HMS Avenger (1794) | |
---|---|
Career (France) | ![]() |
Name: | Le Venguer |
Captured: | 17 February 1794 |
Career (Great Britain) | ![]() |
Name: | HMS Avenger |
Fate: | Sold |
General characteristics | |
Class & type: | Ship-sloop |
Tons burthen: | 355 bm |
HMS Avenger was a 16-gun ship-sloop of the British Royal Navy. Previously she was a the French corvette Vengeur, which the British Army captured during the battle for Martinique in 1794. The Admiralty sold her 1802.
French career[]
Prior to her service in the French Navy, Venguer was a French privateer called Marseillaise and may even have been a British privateer, Avenger, before that.[1] In 1794 she was stationed at Martinique when on 5 February, a fleet under the command of Admiral Sir John Jervis landed troops under the command of General Charles Grey. On the 17 February the British troops captured Venguer at St Pierre.[1]
British career[]
Le Venguer was commissioned as a British warship in Martinique and was initially placed under the command of Lieutenant James Milne. On 17 March, boats from Avenger took part in a cutting out expedition in Fort Royal Bay, which captured the French frigate Bienvenue. When Milne was killed in action, command of Avenger passed to Lieutenant Henry William Bayntun.[2] Avenger and her crew took part in the capture of Gaudeloupe in April 1794. Bayntun remained in command of Avenger until 4 May 1794 when he was promoted to Post Captain and appointed to Bienvenue, the frigate he had captured the previous month.[2] Edward Griffith became the captain of Avenger and on 22 September he arrived with her at Portsmouth.[1] In 1795 she was under the command of Charles Ogle. She was registered as HMS Avenger in June 1798 but was not fitted out for sea again.
Fate[]
The Admiralty sold Avenger on 9 September 1802.[1]
References[]
Bibliography[]
- Heathcote, T.A. (2005). Nelson's Trafalgar Captains and Their Battles. Barnsley, Yorks.: Pen and Sword Books. ISBN 1-84415-182-4.
- Winfield, Rif (2005) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.
The original article can be found at HMS Avenger (1794) and the edit history here.