French corvette Prony explained

-- age of sail -->	+ Ship Country: France Ship Name: Prony Ship Owner: French Navy Ship Launched: 23 September 1847 Ship Fate: Wrecked 5 November 1861 Ship Class: Corvette Ship Tons Burthen: c.700 Ship Power: 320hp Ship Propulsion: Sails, Steam engine Ship Sail Plan: Full-rigged ship Ship Complement: 140 Ship Armament: 6 × 30-pounder cannons

Prony was a French Navy corvette warship during the American Civil War that ran aground and was lost off Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina. It proved impossible to refloat the vessel, and efforts at assistance were hampered by both the weather and the fact that she had run aground in an area where Union and Confederate forces were opposing each other.

History

Prony, a mixed sailing ship and steamer, was built in Brest from 1844 and launched in 1847 (Jacques Vichot, Répertoire des navires de guerre français, 1967, p. 111).

In 1854 it was sent to the South Seas along with a small fleet to claim possession of New Caledonia. Prony Bay is named after this ship.

Loss

Prony had left New York harbor on 20 October with the intention of observing as a neutral the activity of the Union Navy blockading the port of Charleston. She arrived off Charleston on 30 October, staying there for two days before heading north, intending to return to New York. She was caught in a storm on 4 November off Ocracoke Inlet. Despite some efforts being made to save her, it proved impossible. No loss of life occurred.

At the time of her loss, Prony was under the command of Capitaine de corvette De Fontanges with a crew of 140 and 6 30-pound guns. She was of roughly 700 tons burthen and her engines were of .

References

• Book: Edward K. . Rawson . Robert H. . Woods . . Series I . 6: Atlantic Blockading Squadron (July 16, 1861 - October 29, 1861); North Atlantic Blockading Squadron (October 29, 1861 - March 8, 1862) . 1897 . Government Printing Office . Washington. 397–400.
• News: The Wreck of the French Corvette Prony.; Arrival of the Shipwrecked Seamen--Statement of Capt. De Fontanges-Full Particulars, &c.. The New York Times. November 14, 1861.