The Capricieuse was a 36-gun frigate of the French Navy

French Navy

The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...

, lead ship of her class

She was launched in Lorient on 20 November 1786 and commissioned under captain de Ferrières the next year.

In 1788, she accidentally ran aground and was refloated the next year.

In February 1791, she took a station in Domingo, from which she returned in October 1792, ferrying Blanchelande

Philibert François Rouxel de Blanchelande

Philippe François Rouxel, viscount de Blanchelande was a French general...

 to be tried in France.

In September 1793, she was renamed Charente and manned by the crew of Néréide

French frigate Néréide (1779)

The Néréide was a Sybille class 32-gun, copper-hulled, frigate of the French Navy. On 22 December 1797 HMS Phoebe captured her and she was taken into British service as HMS Nereide. The French recaptured her at the Battle of Grand Port, only to lose her again when the British took Île de France in...

. She took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver

Croisière du Grand Hiver

The Croisière du Grand Hiver was a French attempt to organise a winter naval campaign in the wake of the Glorious First of June.-Context:...

 and in the Expédition d'Irlande

Expédition d'Irlande

The Expédition d'Irlande was an unsuccessful attempt by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican group, in their planned rebellion against British rule...

, where she shadowed Trajan

French ship Trajan (1792)

The Trajan was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.In 1793, Trajan was commissioned in Lorient, under captain Villaret de Joyeuse....

.

In 1798, she was used to ferry detainees to Cayenne. In late March, under commander Bruillac, she battled a British division off Gironde.

Capricieuse was lost on 31 October 1799, when she ran aground at the entrance of Blavet

Blavet

The Blavet river flows from central Brittany and enters the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast near Lorient. The river is canalized for most of its length and is navigable for smaller craft. It is part of Brittany's canal system and became more important when the western half of that system got cut...

river.