18th Cent 80 Gun Ships of the Line .

HMS Cambridge (1755)

Attachment 46551
The launch of HMS Cambridge, left, in 1755
(with HMS Royal George shown fictitiously, right).
By John Cleveley the Elder.

HMS Cambridge was an 80-gun third-rate line, designed by Joseph Allin, built by M/shipwright John Holland until his death in the May of 1752. then by Thomas Fellows until his death in the March of 1753, Thomas Slade until August 1755. She was finally completed by Adam Hayes at Deptford Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 21 October 1755.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Cambridge
Ordered:	12 July 1750
Builder:	Deptford Dockyard
Laid down:	29 August 1750
Launched:	21 October 1755
Commissioned:	17 January 1756
Fate:	Broken up in July 1808
Notes:	Participated in: Capture of Havana, 1762
General characteristics
Class and type:	1750 amendments 80-gun third rateship of the line
Tons burthen:	1,615 long tons (1,640.9 t)
Length:	166 ft (50.6 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	47 ft (14.3 m)
Depth of hold:	20 ft (6.1 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	80 guns: Gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs Middle gundeck: 26 × 18 pdrs Upper gundeck: 24 × 9 pdrs Quarterdeck: 4 × 6 pdrs

Early career.

She was commissioned in the October of 1755 as Flagship at Portsmouth in 1757.
Cambridge’s first captain was Sir Peircy Brett, who had previously been in command of HMY Royal Caroline. He was moved to the Cambridge in expectation of the outbreak of hostilities with France. With the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, Brett left the command in November or December 1756. He was replaced by Captain William Gordon. Gordon also did not spend long aboard Cambridge, leaving in April 1757 to take command of the newly launched HMS Princess Amelia. His successor was Captain Thomas Burnet, who was promoted to Post-Captain on 5 May. Cambridge then became CommodoreSir John Moore'sflagship on the West Indies Station.

Cambridge remained on this station for several years. In January 1759 Sir John was reinforced with a fleet dispatched from England under the command of Commodore Robert Hughes, consisting of eight two-deckers, a frigate and four bomb ketches. They were also transporting a number of troops under the command of General Peregrine Hopson. They were instructed to make attacks on French settlements in the West Indies. The first of these was a British expedition against Guadeloupe, for which Moore transferred his flag to HMS Woolwich. Cambridge, in company with HMS Norfolk and HMS St George, were ordered to attack the main citadel. The resulting attack lasted from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, and succeeded in silencing the defences. After this success Commodore Hughes returned to Britain in June, taking Burnet and the Cambridge with him.

Later operations in the Caribbean.


Attachment 46552
The bombardment of Morro Castle on Havana – Lindsay is being rowed out from Trent to take command of Cambridge, right By Richard Paton (1717–1791)

Both Burnet and Cambridge were back in the West Indies later in 1759, Cambridge again serving as Commodore John Moore's flagship on the Leeward Islands Station. In 1760 Burnet was replaced by Captain William Goostrey, and Cambridge became the flagship of Rear Admiral Charles Holmes, who had replaced Moore and was commanding out of Jamaica. Cambridge then formed part of Sir George Pocock's fleet at the taking of Havana from the Spanish in 1762. During that action she, HMS Dragon and HMS Marlborough were ordered on 1 July to bombard and capture the Moro Fort. Cambridge's captain, William Goostrey, was killed by rifle fire from the fort and John Lindsay – then captain of HMS Trent – took over command whilst the battle was still in progress. Cambridge’s eventual casualties were 24 killed, including her captain, and 95 wounded.

Return to Britain.

By 1779 Cambridge was under the command of Captain Broderick Hartwell, and was serving as a guardship at Plymouth. Hartwell left the Cambridge in 1781 when he was appointed to be lieutenant-governor of Greenwich Hospital. On 23 December 1781 she was in company with Squirrel, Dunkirk, and Antigua at the capture of the Dutch ship De Vrow Esther.

During the Spanish armament of 1790 Cambridge became the flagship of Vice-Admiral Thomas Graves, and was commanded by Captain William Locker.

