French corvette Perçante ( 1795 ) Perçante was a 20 - gun French ship - corvette , built at Bayonne and launched in 1795 . The British captured her in 1796 , and took her into the Royal Navy under the name HMS " Jamaica " . They rated her as a sixth - rate 26 - gun frigate . She served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and part of the Napoleonic Wars , during which she captured some privateers and participated in a boat attack . The Admiralty had her laid up in 1810 and sold her in 1814 . Design . " Perçante " was one of four " Bonne Citoyenne " - class corvettes launched between 1794 and 1796 , all four of which the Royal Navy captured between 1796 and 1798 . The class was built to a design by Raymond - Antoine Haran . All members of the class were flush - decked , but with a long topgallant forecastle . French service . " Perçante " was stationed at Bayonne and Rochefort . Initially she was under the command of " enseigne de vaisseau " Laporte , who commanded her from 13 June 1795 to 17 August . His replacement was " lieutenant de vaisseau " ( later " capitaine de frégate " ) Tourtelot . He commanded her at least during the period 20 October to 23 November . Her first major voyage was to Guyane , where she first delivered member of the National Convention Bertrand Barère into exile , and then delivered dispatches and supplies to the Antilles . Her second voyage had her carrying arms and munitions from the Île - d ' Aix roads with destinations Cayenne and then Basse - Terre . For this voyage she was under the command of " lieutenant de vaisseau " ( later " capitaine de frégate " ) Tourtelot ( the elder ) . Capture . On 6 December 1795 , " Perçante " departed La Rochelle , under orders from the Minister of Marine and Colonies not to communicate with any vessel on the way . On 28 April 1796 , " Perçante " was sailing from Cayenne to Cap Français when , near Samana Bay , around 21 : 00 , she encountered the 64 - gun third rate , patrolling and looking for reinforcements expected from Cork . " Intrepid " gave chase , and the two ships exchanged fire from 23 : 00 until 4 in the next morning , when the wind strengthened , giving an advantage to " Perçante " . However , " Perçante " soon sighted two British corvettes to the north and a frigate in the south ; Tourtelot then ordered " Perçante " beached in a cove to the east of Porto Plata . " Intrepid " anchored and started bombarding " Perçante " , forcing her crew to abandon her after destroying her pumps and opening her sea valve s in an attempt to scuttle her . The British nevertheless managed to retrieve " Perçante " , and commissioned her in the Royal Navy as the sixth - rate HMS " Jamaica " . Tourtellot was honourably acquitted of the loss of his ship . British service . Commander Samuel Brooking commissioned " Jamaica " in April 1796 , on the Jamaica station , where he and she would remain for some three years . ( Brooking received his promotion to post captain , the appropriate rank for the captain of a frigate , in July 1796 . ) On 27 November 1796 " Jamaica " captured the " Adélaïde " and on 10 June 1797 the " Dix Après " . During the period 29 October 1797 and 12 March 1798 " Jamaica " destroyed a French 10 - gun privateer schooner , name unknown . On 7 February 1798 she captured the French privateer schooner " Fortunée " . The schooner was armed with one or more 4 - pounder guns . Towards the end of the next year , on 27 November 1798 , " Jamaica " captured the " Rebecca " , and then on 9 December she captured the " Fox " . Early in 1799 , that is on 7 January , 27 January , and 24 February , " Jamaica " captured the vessels " Shark " , " Friends " , and " Gravenhorst " . Also , between 12 February and 30 March , " Jamaica " captured two merchant vessels . Later that year " Jamaica " sailed to Britain . later , on 25 July , " Jamaica " , and passed Plymouth as they sailed up the Channel escorting the East India , Jamaica , Lisbon , and Oporto fleets . On 22 August " Jamaica " arrived at Deptford ; she was paid off there in August . She remained at Deptford for repairs until October , with Captain John Mackeller recommissioning her in September . Mackeller escorted a fleet of merchantmen to and from the Baltic and recaptured an English mast - ship and a brig laden with corn . He also forced a privateer , under the command of Captain Blankeman , to throw 14 guns and other gear overboard during an unsuccessful , for " Jamaica " , chase . The two English vessels recaptured may have been the " Duke of Athol " and " James and Ruth " on 13 and 14 December 1800 . In March 1801 Mackeller transferred to , sailing her to the East Indies in June . In 1801 Captain James Brisbane replaced Mackeller , only to have Captain Jonas Rose replaced Brisbane , still in March . Rose then sailed " Jamaica " to the Baltic , where she participated in the Battle of Copenhagen . " Jamaica " and the various British brigs and gunvessels were tasked with raking the southern end of the Danish line . Towards the end of the battle , " Jamaica " was nearby when the Danish ship of the line " Dannebrog " exploded . In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service medal with clasp " Copenhagen " to all the surviving British claimants from the battle . " Jamaica " returned to the Channel and on 20 and 21 August her boats and several vessels were involved in action in the neighbourhood of Étaples . On the evening of 20 August " Jamaica " was off Etaples when she heard cannon fire and lookouts saw a large fire . Rose sailed to investigate , encountering , which informed him that the fire came from a cargo of pitch and tar on a vessel wrecked on the coast some time previously that boats from " Hound " and had set on fire . Six flat boats had come out of Saint Valery but " Hound " had forced them onshore , where they still lay . The following morning Rose sent in boats from " Jamaica " , the brig sloops " Hound " and , and the gunbrigs " Mallard " and " Tygress " . As the boats went in the ships themselves provide covering fire . The boats brought out two launches and a flat boat 45 ' long and 24 ' wide , armed with an 8 " howitzer . However , the latter later sank ; the other three on shore had already been so damaged that they were irretrievable , but the landing party still did as much further damage as time permitted . " Jamaica " lost one man killed , and each of the other four British vessels had a man wounded in the effort . In 1803 - 4 , " Jamaica " captured or recaptured a number of vessels . During this period , on 13 August 1803 , " Jamaica " was seven leagues off the Isle de Bas , when she captured the French privateer " Fanny " . " Fanny " was a cutter of two guns and 20 men . She had only been out 12 hours before " Jamaica " captured her and had made no captures herself . Captain John Dick replaced Rose on 24 November 1804 . Under his command " Jamaica " served on the Channel and Newfoundland stations . He sailed " Jamaica " for Newfoundland on 19 January 1806 . On 10 April , perhaps on the way , " Jamaica " and detained the " Algema Belong " . On 7 November , " Jamaica " recaptured the brig " Margaret " , B . Vickers , master . In 1807 Captain Arthur Lysaght , who had been promoted to post captain on 25 September 1806 , commanded " Jamaica " on the Jersey station . " Jamaica " appears to have had her share of disciplinary problems . On 29 October 1807 , a court martial was convened aboard . First , Surgeon W . W . Hutchinson was tried for making provoking speeches and gestures towards Lieutenant J . Mascall of the Royal Marines . Hutchinson called the purser as a witness , but Mascall objected , arguing that the purser was an atheist . Lieutenant Philip Helpman gave evidence concerning the purser ' s character that led to the purser being dismissed the service . Then the court martial tried the master , Mr . Hartree for drunkenness and contempt towards Lysaght . Mascall was tried also for drunkenness and abusive behavior towards Hutchinson . Helpman was tried for striking a marine sergeant and sentinel while on duty . Lastly , Hutchinson was tried for using gross and abusive language to Hartree . The court martial board sentenced Hartree to a severe reprimand and admonished him to be more careful in the future , Hutchinson to a reprimand , and Helpman to be dismissed the service . Later , Lysaght sailed " Jamaica " to Newfoundland three times , on 12 June 1808 , in 1809 , and on 27 May 1810 . Between the second and third voyages , " Jamaica " was in company with when they recaptured the American brig " Iris " . On 11 August " Jamaica " captured the American schooner " Virginia " . Fate . " Jamaica " was laid up in ordinary at Portsmouth in November 1810 . The Navy offered her for sale on 11 August and she sold on that day for £1 , 300 . The bidders had to post a bond of £3000 that they would break her up within a year .