French frigate Néréide ( 1779 ) The Néréide was a " Sybille " class 32 - gun , copper - hulled , frigate of the French Navy . On 22 December 1797 HMS " Phoebe " captured her and she was taken into British service as HMS " Nereide " . The French recaptured her at the Battle of Grand Port , only to lose her again when the British took Isle de France ( now Mauritius ) , in 1810 . After the Battle of Grand Port she was in such a poor condition that she was broken up . French service . On 6 June 1780 , along with " Zodiaque " ( 74 guns ) , she captured a British privateer , the 10 - gun cutter " Prince of Wales " off Madeira . She was part of the fleet of Lamotte - Picquet that sailed from Brest and on 2 May 1781 captured 18 ships in a convoy from Sint Eustatius . In 1782 she served in the Caribbean under Vaudreuil . From 1788 , she served off Africa . She then underwent a refit in Rochefort in October 1794 . On 20 December 1797 she was sailing off the Isles of Scilly under the command of Lieutenant de Vaisseau Chassériau when she encountered " Phoebe " . After exchanging broadsides with " Phoebe " for about an hour and a half , " Néréide " struck . She had suffered 20 killed and 55 wounded ; " Phoebe " had suffered three men killed and 10 wounded . Although the French vessel had a larger crew , she had a substantially smaller broadside and that told . She entered into British service as HMS " Nereide " . British service . In the morning of 1 March 1800 , " Nereide " saw five sail and made towards them . They were five well - armed French privateers , but they scattered as she approached . " Nereide " lost sight of them until the next morning when she re - encountered one . After a pursuit of 12 hours and 123 miles , " Nereide " captured the French privateer " Vengeance " , pierced for 18 guns but carrying sixteen 12 - pounders and 174 men . " Vengeance " had left Bordeaux on 26 February and then had joined the " Bellona " ( twenty - four 12 - pounder guns , six 36 - pounder carronades , and 420 men ) , " Favorite " ( sixteen 8 - pounder guns and 120 men ) , " Huron " ( sixteen 6 - pounder guns and 187 men ) , and the schooner " Terrailluse " ( fourteen 6 - pounder guns and 80 men ) . The next day ( 3 March ) , " Nereide " recaptured the American ship " Perseverance " , of Baltimore , which was carrying a cargo valued at £30 , 000 . Then on 17 March " Nereide " recaptured the " Lord Nelson " . On 11 September Watkins sailed to Curaçao to forestall the French from taking it . Then on 13 September he took possession and signed the terms of capitulation on behalf of the British . On 25 November 1806 " Nereide " was under the command of Captain Robert Corbett when she captured the Spanish privateer " Brilliante " , a privateer lugger of four guns with a crew of 50 . She was two days out of Vigo and provisioned for a cruise of four months . Corbett was particularly pleased at the capture as she had not yet captured anything , but there were several sail in sight when " Nereide " commenced her pursuit . On 15 July 1808 , " Otter " , and shared in the capture of the French brig " Lucie " , and her cargo of slaves . In December " Nereide " captured the French corvette " Gobe Mouche " after a chase on the morning of the 18th . She was pierced for 12 guns but had thrown most overboard during the chase . She was under the command of " Enseigne de vaisseau provisoir " Sugor , and was sailing from the Seychelles to Port Louis with dispatches . She threw them overboard , but " Nereide " s boat crew was able to retrieve a considerable part of them . " Gobe Mouche " had a complement of 80 men , but had only 30 on board when captured as she had had to man a number of prizes on her previous cruise . In 1809 , she served as convoy escort . In September , still under the command of Corbett , she played a critical part in the Raid on Saint Paul at Île Bourbon ( now Réunion ) . There " Nereide " and the landing party captured the frigate " Caroline " , and recovered the East Indiamen " Streatham " and " Europa " , and the 14 - gun Bombay Marine brig " Grappler " . The British also captured some merchant vessels and destroyed several forts and batteries . In March 1810 , " Nereide " joined HMS " Iphigenia " , " Leopard " and " Magicienne " off Isle de France . Loss . She took part in the Battle of Grand Port where she was severely battered and eventually captured . " Nereide " was under the command of Captain Nesbit Josiah Willoughby when she surrendered in December 1810 when Isle de France fell to the British . Even so , she and her crew ( perhaps the prize crew ) , qualified for the prize money that followed the capture of the island . However , she was in such a bad shape that she was broken up thereafter .