French frigate Minerve (1794)

Her keel was laid in January 1792, and she was launched in 1794. She took part in combat off Noli. On the 23 June 1795, she was captured by the frigates HMS Dido and Lowestoff, and commissioned in the Royal Navy.

In July 1803, she ran aground near Cherbourg while under the command of Jahleel Brenton. Attempts were made to refloat her, but as the ship was being fired upon by shore batteries and the gunboats Chiffonne and Terrible, Brenton eventually surrendered. Minerve was taken back into French service, being renamed Canonnière.

In 1806, she was based in Île de France (now Mauritius). She took part in various cruises, and in the Battle of Grand Port. She captured HMS Laurel off the Île de France, as well as HMS Discovery.

She was sold at Mauritius in 1809 to be used as a commerce ship, and renamed Confiance. She was re-captured by HMS Valiant the next year and again commissioned in the Royal Navy.

External links

• The Capture of Mauritius in 1810
• Les bâtiments ayant porté le nom de Minerve, Netmarine.net