LANGUEDOC ship-of-the-line 1778
Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:28 pm
The LANGUEDOC was given as a present by the States of Languedoc in Southern France to King Louis XV of France as part of a national effort to rebuild the French Navy after the Seven Years War.
The vessel was designed by naval architect Joseph Coulomb and built at the Arsenal of Toulon.
May 1762 keel laid down.
15 May 1766 launched as the LANGUEDOC.
Tonnage 2,055 ton, dim. 60.41 x 15.7 x 7.5m.
Armament: Lower gundeck 30 – 26pdr. guns, upper deck 32 – 24 pdr. guns. Quarterdeck and forecastle 18 – 12pdr. guns
Crew 909 during wartime.
17 January 1778 commissioned as flagship of Vice Admiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector comte d’Estaing.
When French had decided to intervene in the American War of Independence a squadron of 12 French warships under his command was sent to the America’s
13 April 1778 the squadron set sail from Toulon, France in secret before the war was declared.
The twelve warships carried also army soldiers, and when sailing the LANGUEDOC carried 1.181 men on board.
05 July 1778 the fleet arrived off New York when they found out that a British squadron under command of Rear-Admiral Howe is in port, Vice Admiral d’Estaing decided to proceed to Boston, and there the first battle in this war between France and Great Britain occurred on 10 August 1778, but bad weather stopped the battle, the LANGUEDOC lost in this storm all her masts and her rudder.
When the LANGUEDOC was in this helpless situation the HMS RENOWN attacked the ship from behind, broadside after broadside were fired through the stern of the LANGUEDOC. The gunshots ran through the whole ship from the stern to the bow, and there was no place for the crew to hide.
Luckily the rest of the French squadron came to the rescue and saved the ship from surrender.
When Howe decided to move south during the winter and attack French positions there, d’Estaing followed after he received the news.
Battle of St Lucia began on 14 December 1778, it was not a close action battle and after two attacks by d’Estaing on the British fleet, the French fleet withdraw.
Then d’Estaing attacked Grenada in April 1779 which was captured.
During the spring the French fleet sailed north and she took part in the siege of Savannah
Then d’Estaing returned home with the LANGUEDOC, on her return voyage with the French squadron she got again storm damage and lost contact with the rest of the squadron.
She arrived in Brest and was repaired; the command was then given to Marquis d’Argelos an army officer. When she sailed out as a unit of Admiral Grasse fleet from Brest she got in collision with a merchantmen and had to return to port for repairs.
When repaired she sailed with Admiral Grasse fleet to Martinique
05 September 1781 she was at the Battle of the Chesapeake, when wind decreased and it became calm the battle ended and the British fleet retreated after five ships were damaged and one scuttled, the French had two ships damaged. It is a strategic victory for the French, after the battle the British Army had to surrender at Yorktown on 19th October.
After the battle and surrender the French fleet sailed south to the West Indies with the plan to attack Jamaica.
25 January 1782 she took part in the Battle of Saint Kitts.
The LANGUEDOC and the French fleet not in a good shape with crews suffering from scurvy sailed to Martinique for repairs and the sick crew was landed.
05 April 1782 the French fleet left Martinique, the LANGUEDOC is in a position astern of the flagship VILLE DE PARIS, during the battle the LANGUEDOC escaped when the flagship is attacked.
The battle after heavy fighting was lost for the French, and VILLE DE PARIS and other French ships were captured.
The LANGUEDOC left also the French fleet behind and joined La Pérouse’s squadron to help to protect the Spanish fleet underway to Havana.
28 June 1783 she returned back in Brest. On arrival d’Argelos was arrested for withdrawing from the battle, during a trial he was acquitted of any wrongdoing.
The LANGUEDOC was almost complete rebuild in Brest.
1792 When France declared war against Austria she is again commissioned under command of Rear Admiral Latouche-Tréville.
December that year she sails to Naples to prevent the King of Naples to support Austria.
December 1792 on his way back from Naples she did run in a heavy storm and lost her masts and rudder, and almost was driven against the cliffs of the island of Capri.
She was repaired at the beach near Naples and after one and a half month she is ready for action again.
Takes part in the invasion of Sardinia but when the invasion force is defeated she sailed to Toulon for repairs.
When the British Admiral Hood captured Toulon she is still there under repair but she is in a very bad shape and the British when evacuate Toulon found it not necessary to take her or destroy her.
When Toulon was liberated in 1793 the LANGUEDOG was renamed in ANTIFEDERALISTE.
1794 After Robespierre was killed she was renamed in VICTOIRE.
13 March 1795 she was one of the ships off the coast of Cape Nioli who fought against Horatio Nelson squadron.
1796 She joins with the French fleet the Spanish fleet at Cadiz, both fleets left Cadiz to make an attack on Newfoundland, due to bad relationship and mutiny the French fleet left the Spanish fleet, and sailed to Newfoundland which they raided in various places.
After the VICTOIRE returns from Newfoundland she is again in a bad shape, and need repair.
Her end is till today a mystery. The Arsenal Brest gives that she was scrapped in 1797.
An other record under both names LANGUEDOC and VICTOIRE in Toulon gives that she was in 1798 a garrison ship in Venice, and later in a letter of the National Record Office in Paris that the ship VICTOIRE was scuttled on her pier in the port of Venice.
Malagasy Republic 1975 100F sg307, scott307.
