French frigate Alceste (1780)

Alceste was a Magicienne class frigate of the French Navy, launched in 1780, seized by the British at the Siege of Toulon. They transferred her to the Kingdom of Sardinia, but the French recaptured her a year later in the Action of 8 June 1794. The British captured her again at the Action of 18 June 1799 and took her into service as HMS Alceste. In 1801 she became a floating battery and she was sold the next year.

Career
At the outbreak of the French Revolution, Alceste served in the Mediterranean, until she was put in the reserved and disarmed in Toulon. The royalist insurrection found her there; the British, who supported the royalists, seized her and transferred her to the Kingdom of Sardinia before the conclusion of the Siege of Toulon.

The 32-gun Boudeuse recaptured her in the Action of 8 June 1794. The French then took her back into French service. Under Captain Louis-Jean-Nicolas Lejoille, she was part of Admiral Martin's squadron, which captured HMS Berwick (1775) in 1795.

From 31 March 1795Alceste was commanded by Jean Joseph Hubert. She took part in the Battle of Hyères Islands, where she battled several British ships before rescuing Alcide.

In March 1796, Alceste ferried Jean-Baptiste Annibal Aubert du Bayet to his appointment as ambassador to Constantinople, along with military advisors.

From November 1796 to January 1797, Alceste patrolled the coasts of Italy under Captain Jean-François-Timothée Trullet.

She took part in the Expédition d'Égypte under Jean-Baptiste Barré, ferrying General Jean Reynier, and was later appointed to a squadron under Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée, which also comprised the frigates Junon and Alceste, and Courageuse, and the brigs Salamine and Alerte. In the Action of 18 June 1799, HMS Bellona (1760) captured Alceste.

Fate
The Royal Navy commissioned Alceste under Commander Thomas Bayley, who shortly thereafter received promotion to post captain in March 1800. She arrived at Chatham on 4 April. She was registered as a sloop in July 1801 and fitted as a floating battery in August. She was sold at Sheerness on 20 May 1802 for £1,445.