Saint Louis (1752 ship)

Last updated
The Pitt engaging the Saint Louis 29 septembre 1758 Indes.jpg
Pitt engaging St Louis, by Lawson Dunn, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
History
Flag of the Kingdom of France (1814-1830).svg France
Name:Saint Louis
Namesake: Louis IX of France
Builder: Lorient, plans by Nicolas Lévèque [1]
Laid down: July 1751 [1]
Launched: 27 July 1752 [1]
Commissioned: January 1753
Fate: Hulked in June 1768; sold to the French Royal Navy in April 1779
General characteristics
Type: East Indiaman
Displacement: 2100 tons (French)
Tons burthen: 1100 (French; "of load")
Length: 145' (keel 130') [1] [Note 1]
Beam: 40' [1]
Draught: 17' [1]
Propulsion: Sail
Complement:
  • 10 to 11 officers
  • 189 (peace) to 243 (war) men
Armament:
Armour: Timber

Saint Louis was a French East Indiaman, launched on 27 July 1752. She served in the Indian Ocean where she participated in three battles and at least one single-ship action. In 1768, she became a careening hulk in Lorient. [1]

East Indiaman general name for any ship operating under charter or license to any of the East India Companies

"East Indiaman" was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India Companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is therefore used to refer to vessels belonging to the Danish, Dutch (Oostindiëvaarder), English, French, Portuguese, or Swedish (ostindiefarare) East India companies.

Careening practice of grounding a sailing vessel at high tide in order to expose one side of its hull for maintenance and repairs

Careening is the practice of grounding a sailing vessel at high tide in order to expose one side of its hull for maintenance and repairs below the water line when the tide goes out.

Contents

Career

In February 1753, Saint-Louis departed Lorient, bound for the Indian Ocean. She called in at Gorée and Île de France (now Mauritius) before arriving in Pondicherry. She returned via Île de France, Bourbon (now Réunion), and Martinique, returning to Lorient in January 1755. [1]

Gorée Commune darrondissement in Dakar Region, Senegal

Île de Gorée is one of the 19 communes d'arrondissement of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an 18.2-hectare (45-acre) island located 2 kilometres at sea from the main harbour of Dakar, famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade although its actual role in the history of the slave trade is the subject of dispute.

Isle de France (Mauritius)

Isle de France was the name of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius and its dependent territories between 1715 and 1810, when the area was under the French East India Company and part of France's empire. Under the French, the island witnessed major changes. The increasing importance of agriculture led to the importation of slaves and the undertaking of vast infrastructural works that transformed Port Louis into a major capital, port, warehousing, and commercial centre.

Pondicherry City in Puducherry, India

Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry, with a population of 657,209 and an area of 492 sq km. The city is in the Puducherry district of the union territory and is surrounded by the state of Tamil Nadu to which it shares most of its culture. It is affectionately called Pondy and short code as "Pdy," and has been officially known by the alternative name Puducherry in Tamil since 2006.

With the Seven Years' War underway, she was prepared for a new voyage in March 1756, but remained in Lorient harbour, ready to depart, until June. She eventually sailed in December with a 253-man complement and full armament (26 heavy guns out of a total of 54 guns), under Captain Louis de Joannis, to reinforce Aché's Indian Ocean squadron. [2]

Seven Years War Global conflict between 1756 and 1763

The Seven Years' War was a global conflict fought between 1756 and 1763. It involved every European great power of the time and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France, the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Swedish Empire on the other. Meanwhile, in India, some regional polities within the increasingly fragmented Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, tried to crush a British attempt to conquer Bengal. The war's extent has led some historians to describe it as "World War Zero", similar in scale to other world wars.

Anne Antoine, Comte d’Aché was a French naval officer who rose to the rank of vice admiral. He is best known for his service off the coast of India during the Seven Years' War, when he led the French fleet at the Battle of Cuddalore and Battle of Pondicherry. He also failed to provide adequate naval support to French troops attempting to capture Madras in 1759. After he received rumours of a British attack on the major Indian Ocean naval base Mauritius he did not go to the aid of the French forces in Pondicherry which was being besieged by the British. Pondicherry, the French capital in India, subsequently surrendered leaving Britain dominant in the continent. After the war he retired to Brest where he died in 1780.

On 29 April 1758, she took part in the Battle of Cuddalore, engaging HMS Yarmouth and HMS Cumberland. [2] At the battle of Negapatam, her first officer, Langery, had his head shot away by a cannonball.

For other battles with this name, see Battle of Cuddalore (disambiguation)

HMS Yarmouth was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard. She was previously ordered to the dimensions specified in the 1741 proposals for modifications to the 1719 Establishment, but the Admiralty had very quickly concluded that these were too small, and as an experiment in 1742 authorised an addition of 6ft to the planned length, and the Yarmouth was re-ordered to the enlarged design in June 1742. She was built at Deptford, where the Admiralty felt they could best observe the effectiveness of the added size, and launched on 8 March 1745.

HMS Cumberland was a three-deck 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard and launched on 27 December 1710. Her design corresponded to that laid down by the 1706 Establishment of dimensions for 80-gun ships.

Next, she took part in the battle of Pondicherry on 10 September, engaging HMS Newcastle, HMS Tiger and HMS Grafton. [2] On 29 September 1758, she had an inconclusive engagement with the British East Indiaman Pitt, [3] before returning to France in December 1760. [1]

Battle of Pondicherry

The Battle of Pondicherry was a naval battle between a British squadron under Vice-Admiral George Pocock and French squadron under Comte d'Aché off the Carnatic coast of India near Pondicherry during the Seven Years' War. The battle took place on 10 September 1759. The outcome was indecisive.

HMS Newcastle was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched in 1750 and in active service during the Seven Years' War against France. Principally engaged in defending British settlements in India, she was wrecked in a storm off Pondicherry in January 1761.

HMS Tiger or Tygre was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Rotherhithe to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment and launched on 23 November 1747.

She cruised again from January 1761 to March 1763. In January 1764 she departed Lorient, armed with 12 guns, bound for Île de France. She returned to Lorient in July 1764. [1]

In September 1766, she departed Lorient with a 211-man complement and 14 guns, sailed to the Indian Ocean, and returned to Lorient in May 1768, [1] but ran aground in the harbour on 31 May. [2] This led to her decommissioning and use as a careening hulk. The French East India Company was dissolved in 1769, and in April 1770 the French Royal Navy purchased Saint Louis. [1] [2]

Fate

Saint Louis was eventually broken up in 1783. [2]

Notes, citations & references

Notes

  1. All linear measurements are in French feet, which differ from English feet.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Demerliac, p.161, no 1776
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Roche, p.397
  3. Winfield (2007), p.xii.

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References