The Barra was a Téméraire class

Téméraire class ship of the line

The Téméraire class ships of the line was a class of 107 74-gun ships of the line built between 1782 and 1813 for the French navy. The type was and remains the most numerous class of capital ship ever built....

 74-gun ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 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 renamed Pégase in 1795, and Hoche in 1797. She was captured by the British on 12 October 1798 and recommissioned in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 as HMS Donegal.

Capture

As Hoche, she took part in the French attempt to land in County Donegal

County Donegal

County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...

 to support the Irish Rebellion of 1798

Irish Rebellion of 1798

The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...

. She formed the flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of an expedition under Commodore Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart

Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart

Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart was a French privateer, navy officer and admiral. He was related to the noted Admiral Maxime de Bompart.He took part in the American War of Independence as a young officer....

, consisting of the Hoche and eight 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"...

s, and transporting 3,000 French troops. Aboard the Hoche was Wolfe Tone

Theobald Wolfe Tone

Theobald Wolfe Tone or Wolfe Tone , was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members of the United Irishmen and is regarded as the father of Irish Republicanism. He was captured by British forces at Lough Swilly in Donegal and taken prisoner...

, the leading figure in the Society of United Irishmen. The ships were chased by a number of British 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"...

s after they had left the port of 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...

 on 16 September. Despite throwing them off, they were then pursued by a fleet of larger ships under the command of Sir John Borlase Warren

John Borlase Warren

Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet , was an English admiral, politician and diplomat. Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren of Stapleford and Little Marlow...

. Both sides were hampered by the heavy winds and gales they encountered off the west coast of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, and Hoche lost all three of her topmasts and had her mizzensail shredded, causing her to fall behind. The French were finally brought to battle off Tory Island

Battle of Tory Island

The Battle of Tory Island, was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwest coast of Donegal, then in the Kingdom of Ireland...

 on 12 October 1798.

The battle started at 07:00 in the morning, with Warren giving the signal for HMS Robust

HMS Robust (1764)

HMS Robust was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 October 1764 at Harwich. She was the only vessel of the Royal Navy to bear the name....

 to steer for the French line and attack Hoche directly. Hoche then came under fire from HMS Magnanime

HMS Magnanime (1780)

HMS Magnanime was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 October 1780 at Deptford Dockyard. She belonged to the designed by Sir John Williams...

. The next three British ships into action, the frigates HMS Ethalion

HMS Ethalion (1797)

HMS Ethalion was a 38-gun Artois-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built by Joseph Graham of Harwich and launched on 14 March 1797...

, Melampus

HMS Melampus (1785)

HMS Melampus was a Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate that served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. She captured numerous prizes before she was sold in 1815.-Design and construction:...

 and 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...

, all raked the isolated Hoche as they passed before pressing on sail to pursue the French frigates, now sailing towards to the south-west. With the Hoche heavily damaged, Bompart finally surrendered at 10:50 with 270 of his crew and passengers killed or wounded. Wolfe Tone was later recognised and arrested.

Off Cadiz

The captured Hoche was taken into service and renamed HMS Donegal, after the action in which she had been captured. She spent 1800 in Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, and in 1801 came under the command of Captain Sir Richard Strachan

Sir Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet

Sir Richard John Strachan, 6th Baronet GCB was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral.-Childhood:...

, with William Bissell as her First Lieutenant from 1801 until December 1805. Donegal was initially deployed in the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

, but following the outbreak of hostilities with Spain, she was assigned to watch the French squadron at Cadiz

Cádiz

Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

. Whilst on this station, she spotted and gave chase to the large 42-gun Spanish frigate Amfitrite in November 1804. After pursuing her for 46 hours, Amfitrite lost her mizzen-top-mast and was subsequently overhauled by the Donegal.

A boat was dispatched from the Donegal and the Spanish captain was brought aboard. Sir Richard did not speak Spanish and the captain did not speak English, so it was with difficulty that Sir Richard attempted to inform him that his orders were to return the Amfitrite back to Cadiz. Sir Richard allowed the captain three minutes to decide whether he would comply with the order, but after waiting for six minutes without an answer, opened fire on the Amfitrite. The engagement lasted only eight minutes, and resulted in a number of deaths, including the Spanish captain, who fell to a musket

Musket

A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....

 ball. The Amfitrite surrendered and after being searched, was found to be laden with stores and carrying dispatches from Cadiz to Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...

 and Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

. She was taken over and later commissioned into the Navy as HMS Amfitrite

HMS Amfitrite (1804)

HMS Amfitrite was a 38-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had previously served with the Spanish Navy before she was captured during the Napoleonic Wars and commissioned into the Royal Navy. The Admiralty renamed her HMS Blanche after she had spent just over a year as Amfitrite...

