the Indian Ocean theatre in September sailing from Mauritius to Rochefort and escorting two merchantmen of the Spanish Royal Company of the Philippines to Europe. En route, the two frigates and two merchantmen stopped at Îles de Los to effect repair and gather water; they anchored at Tamara, Vertu disassembling her masts and yards to restore her rigging, while Régénérée sailed to the nearby island of Factori. On 24 April, the 32-gun HMS Pearl, under Captain James Ballard, attacked Vertu; one hour into the battle, Régénérée, attracted by the cannonade, intervened and forced Pearl to flee. Régénérée chased Pearl for 36 hours before abandoning the pursuit. On 10 May 1798, the ships departed for Europe. Arrived at Tenerife, the merchantmen were put under the care of the governor, as they considerably retarded the travel of the frigates. On 27 July, as the frigates prepared to pursue their journey, they were observed by the 28-gun HMS Brilliant, under Henry Blackwood. At 6, the French frigates put to sail and started firing on Brilliant; Régénérée was closing in to her opponent when Vertu, which had sailed large, touched the wind; Régénérée imitated her manoeuver, but lost her mizzen and bowsprit, allowing Brilliant to flee. Vertu gave chase, but could not overhaul her opponent and returned to Tenerife. There, Régénérée replaced her rigging, and both frigates eventually arrived in Rochefort on 5 September. Service in Saint-Domingue on Poursuivante Promoted to Chef de Division in January 1799, Willaumez was ordered to Saint-Malo to lead a campaign of his own design with a three-frigate and one-corvette division. However, the expedition could not depart and Willaumez returned to Paris, where, along with Fleurieu, he documented D'Entrecasteaux' expedition. In 1801, at the Peace of Amiens, Willaumez was appointed to command the 74-gun Duguay-Trouin, part of a squadron under Rear-Admiral Latouche-Tréville in Villaret de Joyeuse's fleet bound for Saint-Domingue; the squadron counted six ships of the line, six frigates and two corvettes, and was to ferry 3000 soldiers. Willaumez was given command of the Southern station of Saint-Domingue, and although he had no troops at his disposal there, he managed to maintain order. He also gained the trust of the black population, to the extent that General Laplume entrusted him two millions francs to carry to Port-au-Prince. In November 1802, after General de Rochambeau replaced Charles Leclerc, he started executing blacks by drowning; he had the entire garrison