 model ship, Saint-Remi museum | |
| History | |
|---|---|
   France | |
| Name | Neptune |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1,500 tonnes |
| Length | 54.7 m (179 ft) |
| Beam | 14.3 m (47 ft) |
| Draught | 6.7 m (22 ft) |
| Armament |
|
| Armour | Timber |
Neptune was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
Neptune captured a 30-gun British privateer named Hercules on 28 October 1778.
On 2 May 1780, [1] she departed Brest with a 7-ship and 3-frigate Expédition Particulière under Admiral Ternay, escorting 36 transports carrying troops to support the Continental Army in the War of American Independence. The squadron comprised the 80-gun Duc de Bourgogne, under Ternay d'Arsac (admiral) and Médine (flag captain); the 74-gun Neptune, under Sochet Des Touches, and Conquérant, under La Grandière; and the 64-gun Provence under Lombard, Ardent under Bernard de Marigny, Jason under La Clocheterie and Éveillé under Le Gardeur de Tilly, and the frigates Surveillante under Villeneuve Cillart, Amazone under La Pérouse, and Bellone. [2] Amazone, which constituted the vanguard of the fleet, arrived at Boston on 11 June 1780. [3]
In 1782, she was part of de Grasse's squadron. Neptune engaged HMS Repulse and HMS Canada in the Battle of the Saintes, under Renaud d'Aleins. [4]
Decommissioned, she was reactivated to take part in the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2 and in the Croisière du Grand Hiver. She ran aground and was destroyed on 28 December 1794, with the loss of 50.
HMS Ardent was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by contract at Blaydes Yard in Hull according to a design by Sir Thomas Slade, and launched on 13 August 1764 as the first ship of the Ardent-class. She had a somewhat turbulent career, being captured by the French in the action of 17 August 1779, and then re-captured by Britain in 1782.
The Fantasque was a Lion-class 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She is famous for being captained by the French commander Pierre-André de Suffren during the American Revolutionary War.
HMS Argonaut was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line, in Royal Navy service during the French Revolutionary Wars and the American Revolution. Launched in 1779 as the French ship Jason, she was captured by the British in 1782 and commissioned by them in the same year. After active service against the French, she was converted to a hospital ship in 1804 and permanently moored off Chatham Dockyard. Argonaut was removed from navy service in 1828 and broken up in 1831.
Solitaire was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, built by Antoine Groignard and launched in 1774, lead ship of her class. She was captured by the Royal Navy on 6 December 1782, and commissioned as the third rate HMS Solitaire. She was sold out of the Navy in 1790.
Surveillante was an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy. She took part in the Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, where she became famous for her battle with HMS Quebec; in 1783, she brought the news that the war was over to America. She later took part in the French Revolutionary Wars, and was eventually scuttled during the Expédition d'Irlande after sustaining severe damage in a storm. The wreck was found in 1979 and is now a memorial.
Bellone was an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy on plans by Léon-Michel Guignace. She took part in the American Revolutionary War in the Indian Ocean with the squadron under Suffren, and later in the French Revolutionary Wars. She was present at the Glorious First of June.
The Conquérant was originally launched in 1746 on a design by François Coulomb the Younger. She was taken out of service in March 1764 and rebuilt at Brest as a Citoyen-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
Hermione was a 32-gun Concorde-class frigate of the French Navy. Designed for speed, she was one of the first ships of the French Navy to receive a copper sheathing. At the beginning of the Anglo-French War of 1778, she patrolled in the Bay of Biscay, escorting convoys and chasing privateers. She became famous when she ferried General La Fayette to the United States in 1780 in support of the rebels in the American Revolutionary War. She took an incidental role in the Battle of Cape Henry on 16 March 1781, and a major one in the action of 21 July 1781.
The Duc de Bourgogne was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
Expédition Particulière was the codename given by the Kingdom of France for the plan to sail French land forces to North America to support the colonists against Britain in the American Revolutionary War. Numbering 5,500 troops, the expedition arrived in America on 11 July 1780, led by the Comte de Rochambeau.
Charles-Henri-Louis d'Arsac, chevalier de Ternay was a French naval officer. Most active in the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence, Ternay was the naval commander of a 1762 expedition that successfully captured St. John's Newfoundland. He was appointed commander of the Marine Royale, French naval forces, as part of the project code named Expédition Particulière that brought French troops to American soil in 1780. He died at Hunter House on Washington Street, which was headquarters for the French fleet in Newport, Rhode Island.
The Provence was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Estates of Provence.
Amazone was a 32-gun Iphigénie-class frigate of the French Navy. She was the second ship of the French Navy to receive a copper sheathing in 1778. She served in the War of American Independence under Captain Lapérouse, and later in the French Revolutionary Wars.
Experiment was a 50-gun ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. Captured by Sagittaire during the War of American Independence, she was recommissioned in the French Navy, where she served into the 1800s.
Éveillé was an Artésien-class 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1772.
Armand Le Gardeur de Tilly was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence.
Jean-Marie de Villeneuve Cillart was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence.
François-Aymar de Monteil was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence, earning membership in the Society of the Cincinnati. He was also a member and director of the Académie de Marine.
Actionnaire was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Originally built for the French East India Company, she was purchased by the Navy and saw service during the War of American Independence
Triton was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy designed by François Coulomb the Younger. She took part in the Seven Years' War and in the War of American Independence.
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