French Revolutionary Wars
Captain William Pierrepoint took command of Naiad in April 1797.
On 3 April 1798 Naiad captured the Mary and Elizabeth. Sixteen days later, Naiad, Mars and Ramillies were in sight when Jason captured the French gun-brig Arrogante. Arrogante was armed with six long 24-pounder guns and had a crew of 92 men. The British took her into service and renamed her Insolent in August. Then Naiad and Sylph took the Vriendfchap Beerens on 16 May.
Then on 11 August, some 42 leagues from Cape Finisterre, and after a chase of four hours, Naiad captured the French privateer Tigre, which was under the command of Stephen Bonaventure Aggaret. Tigre was armed with eight 4-pounder guns and eight swivels. She had a crew of 31 men, having put another 22 men aboard the prizes that she had taken in the eight days since she had left Groire.
Next, on 24 August, Naiad was chasing a French frigate, which chase Magnanime joined. After about three hours the two British ships had caught up with the French ship, which proceeded for the next hour to fire on them with her stern chasers. She then struck. The French ship was the frigate Décade, with a crew of 336 men under the command of Citoyen Villeneau. Décade was pierced for 44 guns, but she had landed ten in Cayenne, from where she was sailing. In all, Naiad had chased Décade for 36 hours. The British took Décade into service.
Naiad's success in prize-taking continued. On 5 March 1799 she captured the French privateer Hereux Hazard, off the Loire. Heureux Hazard was armed with sixteen 6 and 9-pounder guns, but was pierced for 20 guns. She had a crew of 94 men and had left Nantes the previous day, provisioned for a three-month cruise. At the time of the capture Ethalion and Melpomene were in sight, and so entitled to share in the prize money.
The next day Naiad met up with Ethalion, which had just that day too captured a privateer, the Indefatigable, of 18 guns and 120 men. Indefatigable too was just one day out of Nantes and provisioned for a long cruise. On 12 March Naiad, Cambrian, San Fiorenzo and Triton were in company when Triton captured the French merchant brig Victoire.
In September Naiad recaptured the ship Princess Royal. However, Naiad's biggest prize was yet to come.
Read more about this topic: HMS Naiad (1797)
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