Origin and History
The ship was built by Antoine Groignard in 1751 in Rochefort and launched in 1752.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in 1755: Captain M. Darot de Fontais
- from 1759 to 1760: Captain Pierre-Bernardin Thierry, Marquis de La Prévalaye de la Roche
- in 1762: Captain Chevalier de Monteil
In November 1771 at Brest, the ship was stricken off the fleet. She was broken up in 1772.
Service during the War
In 1755, the ship took part in the expedition to reinforce Canada.
In March 1757, the ship formed part of Beauffremont’s Squadron (8 sail). On March 16, this squadron was cruising cruising off Cape Cabron, Saint Domingue (present-day Haïti) when it sighted the British Greenwich (50) who immediately made sail from it. The French squadron gave chase and, on March 18, the three leading ships (Diadème (74), Éveillé (64) and a frigate) came up with the Greenwich and opened fire. The Greenwich was quite hemmed in, and at length, seeing that her position was hopeless, she struck. In June, Beauffremont’s Squadron went to the relief of Louisbourg,
In November 1759, in preparation for the planned invasion of England, the ship set sail for Quiberon Bay with the Brest Fleet. On November 20, she took part in the decisive Battle of Quiberon. After the defeat, on November 21 and 22, by taking advantage of the flood tide and of what wind there was under the land, the ship along with 6 other ships of the line and 4 frigates, which were near the mouth of the Vilaine, got into the river.
From May to September 1762, the ship took part in the expedition against Newfoundland.
|Crew||500 men (750 men at Quiberon)|
|Length||163 ft (49.70 m)|
|Width||42 ft 9 in (13.07 m)|
|Depth||21 ft 3 in (6.50 m)|
Clowes, Wm. Laird, The Royal Navy – A History from the Earliest Time to the Present, Vol. III, Sampson Low, Marston and Company, London: 1898, p. 294
Deschênes, Ronald, Répertoire des vaisseaux de ligne français 1682-1780
Harrison, Simon and Manuel Blasco, 3 Decks
Vial J. L., Nec Pluribus Impar
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns and battles.