Volontaire was a 40-gun Virginie-class frigate of the French Navy. On 20 November 1798, along with Insurgente, Volontaire, under Captain Laurent, captured the 14-gun corvette USS Retaliation. She took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 and was captured by HMS Diadem on 4 March 1806. She sailed into Table Bay, unaware that the British had captured Cape Town. Diadem, flying a Dutch flag, came alongside. When Diadem ran up the British flag, Volontaire surrendered.(See also: Transport vessels for the British invasion of the Dutch Cape Colony (1805-1806))