French frigate Hortense (1803)
Hortense was a 40-gun and lead vessel of her class of the French Navy. In January 1805, under the command of Captain Delamarre de Lamellerie, she and were sent to observe British movements off Toulon. On 4 February they attacked a convoy, destroying seven ships. Three days later, they encountered another convoy escorted by the 20-gun sloop and the 8-gun bomb vessel ; the French frigates destroyed the two Royal Navy vessels and captured and burnt and two other merchant vessels of the convoy. Then on 12 May 1805, "Hortense" and captured the 18 -gun ship-sloop . "Cyane" was cruising between Barbados and Martinique when she encountered a French fleet under Admiral Villeneuve. "Hortense" and "Hermione" so out-gunned "Cyane" that her captain, Commander George Cadogan, had no choice but to strike his colours. "Hortense" took part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre, in the Battle of Trafalgar and in Lamellerie's expedition. In 1814, she was renamed to "Flore".