''César'' 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

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 ...

. Ordered in the spring of 1767 from the Toulon shipyard, she was launched on 3 August 1768. ''César'' saw service in the American War of Independence, during which she was destroyed in 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 ...

Career

D'Estaing's squadron (1778-1779)

At the time of the French entry to the American War of Independence, ''César'' was under the command of Captain Louis de Raimondis,

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First ...

Chef d'Escadre ''Chef d'escadre'' (; literally " squadron commander") was a rank in the French Navy during the Ancien Régime and until the French Revolution. The rank was changed to '' contre-amiral'' by a law passed on 15 May 1791. History The first chefs ...

Broves. On 13 April 1778, ''César'' sailed from Toulon bound for America, with the 12 ships of Estaing's fleet. The fleet arrived at the mouth of the Delaware River, north of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, on 8 July and pursued several enemy ships. On 8 August, it forced the straits at New York and entered the mouth of the Connecticut River, where the British forces were anchored. The British burnt seven of their ships and their stores. On 11 August 1778, ''César'' was separated from the squadron by a violent storm at the time when they were about to engage in a battle with the forces of

Richard Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a British naval officer. After serving throughout the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations a ...

. On 16 August 1778, ''César'' battled HMS ''Iris'' and then went to shelter in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, where she was joined by the other French ships. Captain Raimondis had his right arm shot off in the battle, and was evacuated at Boston on 27 October 1778. First officer

Castellet Castellet-en-Luberon (before 2018: ''Castellet'')Décret n° 2018-956
5 November 20 ...

took over. In December 1778, after d'Estaing's squadron had transferred to the West Indies, the ''César'' took part in the

Battle of St. Lucia The Battle of St. Lucia or the Battle of the Cul de Sac was a naval battle fought off the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies during the American Revolutionary War on 15 December 1778, between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. Ba ...

. On 6 July 1779 ''César'' was part of the rear squadron in the hard-fought

battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. The British fleet of Admiral John Byron (the grandfath ...

against the forces of John Byron. After Estaing's failure to support the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the Second Battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

in October 1779, ''César'' returned to France with the other ships that had arrived on America in 1778 in order to be refitted and to recruit new crew.

De Grasse's fleet (1781-1782)

In 1781, ''César'' left for the West Indies under the command of Charles Régis de Coriolis d'Espinouse in the fleet of the

Comte de Grasse ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...

. On 28 April she was present at the Battle of Fort Royal, attempting to raise the blockade of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

. On 24 May ''César'' was part of the squadron which covered the French

Invasion of Tobago The Invasion of Tobago was a French invasion of the British-held island of Tobago during the Anglo-French War. On May 24, 1781, the fleet of Comte de Grasse landed troops on the island under the command of General Marquis de Bouillé. By June 2 ...

. On 5 September 1781 ''César'' was present at the decisive

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 ...

, which completed the encirclement of the British forces at Yorktown. In 1782, still with De Grasse's fleet, ''César'' sailed to the West Indies and in January took part in the

Battle of Saint Kitts The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle fought on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet u ...

. ''César'' was then at the

on 12 April 1782, during which she was totally dismasted and then captured by . A prize crew of 58 men and one lieutenant were placed on the ship and the crew were locked below deck. Here around 9pm they accidentally started a fire whilst breaking into the officers liquor cabinet. The fire spread and at 10.30pm reached the magazine, causing it to explode. The ''César'' was destroyed, killing 400 French sailors and 50 British members of the

prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew had suffici ...

. To make things worse, during the 90 minutes before the explosion they were jumping in the water, not realising that the ship was surrounded by sharks. The ship's captain, Bernard de Marigny, who was injured and confined to his cabin, was killed in the explosion.Famous Fighters of the Fleet, Edward Fraser, 1904, p.156 ''César'' was one of the twenty ships lost by the French Navy during the American War of Independence.

Citations and references

Citations References * * * (1671-1870) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cesar (1768) Ships of the line of the French Navy César-class ships of the line 1768 ships Ships built in France Maritime incidents in 1782