French brig Colibri (1802)

History
France
NameColibri
OrderedOctober 1801
BuilderLouis, Antoine, & Mathurin Crucy, Basse-Indre[1] Design by Jean-Michel Segondat.[2]
Launched22 May 1802[1]
Commissioned5 July 1802
RenamedSaint Pierre on 1 September 1802[1]
FateDonated to the Papal Navy in December 1802[1]
Papal States
NameSan Pietro
AcquiredDecember 1802
CapturedJune 1806
France
NameSan Petro
AcquiredJune 1806 by capture
RenamedSaint Pierre in May 1809
FateStruck 1813
General characteristics [3]
Class and typeAlcyon-class
Displacement280 tons (French)
Tons burthen150 (French; "of load")
Length27 m (88.6 ft) (overall)
Beam8.5 m (27.89 ft)
PropulsionSails
Sail planBrig
Armament16 × 4-pounder guns[1]

Colibri was a brig launched in 1802 for the French Navy. Between 14 and 16 August Colibri cruised the Atlantic as she sailed to Cadiz. She was under the command of enseigne de vaisseau Jourdain.[4]

She was renamed Saint Pierre on 1 September 1802. Napoleon ordered the name change preparatory to donating her to Pope Pius VII. Saint Pierre left Toulon on 14 December and arrived at Civitavecchia on 16 December.[3] She sailed in company with a second gift, the somewhat over-aged brig San Paulo, escorted by Alcyon.[1] Lieutenant Dornaldéguy performed the official transfer of the ships to the papal delegate.[1]

In the service of the Papal Navy she was renamed San Pietro.[3] The French Navy seized her at Civitavechia in June 1806 and listed her as San Petro.[3] The French Empire annexed Civitavecchia in May 1809; at that time she reverted to the name Saint Pierre. She remained at Civitavechia until January 1813, when the French Navy found her to be unserviceable and had her struck from the Navy list.[3]

The schematics of the ornamentation of Colibri are stored at the Service Historique de la Marine in Paris (8DD1.2 no 6) and were published in Lepelley's monograph on Manche.[2]

See also

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Roche (2005), p. 119.
  2. ^ a b Demerliac (2003), p. 109, №818.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Winfield & Roberts (2015), p. 210.
  4. ^ Archives de France (2000), p. 262.

References

  • Archives de France (2000). Fonds marine campagnes : opérations, divisions et stations navales, missions diverses : inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB⁴. Centre historique des Archives nationales. ISBN 978-2860002653.
  • Demerliac, Alain (2003). La Marine du Consulat et du Premier Empire: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1800 à 1815 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 9782903179304. OCLC 492784876.
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
  • Winfield, Rif; Roberts, Stephen S. (2015). French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861: Design Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84832-204-2.