French frigate Créole ( 1799 ) The Créole was a 40 - gun frigate of the French Navy , a one - off design by Jacques - Augustin Lamothe . She served in the Brest squadron , took part in Ganteaume ' s expeditions of 1801 to Egypt , and was involved in the French occupation of Santo Domingo and briefly detained Toussaint Louverture before he was brought to France . She was captured off Santo Domingo by the 74 - guns HMS " Vanguard " and " Cumberland " on 30 June 1803 and brought into Royal Navy service . However , she was wrecked soon afterwards during an attempt to cross to Britain , and her crew rescued . Career . Early career . After her launch , " Créole " was fitted for four months before begin lent to a privateer from Nantes . She was commissioned in the Navy on 29 April 1798 and started patrolling off Brest in February 1799 . On 12 April , " capitaine de vaisseau " Pierre - Paulin Gourrège took command . On 26 April 1799 , " Créole " departed Brest with the oceanic fleet and took part in Bruix ' expedition of 1799 into the Mediterranean . She was detached to Oneglia , along with " Romaine " and " Vautour " , to support the French invasion of Italy . In 1800 , " Créole " was part of a division under " contre - amiral " Lacrosse , tasked to cruise off Morbihan and cut off the royalists from their British support . In order to avoid the British blockade , the squadron anchored to Camaret , but attracted the attention of the British and sailed back to harbour to avoid engagement . The division was retasked to ferry 4600 troops to Santo Domingo , but again ran into the British blockade , turned back and adjourned its mission . During the cruise , " Créole " sustained some damage in a collision with " Fidèle " . Ganteaume ' s expeditions of 1801 . On 27 January 1801 , " Créole " departed Brest with a division under " contre - amiral " Ganteaume , tasked to ferry ammunitions and reinforcements to the " Armée d ' Égypte " , taking part in Ganteaume ' s expeditions of 1801 . After several false starts due to unfavourable weather or to the British blockade , Ganteaume eventually set sail on 23 February on a heavy sea which soon dispersed his squadron . The next day , " Créole " rejoined " Indivisible " , and the two ships sailed together until they finally made contact with their division . Ganteaume reached Toulon on 18 February ; Gourrège left " Créole " to take command of the flagship " Indivisible " on 9 March . The squadron set sail on 25 April . His crew much weakened by an epidemic , Ganteaume managed to establish a blockade of Elba on 1 May and bombard Portoferraio on 6 May , supporting the Siege of Porto Ferrajo , but he had to detach " Formidable " , " Indomptable " , " Dessaix " and " Créole " to ferry the sick to Livorno and return to Toulon . " Créole " took an incidental part in the Action of 24 June 1801 , where the lone British 74 - gun HMS " Swiftsure " met the French squadron and was captured after a running battle . Santo Domingo . On 9 January 1802 , " Créole " departed Toulon with a division under " contre - amiral " Ganteaume , ferrying troops to Santo Domingo to consolidate the French occupation of Santo Domingo . After Toussaint Louverture surrendered , he was embarked on " Créole " before being transferred on " Héros " and ferried to France , where he died in prison . Boarding the frigate , Louverture stated : In 1803 , " Créole " ferried troops to Port - au - Prince under Commander Jean - Marie - Pierre Lebastard , travelling to Jean - Rabel from Cap Français with 530 soldiers under General Morgan . Her crew suffered from the yellow fever that was endemic to the campaign , so that only 150 men were fit and the frigate was 177 short of her usual complement . In the morning of 30 June , " Créole " met five British ships of the line , who closed in to investigate and gave chase . Unable to race effectively against the ships of the line , " Créole " was quickly rejoined and flanked on both sides by the 74 - gun s " Vanguard " and " Cumberland " . " Vanguard " opened fire , and after a single token gunshot , " Créole " struck to her overwhelming opponents . Fate . A prize crew subsequently conveyed " Créole " to Port Royal in Jamaica for repair . There the Royal Navy commissioned her as HMS " Creole " under Captain Austin Bissell . In late 1803 " Créole " sailed for Britain with a prize crew and a numerous French prisoners . " Créole " was in a poor state , and on 26 December she sprang a leak . The crew and prisoners manned her pumps but were unable to prevent the accumulation of water such that by 30 December the water was rising by two feet per hour . Two leaks became evident , one forward and one aft of the hold . The crew threw her guns , shot , iron ballast and some stores overboard , and slung a sail under the hull . Still , by 2 January the pumps were again unable to prevent the accumulation of water . The crew and the prisoners were exhausted and so Bissell decided to abandon ship . " Cumberland " came up to take everyone off " Créole " . The last men left on 3 January , at which time she sank beneath the waves at 40° 42 ' North , 51° 24 ' West .