Boadicea was one of a batch of large frigates ordered in 1795, all of which were the largest of their type, and the majority of which were to the draught of captured French ships.

She had been sailing from London to the Cape of Good Hope with a cargo of merchandise when the French privateer Confiance had captured her.

[5] Then on the day after that, they recaptured the ship Jenny, of Greenock, which had been sailing from Liverpool to Virginia with a cargo of salt, earthenware and bale goods.

[6] Boadicea shared with Révolutionnaire, Pique, and the hired armed cutter Nimrod in the capture of Anna Christiana on 17 May 1798.

[14] On 20 or 21 February 1799, Boadicea, Atalante, and Brilliant shared in the capture of the French privateer cutter Milan.

Keats ordered Atalante to take Milan into port, land the prisoners, and then rejoin Boadicea on station.

On 9 March a gale caused Requin to overturn even though she had no sails set; the prize crew of ten men from Boadicea and a prisoner all drowned.

[17] On 2 July Boadicea and some other frigates under Keats's overall command protected bomb vessels that bombarded some Spanish ships of the line anchored under the protection of batteries on the Île de Ré and a floating mortar battery moored near the Île d'Oléron.

The midshipman later boarded a small sloop from whom he found out that the French fleet was in the inner road and that the Spanish vessels there were plagued by illness among the crew.

[24] Gipsey had been a prize to the French privateer Brave, of 36 guns, under the command of Captain Le Bee, and had been sailing from the West Indies when originally captured.

[29] Fisgard, Uranie, Unicorn and the hired armed cutter Earl St Vincent shared in the prize.

In addition to Phoenix, these included Gironde, Alerte, Joseph, Magicienne, Dicke, Rancune, Vivo, Favorite, and Venus.

[45] Then on 25 November, Maitland and Boadicea were eight leagues off Cape Finisterre when they captured the French navy lugger Vautour, commanded by Monsieur Bigot, lieutenant de vaisseau.

She was 43 days from St. Domingo and had on board a Commissarie de Marine with dispatches from General Rochambeau at Cape François.

[d] Next, in company with Dryad, Boadicea fell in with four French line-of-battle ships under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley, off Ferrol.

Boadicea and Dryad tried to lead the enemy into the path of a Royal Navy squadron by firing rockets but lost them a short time after Sir Richard Strachan saw their signals.

Neither Boadicea nor Dryad therefore shared in the Battle of Cape Ortegal, in which the British captured all four French ships.

On 12 December, Boadicea, Arethusa, and Wasp left Cork, escorting a convoy of 23 merchant vessels.

Four days later the convoy encountered a French squadron consisting of five ships of the line and four sailing frigates, as well as nine other vessels that were too far away for assessment.

The letter writer to the Naval Chronicle surmised that the distant vessels were the Africa squadron that had been escorted by Lark and that they had captured.

[57] In the autumn of 1806 or early 1807 Boadicea was employed protecting the whale fishery in the Davis Strait, in company with Topaze.

[40] On 4 September 1807, Loire, with Boadicea, Defender, and Strenuous in company, captured the American ship Exchange, Peter Ledet, Master.

[64] Then on 27 March, Boadicea, Medusa, the cutter Alphea, and schooner Ant captured 25 French fishing vessels.

[2] In September 1809 she served in a squadron of frigates and sloops in the expedition against Saint-Paul, on Bonaparte Island (also known as Île de Bourbon and today as Réunion).

[67] The British had achieved their objectives, the capture of French shipping and the destruction of the defenses of the only safe anchorage on the island.

Captain Rowley moved to Boadicea and on 7 July 1810, and with three other frigates, he escorted a force of 1,650 European soldiers and 1,600 sepoys from Madras, together with 1,000 from Rodriguez, against Réunion again, but this time with the aim of taking the island.

[71][g] After the Battle of Grand Port, which was a disaster for the British, Commodore Josias Rowley sent urgent messages to Madras and Cape Town requesting reinforcements.

When she chased the French frigates and the brig Entreprenant early on the morning of 13 September, she outdistanced her companions, with unfortunate results.

On 21 November 1810 Vice Admiral Bertie led a large fleet of warships and transports to attack Isle de France (now Mauritius), the French surrendering on 7 December 1810.

[2] "Average under sail, not recording more than 9kts close hauled and 11.5kts off the wind, good sea boat ... tolerably handy in staying and wearing.