Recommissioned in April 1791 by Captain Thomas Hicks as Flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton she again paid off in the September of that year.Fitted as a receiving ship at Plymouth in the December of 1792, she was reduced to harbour service in 1793 and as Flagship of Graves again. Then Rear Admiral Rowland Cotton in 1794. Cambridge continued as the Plymouth guardship, next coming under the command of Captain Boger and serving as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Richard King from 1795 till 1799.

She also transferred survivors from the wreck of HMS Colossus in 1798 from the brigs which had initially rescued them to HMS Castor.

In the May of 1799 under Captain john Wickey as Flagship of Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley..

She was broken up at Plymouth in July 1808.

HMS Gibraltar (1749)
Attachment 46564
Ship-of-the-line Fénix by Rafael Berenguer y Condé, Naval Museum of Madrid

The Fénix was an 80-gun ship-of-the-line (navio) of the Spanish Navy, built by Pedro de Torres at Havana in accordance with the system laid down by Antonio Gaztaneta. She was launched in 1749.

History
Spain
Name:	Fenix
Builder:	Havana Dockyard
Laid down:	1 July 1747
Launched:	26 February 1749
Commissioned:	1 December 1749
Honours and awards:	Participated in: Battle of Cape St Vincent
Captured:	16 January 1780, by Royal Navy
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Gibraltar
Acquired:	16 January 1780
Honours and awards:	Participated in: Battle of Fort Royal Invasion of Tobago Battle of Cuddalore Glorious First of June Battle of Hyères Islands Battle of the Basque Roads Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Egypt"
Fate:	Broken up, 1836
General characteristics
Class and type:	80-gun third rateship-of-the-line
Tons burthen:	2,184 ​25⁄94 (bm)
Length:	178 ft 10 3⁄4 in (54.5 m) (gundeck) 144 ft 5 3⁄4 in (44.0 m) (keel)
Beam:	53 ft 3 3⁄4 in (16.2 m)
Depth of hold:	22 ft 4 in (6.8 m)
Sail plan:	Full-rigged ship
Complement:	650
Armament:	Lower deck:30 × 24-pounder guns Upper deck: 1780:32 × 18-pounder guns 1781:32 × 24-pounder guns QD: 1780:12 × 9-pounder guns + 2 × 68-pounder carronades 1810:4 × 12-pounder guns + 8 × 32-pounder carronades Fc: 1780:6 × 9-pounder guns 1810:4 × 12-pounder guns + 2 × 32-pounder carronades

Attachment 46565
Holman's Battle of Cape St Vincent.

As the flagship of Admiral Juan de Lángara, the ship fought at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 16 January 1780, where she was captured by the British Royal Navy then commanded by Captain John Carter Allen in February 1780.She was commissioned as a third rate ship of the Line in March of that year, and renamed HMS Gibraltar on 23 April. She joined George Darby's fleet in the English Channel until 29 November, when she left for Samuel Hood's squadron in the West Indies under Captain Walter Stirling.

Early in the following year of 1781she took part in the Capture of St Eustatius in the February and also in the Battle of Fort Royal during the following month. Gibraltar and five other ships were sent to stop a French invasion fleet bound for Tobago in May 1781, but found the French too powerful and had to withdraw. In November, her 18-pound guns were replaced with 24-pounders, after which, in February 1782, she sailed to the East Indies and in the following year participated in the Battle of Cuddalore.

Revolution.

At the start of the French Revolutionary War, Gibraltar served in the Channel Fleet, fighting at the Glorious First of June in 1794 under Captain Thomas McKenzie before being sent to the Mediterranean in the May of 1795, under Captain John Packenham.. In June, the ship was in an action off Hyères; then, in the December of 1796, she was badly damaged in a storm and had to return to England for major repairs. By June Gibraltar was back in the Mediterranean , serving in the navy's Egyptian campaign, where she remained during and beyond the Peace of Amiens, except for a short period when she was sent home for a refit.

