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.

[7] On 23 June 1795, under Captain Daugier, Proserpine took part in the Battle of Groix as the flagship of Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse.

[8] Almost a year later, on 13 June 1796, 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.

[5] In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Dryad 13 June 1796" to all surviving claimants from the action.

[4] She joined Ethalion and Sylph on 18 September 1798 blockading the French Brest Squadron, preventing them sailing for Ireland to support the Irish Rebellion with troops.

[12] On 9 April, after reconnoitring two French frigates in L'Orient, HMS St Fiorenzo and Amelia sailed towards Belle Île in very hazy weather.

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.

The enemy showed no inclination for close-quarter action, and although the British ships came under fire from shore batteries, they had to bear down on the French three times to engage them.

During the night of 1 March some words passed between the boat's crew of Amelia and some Portuguese seamen at the Pier Head, Barbican, Plymouth.

A violent scuffle ensued that developed into a battle; during the conflict one of the Portuguese drew a long knife and stabbed one of Amelia's men in the groin.

Orders came down from London on 11 June that all the sloops and frigates in the Sound were to be sent to sea immediately as the coast from Berry Head to Mount's Bay was infested with smugglers.

In May she was part of the squadron under Rear Admiral Edward Thornbrough in Raisonnable, keeping watch over Hellevoetsluis, Flushing, Netherlands and other Dutch ports.

On 14 August she did catch at sea one Henry Sothcott (born 1774), who was sentenced to 5 years pressed into the Navy for smuggling; he jumped ship within seven months.

[21] Amelia deployed to the Leeward Islands Station, but her captain, Lord Proby, died on 6 August 1804 at age 25 at Surinam, from yellow fever.

He sighted three French 44-gun frigates (Calypso, Italienne and Sybille) near Belle Île on 23 February 1809 and Amelia and the brig Dotterel chased them all night.

Rear Admiral Stopford and his squadron, who had been watching eight French sail-of-the-line standing into the Pertuis d'Antioche, came down to join them and stood in with Caesar, Defiance, Donegal, and Amelia.

[24] On 15 May 1809 Lord Gambier ordered Captain Irby to investigate the situation at St Ander where an attack was about to be made by Spanish patriots on the French troops in the town.

[27][28] They also took two luggers: Légère, which was unseaworthy so her cargo was put on board Réjouie; and Notre Dame, a Spanish vessel the French had seized.

Because of the large number of prisoners, Captain Irby sent Statira into the harbour with the prizes while Amelia remained off the coast in hopes of being able to render more assistance to the Spaniards.

The corvette Mouche, which the sloop Goldfinch and the hired armed lugger Black Joke had recently engaged, had been a threat to British trade for some time.

When the tides proved too strong for a boat attack, Niobe led in, with Amelia and Berwick following in succession, and they fired on Amazone for two hours, before sailing outn.

On 18 June she left Quebec carrying General Sir James Henry Craig from Canada to England when he was relieved as Governor-General.

In June 1812 Irby learned that the natives at Winneba, halfway between Accra and Cape Coast Castle, had murdered Mr Meredith, the governor of the fort.

When the authorities at Cape Coast Castle asked for Captain Irby's assistance he sailed for Winneba with a detachment of the Africa corps under Mr Smith, Governor of Fort Tantumquery, and anchored off the port on 2 July.

In January 1813 Lieutenant Pascoe had to run his gunbrig Daring on shore and burn her at the island of Tamara, Iles de Los, after being chased by three French vessels.

The third ship was a Portuguese prize, La Serra, which they were unloading before sailing to intercept British merchant vessels, a convoy from England being expected daily.

Standing in towards Tamara on 6 February, Captain Irby met the government schooner Princess Charlote and learnt that the two frigates were anchored a considerable distance apart.

Each combatant withdrew exhausted from the fight; and each, as is usual in the few cases of drawn battles that have occurred, claimed the merit of having forced the other to the measure.

She was in Leghorn in December 1816, and was broken up at Deptford that same month,[4] having given 30 years of continual wartime service to both the French and British navies.