HMS Danae (1798) facts for kids
Danae
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 France |
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| Name | Vaillante |
| Launched | 1796 |
| Renamed | Danaé August 1798 |
| Captured | 7 August 1798 |
.svg){kind=small} Great Britain |
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| Name | HMS Danae |
| Acquired | By capture 7 August 1798 |
| Captured | By mutineers 14 March 1800 |
| France |
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| Name | Vaillante |
| Acquired | From mutineers 15 March 1800 |
| Fate | Sold out of service 1801 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Bonne Citoyenne-class corvette |
| Type |
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| Tonnage | 507 8⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
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| Beam | 30 ft 11+1⁄4 in (9.4 m) |
| Depth of hold | 8 ft 11 in (2.7 m) |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement |
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| Armament |
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The Vaillante was a French warship built in 1796. It was a 20-gun Bonne-Citoyenne-class corvette. A corvette is a small warship, and this one was built in Bayonne, France.
In 1798, a British ship called Indefatigable, led by Captain Edward Pellew, captured the Vaillante. The British Navy then took the ship and renamed it HMS Danae. However, in 1800, some of the crew on HMS Danae rebelled and gave the ship back to the French. The French renamed it Vaillante again. The ship was later sold in 1801. It made one trip as a transport ship to Haiti, but what happened to it after that is not known.
Contents
French Service: Building and Capture
The Vaillante was built in Bayonne, France, between 1794 and 1796. It was armed with twenty 8-pounder guns and had a crew of 175 sailors.
In August 1798, the Vaillante was sailing to Cayenne. It was carrying 25 priests who had been sent away from France, 27 convicts, and a family. On August 7, 1798, the British ship Indefatigable captured the Vaillante near the Île de Ré.
The captured ship arrived in Portsmouth, England, in October 1798. The British Navy officially took it over and renamed it HMS Danae on October 11, 1798. They then prepared the ship for British service until February 1799. The British added more cannons to the ship but used fewer crew members than the French had.
British Service: HMS Danae
In December 1798, Captain Lord William Proby became the commander of HMS Danae.
Stormy Seas and Captures
In March 1799, a big storm hit the Danae near the Île de Batz. Two of its anchor ropes broke, but a third anchor held the ship in place. The storm damaged all of the ship's small boats. Captain Proby also had an accident during the storm, falling down a hatchway. He dislocated his shoulder and broke two ribs.
On April 4, 1799, the Danae captured a French ship called Sans Quartier near Chausey. The Sans Quartier was a 14-gun lugger with 56 men. It had thrown its cannons overboard to try and escape from the Danae.
Later, on December 25, 1799, the Danae helped another British ship, Ethalion, which had hit some rocks. The Danae, along with Sylph and the cutter Nimrod, helped rescue the crew. After the crew was safe, the Ethalion was burned to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
On January 10, 1800, the Danae was with Excellent and Uranie. The Excellent recaptured an American ship named Franklin. A French privateer had captured the Franklin the day before. The Franklin was carrying sugar, coffee, and indigo from St. Thomas to London. The French privateers had damaged the ship and its cargo before the British got it back.
On February 6, 1800, the Danae and other British ships captured a 42-gun French frigate called Pallas. The Pallas was sailing from Saint-Malo to Brest. The British took the Pallas into their own navy and renamed it Pique. That same morning, the Danae also captured a French cutter.
A month later, on March 10, the Danae recaptured a sloop named Plenty. A French privateer had captured Plenty as it sailed from Cork to Lisbon. The Danae sent the Plenty to Plymouth.
Mutiny on Board
On March 14, 1800, something unexpected happened. At 9:30 in the evening, some of the crew members rebelled and took control of the Danae's deck. Most of the officers were sleeping below deck.
The leader of the mutiny, William Jackson, attacked the officer on watch and pushed him down a hatchway. The mutineers quickly secured the hatchways, stopping Captain Proby and his loyal officers and sailors from coming up to the deck. Captain Proby tried to get back on deck, but the mutineers fought back, and he received a head wound.
The next morning, the mutineers sailed the Danae to Le Conquet in France. There, they met a French ship called Colombe, which the Danae had actually been chasing earlier. French soldiers came aboard and accepted Captain Proby's surrender. The Danae and Colombe then sailed together to Brest.
Two British frigates, Anson and Boadicea, briefly chased them. However, the mutineers tricked the British ships by signaling that they were chasing the Colombe, so the British ships stopped their pursuit.
The French treated Captain Proby, his officers, and the loyal sailors well. They were later allowed to return home. A special naval court meeting was held on June 17, 1800. Captain Proby, his officers, and the loyal crew members were found not guilty of any blame for the mutiny.
The Ship's Final Days
After the mutiny, the French gave the Danae its original name back: Vaillante. In 1801, the French sold the Vaillante to a merchant named Cooper in Morlaix. Cooper then rented the ship back to the French government to use as a transport ship.
The Vaillante made one trip to Haiti during the Haitian Revolution, a time when Haiti was fighting for its freedom. After 1802, no one knows what happened to the ship.
After the Mutiny
After the mutiny, British ships continued to look for the mutineers. On May 30, 1800, Dasher found two mutineers from the Danae and brought them back to Plymouth.
Later, on June 12, the British ship Indefatigable captured a French privateer called Vengeur. When the crew of the Vengeur landed in Plymouth, they were taken to a prison. There, on August 24, Lieutenant Neville Lake, who had been an officer on the Danae, identified one of the mutiny leaders, John Barnet.
Another mutineer, John M'Donald, was caught in London. He was identified by Lieutenant Nevins, who had also been an officer on the Danae. M'Donald mentioned that the main people who started the mutiny were two men named Jackson and Williams, and an Irish priest named Ignatius Finney.
Some other mutineers were found later. In September, three privateer ships from Guernsey recaptured a large ship that a French privateer had taken. The British prize crew found seven mutineers from the Danae among the French crew.
