HMS Albemarle (1779) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids History
France
Name	Ménagère
Builder	Toulon shipyard
Acquired	Purchased in May 1779
Captured	24 September 1779, by the Royal Navy
Great Britain
Name	HMS Albemarle
Acquired	Captured on 24 September 1779
Commissioned	22 November 1779
Fate	Sold on 1 June 1784
Great Britain
Name	Albemarle
Owner	Calvert & Co.
Operator	East India Company, 1791–1793
Acquired	1784 or 1790-1 by purchase
Captured	May 1793
Fate	Subsequent fate is currently unknown
General characteristics
Tons burthen	520, or 530, or 543 (bm)
Length	125 ft (38.1 m)
Beam	31 ft 7 in (9.6 m)
Depth of hold	13 ft 7+1⁄2 in (4.15 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Complement	At capture:160 British service: 200
Armament	As built: 28 × 8-pounder guns At capture: 30 guns After fitting in 1781: Upper deck: 24 × 9-pounder guns QD: 4 × 3-pounder guns

HMS Albemarle was a 28-gun sixth rate frigate (a fast warship) of the Royal Navy. She started her life as a French merchant ship named Ménagère. The French Navy bought her in 1779. A British fleet captured her in September of that year. She then joined the Royal Navy.

One of her commanders was Captain Horatio Nelson. He later became a very famous admiral. The Navy sold Albemarle in 1784. She then became a merchant ship again. In 1791, she carried convicts to Port Jackson in Australia. This was part of the third fleet of ships. After that, she sailed to India to pick up goods for the British East India Company. On her way back to England, a French privateer (a privately owned warship) captured her.

Ship's Early Life and Capture

The ship Ménagère was built in 1776 as a merchant vessel. The French Navy bought her in Bordeaux in May 1779.

The French government sent her from Bordeaux to Cap-François. She was part of a group of transport ships. On September 22 and 23, a British Royal Navy fleet captured seven ships from this group. This happened near San Domingo. The British ship HMS Albion might have been the one that captured her.

Here are the ships that were captured:

A special court in Barbados decided on November 17 that Ménagère was a legal prize of war. The Royal Navy then took ownership of her. She was the only ship out of the seven captured that the British Navy wanted to keep.

Captain John Thomas took command of Ménagère on November 22. He brought his officers and crew from his old ship, the sloop HMS Barbadoes. Another 44 men joined from HMS Grafton. Albemarle was then sent to serve near the Leeward Islands. Captain Thomas Taylor took over command on June 12, 1780. Under Taylor, Albemarle was part of Sir George Rodney's fleet. This was during the Battle of Martinique in April 1780. However, the ship did not directly fight in the battle.

Albemarle stayed in the Caribbean. She was in Carlisle Bay, Barbados, when a hurricane hit on October 11. The storm damaged her. Captain Taylor remained in charge while the ship was repaired. After repairs, she sailed to Britain as an escort for other ships. She was taken out of service in February 1781.

Nelson Takes Command

Albemarle was then repaired and had copper plates added to her hull. This work happened at Woolwich between July 3 and October 12, 1781. During these repairs, the 22-year-old Captain Horatio Nelson took command. This was on August 15, 1781. He was to serve in the North Sea and the English Channel.

Nelson's friend, Captain William Locker, was more experienced. He had some doubts about Albemarle's abilities. Nelson sailed as a convoy escort to Denmark with the Enterprize and Argo. This journey started on October 31, 1781. On their way back to Britain, the ships met bad weather. They had to find shelter in Yarmouth Roads. On January 26, one of the merchant ships crashed into Albemarle. This accident almost caused both ships to sink. When she returned, Albemarle was repaired again. This happened between February and April 1782 at Portsmouth.

Next, Albemarle sailed on April 7, 1782. She was escorting a group of ships to Quebec. The convoy arrived on May 27, 1782. After that, Nelson continued to operate off the North American coast. He almost got captured on August 14. A French fleet chased him near Boston.

Nelson did capture several prizes (enemy ships or goods) during his time there. One was the French supply ship Reine de France. Nelson then asked to join the fleet of Admiral Samuel Hood. He sailed with Hood to Jamaica. One notable event during Nelson's service in the West Indies was his attack on the French base at Turk's Island. This attack happened on March 7 and 8, 1783, but it was not successful.

Ship's Sale and Merchant Life

Nelson was the third and last commander of HMS Albemarle. The ship was taken out of service on July 3, 1783. She was later sold at Portsmouth for £370 on June 1, 1784.

Albemarle then disappears from records for some years. In 1791, she reappears in Lloyd's Register. This was a list of ships. Albemarle, built in France, was listed as 530 tons. Her master was Js. Boulton, and her owner was Calvert & Co. Her trade route was London to Botany Bay. Calvert & Co. then rented her to the British East India Company (EIC). The EIC then rented her to the British government. Her job was to transport convicts to Australia.

Under the command of George Bowen, Albemarle left Portsmouth on March 27, 1791. She was part of the third fleet. By April 9, Albemarle had separated from the other ships. Some convicts then tried to take over the ship. But the guards and the ship's crew quickly stopped the uprising. Captain Bowen took strong action against the leaders of the uprising. The other convicts who were caught said that two sailors had started the uprising. Captain Bowen kept these two sailors restrained. He landed them at Madeira, where a British warship took them back to England.

On October 13, 1791, Albemarle arrived in Port Jackson, New South Wales. She had started with 282 male convicts. 32 of them died during the trip. Two of these were the men involved in the uprising. Six more female convicts were found on board when the ship arrived. It is not clear where they came from. Albemarle left Port Jackson on December 3, 1791. She sailed with Active towards India.

The EIC had told the captains of Albemarle, Active, Admiral Barrington, and Queen to sail to India. This was after they dropped off their convicts. The EIC also gave them money to buy goods for the company. These goods were to be carried back to England.

Ship's Final Journey

Albemarle left Bombay on December 23, 1792. She was again sailing with Active. The French privateer Duguay-Trouin captured Albemarle in May 1793. The privateer took her to Morlaix, France. A report from that time said Albemarle was coming from Bombay. It also said her captor took her to France. The same report said a privateer had captured Active and sent her to Brest. A report from three weeks later confirmed Albemarle was taken to Morlaix. Her exact fate after this is not known.

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