.gif)
HMS Entreprenante (1799)
Encyclopedia
HMS Entreprenante (also Entreprenant), was a 10-gun cutter that the Royal Navy
captured from the French
in 1798. The British commissioned her in 1799 and she served during the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
, participating in the Battle of Trafalgar
. She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
The ship is thought to have been built in France in 1798.
On 3 March 1800, Entreprenante, and shared in the capture of the Madona del Grazie, which they sent into Leghorn
. On 29 March Entreprenante captured a Genoese vessel from Capraia bound for Genoa with a cargo of corn. Entreprenante was among the handful of vessels that shared by agreement with Phaeton in the proceeds of the capture on 14 April by Phaeton and . Next, Entreprenante was among the vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture off Genoa, on 28 April, of the Proteus.
On 21 January 1801 Entreprenante brought dispatches to Jaffa
. Then on 2 March she protected the flanks during the landing of troops in Aboukir Bay
. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Egypt" to any surviving members of her crew that came forward to claim it. Entreprenante was paid off in December 1802.
From 28 November 1802 to 7 January 1804 she was in Portsmouth, refitting. She was recommissioned on 1 December 1803 under Lieutenant James Brown, for the Channel. On 12 April 1804 Lieutenant Robert Benjamin Young
took command. On 30 May 1805 the sloop , Commander Joseph James, and Entreprenante captured the Prussian sloop Omnibus.
, but she took no actual part in the fighting. Towards the end of the battle, though, together with the schooner
Pickle
and boats from Prince
and Swiftsure
, she took part in rescuing some 200 men from the French ship Achille
after Achille exploded. Young also found the Bahama, whose Spanish crew had overthrown the British prize crew and were attempting to take the ship back to Cadiz. Thanks to Young's fast message to Collingwood, the British swiftly retook Bahama and brought her to Gibraltar. After the battle, Entrepenante was sent to Faro
, Portugal, carrying Collingwood's dispatches announcing the British victory. The Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Trafalgar" to any surviving members of Entreprenantes crew that came forward to claim it.
Still under the command of Young, Entreprenante spent 1806 in the English Channel
, watching the French fleet during the blockade of Brest
, France. In April 1806 she was under the command of Lieutenant John Payer, who may have been temporary;A number of accounts give John Payer, John Puyer or John Puver as the captain of Entreprenante at Trafalgar. This error was later corrected to recognize Young's role. by January 1807 she was again under Young's command. On 28 June she was unsuccessful in rescuing the schooner , which had run onto the Parquette Rock while reconnoitering the harbour at Brest
.
On 4 December 1808 Lieutenant Peter Williams replaced Young. Entreprenante continued to remain with the Channel Fleet
and on 27 December she recaptured the schooner Cora.
Entreprenante sailed for Portugal on 24 May 1809. In January 1810 she was at Pera
, taking on presents from the Sublime Porte intended for George III
. She again sailed for the Mediterranean on 31 October 1810.
and Cape De Gatt on the morning of 12 December 1810. Whilst she was lying there, four French lateen
-rigged privateer
s came out to attack her. One of the French vessels had eight guns, including two long 18-pounder guns, and 75 men. The second had five guns and a crew of 45 men. The last two each had two guns and crews of 25 men. Entreprenante was short-handed, having on board only 33 men.
Two of the privateers passed under Entreprenantes stern while the other two stood off her starboard bow and quarter. The ensuing battle lasted for four hours until the French retreated, having suffered heavy damage. During the action Entreprenante had lost her topmast and had two starboard guns disabled. She had also repulsed three attempts at boarding during which she had one man killed and ten wounded.
Entreprenante next saw action on 25 April. Williams had taken her into Malaga Bay under a flag of truce to deliver a letter to the Governor, General Sabastini. Whilst on this duty, the British spotted two French privateers coming into the harbour, escorting a prize. (The privateers were two of the vessels that Entreprenante had repulsed in December 1810.) Williams collected a reply from the Governor for Governor Campbell at Gibraltar
, and Entreprenante made her way out of the harbour. One privateer had already anchored off the mole, but the other and the prize were still under way. Williams closed on the privateer that was still sailing and brought her to battle. After a sharp engagement lasting 15 minutes, Entreprenante drove her on shore, severely hulled. She had been armed with six guns and had a crew of 50 men.
