First sneaking undetected and later trying to pass herself as a British frigate coming to relieve Proserpine, Pénélope approached within gun range before being identified.

Captain Otter remained a prisoner in France until the end of the war; he was court martialed for the loss of his ship on 30 May 1814, and honourably acquitted.

By 1809, the French fleet in Toulon was blockaded by several British squadrons of powerful ships of the line; direct surveillance of the harbour, however, had to be conducted by smaller and more agile frigates.

Having noticed that she tended to sail very close to Toulon, up to Cape Sicié, and learning from fishermen who had been in contact with her crew that she would be relieved at her station around the 27th,[2] Captain Dubourdieu requested from Admiral Ganteaume authorisation to give chase; although under order to avoid engaging the British squadrons, Ganteaume authorised the sortie, joining Pauline, under François-Gilles Montfort, to Dubourdieu's Pénélope.

[6] Suddenly detecting two large ships nearby, Proserpine, almost becalmed, tried to evade and identify her opponents to no avail.