The Artémise was a Magicienne class

Magicienne class frigate

The Magicienne class was a type of twelve 32-gun frigates of the French Navy. They were designed by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb.* MagicienneThe Magicienne class was a type of twelve 32-gun frigates of the French Navy...

 frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

 of the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

.

She was under construction as Aurore in Toulon when the British seized the city. The French finished her after they retook her on 24 July 1794 and in September renamed her Artémise.

On 23 June 1795, along with the 40-gun Minerve

French frigate Minerve (1794)

The Minerve was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy. She was captured twice by the British and recaptured once by the French. She therefore served under four names:*Minerve, 1794–1795*HMS Minerve, 1795–1803*Canonnière, 1803–1810...

, she took part in an action against HMS Dido

HMS Dido (1784)

HMS Dido was one of the twenty-seven Enterprise class of 28-gunsixth-rate frigates in service with the Royal Navy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Dido was commissioned in September 1787 under the command of Captain Charles Sandys...

 and HMS Lowestoffe

HMS Lowestoffe (1761)

HMS Lowestoffe was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. Built during the latter part of the Seven Years' War, she went on to see action in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary War, and served often in the Caribbean...

, escaping while Minerve was captured. Her captain was relieved of his command for leaving the Minerve.

In 1798, she took part in the Expedition of Egypt, and in the Battle of the Nile

Battle of the Nile

The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...

. HMS Orion

HMS Orion (1787)

HMS Orion was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Deptford on 1 June 1787 to the design of the , by William Bately...

 and HMS Theseus

HMS Theseus (1786)

HMS Theseus was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy.One of the eight Culloden class ships designed by Thomas Slade, she was built at Perry, Blackwall Yard, London and launched on 25 September 1786.-Service:...

engaged her; outgunned, her crew set fire to prevent the British from capturing her.