By now, the water under Entreprenantes keel
was less than three fathom
s (5 m) and Williams was obliged to tack. He turned his attention to the prize, and after firing a few shots, boarded her and took possession. She was the Spanish brig
St. Joseph (San Jose), out of Cadiz
and Gibraltar, and had been captured whilst sailing to Tarragona
. Williams took her in tow and sailed her out of the harbour. Hundreds of spectators on the mole head
at Malaga watched the action. Entreprenante accomplished the entire engagement without taking any casualties. This was to be Entreprenantes last action.
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...
captured from the French
French First Republic
The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
in 1798. The British commissioned her in 1799 and she served during the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and 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...
, participating in the Battle of 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 ....
. She has been the only ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
The ship is thought to have been built in France in 1798.
Early career
Entreprenante was commissioned in February 1799 under Lieutenant Charles Claridge. In April she was under the command of Lieutenant William Swiney.On 3 March 1800, Entreprenante, and shared in the capture of the Madona del Grazie, which they sent into Leghorn
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
. On 29 March Entreprenante captured a Genoese vessel from Capraia bound for Genoa with a cargo of corn. Entreprenante was among the handful of vessels that shared by agreement with Phaeton in the proceeds of the capture on 14 April by Phaeton and . Next, Entreprenante was among the vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture off Genoa, on 28 April, of the Proteus.
On 21 January 1801 Entreprenante brought dispatches to Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. Then on 2 March she protected the flanks during the landing of troops in Aboukir Bay
Abu Qir Bay
The Abū Qīr Bay is a spacious bay on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt, lying between Abu Qir and the Rosetta mouth of the Nile. It contains a natural gas field, discovered in the 1970s.On August 1, 1798, Horatio Nelson fought the Battle of the Nile, often referred to as the "Battle of Aboukir Bay"...
. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Egypt" to any surviving members of her crew that came forward to claim it. Entreprenante was paid off in December 1802.
From 28 November 1802 to 7 January 1804 she was in Portsmouth, refitting. She was recommissioned on 1 December 1803 under Lieutenant James Brown, for the Channel. On 12 April 1804 Lieutenant Robert Benjamin Young
Robert Benjamin Young
Commander Robert Benjamin Young, RN was an officer in the Royal Navy. His service in small ships led to his presence observing the battle of Trafalgar in 1805 from the deck of the tiny 10 gun cutter HMS Entreprenante...
took command. On 30 May 1805 the sloop , Commander Joseph James, and Entreprenante captured the Prussian sloop Omnibus.
Trafalgar
Entreprenante, under Young, was present at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, where she was the smallest British warship there. Entreprenante accompanied the Lee (Blue) Division under Vice-admiral CollingwoodCuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands.-Early years:Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne...
, but she took no actual part in the fighting. Towards the end of the battle, though, together with the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Pickle
HMS Pickle (1800)
HMS Pickle was a topsail schooner of the Royal Navy. She was originally a civilian vessel named Sting. of six guns, that Lord Hugh Seymour purchased to use as an armed tender on the Jamaica Station...
and boats from Prince
HMS Prince (1788)
HMS Prince was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 4 July 1788 at Woolwich. She fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.-Life:...
and Swiftsure
HMS Swiftsure (1804)
HMS Swiftsure was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched from Bucklers Hard on 23 July 1804. She fought at Trafalgar.The French 74-gun ship Swiftsure also took part in the battle...
, she took part in rescuing some 200 men from the French ship Achille
French ship Achille (1803)
The Achille was a 74-gun French ship of the line built at Rochefort in 1803 after plans by Jacques-Noël Sané.Under the command of Captain Louis Gabriel Deniéport, she sailed at the vanguard of the French Fleet on 20 October 1805, just before the Battle of Trafalgar, and she was the first...
after Achille exploded. Young also found the Bahama, whose Spanish crew had overthrown the British prize crew and were attempting to take the ship back to Cadiz. Thanks to Young's fast message to Collingwood, the British swiftly retook Bahama and brought her to Gibraltar. After the battle, Entrepenante was sent to Faro
Faro, Portugal
Faro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
, Portugal, carrying Collingwood's dispatches announcing the British victory. The Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Trafalgar" to any surviving members of Entreprenantes crew that came forward to claim it.