. Donegal would later make another capture off Cadiz, taking a Spanish vessel carrying a cargo reputed to be worth 200,000 pounds.

In the Mediterranean and Atlantic

By 1805 Donegal was still off Cadiz, under the command of Captain Pulteney Malcolm

Pulteney Malcolm

Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm GCB GCMG was a British naval officer. He was born at Douglan, near Langholm, Scotland, on 20 February 1768, the third son of George Malcolm of Burnfoot, Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, and his wife Margaret, the sister of Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley...

. She then accompanied Vice-admiral Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...

 in his pursuit of the combined fleets across the Atlantic to the West Indies and back. She was not present at Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

, but was able, on 23 October, to capture the partially dismasted Spanish first rate Rayo which had escaped Trafalgar, but had been ordered to sea again to attempt to recapture some of the British prizes.

Donegal was then part of a squadron off Cadiz under Vice-admiral John Duckworth

John Thomas Duckworth

Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...

, when news reached him that two French squadrons had sailed from Brest in December 1805. Duckworth took his squadron to Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

 to search for them, eventually sighting them off San Domingo on 6 February. Duckworth organised his ships into two lines, the weather line consisting of HMS Superb

HMS Superb (1798)

HMS Superb was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, and the fourth vessel to bear the name. She was launched on 19 March 1798 from Northfleet, and was eventually broken up in 1826. Superb is mostly associated with Richard Goodwin Keats who commanded her as captain from 1801 until...

, HMS Northumberland

HMS Northumberland (1798)

HMS Northumberland was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at the yards of Barnard, Deptford and launched on 2 February 1798....

 and HMS Spencer

HMS Spencer (1800)

HMS Spencer was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 10 May 1800 at Bucklers Hard. Her designer was the French émigré shipwright Jean-Louis Barrallier.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:...

, while the lee line consisted of HMS Agamemnon

HMS Agamemnon (1781)

HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts...

, HMS Canopus

HMS Canopus (1798)

HMS Canopus was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. She had previously served with the French Navy as the Tonnant-class Franklin, but was captured after less than a year in service by the British fleet under Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile in 1798...

, HMS Donegal and HMS Atlas

HMS Atlas (1782)

HMS Atlas was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 February 1782. She was a built at Chatham Dockyard by Nicholas Phillips.In 1802 she was reduced to a 74-gun ship....

. The lines moved to attack the French ships and 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...

 broke out. Donegal initially engaged the Brave

French ship Cassard (1795)

Cassard was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was renamed Dix-août in 1798 and subsequently Brave in 1803.On the 27 March 1801, as she sailed with the fleet of Toulon, she collided with the Formidable and had to return to harbour.She was captured by the HMS Donegal on 6 February...

 with several broadsides, forcing her to surrender after half an hour. Captain Malcolm then moved his position to fire a few broadsides into the Jupiter

French ship Viala (1795)

The Viala was a 74-gun of the French Navy launched in 1795. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1806 and sold in 1814.-French service:...

 before sending a boarding party aboard her. The crew of the Jupiter then surrendered her. Captain Malcolm then directed the frigate HMS Acasta

HMS Acasta (1797)

HMS Acasta was a 40-gun Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate. She saw service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as the War of 1812. Although she never took part in any notable single-ship actions nor saw action in a major battle though she was at the Battle of San Domingo, she...

 to take possession of the Brave. After the battle, Donegal had lost her fore-yard and had 12 killed and 33 wounded.

Off the French coast

She remained under the command of Pulteney Malcolm, and was stationed off Finisterre

Cape Finisterre

right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....

 throughout 1807. She then became the flagship of Rear-admiral Eliab Harvey

Eliab Harvey

Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey, GCB was an eccentric and hot-tempered officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars who was as distinguished for his gambling and dueling as for his military record...

