[1] The 12-gun Papillon participated in the Croisière du Grand Hiver, an unsuccessful sortie by the French fleet at Brest on 24 December 1794.

In September 1803 the rebel slaves under General Jean-Jacques Dessalines were closely pressing the French troops in northwest Saint Domingue.

He also brought out the brigs Papillon and Trois Amis (a transport), and the schooner Mary Sally, with 40 or 50 barrels of powder.

[2] On 15 April 1805 Papillon was anchored at Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica, when the master of a dogger informed Woolsey that there was a Spanish privateer felucca off the west coast of the island.

He borrowed a shallop from a merchant ship, disguised her as a drogger, and put on board 25 men under the command of Lieutenant Prieur.

Papillon is listed in the summary seasonal report to the Admiralty as the captor of Desirée, while earlier letters credit the larger ships.

[9][c] Papillon's capture of the Spanish privateer by stratagem in April 1805 bears remarkable similarities to an incident in the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.