''Hercule'' was a ''Scipion'' class

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 ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

built at

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

. In 1781, under Captain Turpin du Breuil, ''Hercule'' was in the Blue squadron of the fleet under De Grasse. She took part in 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 in the subsequent

Siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virgi ...

. Under Captain

Jean Isaac Chadeau de la Clocheterie Jean Isaac Timothée Chadeau, Sieur de la Clocheterie (1741–1782) was a French naval officer of the American Revolutionary War. Biography Early career Chadeau de la Clocheterie entered the French naval service in 1754, at the age of thirteen, ...

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 ...

. ''Hercule'' was razéed in 1794. In May 1795, she was renamed to ''Hydre''. She was eventually broken up in 1799.

Sources and references

Notes Citations References * * * (1671-1870) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hercule (1778) Ships of the line of the French Navy Scipion-class ships of the line