French frigate Engageante (1766)
Engageante was a 26-gun frigate of the French Navy, only ship of her class, built to a design by Jean-François Etienne. The British captured her in 1794 and converted her to a hospital ship. She served as a hospital ship until she was broken up in 1811. French service. "Engageante" was built in Toulon to a design by Jean-François Etienne. She was the sole ship of her class. From July 1778, "Engageante" was under the command of Captain Gras-Préville. On 5 July 1778, as "Engageante" was scouting in front of D'Estaing's  squadron, she detected the 26-gun British privateer frigate "Rose", under Captain James Duncan. "Engageante" gave chase and caught up with her quarry around 2000hrs. The battle lasted until 0100hrs of 6 July, by which time "Rose" had been reduced to a wreck and struck her colours. "Engageante" returned to her squadron to report on the event; deeming "Rose" irretrievable, the French scuttled her. "Engageante" took part in the Battle of St. Lucia on 15 December 1778. In February 1779, "Engageante" departed Toulon for America, where she arrived in late March, but had to be quarantined. In April 1779, she  escorted a convoy from Martinique to France, successfully fending off a British attack. From 1781, she took part in the American Revolutionary War, including the Hudson Bay Expedition in 1782, with and the 74-gun . The copper sheathing of the ships made them especially vulnerable in arctic waters, and "Engageante" suffered the most, damaging her bow so much that she had to call into Cadiz for repair. The crew also suffered from scurvy: by the time "Engageante" arrived in Europe, all had been affected; around 100 were too sick to work, and 15 had died. Capture. "Engageante" was captured, along  with and , off the Île de Batz during the action of 23 April 1794. Her captor was . On "Engageante" 30 to 40 men were killed or wounded. On "Concorde" one man was killed and 12 were wounded. In the evening after the action "Engageante"s masts fell overboard, and "Concorde"s masts were kept upright only with great difficulty. British service. "Engageante" was subsequently recommissioned in the Royal Navy and registered as the hospital ship HMS "Engageante" on 27 July 1794. She was commissioned at Cork in February 1795 under Lieutenant William Fry. She served for a while as Vice-Admiral Robert  Kingsmill's flagship. In 1796 Lieutenant Henry Parker replaced Fry, but drowned in January 1797. In 1798 Fry returned to command, but he died in 1801. In 1801 Lieutenant Barrington Mansfield assumed command, only to die within the year. In June 1802 escorted "Engageante", Lieutenant Donocliff, to Plymouth. There "Engageante" became a hospital ship; later she was a receiving ship at Cork. Although it was expected that "Engageante" would be broken up at Plymouth, that did not take place for almost a decade. Fate. "Engageante" was broken up at Plymouth in May 1811. Sources and references. Notes Citations References External  links