HMS Guerriere (1806)

Common card · No. 469936

Guerrière was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy, designed by Forfait. The British captured her and recommissioned her as HMS Guerriere. She is most famous for her fight against USS Constitution. Her career with the French included a sortie with Duguay-Trouin in 1803, in which the two vessels were forced to make an escape from a British ship. They were harried by British forces of varying strengths during their journey back to port and only just reached the safety of Corunna, with Guerrière being engaged by the 74-gun HMS Culloden until she reached the entrance to the port. She sailed in 1806 with several other French ships to attack British and Russian whalers, but was chased and brought to action by HMS Blanche. After a hard-fought battle, Blanche forced Guerrière to surrender, and brought her back to Britain. Now commissioned as HMS Guerriere, she went out to the West Indies and served off the American coast for a number of years. She captured a number of privateers, and was still in...

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