French ship Romulus (1781)

HMS Romulus was a 44-gun ship of the Royal Navy. She was captured by the French Navy in the Chesapeake Bay during the American Revolutionary War and taken into French service as Romulus. She was later razeed to become the frigate Résolution,[2] and served in an exploration voyage to China under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux.

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Romulus, French ship Romulus, and French ship Résolue.

History
Royal Navy EnsignGreat Britain
NameHMS Romulus
BuilderAdams, Bucklers Hard[1]
Laid downJuly 1776[1]
Launched17 December 1777[1]
In service19 February 1781[1]
Captured19 February 1781 by Éveillé, Gentille, Surveillante and Guêpe.[1]
France
NameRomulus
AcquiredBy capture, 19 February 1781[1]
FateTechnical hulk in Isle de France[Note 1] in June 1789[1]
General characteristics
Tons burthen700 tonnes[1]
Length43.9 metres[1]
Beam11.5 metres[1]
Draught5.2 metres[1]
PropulsionSails
Armament50 guns of various weights of shot

British career

HMS Romulus served under Captain George Gayton in the British squadron off America during the American Revolutionary War.[1]

HMS Romulus in conflict with Éveillé (64) and two frigates

On 19 February 1781,[1] the 64-gun Éveillé, along with the frigates Surveillante and Gentille, and the cutter Guêpe, captured her in Chesapeake Bay.[1]

French career

Rear-Admiral Sochet-Destouches recommissioned Romulus under her old name in his squadron. In September 1781, she ferried troops to Annapolis for the Siege of Yorktown, in a division under Le Saige de La Villèsbrunne.[1]

In 1784, Romulus was razeed into a frigate and renamed to Résolution. In 1786, she took part to an exploration voyage to China under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, along with the corvette Subtile. The squadron reached Macao on 7 February 1787, two days after Lapérouse had left.[1]

Fate

In 1788, Résolution was decommissioned in Brest and in June 1789, she became a hulk at Isle de France[Note 2][1]

Notes
  1. The present-day Mauritius
  2. The present-day Mauritius

Citations
  1. Roche, p.386
  2. Roche, p.380

References
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, 1671 - 1870. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. pp. 325–6. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
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