.jpg) Arethusa (right) at theaction of 17 June 1778 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Kingdom of France | |
| Name | Aréthuse |
| Namesake | Arethusa |
| Builder | Le Havre |
| Launched | December 1757 |
| Commissioned | 1757 |
| Captured | by theRoyal Navy, 18 May 1759 |
.svg) Great Britain | |
| Name | HMSArethusa |
| Fate | Wrecked, 19 March 1779. |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Fifth-ratefrigate |
| Displacement | 900tonneaux |
| Tons burthen | 540port tonneaux |
| Length | 132 ft (40 m) |
| Beam | 34 ft (10 m) |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Complement | 270 |
| Armament | Pierced for 36 guns, 32 mounted (1759)[1] |
Aréthuse was a Frenchfrigate, launched in 1757 during theSeven Years' War. She was captured by theRoyal Navy in 1759 and became thefifth-rateHMSArethusa. She remained in Royal Navy service for twenty years until she was wrecked after being badly damaged in battle.
The ship was constructed atLe Havre forprivateer warfare asPélerine. Soon after her launch, she was purchased by the King andcommissioned asAréthuse on 21 January 1758.
In April, under CaptainJean Vauquelin, she departed from Brest with the shipsEcho andBizarre (sailingEn flûte) for the FrenchFortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia, then beingbesieged by the British.[2]
Vauquelin and his ship played a significant role in defending the fortress by bombarding the positions of the besieging British troops, slowing their advance. On the foggy night of the 15 JulyAréthuse departed from Louisbourg to return to France with dispatches. She was damaged by fire from British shore batteries, but was able to evade the blockading squadron of British ships.[3] Louisbourg surrendered 11 days later.
On 18 May 1759,Aréthuse was in transit fromRochefort toBrest, under the command ofLouis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil, when she was intercepted nearAudierne Bay (Baie d'Audierne) by three Royal Navy ships –Thames,Venus andChatham.[1] She attempted to escape but after two hours, she lost her topmasts and was overtaken by her pursuers. She was fired on byThames but only surrendered after suffering several broadsides fromVenus that killed or wounded 60 crew.[1] During the action four men onThames were killed and 11 wounded, of whom three later died. Five men were wounded onVenus.[4][1]
She entered service with the Royal Navy. For the rest of the war, she was in service in British home waters and was responsible for the capture of several French privateercutters.
In 1777, a Scotsman James Aitken, widely known asJohn the Painter, was hanged from her mizzenmast for burning theRope House atPortsmouth Royal Dockyard on 7 December 1776, to aid the cause of American independence.[5] The mast was struck from the ship and re-erected at the dockyard entrance so as many people as possible could watch the execution. This was the only execution forarson in royal dockyards.
On 17 June 1778, she fought a famous duel against the French 36-gun frigate,Belle Poule.Belle Poule was on a reconnaissance mission, along with the 26-gunLicorne, thecorvetteHirondelle and the smallerCoureur when she encountered a large British squadron that includedArethusa at a point 23 miles (37 km) south ofThe Lizard.Admiral Keppel, commanding the British fleet ordered that the French ships be pursued.[6]
The captain ofBelle Poule refused the order to sail back to the British fleet. The British fired a warning shot across his ship's bow, to which he responded with a fullbroadside.[7] This began a furious, two-hour battle between the two ships that resulted in the deaths of the French second captain and 30 of the crew. However,Arethusa was crippled by the loss of a mast and withdrew, allowingBelle Poule to escape.[7]
This battle was the first between British and French naval forces during theAmerican Revolutionary War[7] and took place around three weeks before the formal declaration of war by France.[7]
The battle was widely celebrated in France as a victory, even inspiring a hair-style in court circles that included a model ofBelle Poule.[8]It was also viewed as a victory in Britain and became the subject of a traditionalSea shanty,The Saucy Arethusa (Roud # 12675).Arethusa is also the subject of a song onthe Decemberists' albumHer Majesty the Decemberists.
On 18 March 1779, under captain Charles Holmes Everitt,Arethusa engaged the FrenchAigrette, under LieutenantMortemart, sustaining considerable damage in the fight.Arethusa was wrecked the next day offUshant, at a point48°27′4″N5°4′4″W / 48.45111°N 5.06778°W /48.45111; -5.06778 (HMS Arethusa (1759)).[9]
It was apparently the fame of thisArethusa which induced the Royal Navy, during the following two centuries, to bestow the name on a further seven consecutive individual ships (seeHMS Arethusa) and two consecutive classes of cruisers (seeArethusa-class cruiser).
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Media related toHMS Arethusa (ship, 1757) at Wikimedia Commons