L'Indien 1691639 187797737 2008-01-29T22:57:47Z Benea 4456044 no such HMS Astrea in service with the Navy {| {{ship table header 01}} |colspan="2" align="center" |[[Image:No Photo Available.svg|300px]] |- !align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy;"| Career !align="center" style="color: white; height: 30px; background: navy;"| [[Image:Ensign of the South Carolina Navy.svg|52px|South Carolina Navy Ensign]] |- |Ordered: | |- |Laid down: |early [[1777]] |- |Launched: | |- |Commissioned: | |- |Decommissioned: | |- |Fate: |transferred to the [[South Carolina Navy]], captured by [[Royal Navy]] |- |Stricken: | |- !colspan="2" align="center" style="color: white; background: navy;"|General characteristics |- |Displacement: |1430 tons |- |Length: |170 feet |- |Beam: |43 feet 3 inches |- |Depth in hold: |16 feet 6 inches |- |Complement: |550 officers and men |- |Armament: |28 32-pdrs., 12 12-pdrs. |- |Motto: | |} '''L'Indien''', a [[frigate]] built for the U.S. Commissioners in [[France]] — [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Silas Deane]], and [[Arthur Lee (diplomat)|Arthur Lee]] — was laid down early in [[1777]] by a private [[shipyard]] in [[Amsterdam]]. Late in the year [[John Paul Jones]] sailed for France, hoping to assume command of ''L'Indien''; but, before his arrival, financial difficulties and opposition from the still-neutral [[Netherlands|Dutch]] government, under pressure from [[Great Britain]], had forced the Commissioners to sell the new frigate to the [[King of France]]. For over two years the ship remained idle while several American and European agents schemed to obtain her. Finally, on [[30 May]] [[1780]] the King granted her to the [[Duke of Luxembourg]], who simultaneously chartered her to [[South Carolina]], represented by Commodore [[Alexander Gillon]] of the [[South Carolina Navy]]. Gillon renamed the frigate ''South Carolina''. Subsequently, she took several prizes and led the combined [[United States]]-[[Spain|Spanish]] expedition which captured the [[Bahamas]]. British men-of-war [[HMS Diomede|''Diomede'']] and [[HMS Quebec|''Quebec'']] captured ''South Carolina'' as she attempted to dash out of [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], through the British blockade [[20 December]] [[1782]]. Perhaps her greatest significance comes from the fact the marine architect Joshua Humphreys studied her sleek hull and used her lines in designing the [[United States Navy]]'s first frigates, especially [[USS Constitution|''Constitution'']] and [[USS Constellation (1797)|''Constellation'']]. == References == {{DANFS}} [[Category:Age of Sail frigates]]