In the July of 1797,she was again in the med under Captain William Hancock Kelly and took part in Sir John Borlase Warren's persuit of Ganteaumes Squadron in the March of 1801.

In the October of 1803 she was involved in Mutiny , and in 1805 she was reclassified as a Second Rate under Captain Mark Robinson for service in the Med.

Attachment 46566
Regulus under attack by British Fire-ships at the Basque Roads.

Returning to the Channel in April 1807 under Captain John Haliday, Gibraltar joined the fleet under Admiral James Gambier, which fought the Battle of the Basque Roads in the May of 1809. commanded by Captain Henry Lidgbird Ball. This was her last major action; the ship was taken out of service in 1813 and converted to a powder hulk at Plymouth.

She became a lazarette in 1824 at Milford, and was finally broken up in the November of 1836 at Pembroke Docks.

HMS Prince (1670) Royal William from (1692)

Attachment 46578

Interesting as one of the oldest vessels serving during an at the end of the 18th Century.
HMS Prince (also referred to as Royal Prince) was a 100-gun first rate ship of the line, built by Phineas Pett the Younger at Deptford Dockyard and launched in 1670. She was rebuilt in 1715 by Richard Stacy and completed by John Nash in 1719.

History
GREAT BRITAIN.
Name:	Prince
Ordered:	June 1667
Builder:	Phineas Pett the Younger, Deptford Dockyard
Launched:	3 December 1670
Commissioned:	15 January 1672
Renamed:	HMS Royal William, 1692
Fate:	Broken up, 1813
General characteristics
Class and type:	100-gun first rate ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1403 (bm)
Length:	131 ft (40 m) (keel)
Beam:	44 ft 10 in (13.67 m)
Depth of hold:	19 ft (5.8 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	100 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics (1692)
Class and type:	100-gun first rate ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1463 ​73⁄94 (bm)
Length:	167 ft 3 in (50.98 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	47 ft 2 in (14.38 m)
Depth of hold:	18 ft (5.5 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	100 guns of various weights of shot
General characteristics (1719)
Class and type:	100-gun first rate ship of the line
Tons burthen:	1918 ​23⁄94 (bm)
Length:	175 ft 4 in (53.44 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	50 ft (15 m)
Depth of hold:	20 ft 1 in (6.12 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	100 guns of various weights of shot

During the Third Anglo-Dutch War of 1672 t0 1674 she served as a flagship of the Lord High Admiral the Duke of York (later James II & VII.) During the Battle of Solebay (1672) she was in the centre of the English fleet that was attacked by the Dutch centre led by Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. Prince was heavily damaged by De Ruyter's flagship De Zeven Provinciën in a two hours' duel and Captain of the Fleet Sir John Cox was killed on board. The Duke of York was forced to shift his flag to HMS St Michael. Prince's second captain, John Narborough, however conducted himself with such conspicuous valour that he won special approbation and was knighted shortly afterwards.
HMS Prince was rebuilt by Robert Lee at Chatham Dockyard in 1692, and renamed at the same time as HMS Royal William.


Attachment 46579

During the War of the Grand Alliance the ship saw action at the Battle of Barfleur of 19 May 1692. Prince belonged to the red squadron and carried the flag of Rear Admiral of the Red Sir Cloudesley Shovell. She was the first ship to break the French line during the battle.

Attachment 46580

Figurehead of HMS Royal William

Later she was rebuilt for a second time by John Naish at Portsmouth Dockyard from 1714, relaunching on 3 September 1719. She was laid up after her re-launch and saw no service at all until she was reduced to an 84-gun Second rate ship in 1756. One year later, she was part of an unsuccessful expedition against Rochefort led by Admiral Sir Edward Hawke. Her squadron, under Vice-Admiral Charles Knowles, attacked the Île-d'Aix and forced her garrison to surrender. In 1758 she participated in Boscawen's and Wolfe's attack on the French Fortress of Louisbourg (Nova Scotia) and an indecisive skirmish with a French squadron. The following year Royal William returned to Canada under the command of Captain Hugh Pigot to join the attack on Quebec. After the Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the capture of Quebec she sailed back to England with the body of General Wolfe.


