''Glorieux'' was a

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently de ...

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 ...

in the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. Built by Clairin Deslauriers at

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

and launched on 10 August 1756, she was rebuilt in 1777.

French service

On 4 June 1781 ''Glorieux'' captured the cutter . On 30 August 1781, she was with the French fleet under Admiral de Grasse. According to French sources, the British sloop and the frigate were on picket duty in the Chesapeake when they encountered the French fleet. ''Guadeloupe'' escaped up the York River to York Town, where she would later be scuttled. The English court martial records report that ''Loyalist'' was returning to the British fleet off the Jersey coast when she encountered the main French fleet. The French frigate ''Aigrette'', with the

in sight, was able to overtake ''Loyalist''. The French took her into service as ''Loyaliste'' in September, but then gave her to the Americans in November 1781.Demerliac (1996), p.75, #481. On 12 April 1782 the ship, under command of Captain (Baron) D'Escars, faced first HMS ''Duke'' then at the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

. In her approach she nailed her white colours to the mast and a sergeant of the Auxerrois regiment tied his

halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge), is a two-handed polearm that was in prominent use from the 13th to 16th centuries. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It may have a hook or ...

and bravely stood at the head of the ship waving it. When shot in his right arm, he deftly caught the halberd in his left hand and continued to wave. He was later made an officer for his bravery. Following the battle, despite the attempts of

Denis Decrès Vice-Admiral Denis Decrès (18 June 1761 – 7 December 1820) was a French Navy officer who served as Minister of the Navy and the Colonies from 1801 to 1814 and again in 1815. Early career Decrès was born in Châteauvillain, Haute-Marne ...

aboard ''

Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jew ...

'' (previously a British ship) to give tow to the stricken vessel, she was captured.Famous Fighters of the Fleet, Edward Fraser, 1904, p.120 Towed instead to a British-controlled port, she was recommissioned her into 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 ...

as HMS ''Glorieux'' or HMS ''Glorious'' the following day. She was rated as a

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 ...

Fate

She sailed with the fleet for England on 25 July 1782 but was lost later that year in the

1782 Central Atlantic hurricane The 1782 Central Atlantic hurricane was a hurricane which struck a Kingdom of Great Britain, British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves, Thomas Graves off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland in September 1782. It is believed to hav ...

off the

Grand Banks of Newfoundland The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

on 16–17 September, along with the French prize . ''Glorieux'' was lost with all hands, including her captain, Thomas Cadogan, son of Charles Cadogan, 3rd Baron Cadogan. This disaster to the fleet of Admiral Graves also saw the loss of , , the storeships ''Dutton'' and ''British Queen'', and other merchantmen from a convoy of 94 ships, with a total of over 3,500 men lost.

Other

Heller SA has created a 1:150 scale model of ''Le Glorieux'' in its French guise.

Citations

References

* *Demerliac, Alain (1996) ''La Marine De Louis XVI: Nomenclature Des Navires Français De 1774 À 1792''. (Nice: Éditions OMEGA). * *Winfield, Rif, British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates, pub Seaforth, 2007,

External links