French frigate Président The Président was a 40 - gun frigate of the " Gloire " Class in the French Navy , built to a 1802 design by Pierre - Alexandre Forfait . She served with the French Navy from her completion in 1804 until late 1806 when the Royal Navy captured her . Thereafter , she served as the HMS " President " until she was broken up in 1815 . French service . Originally ordered under the name " Minerve " , she was renamed as " Président " on 24 December 1803 . She took part in L ' Hermite ' s expedition , which led to her capture . Before she was captured , on 6 January 1806 she helped capture the 16 - gun sloop . Capture . In June 1806 , Captain Thomas George Shortland took command of HMS " Canopus " . She was the flagship for a squadron under Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Louis . On 27 September , they fell in with the " Président " , Capt . Gallier Labrosse , south of the Isles of Scilly , near Belle Île . " Président " had been sailing with the ship of the line " Régulus " , frigate " Cybèle " and corvette " Surveillant " , but had separated from them on 20 August . Louis ' s squadron had sailed to the Bay of Biscay to await the return of Admiral Willaumez from the Caribbean . On spotting " Président " , the squadron gave chase but the ships of the line were not fast enough to catch her . However , an 18 - gun Cruizer class brig - sloop attached to the squadron , , Captain Edward Hawkins , was able to get within firing range . " Dispatch " proceeded to harry " Président " with her forward guns , forcing " Président " to turn towards the nearest British frigate , HMS " Blanche " , under Captain Sir Thomas Lavie . Seeing " Président " turn , Louis ordered " Canopus " to fire , even though the range was extreme . Realizing that the rest of the British squadron would arrive shortly , Labrosse struck his colours to " Dispatch " . " Président " had suffered only minor damage and there were no casualties on either side in the action . The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS " President " ( dropping the accent over the ' e ' in her name ) . The frigate ' s design was much admired and she served as the model for a number of later frigates , notably the " Seringaptam " Class in the Royal Navy . Cruising . In December 1807 , she was commissioned under the command of Captain Adam Mackenzie , sailing for South America on 7 May 1808 after completion conversion for British service at Plymouth . Mackenzie commanded her until 1810 , apart from a brief period in 1809 , when Captain Charles Schomberg temporarily commanded her off Brazil while Mackenzie temporarily commanded " Bedford " . In 1810 Captain Samuel Warren took command and on 31 December sailed her for the Cape of Good Hope and thence to the East Indies . In the East Indies she took part in the operations in Java and the rest of the Dutch East Indies . In 1811 , " President " was attached to the squadron of Admiral Robert Stopford that captured Java . On 31 August the frigates , " President " , " Phoebe " , and were detached to take the seaport of Cheribon . In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp " Java " to all remaining survivors of the campaign . Returning to the UK in late 1812 or early 1813 , " President " then served from May 1813 in the Irish Sea , first under Captain Francis Mason , then from April 1814 under Captain Archibald Duff . Fate . In August 1815 , the Royal Navy renamed her as HMS " Piedmontaise " but broke her up in December of that same year . Post script . The " President " was the model for three later British 44 - gun frigates :