Still under the command of Young, Entreprenante spent 1806 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...
, watching the French fleet during the blockade 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...
, France. In April 1806 she was under the command of Lieutenant John Payer, who may have been temporary;A number of accounts give John Payer, John Puyer or John Puver as the captain of Entreprenante at Trafalgar. This error was later corrected to recognize Young's role. by January 1807 she was again under Young's command. On 28 June she was unsuccessful in rescuing the schooner , which had run onto the Parquette Rock while reconnoitering the harbour at 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 4 December 1808 Lieutenant Peter Williams replaced Young. Entreprenante continued to remain with the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
and on 27 December she recaptured the schooner Cora.
Entreprenante sailed for Portugal on 24 May 1809. In January 1810 she was at Pera
Beyoglu
Beyoğlu is a district located on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city by the Golden Horn...
, taking on presents from the Sublime Porte intended for George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
. She again sailed for the Mediterranean on 31 October 1810.
Action off Malaga
Entreprenante found herself becalmed off the Spanish coast near Castle Ferro, between MalagaMálaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
and Cape De Gatt on the morning of 12 December 1810. Whilst she was lying there, four French lateen
Lateen
A lateen or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long yard mounted at an angle on the mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction....
-rigged privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s came out to attack her. One of the French vessels had eight guns, including two long 18-pounder guns, and 75 men. The second had five guns and a crew of 45 men. The last two each had two guns and crews of 25 men. Entreprenante was short-handed, having on board only 33 men.
Two of the privateers passed under Entreprenantes stern while the other two stood off her starboard bow and quarter. The ensuing battle lasted for four hours until the French retreated, having suffered heavy damage. During the action Entreprenante had lost her topmast and had two starboard guns disabled. She had also repulsed three attempts at boarding during which she had one man killed and ten wounded.
Capture of the Saint Joseph
Entreprenante remained off the Spanish coast into 1811. On 22 April she captured the American merchant ship Hannah and her cargo.Entreprenante next saw action on 25 April. Williams had taken her into Malaga Bay under a flag of truce to deliver a letter to the Governor, General Sabastini. Whilst on this duty, the British spotted two French privateers coming into the harbour, escorting a prize. (The privateers were two of the vessels that Entreprenante had repulsed in December 1810.) Williams collected a reply from the Governor for Governor Campbell at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, and Entreprenante made her way out of the harbour. One privateer had already anchored off the mole, but the other and the prize were still under way. Williams closed on the privateer that was still sailing and brought her to battle. After a sharp engagement lasting 15 minutes, Entreprenante drove her on shore, severely hulled. She had been armed with six guns and had a crew of 50 men.
By now, the water under Entreprenantes keel
Keel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
was less than three fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
s (5 m) and Williams was obliged to tack. He turned his attention to the prize, and after firing a few shots, boarded her and took possession. She was the Spanish brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
St. Joseph (San Jose), out of 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....
and Gibraltar, and had been captured whilst sailing to Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
. Williams took her in tow and sailed her out of the harbour. Hundreds of spectators on the mole head
Mole (architecture)
A mole is a massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater, or a causeway between places separated by water. The word comes from Middle French mole and ultimately Latin mōlēs meaning a large mass, especially of rock and has the same root as molecule.Historically, the term "mole"...
at Malaga watched the action. Entreprenante accomplished the entire engagement without taking any casualties. This was to be Entreprenantes last action.
Fate
Entreprenante arrived at Plymouth on 22 March 1812 with dispatches from the Mediterranean, Gibraltar and Cadiz. She was paid off in April 1812. Entreprenante was broken up in June 1812, after eleven years of distinguished service.External links
- Phillips, Michael - Ships of the Old Navy - HMS Entreprenantehttp://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=0839