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 Ramillies was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1763 at Chatham Dockyard.
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.
Neptune was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
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 action of 21 July 1781 was a naval skirmish off the harbour of Spanish River, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, during the War of American Independence. Two light frigates of the French Navy, captained by La Pérouse and Latouche Tréville, engaged a convoy of 18 British ships and their Royal Navy escorts. The French captured two of the British escorts while the remainder of the British convoy escaped.
Admiral comte Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren, Château de Saint-Cannat) was a French Navy officer and admiral. Beginning his career during the War of the Austrian Succession, he fought in the Seven Years' War, where he was taken prisoner at the Battle of Lagos. Promoted to captain in 1772, he was one of the aids of Admiral d'Estaing during the Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War, notably taking part in the Siege of Savannah.
HMS Esperance was launched in America in 1781, and is first listed in Lloyd's Register in 1784 under the name Clementina. She then served as a slave ship, sailing out of Liverpool on two slave trading voyages. In 1786 Brent and Co. purchased her, renamed her Ellis, and sailed her for three more voyages as a slaver. In 1793 she became the privateer Ellis. The French captured her, then the Spanish, and then the French recaptured her. After returning to French ownership, she became the French corvette Esperance. The Royal Navy captured her in 1795 and took her into service as HMS Esperance. Thus, in her career, Esperance had changed hands six times. She was sold in 1798.
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.
The action of 29 July 1782 was a minor naval engagement that took place towards the end of the American War of Independence. The British Royal Navy frigate HMS Santa Margarita captured the 36-gun French frigate Amazone off Cape Henry, but the next day the squadron under Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil intervened and recaptured the frigate.
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.
Éveillé was an Artésien-class 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1772.
Jean-Marie de Villeneuve Cillart was a French Navy officer. He served in the War of American Independence.
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