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French ship Cassard (1795)

Cassard was a 74-gun built for the French Navy during the 1790s. Completed in 1795, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars. She was renamed Dix-Août in 1798, in honour of the insurrection of 10 August 1792, and subsequently Brave in 1803.

Description

The Téméraire-class ships had a length of , a beam of and a depth of hold of . The ships displaced 3,069 tonneaux and had a mean draught of . They had a tonnage of 1,537 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Téméraire class consisted of twenty-eight 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck and thirty 18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of sixteen 8-pounder long guns. Beginning with the ships completed after 1787, the armament of the Téméraires began to change with the addition of four 36-pounder obusiers on the poop deck (). Some ships had instead twenty 8-pounders.

Construction and career

Cassard was ordered on 16 February 1793 and laid down at the Arsenal de Lorient in August. The ship was launched on 2 May 1795 and completed in July. She was renamed Dix-Août on 24 February 1798. Later that year, the ship participated in the French expedition to Ireland. On 10 February 1801 Dix-août captured the 16-gun cutter , which she scuttled. On 27 March 1801, as Dix-août sailed with the Mediterranean Fleet, she collided with Formidable and had to return to harbour. On 4 February 1803, her name was changed to Brave.

On 26 September 1805, Indivisible and Dix-Août succeeded in shooting away Swiftsures yards and masts, crippling her and so capturing her. Swiftsure had two men killed, two men mortally wounded, and another six wounded; the French lost 33 killed and wounded. She was captured by on 6 February 1806 at the Battle of San Domingo. She foundered shortly thereafter on 12 April 1806 without loss of life while en route to Britain.

Citations

References

  • Winfield, Rif and Roberts, Stephen S. (2015) French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing.