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Espiegle

4129
Nominal Guns16BWAS-1793
NationalityGreat Britain
OperatorRoyal Navy
Previously
French brig 'L'Espiègle' (1788) (6) 1788-1793
French 6 Gun
Unrated Brig
Captured30.11.1793BWAS-1793
ShipyardBayonne - Aquitaine NNF-1774
Ship ClassHasard Class (1788)NNF-1774
Designed by
Raymond-Antoine HaranFrench
Designer
Ship Builder
NNF-1774
CategoryUnratedBWAS-1793
Ship TypeSloopBWAS-1793
Sailing RigBrigBWAS-1793
Sold2.1802BWAS-1793

Dimensions


DimensionMeasurementTypeMetric EquivalentBWAS-1793
Length of Gundeck91' 7"Imperial Feet27.9146 
Length of Keel74' 5 ½"Imperial Feet22.5679 
Breadth26' 2"Imperial Feet7.9333 
Depth in Hold11' 3"Imperial Feet3.429 
Burthen271 1594Tons BM 

Armament


8.1794Broadside Weight = 48 Imperial Pound ( 21.768 kg)BWAS-1793
Gun Deck16 British 6-Pounder

19.11.1799Broadside Weight = 196.5 Imperial Pound ( 89.11275 kg)BWAS-1793
Gun Deck16 British 24-Pound Carronade
Gun Deck1 British 9-Pounder

Crew Complement


Date# of MenNotesSource
8.179496 BWAS-1793

5 Ship Commanders


DatesRankNameSource
11.8.1794 - 6.1795Commander
Bartholomew RobertsBritish
Naval Sailor
Service 1782-1797
ADM 6/25/74
BWAS-1793
6.1795Commander
Jemmett MainwaringBritish
Naval Sailor
Service 1789-1794
BWAS-1793
6.1795 - 8.8.1796Commander
Bartholomew RobertsBritish
Naval Sailor
Service 1782-1797
BWAS-1793
8.8.1796 - 2.9.1799Commander
James BoorderBritish
Naval Sailor
Service 1793-1802
BWAS-1793
2.9.1799 - 1801Commander
James SladeBritish
Naval Sailor
Service 1793-1814
BWAS-1793

1 Commissioned Officer


DatesRankNameSource
23.9.1794 - 21.3.1795Lieutenant
James BrisbaneBritish
Naval Sailor
Service 1787-1802
ref:616

Service History


DateEventSource
23.12.1793Began fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth BWAS-1793
22.5.1794RegisteredBWAS-1793
4.10.1794Completed fitting at Portsmouth Dockyard - Portsmouth at a cost of £3827.0.0dBWAS-1793
14.8.1797Took the Corvette
Le Prodige (14) 1797-1797
French 14 Gun
Privateer Corvette

27.8.1797Took the Privateer
La Victorieuse (1) 1797-1797
French 1 Gun
Privateer Unknown

23.9.1797Took the Schooner
Ondelboarlaid (10) 1797-1797
Dutch 10 Gun
Privateer Schooner

6.6.1799

Captured ship: De Oudste Wilhelmus (master Wilhelm Runhert).

History: a Dutch ship, bound from Emden to Amsterdam, laden with tobacco; taken on 6 June 1799 at anchor in the Western Ems by an armed open boat belonging to HMS Espiegle (James Boorder commanding)

 

HCA32
11.8.1799Retaking of the Crash
11.8.1799Took the Brig
Crash (6) 1798-1799
Dutch 6 Gun
Unrated Brig
by boats

14.8.1799

 

J390.

Captured ship: Jonge Geesyna (unknown master).

History: a Dutch ship, unladen, abandoned by her crew just before her seizure; taken on 14 August 1799, off the island of Schiermonnikoog [as part of the atrtack on that island to recover the captured HMS Crash gun brig] by HMS Latona (Frank Sotheron commanding), HMS Juno (George Dundas commanding), HMS Pylades (Adam Mackenzie commanding), HMS Espiegle (James Boorder commanding), and HMS Courier armed cutter (Thomas Searle commanding), and brought into Great Yarmouth.

HCA32
2.1802Sold at SheernessBWAS-1793

 
Previous comments on this page

Posted by Jon Miller on Wednesday 15th of July 2026 06:30

Portsmouth, 2 May 1801: The L’Espiegle brig has arrived on the 27th at Yarmouth, with a Dutch ship, from Rotterdam, laden with flax, and a fishing dogger. [Hampshire Telegraph, 4 May 1801]


Posted by NICHOLAS ROE on Tuesday 15th of October 2024 14:18

The crew of HMS Espiegle went ashore at Yarmouth, Norfolk, Friday 19 August 1796, to attack a meeting at which John Thelwall, radical reformer and poet, was speaking to local citizens.


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