The ''Bourgogne'' was a

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

ship of the line of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Estates of Bourgogne. She was commissioned in 1772, and served in the squadron of the Mediterranean, with a refit in 1775, and another in 1778.

Career

On 4 May 1779, off

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, she took part in a naval action with ''Victoire'' against the 32-gun frigates HMS ''Thetis'' and ''Montreal''. ''Montreal'' was captured, while ''Thetis'' managed to escape. British records largely agree, though they put the encounter on 1 May. When ''Thetis'' and ''Montreal'' saw two large ships approaching under Dutch colours, they suspected that the strange ships were French and attempted to sail away. ''Thetis'' succeeded, but at 9p.m., ''Bourgogne'' and ''Victoire'' caught up with ''Montreal'', came alongside, and ordered Douglas to send over a boat. Captain Douglas sent over Lieutenant John Douglas, whom the French ordered to Douglas to hail ''Montreal'' and instruct her to

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

. Captain Douglas attempted to escape, but after the French had fired several broadsides into ''Montreal'' he struck. ''Bourgogne'' took part in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

under Charles de Charritte, most notably at the

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 17 ...

on 5 September 1781 and at the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

, where she collided with ''Duc de Bourgogne'' On 11 September 1781 ''Bourgogne'' and ''Aigrette'' were in the Chesapeake. There they captured the frigate , which the French Navy took into service as ''Richemont''.

Fate

She was wrecked on 4 February 1783, off Curaçao with the loss of 80 of her 840 crew. Captain Champmartin received a three-month suspension as sanction for the loss of the ship.

Sources and references

Notes Citations Bibliography * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourgogne (1767) Ships of the line of the French Navy Ships built in France Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea 1766 ships Maritime incidents in 1783 Don des vaisseaux