HMS Pomone ( 1809 ) Astrée was a 44 - gun " Pallas " - class frigate of the French Navy , launched at Cherbourg in 1809 . In December of the next year she captured HMS " Africaine " . The Royal Navy captured " Astrée " in 1810 and took her into service under her French name , rating her as a 38 - gun frigate , but then in 1811 recommissioned her as HMS " Pomone " . She served during the War of 1812 and was broken up in 1816 . French service . She took part in the campaign in the Indian Ocean under Commander René Lemarant de Kerdaniel , serving with Hamelin ' s squadron . She also was present in the final stages of the Battle of Grand Port . " Astrée " came to be part of a squadron under Pierre Bouvet , who had assumed command of the French squadron at Grand Port after Duperré was wounded , and had been promoted to " capitaine de frégate " . The squadron also comprised " Iphigenia " as a flagship , and the sloop " Entreprenant " . Capture of HMS " Africaine " . On 12 September 1810 , Bouvet ' s squadron intercepted HMS " Africaine " ( commanded by Commodore Corbett ) off Saint - Denis , as the frigate , the sloop and the brig were sailing from the bay of Saint - Paul . Bouvet lured the British into pursuit . At midnight Bouvet sent " Astrée " forwards , creating the impression that " Iphigénie " was to slow " Africaine " down to allow the rest of the squadron to flee . At 3 am , " Astrée " regained her place at the rear of the squadron . The weather , which had been rough , improved somewhat , and in the moonlight " Astrée " suddenly found herself at gun range of " Africaine " . A gunnery duel followed immediately , which damaged " Astrée " s rigging . She closed in to " Iphigénie " with " Africaine " in close pursuit . " Africaine " , her guns still trained at " Astrée " , soon found herself under fire from " Iphigénie " . After half an hour of exchanging fire at point - black range , an exchange in which the French had the upper hand , the British attempted a boarding , which " Iphigénie " easily eluded . The boarding attempt gave " Astrée " an opportunity to rake " Africaine " s bow . At 4 : 30 , " Africaine " struck her colours . All officers of " Africaine " had been killed or wounded in the action , save for Colonel Barry , and only 69 men were uninjured . Bouvet was given Corbett ' s dagger , which he kept ever since . The French abandoned " Africaine " and the next day HMS " Boadicea " recaptured her . On 3 December 1810 , the Île de France fell to the British . The ships moored at the island were surrendered , including " Iphigénie " , " Bellone " and " Astrée " . The British took " Astrée " into service as a 38 - gun fifth rate and renamed her HMS " Pomone " on 26 October 1811 , the previous HMS " Pomone " having been wrecked earlier in the month . British service . " Pomone " underwent repairs at Portsmouth from November 1811 to April 1812 . She was commissioned under Captain Robert Lambert in February 1812 . At some point Captain Francis William Fane took command , and on 23 May 1812 sailed her for Newfoundland . Captain Philip Cartaret took command in December 1812 . On 26 May 1813 , " Pomone " received salvage from the owners on the recapture of the two Spanish vessels " El Correv Diligente de Carraccas " and " Nostra Senora de los Desemperados " . She apparently shared the reward with and some three other vessels . Early on the morning of 21 October 1813 , " Pomone " was in the Bay of Biscay repairing damage following a gale in which she had lost her fore - yard . By chance she fell in with a ship under jury masts that proved to be a French frigate . Carteret was about to attack when another vessel , which also appeared to be a frigate , and a brig flying French colours , emerged from the haze , followed by three more indistinct vessels . To avoid hazarding " Pomone " , Carteret got well to windward of them . However , when the wind cleared in the afternoon it was discovered that they were all merchantmen except for the frigate under jury masts and the second frigate . Carteret moved to attack the second frigate but she turned out to be a large Portuguese East Indiaman , which the French had taken and the British retaken . Carteret then sailed for four days in a fruitless search for the frigate under jury masts before he was able to find out that " Andromache " had captured her on 23 October . She was the , and the Royal Navy took her into service under the same name . An anonymous letter from " The Pomone ' s Ship ' s Company " was passed to the Admiral at Lisbon asserting with respect to Carteret that " he had run from a French frigate " . Carteret asked for a court martial to clear his name . The court martial took place at Plymouth on on 31 December . When no one could be found to offer testimony against him , Carteret summoned those he suspected , plus one quarter of the ship ' s company chosen by lot . After the board had examined the witnesses it acquitted Carteret of all blame . After service in the North Sea and the waters around France , " Pomone " sailed to the east coast of the United States to serve during the War of 1812 . With , " Pomone " captured the American privateer " Bunker ' s Hill " on 4 March 1814 . " Bunker ' s Hill " carried 14 guns and had a crew of 86 men . Previously very successful , she had been cruising for eight days out of Morlaix without making a single capture . " Bunkers Hill " was the former Royal Navy cutter , which the French ship " Gloire " had taken about a year earlier on 25 February 1813 near Madeira . " Pomone " was also part of the squadron that captured the USS " President " on 15 January 1815 . In April 1815 Carteret moved to " Desiree " and Captain John Lumley took over command . Fate . In the summer of 1815 " Pomone " was paid off at Chatham . She was broken up at Deptford in June 1816 .