HMS ''Auguste'' was the French 54-gun ''Auguste'' built in Brest in 1704 that the British captured in 1705. In her brief French service she captured two British

men-of-war In Royal Navy jargon, a man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a powerful warship or frigate of the 16th to the 19th century, that was frequently used in Europe. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually rese ...

. She was wrecked in 1716.

French service

Étienne Hubac designed ''Auguste'' as a privateer for

René Duguay-Trouin René Trouin, Sieur du Gué, also known as René Duguay-Trouin (; 10 June 1673 – 27 September 1736), was a French Navy officer and privateer best known for his service in the War of the Spanish Succession. Successful in his military care ...

. in whose service she was employed as part of a naval squadron of four vessels. Together with the 54-gun ''Jason'' (1704), she captured in September 1704. Then, on 12 November, 30 miles south of the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

, together with ''Jason'' and the 26-gun frigate ''Valeur'' (1704), she captured the

third rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

. In February 1705 ''Auguste'' and the 44-gun

fourth-rate In 1603 all English warships with a complement of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers, a six-tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided ...

''Thétis'' were escorting ''Gloutonne'', ''Élephant'', and ''Jean et Jacques'' (which were armed ''

en flute EN or En or en may refer to: Businesses * Bouygues (stock symbol EN) * Island Rail Corridor, formerly known as the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN) * Euronews, a news television and internet channel Language and writing * N, 14t ...

''), when the convoy ran into a squadron under Admiral George Byng off

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; ; ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like that of Finistère in France, derives from the Latin , mean ...

. Only ''Auguste'' escaped. , together with and , captured ''Auguste'' on 8 August 1705 (

Old Style Calendar Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries betwee ...

) - 19 August ( New Calendar).

British service

''Auguste'' was registered for Royal Navy service from 28 August 1705 and

fitted out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

for service in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

. Commissioned for active service by Captain Robert Bokenham, she proved her worth by capturing the French

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s ''La Marie-Madeleine'' on 13 September 1706, and ''LHirondelle'' on 30 September 1706. Bokenham died in 1707 and Captain Thomas Scott replaced him. The next year, ''Auguste'' joined the fleet of Admiral George Byng, which was in need of reinforcement after the

Scilly naval disaster of 1707 The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident ...

. The fleet patrolled the Channel and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

throughout 1708. In 1709, Lord Duffus replaced Scott. From 1710 to 1713, she was under the command of Captain Robert Thompson in the Dunkirk squadron (1710), the Mediterranean (1711), and the West Indies (1712).

Loss

In 1716, while under the command of Captain Robert Johnson, ''Auguste'' was in the Baltic. She had sailed from

Nore The Nore is a long sandbank, bank of sand and silt running along the south-centre of the final narrowing of the Thames Estuary, England. Its south-west is the very narrow Nore Sand. Just short of the Nore's easternmost point where it fades int ...

on 18 May with a squadron under Sir John Norris to join a combined English-Dutch-Danish-Russian fleet in a demonstration to Sweden that Britain and her allies would resist Swedish interference with trade.Clowes ''et al''. (1897-1903), Vol. 3, pp.26-27. In November she was returning to England from Copenhagen with a convoy. As the weather worsened, the convoy took shelter on the evening of 9 November at

Læsø Læsø ("Isle of Ægir, Hlér") is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Denmark, Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality (Danish language, D ...

island. During the night ''Auguste''s cables broke and she sailed out to sea to avoid being driven on shore. On the night of 10 November a gale drove her ashore on the nearby island of

Anholt Anholt may refer to: Places *Anholt (Denmark), Danish island * Anholt, Netherlands, village in Drenthe, Netherlands *Anholt, Germany, district of the city of Isselburg, Germany **The Lordship of Anholt, historical state People *Christien Anholt ( ...

. Captain Johnson, his officers, and at least 250 of his men were saved. Another 40 may have landed in Sweden. In all, most of her people were saved.

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