Attachment 46581

In 1760 Royal William was Boscawen's flagship when he took command of the fleet in Quiberon Bay. However, after a severe gale he was forced to return and shift his flag to HMS Namur. During the expedition against Belle Île of 1761 she was detached with several other ships to cruise off Brest and prevent a French counter-attack from there. .

Following this period in the May of 1782 she was recommissioned to serve in Lord Howe's relief of Gibraltar. She was paid off in 1783.

In the May of 1790, she was recommissioned as a receiving ship under Captain George Gayton as the Flagship of Vice Admiral Robert Roddam at Portsmouth.
Paid off in 1791, but in 1792 still under Gayton she became Flagship to Admiral Sir Peter Parker until 1799.
By 1805 she was still in the same role but now under Captain John Wainwright as the Flagship of Admiral George Montague.

Finally from 1809 to 1810 she served as Flagship to Sir Roger Curtis, and of Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton in 1812.

She was finally broken up at Portsmouth in the August of 1813.

HMS Caesar (1793)

Attachment 46585



HMS Caesar, was an 80-gun third rateship of the line, designed by Sir Edward Hunt in 1783 She was to be the first British two decker 80 gun ship built since the 1690s. Her M/shipwright was Thomas Pollard until the April of 1793 and she was then completed by Edward Sison. launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. HMS Caesar was the only ship built to her specifications. She was also one of only two British-built 80-gun ships during this period, the other one being the HMS Foundroyant.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Caesar
Ordered:	November 1783
Builder:	Plymouth Dockyard
Laid down:	24 January 1786
Launched:	16 November 1793
Fate:	Broken up, 1821
Notes:	·Participated in: ·Battle of Algeciras Bay ·Battle of Cape Ortegal ·Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne
General characteristics
Class and type:	80-gun third rateship of the line
Tons burthen:	2002 ​74⁄94 (bm)
Length:	181 ft (55 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	51 ft 3 in (15.62 m)
Depth of hold:	22 ft 4 in (6.81 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	·80 guns: ·Gundeck: 30 × 32 pdrs ·Upper gundeck: 32 × 24 pdrs ·Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs ·Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs

Service.




The Glorious First of June.


Caesar was commissioned in the December of 1793 under Captain Anthony Malloy. She went on to lead the British column at the Glorious First of June on the first of June 1794. In the battle, she lost 18 killed and another 71 seamen wounded. Notwithstanding this, Malloy lost his command " For failing to prosecute action to his best ability"


Attachment 46586

Caesar now had a series of captains commencing with John Whitby from the August of 1794,and then Captain William Mitchell and Captain William Murray, until the final captain before her refit in Portsmouth in the Spring of 1796 was Captain Charles Nugent.



During 1797 and 1798 she served under Captain Roddam Home in the North sea and Channel.



In 1799 she was under Captain Sir James Saumarez in the Med and from 1801under Captain Jahleel Brenton as Flagship of the newly promoted Rear Admiral Sir James Saumarez.



Battle of Algeciras Bay.



She was involved in the Battle of Algeciras Bay on the sixth of June1801, during which action they lost 9 killed and 33 wounded. Amongst the fatalities was her Sailing Master, William Grave. Linois' French Squadron losing the action.

Attachment 46587




By Andy Maguire .



She was soon in the thick of the action again, for on the 12th of June she fought in the Gut of Gibraltar.



However another refit was due, and so in the August of 1802, now under Captain Hugh Downman, she paid off at Plymouth.



Recommissioned in the May of 1805 under Captain John Rodd, in June she was placed under the command of Sir Richard Strachan. His first action in command was to attempt an attack upon the Brest Fleet in Cameret Bay on the 21st of August.


Battle of Cape Ortegal.