Source: Wikipedia http://threedecks.org/index.php?display ... ip&id=1964
http://cabinet.marsaudon.pagesperso-ora ... guedoc.htm
The vessel was designed by naval architect Joseph Coulomb and built at the Arsenal of Toulon.
May 1762 keel laid down.
15 May 1766 launched as the LANGUEDOC.
Tonnage 2,055 ton, dim. 60.41 x 15.7 x 7.5m.
Armament: Lower gundeck 30 – 26pdr. guns, upper deck 32 – 24 pdr. guns. Quarterdeck and forecastle 18 – 12pdr. guns
Crew 909 during wartime.
17 January 1778 commissioned as flagship of Vice Admiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector comte d’Estaing.
When French had decided to intervene in the American War of Independence a squadron of 12 French warships under his command was sent to the America’s
13 April 1778 the squadron set sail from Toulon, France in secret before the war was declared.
The twelve warships carried also army soldiers, and when sailing the LANGUEDOC carried 1.181 men on board.
05 July 1778 the fleet arrived off New York when they found out that a British squadron under command of Rear-Admiral Howe is in port, Vice Admiral d’Estaing decided to proceed to Boston, and there the first battle in this war between France and Great Britain occurred on 10 August 1778, but bad weather stopped the battle, the LANGUEDOC lost in this storm all her masts and her rudder.
When the LANGUEDOC was in this helpless situation the HMS RENOWN attacked the ship from behind, broadside after broadside were fired through the stern of the LANGUEDOC. The gunshots ran through the whole ship from the stern to the bow, and there was no place for the crew to hide.
Luckily the rest of the French squadron came to the rescue and saved the ship from surrender.
When Howe decided to move south during the winter and attack French positions there, d’Estaing followed after he received the news.
Battle of St Lucia began on 14 December 1778, it was not a close action battle and after two attacks by d’Estaing on the British fleet, the French fleet withdraw.
Then d’Estaing attacked Grenada in April 1779 which was captured.
During the spring the French fleet sailed north and she took part in the siege of Savannah
Then d’Estaing returned home with the LANGUEDOC, on her return voyage with the French squadron she got again storm damage and lost contact with the rest of the squadron.
She arrived in Brest and was repaired; the command was then given to Marquis d’Argelos an army officer. When she sailed out as a unit of Admiral Grasse fleet from Brest she got in collision with a merchantmen and had to return to port for repairs.
When repaired she sailed with Admiral Grasse fleet to Martinique
05 September 1781 she was at the Battle of the Chesapeake, when wind decreased and it became calm the battle ended and the British fleet retreated after five ships were damaged and one scuttled, the French had two ships damaged. It is a strategic victory for the French, after the battle the British Army had to surrender at Yorktown on 19th October.
After the battle and surrender the French fleet sailed south to the West Indies with the plan to attack Jamaica.
25 January 1782 she took part in the Battle of Saint Kitts.
The LANGUEDOC and the French fleet not in a good shape with crews suffering from scurvy sailed to Martinique for repairs and the sick crew was landed.
05 April 1782 the French fleet left Martinique, the LANGUEDOC is in a position astern of the flagship VILLE DE PARIS, during the battle the LANGUEDOC escaped when the flagship is attacked.
The battle after heavy fighting was lost for the French, and VILLE DE PARIS and other French ships were captured.
The LANGUEDOC left also the French fleet behind and joined La Pérouse’s squadron to help to protect the Spanish fleet underway to Havana.
28 June 1783 she returned back in Brest. On arrival d’Argelos was arrested for withdrawing from the battle, during a trial he was acquitted of any wrongdoing.
The LANGUEDOC was almost complete rebuild in Brest.
1792 When France declared war against Austria she is again commissioned under command of Rear Admiral Latouche-Tréville.
December that year she sails to Naples to prevent the King of Naples to support Austria.
December 1792 on his way back from Naples she did run in a heavy storm and lost her masts and rudder, and almost was driven against the cliffs of the island of Capri.
She was repaired at the beach near Naples and after one and a half month she is ready for action again.
Takes part in the invasion of Sardinia but when the invasion force is defeated she sailed to Toulon for repairs.
When the British Admiral Hood captured Toulon she is still there under repair but she is in a very bad shape and the British when evacuate Toulon found it not necessary to take her or destroy her.
When Toulon was liberated in 1793 the LANGUEDOG was renamed in ANTIFEDERALISTE.
1794 After Robespierre was killed she was renamed in VICTOIRE.
13 March 1795 she was one of the ships off the coast of Cape Nioli who fought against Horatio Nelson squadron.
1796 She joins with the French fleet the Spanish fleet at Cadiz, both fleets left Cadiz to make an attack on Newfoundland, due to bad relationship and mutiny the French fleet left the Spanish fleet, and sailed to Newfoundland which they raided in various places.
After the VICTOIRE returns from Newfoundland she is again in a bad shape, and need repair.
Her end is till today a mystery. The Arsenal Brest gives that she was scrapped in 1797.
An other record under both names LANGUEDOC and VICTOIRE in Toulon gives that she was in 1798 a garrison ship in Venice, and later in a letter of the National Record Office in Paris that the ship VICTOIRE was scuttled on her pier in the port of Venice.
Malagasy Republic 1975 100F sg307, scott307.
Source: Wikipedia http://threedecks.org/index.php?display ... ip&id=1964
http://cabinet.marsaudon.pagesperso-ora ... guedoc.htm