, and was later placed under the command of Rear-admiral Richard Keats

Richard Goodwin Keats

Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland from 1813 to 1816. In 1821 he was made Governor of...

 in the Channel. Donegal was at Spithead

Spithead

Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

 in 1808 and over a period of five days from 1 August Captain Malcolm oversaw the disembarkation of Sir Arthur Wellesley's

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

 army at Mondego Bay. Donegal’s first-lieutenant James Askey acted as the beach-master during the landings.

On 23 February 1809 Donegal was part of a squadron under Rear-admiral Stopford, when they chased three enemy frigates into the Sable d'Olonne

Les Sables-d'Olonne

Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Vendée department.-Events:...

, leading to the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne

Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne

The Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne was a limited frigate action that took place on 23 February 1809 off Les Sables-d'Olonne. Three ships of the line and two attached ships of the British squadron blockading the harbours of the Atlantic coast engaged a small French frigate squadron comprising...

. HMS Defiance

HMS Defiance (1783)

HMS Defiance was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Randall and Co., at Rotherhithe on the River Thames, and launched on 10 December 1783.-History:...

 was able to anchor within half a mile of them, whilst HMS Donegal and HMS Caesar

HMS Caesar (1793)

HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:...

 had to anchor further out because of their deeper draughts. Their combined fire eventually forced two of the frigates to run ashore, whilst Donegal suffered one man killed and six wounded in the engagement. By April 1809 Donegal was sailing with Admiral James Gambier's

James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier

Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier GCB was an admiral of the Royal Navy, who served as Governor of Newfoundland, and as a Lord of the Admiralty, but who gained notoriety for his actions at the Battle of the Basque Roads.-Early career:Gambier was born in New Providence, The...

 fleet in the Basque Roads

Basque Roads

Basque Roads is a sheltered bay on the Biscay shore of the Charente-Maritime département of France, bounded by the Île d'Oléron to the west and the Île de Ré to the north...

. During the Battle of the Basque Roads

Battle of the Basque Roads

The Battle of the Basque Roads, also Battle of Aix Roads was a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars off the Island of Aix...

, Donegal’s first-lieutenant James Askey commanded the fire ship

Fire ship

A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...

 Hercule in the attack on the French fleet, with the assistance of midshipman

Midshipman

A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

 Charles Falkiner, also of the Donegal.

Donegal was commanded by acting-Captain Edward Pelham Brenton

Edward Pelham Brenton

Captain Edward Pelham Brenton was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who military career was relatively quiet, apart from involvement in the capture of Martinique in 1809...

 when she sailed for Cadiz on 24 July 1809, carrying the ambassador to the Junta

Junta (Peninsular War)

In the Napoleonic era, junta was the name chosen by several local administrations formed in Spain during the Peninsular War as a patriotic alternative to the official administration toppled by the French invaders...

 at Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

, Marquess Richard Wellesley

Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley

Richard Colley Wesley, later Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, KG, PC, PC , styled Viscount Wellesley from birth until 1781, was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator....

, brother of Sir Arthur Wellesley. She arrived on 1 August, shortly after the Battle of Talavera, and after the failure of Richard Wellesley's mission, returned him to Britain in November. On her arrival, Captain Malcolm resumed command of the Donegal.
On 13 October 1810, the frigates HMS Diana

HMS Diana (1794)

HMS Diana was a 38-gun Artois-class fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1794.On 7 March 1815 HMS Diana was sold to the Dutch navy for £36,796...

 and HMS Niobe

French frigate Diane (1796)

The Diane was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy.She took part in the Battle of the Nile, managing to escape to Malta with the Justice....

 attacked and drove two French frigates ashore near La Hogue. Donegal and HMS Revenge

HMS Revenge (1805)

HMS Revenge was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 April 1805. She was designed by Sir John Henslow as one of the large class 74s, and was the only ship built to her draught...

 arrived the next day and together the four ships fired upon the French for as long as the tide would allow. Donegal had three men wounded in this action.

Fate

She spent most of 1811 off Cherbourg, before being reduced to ordinary at Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 later that year. She was later moved and spent 1814 in ordinary at Chatham

Chatham, Medway

Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...

. Donegal was eventually broken up in 1845.