Attachment 46588

HMS Caesar engaging Mont Blanc at the Battle of Cape Ortegal, 4 November 1805

The Battle of Cape Ortegal on the fourth of November 1805 was the final action of the Trafalgar Campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar. It took place off Cape Ortegal, in an area to the north-west of Spain, between a squadron under Captain Sir Richard Strachan in Caesar defeat and capture a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley.
From the December of 1805 until the Summer of 1806 under Captain Charles Richardson she was in persuit of Leissegues and Willaumez.Then in January 1807 she was off the Chesapeake, and back in time for the blockade of Rochfortfrom late 1807 and into 1808.



Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne.



In 1809, she took part in the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne. where under Rear Admiral Robert Stopford she participated in the destruction of three French 40 gun Frigates.
Later that year she was involved in the ill fated Walcheren landings. In 1810 -11 she was captained by William Granger cruising off Portugal.



Fate.



After repairs at Plymouth in autumn of 1812 she was placed in ordinary in 1813. In the December of that year she was fitted as an Army clothing depot ship.



She was finally broken up there in 1821.
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HMS Foudroyant (1798)

Attachment 46641


HMS Foudroyant was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line designed by Sir John Henslow. She was one of only two British-built 80-gun ships of the period (the other being the HMS Caesar). Foudroyant was built in the Devonport Dockyard. M/shipwright Thomas Pollard, then Edward Sison to June 1795, and completed by John Marshall. She was launched on the 31st of March, 1798.

History
Great Britain
Name:	HMS Foudroyant
Ordered:	17 January 1788
Builder:	Plymouth Dock
Laid down:	May 1789
Launched:	31 March 1798
Honours and awards:	Naval General Service Medal with clasps: "12th October 1798" "Egypt"
Fate:	Sold 1890. Foundered on Blackpool Sands, 16 June 1897.
General characteristics
Class and type:	80-gun third rate
Tons burthen:	​2054 65⁄94 (bm)
Length:	184 ft 8 1⁄2 in (56.299 m)(gundeck)
Beam:	50 ft 6 in (15.39 m)
Draught:	23 ft (7.0 m)
Depth of hold:	22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Complement:	650 officers and men
Armament:	80 guns: Gundeck: 30 × 32-pounder guns Upper gundeck: 32 × 24-pounder guns QD: 14 × 12-pounder guns Fc: 4 × 12-pounder guns; 2 × 32-pounder carronades Poop deck: 6 × 18-pounder carronades

French Revolutionary War.

Attachment 46642
A model of Foudroyant in Monmouth Museum by John Cummings.

Foudroyant was first commissioned in May 1798 under Captain James Dacres although as soon as the 25th of May, she was transferred to the command of Captain Sir Thomas Byard. She participated in Sir John Borlase Warren's action off Ireland on the11th of October of that year. Captain Sir John Borlase Warren in HMS Canada engaged a French squadron under Commodore Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart in the Battle of Tory Island. The British captured the French ship of the line Hoche and four of the eight French frigates. Foudroyant was only minimally engaged, though she did suffer nine men wounded, and went off in unsuccessful pursuit of the French frigates that had escaped. (Other British warships captured two of these frigates; two frigates and a schooner escaped completely). Byard's command lasted only until the 31st of October, when after bringing the ship back to Plymouth, he died. Commander William Butterfield took temporary command of the ship until he transferred to HMS Hazard just twelve days later.


Captain John Elphinstone took up command of the ship on the 26th of November, of the same year.
Lord Keith hoisted his flag in Foudroyant on the 28th of November, and she departed to join the Mediterranean Squadron on the 5th of December. After arriving at Gibraltar, Keith shifted his flag to Barfleur on the 31st of December, and Captain Elphinstone left the ship the following day. His replacement was Captain James Richard Dacres.
Dacres' command lasted for four months, before Captain William Brown replaced him on the 22nd of March, 1799. On the 30th of March, Foudroyant was among the several British warships in sight, and so entitled to share in the prize money, when Alcmene captured Saint Joseph or Hermosa Andalusia, off Cadiz.

