She spent 20 years in the Royal Navy, participating in numerous actions in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , capturing a number of prizes , and serving on anti-smuggling and anti-slavery patrols. Amelia was broken up in December Proserpine was stationed at Saint Domingue from until In , she was under Ensign Van Stabel. She unsuccessfully attempted to regroup the French fleet, almost colliding with the Droits de l'Homme in the process.
Proserpine then fired a broadside at the approaching British fleet before she escaped. Almost a year later, on 13 June , about 12 leagues 58 km south of Cape Clear , Ireland , the frigate HMS Dryad , under the command of Captain Lord Amelius Beauclerk , captured Proserpine following a relatively brief chase but a bitter action.
Dryad had two men killed and seven wounded. The Royal Navy classified her as a fifth rate of a nominal thirty-eight guns. The deck [ 9 ] and sheer and profile [ 10 ] plans made following survey at Plymouth in are now in the National Maritime Museum. She joined Ethalion and Sylph on 18 September blockading the French Brest Squadron, preventing them sailing for Ireland to support the Irish Rebellion with troops. Commodore Warren's squadron engaged the French squadron, and captured the Hoche 74 guns and the frigates Embuscade , Coquille and Bellone.
In the Admiralty awarded the surviving claimants from the battle the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "12th October ". On 31 January , while at anchor in the Hamoaze , Formidable broke free from her moorings and struck the Amelia. Fortunately both ships had struck their topmasts and damage was light. Amelia was able to sail on 4 February. Here three French frigates and a large gun vessel hiding against the coast surprised them.
At that instant a sudden squall carried away Amelia ' s main -top-mast and fore and mizzen top-gallant masts ; the fall of the former tore much of the mainsail from the yard. Captain Neale of San Fiorenzo shortened sail and ordered Amelia to bear up with him to maintain the weather gage and prepare for battle.
