originally called Marie Antoinette. During the French Revolution she was recommissioned Convention Nationale. She was captured in 1793 by a British Squadron under Commodore Ford and commissioned into the Royal Navy and renamed once more Marie Antoinette. She took part in operations around Saint-Domingue until her crew mutinied in 1797 and carried her into a French port.
Capture and commissioning
In September 1793 at the request of French Royalists Commodore Ford's squadron attacked Saint-Domingue and Jérémie in the Caribbean.[2] Along with a great many other ships captured was the Revolutionary Navy's Convention Nationale. Ford chose to commission her in to Royal Navy and decided to rename her Marie Antoinette.
Ford gave command to Lieutenant John Perkins "an Officer of Zeal, Vigilance and Activity."[3] In 1794 Marie Antoinette made up part of the squadron commanded by the newly promoted Rear-Admiral John Ford and accompanying Brigadier-General John Whyte that briefly captured Port-au-Prince. Records indicate that Marie Antoinette did not play any significant role in the siege.[4] At the time some forty five vessels lay in harbour and these were all made prizes.[4]
In 1796 she made up part of a small squadron that captured the Schooner Charlotte and Brig Sally.[5] Perkins remained with her until he was promoted master and commander into the 14-gun brig Drake in 1797.
Mutiny and fate
Command of Marie Antoinette passed to Lieutenant John McInerheny. On 27 December 1797 the crew mutinied and murdered Lieutenant McInerheny and took the ship into the French port of Gonaïves in Saint-Domingue. Her fate and that of the crew is unknown.[6] The mutiny itself is analogous to the mutiny in September of the same year by the crew of HMS Hermione. The Hermione's crew also murdered their captain and took their ship into La Guaira in Venezuela.
Citations
- ↑ Ships of the Royal Navy, Colledge, p.217
- ↑ The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, Volume 4, p. 214
- ↑ London Gazette Issue 13600 published on the 10 December 1793
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 London Gazette Issue 13684 published on the 17 July 1794 In 1796
- ↑ London Gazette Issue 15717 published on the 7 July 1804
- ↑ The Royal Navy. A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, William Clowes, Volume 4, p. 548
