The French frigate Aréthuse was a 46-gun 18-pounder frigate 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 served during the Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...

, took part in the conquest of Algeria and ended her days as a coal depot in Brest

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

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Cruise off West Africa, 1812-1813

On 25 November 1812 the frigates Aréthuse (Captain Pierre Bouvet) and Rubis

French frigate Rubis (1812)

The Rubis was a 40-gun Pallas-class frigate of the French Navy.- Career :On 25 November 1812, under Commander Ollivier, Rubis sailed from Nantes along with Aréthuse to intercept British trade off West Africa...

 sailed from Nantes to intercept British trade off West Africa. In January, having captured a Portuguese ship, La Serra, they reached Cap-Vert

Cap-Vert

Cap-Vert is a peninsula in Senegal, and the westernmost point of the continent of Africa and of the Old World mainland. Originally called Cabo Verde or "Cape Green" by Portuguese explorers, it is not to be confused with the Cape Verde islands, which are some further west...

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The destruction of HMS Daring

On 27 January 1813, Aréthuse intercepted the brig HMS Daring

HMS Daring (1804)

HMS Daring was a 12-gun gun-brig of the Archer class of the British Royal Navy.-History:She was built under contract by Jabez Bailey, of Ipswich and launched in October 1804. In August 1809, she served in the West Scheldt, being detached under Sir Home Popham to take soundings...

 (Lieutenant Pascoe) off Tamara (one of the Iles de Los off Guinea). Daring was run aground and was burnt to avoid capture, and part of her crew was taken prisoner. Pascoe and his men sailed to the Sierra Leone River, where they arrived the next day and reported the presence of the French frigates to the HMS Amelia

HMS Amelia (1796)

Proserpine was a 38-gun Hébé-class frigate of the French Navy captured by on 13 June 1796. The Admiralty commissioned Prosperine into the Royal Navy as the fifth rate, HMS Amelia...

 (Captain Frederick Paul Irby

Frederick Paul Irby

Rear Admiral The Hon. Frederick Paul Irby CB was a British Royal Navy officer and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk.-Birth:...

). The prisoners of Daring were released in a boat on parole.

As Aréthuse and Rubis unloaded their prize, Rubis struck a rock and was disabled. Aréthuse anchored to the north of Rubis and prepared to intercept English trade.

The battle with HMS Amelia

On 6 February, HMS Amelia

HMS Amelia (1796)

Proserpine was a 38-gun Hébé-class frigate of the French Navy captured by on 13 June 1796. The Admiralty commissioned Prosperine into the Royal Navy as the fifth rate, HMS Amelia...

, guided and reinforced by sailors from Daring, attacked Aréthuse. A furious, 4-hour night battle followed. Aréthuse disabled Amelia by shooting at her sails and rigging, and made two attempts to board her, without success. Eventually the ships parted, neither ship able to gain the upper hand, and both with heavy casualties: Amelia had 46 killed (including Lieutenants John Bates, John Pope and George Wills, Lieutenant William Pascoe, the commander of Daring, and 2nd Lieutenant R G Grainger) and 51 wounded; Aréthuse suffered over 31 killed and 74 wounded, and 30 round shot had struck her hull on the starboard side below the quarter deck.

Aréthuse returned to the stranded Rubis in the hope of refloating her; the attempt proved futile, and Rubis was eventually burnt by her crew on 8 February. Soon afterwards Aréthuse captured the British privateer Cerberus, and arrived back in St Malo on 19 April having taken 15 prizes.

Later life and disposal

She took part in the Invasion of Algiers in 1830

Invasion of Algiers in 1830

The Invasion of Algiers in 1830 was a large-scale military operation by which the Kingdom of France, ruled by Charles X, invaded and conquered the Ottoman Regency of Algiers...

 as a transport. In 1833, she was razee

Razee

A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French vaisseau rasé, meaning a razed ship.-Sixteenth century:...

d into a corvette. She was decommissioned in 1861 and used as a coal depot in Brest.