Foudroyant sailed from Gibraltar on the 11th of May, calling at Port Mahon before arriving at Palermo on the 7th of June. At this time, Brown transferred to Vanguard, and Captain Thomas Hardy took over the command. The following day, Lord Nelson hoisted his flag in Foudroyant.

Over the following months, Foudroyant was involved in the efforts to return the Neapolitan royal family to Naples. Nelson's fleet arrived in Naples on the 24th of June. The fleet consisted of a total of 18 ships of the line, 1 frigate and 2 fire ships.

The British landed 500 British and Portuguese marines in support of the Neapolitans on the 27th of June, all under the command of Captain Sir Thomas Troubridge the captain of Culloden. The next day they captured the castles Ovo and Nuovo. On 29th they commenced the siege of Fort St. Elmo. The first batteries were in place by the 3rd of July, with the last still being constructed on 11th. The British, Portuguese and Russian forces had commenced the bombardment on the 3rd, July the French capitulated on the 11th, forestalling the need for an assault on the works.

On the 10th of July, His Sicilian Majesty arrived in the Bay of Naples and immediately hoisted his standard on board the Foudroyant. There the king and his ministers remained until after the capitulation of Fort St. Elmo. A series of reprisals against known insurgents followed. The Neapolitans conducted several courts martial, some of which resulted in hangings.
Foudroyant departed Naples on 6 August, in company with Syren and the Portuguese ship Principe Real. Foudroyant also transported the Sardinian royal family to Leghorn on 22 September.

On 13 October, Foudroyant entered Port Mahon harbour, and Captain Sir Edward Berry replaced Captain Hardy as acting captain. Foudroyant was back in Palermo by 22 October. Nelson remained ashore when Foudroyant departed for Gozo on 29 October, together with Minotaur. In November, after weathering a storm in Palermo harbour, Foudroyant departed once more, this time with Culloden, and ran aground in the Straits of Messina. With Culloden's assistance, it was possible to haul the ship off and into deep water. On 6 December a large part of the 89th Regiment embarked on Foudroyant. The soldiers landed at St. Paul's Bay, on Malta on the 10th.

Foudroyant was back at Palermo on 15 January 1800, when Lord Nelson hoisted his flag in her once again, and she sailed on to Livorno, arriving on the 21st. There Foudroyant received salutes from Danish and Neapolitan frigates, and two Russian ships of the line.

On 26 January Foudroyant was in company with Minorca and Queen Charlotte when she recaptured the Ragusanpolacca Annonciata, Michele Pepi, master. She was carrying grain from Tunis to Genoa.

Sicilian soldiers embarked on 11 February, and Foudroyant sailed the next day for Malta, in company with HMS Alexander and HMS Northumberland (both 74s), and the Frigate Success (32). HMS Audacious (74), and Corso (16) joined them later. On 18 February, the British squadron began a chase of a squadron of four French ships — Généreux (74), Badine (24), Fauvette (20), another corvette of 20 guns, and a fluyt. Alexander forced the fluyt to surrender, whilst Success engaged Généreux, and the two ships exchanged a couple of broadsides before Foudroyant came up and fired into Généreux, which struck her colours. It turned out that Rear-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée, the commander-in-chief of the French navy in the Mediterranean, had been aboard Généreux and had been killed at the start of the action. His ships had been carrying some 4,000 troops intended to relieve Malta. Their failure to arrive significantly harmed the French hold on Malta and was a testament to the success of the British blockade of the island. British casualties amounted to one man killed and eight wounded, all on Success.

At the beginning of March, Nelson remained at Palermo due to illness when on 25 March Foudroyant sailed for Malta once more with Rear-Admiral Decres on board. On 29 March, she encountered the sloop Bonne Citoyenne, and from her Berry learned that French ships were expected to leave Valletta that evening. Guillaume Tell put to sea on the evening of the 30th, where she encountered Lion and Penelope.

As day broke and the scene became apparent, Foudroyant maneuvered to pistol range of the French ship — the last French survivor of Aboukir, Généreux being the only other — and joined the battle.

