Concorde was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Built in Rochefort in 1777, she entered service with the French early in the American War of Independence and was soon in action, capturing in the West Indies. She survived almost until near the end of the war when captured her in 1783. Not immediately brought into service due to the draw-down in the navy after the end of the war, Concorde underwent repairs and returned to active service with the outbreak of war with France in 1793 as the fifth-rate HMS Concorde. Initially part of squadrons cruising off the French coast, she played an important part in the action of 23 April 1794, capturing the . At a later engagement she helped capture the . From 1797 until the early 19th century she had especial success against privateers, capturing a large number in the West Indies and in the Atlantic. She had a narrow escape from a superior French force in 1801, but was able to batter her pursuer, the 40-gun , into submission; only the arrival of French reinforcements saved Bravoure from capture. Concorde spent her last years on a variety of stations, including at the Cape of Good Hope and the East Indies. She was laid up in 1807 and sold for breaking up in 1811. Construction and French career Concorde was one of three s built for the French Navy to a design by Henri Chevillard. She was built at Rochefort between April 1777 and January 1778, being launched on 3 September 1777. She went out to the West Indies after the French entry to the American War of Independence, and reached Martinique on 17 August 1778. On 28 August 1778, under Captain Le Gardeur de Tilly, she came up on the 32-gun , under Captain John Stott, and after two and a half hours of fighting, captured her. Minerva was towed to Cap Français on Saint-Domingue, where she was joined shortly afterwards by the captured , which a hurricane had dismasted in late August and which the French frigates and had captured on 1 September. In France, the action was so highly regarded that the Navy Minister commissioned a painting of the battle. In 1781 Concorde was responsible for vital transfers of personnel, funds, and communications that contributed to the allied victory at Yorktown. In March 1781 she carried despatches to