French frigate Harmonie (1796)
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History | |
---|---|
France | |
Name: | Harmonie |
Builder: | Bordeaux [1][2] |
Laid down: | May 1794 [1] |
Launched: | early 1796 [1] |
Completed: | May 1796 [1] |
Fate: | Beached and burnt to avoid capture by the British Navy in April 1797 |
General characteristics | |
Class & type: | Virginie class frigate |
Displacement: | 720 tons (French) |
Length: | 47.4 m (156 ft) |
Beam: | 11.9 m (39 ft) |
Draught: | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
Armament: | 44 guns |
Armour: | Timber |
Harmonie was a 40-gun Virginie class frigate of the French Navy. Her crew scuttled her on 17 March 1797 to avoid having the Royal Navy capture her.
Career
On 7 June 1796, Harmonie departed Rochefort to ferry weapons and ammunition to Cap-Français, under Captain Joshua Barney.[Note 1] She then cruised in the Caribbean between Havana and Chesapeake Bay, returning to Cap-Français on 17 October.[3][4] Lieutenant Simon Billiette took command of Harmonie on 19 August 1796; he was promoted to Commander on 22 September.[5][Note 2]
In April 1797, Harmonie was ordered to escort a convoy of merchantmen waiting in Jean-Rabel. She departed Cap Français but on 16 April the ships of the line HMS Thunderer and HMS Valiant intercepted her. In the ensuing Battle of Jean-Rabel, Harmonie sought refugee in the shallow waters off le Marigot, and the ships of the line departed after firing on her with little effect for several hours.[6] The next day, however, the ships returned, and the crew of Harmonie, seeing her hopelessly cornered, scuttled her by fire.[7][8] Billiette sustained two wounds at the left leg.[5]
On 20 April, the British ships captured most of the convoy that Harmonie had been tasked to escort.[7] Billiette was court-martialled for the destruction of his frigate, and on 26 April 1798 found innocent of the loss of the ship.[5]
Notes, citations, and references
- Notes
- Citations
- References
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