Perçante was a 20-gun ship-corvette of the French Navy, built at Bayonne and launched in 1795. The British captured her in 1796 and took her into the Royal Navy under the name HMS Jamaica. They rated her as a sixth-rate 26-gun frigate. She served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and part of the Napoleonic Wars, during which she captured some privateers and participated in a boat attack. The Admiralty had her laid up in 1810 and sold her in 1814.
Design
Perçante was one of four Bonne Citoyenne-class corvettes launched between 1794 and 1796, all four of which the Royal Navy captured between 1796 and 1798. The class was built to a design by Raymond-Antoine Haran. All members of the class were flush-decked, but with a long topgallant forecastle.
French service
Perçante was stationed at Bayonne and Rochefort. Initially she was under the command of enseigne de vaisseau Laporte, who commanded her from 13 June 1795 to 17 August.
His replacement was lieutenant de vaisseau (later capitaine de frégate) Tourtelot. He commanded her at least during the period 20 October to 23 November.
Her first major voyage was to Guyane, where she first delivered member of the National Convention Bertrand Barère into exile, and then delivered dispatches and supplies to the Antilles. Her second voyage had her carrying arms and munitions from the Île-d'Aix roads with destinations Cayenne and then Basse-Terre. For this voyage she was under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau (later capitaine de frégate) Tourtelot (the elder).
Capture
On 6 December 1795, Perçante departed La Rochelle, under orders from the Minister of Marine and Colonies not to communicate with any vessel on the way.
In late February 1796, Perçante was sailing from Cayenne to Cap Français when, near Samana Bay, around 21:00, she encountered the 64-gun third rate , patrolling and looking for reinforcements expected from Cork. Intrepid gave chase, and the two ships exchanged fire from 23:00 until 04:00 the next morning, when the wind strengthened, giving an advantage to Perçante.
However, Perçante soon sighted two British corvettes to the north and a frigate in the south; Tourtelot then ordered Perçante beached in a cove to the east of Porto Plata. Intrepid anchored and started bombarding Perçante, forcing her crew to abandon her after destroying her pumps and opening her sea valves in an attempt to scuttle her.
The British nevertheless managed to retrieve Perçante, and commissioned her in the Royal Navy as the sixth-rate HMS Jamaica. Tourtellot was honourably acquitted of the loss of his ship.
British service
Commander Samuel Brooking commissioned Jamaica in April 1796, on the Jamaica station, where he and she would remain for some three years. (Brooking received his promotion to post captain, the appropriate rank for the captain of a frigate, in July 1796.)
On 27 November 1796 Jamaica captured Adélaïde and on 10 June 1797 Dix Après.
During the period 29 October 1797 and 12 March 1798 Jamaica destroyed a French 10-gun privateer schooner, name unknown. On 7 February 1798 she captured the French privateer schooner Fortunée. The schooner was armed with one or more 4-pounder guns.
Towards the end of the next year, on 27 November 1798, Jamaica captured Rebecca, and then on 9 December she captured the Fox.
Early in 1799, that is on 7 January, 27 January, and 24 February, Jamaica captured the vessels Shark, Friends, and Gravenhorst. Also, between 12 February and 30 March, Jamaica captured two merchant vessels. Later that year Jamaica sailed to Britain.
later, on 25 July, Jamaica, and passed Plymouth as they sailed up the Channel escorting the East India, Jamaica, Lisbon, and Oporto fleets. On 22 August Jamaica arrived at Deptford; she was paid off there in August. She remained at Deptford for repairs until October, with Captain John Mackeller recommissioning her in September.
Mackeller escorted a fleet of merchantmen to and from the Baltic and recaptured an English mast-ship and a brig laden with corn. He also forced a privateer, under the command of Captain Blankeman, to throw 14 guns and other gear overboard during an unsuccessful, for Jamaica, chase. The two English vessels recaptured may have been the Duke of Athol and James and Ruth on 13 and 14 December 1800. In March 1801 Mackeller transferred to , sailing her to the East Indies in June.