French ship Jean Bart (1786)

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]

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Laurel.

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:
  • 107 ft 0 in (32.61 m) (overall)
  • 82 ft 6 1⁄2 in (25.159 m) (keel)
Beam: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
Depth of hold: 8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Complement:
  • French service:177
  • British service:100
Armament:
  • French service: 5 x 12-pounder guns, 19 x 8-pounder guns
  • 1795: 24 x 8-pounder guns
  • British service=22 x 9-pounder guns

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 1795 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. He had been promoted to post captain on 12 August 1785; he had been captain of the hired armed ship Lord Mulgrave.[4]

Rolles sailed Laurel for the coast of Africa and then the Leeward Islands.[5] In May 1796 Laurel participated in the capture of Santa Lucia under Rear Admiral SirHugh Cloberry Christian and General Ralph Abercrombie,[4] and shared in the prize money for the capture.[6]

Laurel was sold in 1797 at Jamaica.[2]

Citations and references

Citations

  1. Winfield and Roberts (2015), p. 177.
  2. Winfield (2008), p.231.
  3. "No. 13773". The London Gazette. 25 April 1795. p. 379.
  4. Marshall (1823), Vol. 1, Part 2, pp.676-77.
  5. Schomberg (1802), p.
  6. "No. 15265". The London Gazette. 7 June 1800. p. 623.

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
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