HMS Eugenie (or Eugenia) was originally the French privateer Nouvelle Eugénie, launched in Nantes in 1796. Built over the course of 1796-1797, she was commissioned in 1797 under Commander Joachim Barbier. As a privateer, she was a razee vessel armed with 16 guns and staffed by a crew of approximately 120 men. She measured 241 tons (bm). In her early career, Nouvelle Eugénie conducted cruises in the Atlantic, during which she captured the ship Spencer in March 1797, which was carrying West Indies cargo. Her departure from Nantes was noted as being four days out on a 30-day cruise when she was intercepted. On 11 May 1797, she was captured by the Royal Navy's ships Indefatigable, Phoebe, Cleopatra, Childers, and the hired lugger Duke of York, while she was returning from Nantes. At that time, she had not taken any prizes. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Eugenie and underwent fitting at Plymouth between August and November 1797, including a conversion from ship rig to brig rig. Commander Philip Somerville commissioned her in October 1797 for service in the Downs. As a brig-sloop, she primarily escorted convoys in the Channel. Throughout her service, Eugenie participated in various actions. She captured the Welvaart Van Pillau in April 1799 and, in May of the same year, recaptured several vessels, including the brigs Betsey and Four Sisters, and the Danish galliott Tre Sostre. She also shared in the recapture of the brig Juno in April 1801, which had been taken by a French privateer near Dungeness. Eugenie sustained casualties during Lord Nelson’s failed raid on Boulogne in August 1801, losing three seamen and wounding one officer and five sailors. She also rendered assistance to the Swedish East Indiaman Sophia Magdalena after she ran aground near Kingsdown in November 1801. In May 1802, Commander Fasham Roby replaced Somerville. The vessel was offered for sale in December 1802 and was sold at Deptford in January 1803. Her service record highlights her role in convoy escort and maritime patrol during a turbulent period of naval warfare, embodying the typical duties of a brig-sloop in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.