Foudroyant's log for the Action of 31 March 1800 notes that at one point during the battle the French had nailed their colours to the stump of Guillaume Tell's mizzen mast. Still, Guillaume Tell eventually struck, but not before Foudroyant had lost her fore topmast and main topsail yard. The initial estimates put the number of dead and wounded on Lion and Foudroyant at 40 per vessel.

Attachment 46643
Capture of the William Tell, by Robert Dodd. Foudroyant is seen in the background.

Later in the day, Foudroyant's mizzen mast fell, having been damaged during the battle. Lion took Foudroyant in tow for a time, whilst a jury rig was set up. She entered Syracuse on 3 April. Amongst the British vessels, Foudroyant had borne the heaviest casualties with eight men killed and 61 wounded, including Berry, who was only slightly wounded and did not leave the deck during the fight. The British estimated that the French had had over two hundred casualties.

On 3 June, the Neapolitan king and queen boarded Foudroyant, accompanied by Sir William Hamilton and his wife Emma. The royal family departed the ship after their arrival in Livorno on 15 June, and just two weeks later Nelson hauled down his flag and began the journey home to England overland together with the Hamiltons.

Lord Keith raised his flag in Foudroyant for the second time on 15 August, returning the ship to Gibraltar on 13 September. Captain Berry transferred out of the ship on 2 November for the 38-gun frigatePrincess Charlotte.

Captain Philip Beaver took over the command on 17 November and sailed into the Eastern Mediterranean with a fleet of 51 vessels, many armed en flûte and carrying the 16,150 men of General Sir Ralph Abercromby's force, which was intended to drive the French out of Egypt. Still, on 22 December Foudroyant captured the French brig Hyppolite, which was carrying rice from Alexandria to Marseilles.

Keith sailed from Marmarice on 22 February, arriving off Abukir Bay on 2 March. Sea conditions meant that the British were unable to land until 8 March. They met resistance from the French but by evening all the troops had landed and driven the French from the beach. The landing cost Foudroyant one man killed and one wounded. In all, the landings cost the British 22 men killed, 72 men wounded, and three missing.

On the 13th, the landing party of seamen and marines, under the command of Captain Sir William Sidney Smith, were again in action at Mandora as the British moved towards Alexandria. Foudroyant had one man wounded. In all, the British navy lost six seamen killed and 19 wounded, and 24 marines killed and 35 wounded.

Keith then used his ships to reduce the castle at the entrance of Abukir Bay, which eventually fell to the British on 18 March 1801. A French counter-attack on 21 March by some 20,000 men, although ending in defeat, caused General Abercromby a severe injury; he died aboard Foudroyant a week after the battle. In addition to the army losses, the Royal Navy lost four men killed and 20 wounded, though none were from Foudroyant.

Foudroyant lay off Alexandria until June, and on 17 June Captain Beaver transferred to Determinée. His replacement was Captain William Young, who in turn was replaced by Captain T. Stephenson.

Captain John Clarke Searle took command in June 1801, before handing over to Captain John Elphinstone, again, in September. In mid-August, the fleet transported the British army to Alexandria. On 26 September the French proposed a three-day armistice to discuss terms of capitulation. Because Foudroyant had served in the navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 for all surviving claimants.

When the Treaty of Amiens was signed, bringing the war to an end in 1802, Foudroyant was paid off at Plymouth Dock (Devonport) on 26 July.


Napoleonic Wars.


In January 1803, Foudroyant was docked in Plymouth Dock for a somewhat major repair. The ship was recommissioned under the command of Captain Peter Spicer on 11 June. Her former captain, now Rear Admiral Sir James Richard Dacres, hoisted his flag on the same day, and remained aboard until 28 October. Two days later, Rear Admiral of the White, Sir Thomas Graves hoisted his flag. Captain Peter Puget took over the command on 27 February 1804; however, owing to a serious injury while Foudroyant served with the Channel Fleet, he was returned to England (leaving Christopher Nesham in acting command) and officially left the ship on 31 May 1805. Foudroyant returned to dock on 26 March 1804 for repairs.

