HMS ''Caesar'', also ''Cæsar'', was an 80-gun

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 ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, launched on 16 November 1793 at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 183. She was also one of only two British-built 80-gun ships of the period, the other being HMS ''Foudroyant''.

Service

In 1798, some of her crew were court-martialed for

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

Battle of Algeciras Bay

She was involved in the Battle of Algeciras Bay in 1801, during which her Master, William Grave, was killedMcCarthy, ''The Road to McCarthy. p.10'' On 30 April 1802, under command of Sir

James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

, she made contact with USS Constellation near Gibraltar.

Battle of Cape Ortegal

The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the

Trafalgar Campaign The Trafalgar campaign was a long and complicated series of fleet manoeuvres carried out by the combined French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish fleets; and the opposing moves of the Royal Navy during much of 1805. These were the culmina ...

, and was fought between a squadron of the

and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

. It took place on 4 November 1805 off Cape Ortegal, in north-west

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and saw a squadron under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Sir Richard Strachan in ''Caesar'' defeat and capture a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley.

Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne

In 1809, she took part in the

Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne The Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne was a minor naval battle fought on 23 February 1809 off the town of Les Sables-d'Olonne on the Biscay Coast of France between a French Navy squadron of three frigates and a larger British squadron of ship of the ...

Fate

She was converted to serve as a depot ship in 1814, and was broken up in 1821.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (1983) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *McCarthy, Pete (2003) ''The Road to McCarthy'' Sceptre. .

External links

* Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1793 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub