HMS Minerve

Whilst noodling round Wikipedia doing some research I came across an entry on HMS Minerve. It immediately caught my attention, so I made a little more use of Google and Bing and came up with some more information on the ship.

The frigate HMS Minerve had a most interesting history. In a career lasting little more than twenty years she was in action a number of times and was captured and changed owners no less than three times.

Built in Toulon for the French navy and launched in 1794, Minerve was a 40 gun frigate. She was approximately 158 feet long with a tonnage of 700 tons and originally carried twenty-eight eighteen pound and twelve eight pound cannon.

In June 1795 she, together with the 36 gun frigate Artemise engaged the British frigates Dido and Lowestoffe. Artemise fled and Minerve surrendered to the British and was commissioned as HMS Minerve.

In 1796, whilst under the command of Captain George Cockburn and with Commodore Nelson on board, Minerve engaged and captured the Spanish frigate Sabina. Thomas Hardy, Victory’s captain at Trafalgar, was then a lieutenant on board Minerve and was sent across with a Lieutenant Culverhouse to take charge of the prize. Unfortunately, the ship was later recaptured by the Spanish when one of her masts was destroyed. Hardy was later freed after an exchange of prisoners and rejoined Minerve.

In February 1797, still with Nelson on board, Minerve passed unseen through the Spanish fleet the day before the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. This allowed Nelson to report the position of the Spanish fleet to Admiral Sir John Jervis, but the fog which had allowed him to pass the Spanish undetected also meant Nelson had been unable to count the number of ships in the Spanish fleet. Nelson transferred to HMS Captain prior to the battle. Minerve was present at the battle, but as a frigate she did not form part of the line of battle and would have carried out a support role.

The following May. Minerve and the frigate HMS Lively captured the French brig Mutine. Thomas Hardy commanded the longboats sent to capture the Mutine and he was promoted to Commander and given command of the brig.

In September 1801 and still under the command of Captain Cockburn, the Minerve, together with the frigates Pomone and Pheonix chased the French frigates Le Success and La Bravoure. Both French vessels were forced aground, with one surrendering and the other being wrecked.

HMS Minerve continued under the British flag until July 1803 when she ran aground off Cherbourg. The British attempted to refloat her but fire from nearby batteries and French gunboats Chiffone and Terrible forced her commander, Captain Jaheel Brenton to surrender. The French renamed her Cannonniere and put her back into service.

In April 1806 when based in Mauritius (then the Ile de France)under the command of Captain Cesar-Joseph Bourayne she fought an action against two larger ships HMS Tremendous (74 guns) and HMS Hindostan (50 guns) and in September 1808 she captured HMS Laurel.

By 1809 she required repairs and was sent back to France having been renamed Confiance in June that year.

Whilst on this voyage she was captured by HMS Valiant in February 1810. She was taken back into British service, this time as HMS Confiance but was not used again and was removed from the navy list in 1814.

Whilst Minerve’s career was packed with incident and she saw action on more than one occasion, it does reflect in many ways the careers of many Royal Navy frigates of the time. Although it does have to be said that being captured so many times probably was untypical.