24 February 1805 saw Captain Edward Kendall take over the command, and in June Foudroyant was flagship of Grave's fleet, consisting of Barfleur, Raisonnable, Repulse, Triumph, Warrior, Windsor Castle, and Egyptienne blockading the French port of Rochefort.

Command of the ship passed to Captain John Erskine Douglas on 9 December temporarily, before Captain John Chambers White assumed command on the 13th. On 13 March 1806, Foudroyant was involved in an action between some ships of the fleet and two French vessels - Marengo of 80 guns, and Belle Poule of 40. Both ships were captured and taken into the navy.
On 24 November Captain Richard Peacock took command of the ship, and Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren hoisted his flag in Foudroyant on 19 December.

Rear Admiral Sir Albemarle Bertie raised his flag in Foudroyant on 20 May 1807, and remained in the ship until 17 November. Peacock's command passed to Captain Norborne Thompson on 31 May. Foudroyant joined with Admiral Sir Sir Sidney Smith's squadron blockading Lisbon.

Smith hoisted his flag in Foudroyant on 24 January 1808. Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg took command of the ship on 6 June. On 12 March Foudroyant parted company for South America, arriving in Río de Janeiro in August. Captain John Davie took command on 25 January 1809, and then Captain Richard Hancock on 17 May. Smith transferred his flag to Diana on the same day.

From 25 May, Foudroyant was in company with Mutine, Mistletoe, and Brilliant, escorting a convoy. On 8 June they entered Moldonado Bay at the mouth of the Río de la Plata where Agamemnon struck rocks and was wrecked. Foudroyant assisted in taking off men and stores from the stricken ship and no lives were lost.

Foudroyant remained in the Río area until August 1812, when she returned to England, entering Cawsand Bay on 21 October, and entering Plymouth Dock on 6 November. Hancock departed the ship on 30 November, and then Foudroyant lay at her anchor until 26 January 1815, when she was taken into dock for a large repair that lasted for 4 years.


Post-war.


Attachment 46644
Foudroyant seen next to the Argentine torpedo boat destroyer Santa Fe - circa 1897

When Foudroyant came out of dock in 1819, she took up her role as guard ship in Plymouth Dock (renamed Devonport 1824) until about 1860. Throughout this period she was in and out of dock on several occasions for repairs. In 1862 she was converted into a gunnery training vessel, a role she fulfilled until 1884. She was thereafter stationed at Devonport on dockyard duties, and was attached as to tender to the gunnery-school ship HMS Cambridge.

She was finally placed on the Sales List in 1891 and sold out of the service the following January for £2,350. Bought by J. Read of Portsmouth, she was promptly resold to German ship breakers. This prompted a storm of public protest. Wheatley Cobb then bought her and used the ship as a boys' training vessel. To offset the restoration cost of £20,000, it was then decided to exhibit her at various seaside resorts.

Fate.


Attachment 46645
The wreck of HMS Foudroyant from the Blackpool Gazette.

In June 1897 she was towed to Blackpool. On 16 June 1897 during a violent storm, she parted a cable and dragging the remaining anchor, went ashore on Blackpool Sands, damaging Blackpool North Pier in the process. The Blackpool lifeboat was able to rescue all 27 of her crew.

After vain attempts to re-float her, her guns were removed and she was sold for £200. She finally broke up in the December gales. Craftsmen used flotsam from the wreck to make furniture, and, between 1929 and 2003, the wall paneling of the boardroom of Blackpool F.C.'s Bloomfield Road ground. The ship's bell now resides in Blackpool Town Hall. Copper, salvaged from the wreck, was used to manufacture Medals, which were sold to the general public.

This concludes my list of 80 gun ships of the Line. i will now progress to the 74's .
My work is indebted as usual to the following references:-

Wikipedia.
More than Nelson.
Osprey's British Napoleonic ships of the Line.
Rif Winfield's British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817
The ships of Trafalgar by Peter Goodwin.
The battle of Copenhagen by Ole Feldbaekand,
Thec Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
Any mistakes are solely down to me.

Rob.