The Félicité was a 32-gun 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...

, lead ship of her class. Captured by the British Navy and sold to the State of Haiti

State of Haiti

The State of Haiti was the name of the state in northern Haiti. It was created on October 17, 1806 following the overthrow of the Empire of Haiti following the assassination of Emperor Jacques I...

, she entered Haitian service as Améthyste.

French service

In 1792, she traveled to the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

. On 29 December, she took part in the capture of the royalist brig Légère off Saint-Pierre

Saint-Pierre, Martinique

Saint-Pierre is a town and commune of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique, founded in 1635 by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Before the total destruction of Saint-Pierre in 1902 by a volcanic eruption, it was the most important city of Martinique culturally and economically, being known...

.

On 6 February 1806, she was present at the Battle of San Domingo

Battle of San Domingo

The Battle of San Domingo, in 1806, was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. French and British squadrons of ships of the line met off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean...

, from which she escaped unharmed together with two other French vessels, the 36-gun frigate Cornélie

French frigate Cornélie (1797)

The Cornélie was a 44-gun Virginie class frigate of the French Navy.In April 1799, along with Vengeance and Sémillante, she fought against HMS St Fiorenzo and Amelia....

and the 16-gun ship-corvette Diligente

French corvette Diligente (1801)

The Diligente was a 20-gun corvette of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Built at Brest on private plans by Pierre Ozanne, she was particularly fast. The French Navy adopted the design and copied the plans as late as 1848. Originally armed with 6-pounder guns, she was later rearmed with...

.

In February 1809, she sailed with Troude's division

Troude's expedition to the Caribbean

Troude's expedition to the Caribbean was a naval operation by a French force under Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude during the Napoleonic Wars. The French squadron departed from Lorient in February 1809 in an attempt to reach and resupply the island colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, then...

 to the Caribbean, armed en flûte

En flûte

Arming a ship en flûte means removing some or all of the artillery. Since ships have a limited amount of cargo space, they may be armed en flûte to make room for other cargo, such as troops and ammunition...

. On 18 August, she was captured by HMS Latona and Cherub

HMS Cherub (1806)

HMS Cherub was an 18-gun Royal Navy Cormorant-class sloop built in Dover in 1806.-West Indies and Pacific service:Cherub was stationed in the West Indies and took part in the capture of Guadeloupe in 1810 and remained on the Leeward Islands station until 1812. That year she returned to England with...

 and sold to Henri Christophe

Henri Christophe

Henri Christophe was a key leader in the Haitian Revolution, winning independence from France in 1804. On 17 February 1807, after the creation of a separate nation in the north, Christophe was elected President of the State of Haiti...

's State of Haiti

State of Haiti

The State of Haiti was the name of the state in northern Haiti. It was created on October 17, 1806 following the overthrow of the Empire of Haiti following the assassination of Emperor Jacques I...

 the next month.

Haitian service

For reasons unknown, in January 1812, the Haitian Navy defected to the rebel Borgella, who placed a French privateer named Gaspard in command of the Améthyste (recommissioned as Heureuse Réunion), a corvette, and a brig. Gaspard armed the flagship with 44 cannon and a crew of over 600 men including Haitians, Frenchmen, and Americans.

Stopped soon thereafter upon suspicion of piracy by Captain James Yeo

James Lucas Yeo

Sir James Lucas Yeo KCB was a British naval commander who served in the War of 1812.Yeo was born in Southampton on 7 October 1782, and joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman at the age of 10. He first saw action as a lieutenant aboard a brig in the Adriatic Sea, and distinguished himself during the...

, commanding HMS Southampton

HMS Southampton (1757)

HMS Southampton was the name ship of the 32-gun Southampton-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and served for more than half a century until wrecked in 1812.- Fate :...

, the Heureuse Réunion began the Action of 3 February 1812

Action of 3 February 1812

The Action of 3 February 1812 was an unusual minor naval engagement between a British frigate and a large pirate ship manned by a loose collation of Haitian rebels off the western coast of Haiti. The battle was fought against the background of the Napoleonic Wars and the collapse of government in...

. Unable to close fast enough to board the more nimble Southampton and losing her mainmast, the Heureuse Réunion surrendered and was dragged to Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

, where her ownership was returned to Haiti

State of Haiti

The State of Haiti was the name of the state in northern Haiti. It was created on October 17, 1806 following the overthrow of the Empire of Haiti following the assassination of Emperor Jacques I...

.

Sources and references