French frigate Gracieuse (1788)

The Gracieuse was a 32-gun Charmante class frigate of the French Navy. Renamed to Unité, she took part in the French Revolutionary Wars. The Royal Navy captured her in 1796 and brought her into British service as HMS Unite.

French service
Re-commissioned in Rochefort in April 1793 under Captain Chevillard, Gracieuse took part in the War in the Vendée, capturing the British privateer Ellis on 22 July 1795.

In September 1795 Gracieuse was renamed Unité.

In April 1796, she was again renamed, this time to Variante. She then undertook a crossing from Port Louis to Rochefort under commander Durand. On 13 April 1796 HMS Indefatigable (1784), under the command of Captain Sir Edward Pellew was in pursuit of a French frigate. Pellew signaled to his squadron mate HMS Révolutionnaire (1794) to sail to cut the frigate off from the shore. Revolutionnaire then captured Unite after having fired two broadsides into her. Unite had nine men killed and 11 wounded; Revolutionnaire had no casualties. The Royal Navy took the frigate into service as HMS Unite.

British service
She was then captained by Ralph Willett Miller and Sir Charles Rowley.

On 4 March 1799 she and the sloop HMS Gaiete (1797) left Portsmouth as escorts to a convoy for the West Indies.

On 16 June 1812 boats from Unite, HMS Orlando (1811) and HMS Cerberus (1794) captured three vessels of from eighty to one hundred tons in the small port of Badisea, near Otranto.

On 9 November 1812 Unite was in sight when HMS Furieuse (1809) captured Nebrophonus.

Sources and references

 * Citations


 * Bibliography
 * Jean-Michel Roche, Dictionnaire de la flotte française de 1671 à nos jours, Tome 1, p. 229