French frigate Muiron
Encyclopedia
The Muiron was a frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
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...
, famous for ferrying Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
on the 22 August 1799 under the flagship of Admiral Ganteaume from Egypt to France after the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
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The Muiron was one of two 18pdr-armed frigates that were building on the stocks in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
in November 1796, when Bonaparte took Venice during the Campaign of Italy. The two frigates were launched in August 1797 under the names Carrère and Muiron, and completed during November by the orders of Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. Muiron was named to honour Colonel Jean-Baptiste Muiron, an aide-de-camp of Bonaparte who had covered Bonaparte with his body during the Battle of the Bridge of Arcole
Battle of the Bridge of Arcole
The Battle of Arcole, or Battle of Arcola saw a bold manœuvre by Napoleon Bonaparte's French Army of Italy to outflank the Austrian army under József Alvinczi and cut its line of retreat...
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The Muiron was armed with 28 x 18pdr guns on the upper deck, and 12 x 6pdr guns on the quarterdeck and forecastle, and manned with a complement of 340. She was incorporated in the fleet that invaded Egypt, and after the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
, Bonaparte departed for France aboard. She later took part in the Battle of Algeciras Bay
Battle of Algeciras Bay
The Battle of Algeciras Bay refers to two separate battles in July 1801 between an allied French-Spanish fleet and the British near Gibraltar. In the first battle, the French drove off an attack by the larger British fleet and captured one ship of the line...
. In 1807, Napoléon ordered that the Muiron be preserved as a monument; to this effect, he wrote a letter to the Ministry of the Navy, stating "I wish that the Muiron on which I came back from Egypt be kept as a monument and placed in such a way that it be preserved, if possibly, several hundreds years". She was repaired and docked in Toulon, which a golden inscription on her hull stating "The Muiron, taken in 1797 in Venice arsenal by the conqueror of Italy. She brought back the saviour of France from Egypt in 1799". Napoléon also had a finely crafted scale model made for his study in Malmaison in 1803. This model is now on display at the Musée national de la Marine
Musée national de la Marine
The Musée national de la Marine is a maritime museum located in the Palais de Chaillot, Trocadéro, in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris. It has annexes at Brest, Port-Louis, Rochefort , Toulon and Saint-Tropez...
in Paris.
At the Bourbon Restauration, Muiron was decommissioned, and she was eventually destroyed in 1850, in circumstances that remain unclear. Conflicting theories have it that she was either sold for material and broken up, or destroyed by fire after being struck by ligthning.
The British captured her sister ship in August 1801 and added her to the British Navy as HMS Carrere
HMS Carrere (1801)
Carrère was a French frigate that served briefly in the French navy before the British captured her in 1801, naming her HMS Carrere...
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