''Héros'' 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 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 ...

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 ...

, known mostly for being the flagship of

Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

during the

Anglo-French War The Anglo-French Wars were a series of conflicts between England (and after 1707, Britain) and France, including: Middle Ages High Middle Ages * Anglo-French War (1109–1113) – first conflict between the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Norma ...

Career

Construction

She was built in 1778 at

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

on a design by Joseph-Marie-Blaise Coulomb.

Indian Ocean campaign under Suffren

Medaille en honneur Suffren 1784 en argent par Augustin Dupre nmm

Bonne - Carte hydro-geo-graphique des Indes Orientales

In 1781 she became part of Suffren's force, consisting of the 16-gun corvette ''Fortune'', five ships of the line, eight troopships and a thousand soldiers, all entrusted with carrying the French war effort into the Indian Ocean. The other warships were one other 74 gun ship ('' Annibal'') and three 64-gun ships ( ''Vengeur'', ''

Sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

'', and '' Artésien''). Suffren had been allowed to choose his officers and non-commissioned officers and so these were mainly from

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, despite the fact that the force set off from

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress *Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria *Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France **Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Brest, ...

. There were around ten men per gun, making a total crew of 712. On 22 March 1781 the force sailed for the South Atlantic and on 16 April it met a force under commodore George Johnstone waiting off Cape Verde to attack the Cape. Suffren sailed ''Héros'' into the centre of the enemy formation to try to destroy it while it was still at anchor, in what became the

battle of Porto Praya The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle that took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone and a French squadron under the Bailli de Suffren. Both squadrons w ...

. ''Héros'' almost fought the battle alone as the other French ships were not so well commanded or manoeuvred and so engaged the enemy little or not at all. For more than an hour the ''Héros'' was under continual fire from the British ships – she fired "as fast as it was possible to load and reload" noted a British report of the battle. ''Annibal'' was completely dismasted and her captain was killed, leaving ''Héros'' to take her in tow after the battle.. ''Héros'' was stationed off the Cape from 21 June to 29 August to defend the Dutch colony from a British attack and to repair the damage done to her at Porto Praya. On 25 October she arrived at Île de France to join the French ships already stationed there – these were the ships of the line ''

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...

'' (74 guns), ''Sévère'' (64), '' Bizarre'' (64), ''Ajax'' (64), ''Brillant'' (64), and ''Flamand'' (56), the frigates ''Pourvoyeuse'' (38), ''Fine'' (36), and ''Bellone'' (32), the corvettes ''Subtile'' (24), ''Sylphide'' (12), and ''Diligent'' (10), and the fireship ''Pulvérisateur'' (6 or 4 guns). With ''Héros'' as Suffren's flagship, the eleven ships left Île de France on 7 December 1781 to attack the British force in the Indian Ocean. On 19 January, the 64-gun ''Sévère'' detected HMS ''Hannibal'' (50) a

fourth rate In 1603 all English warships with a compliment of fewer than 160 men were known as 'small ships'. In 1625/26 to establish pay rates for officers a six tier naval ship rating system was introduced.Winfield 2009 These small ships were divided i ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

under Captain Alexander Christie. ''Héros'' and ''Artésien'' were dispatched to investigate. Closing with ''Hannibal,'' Sufferen made

signals In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...

according to tables captured at

Porto Praya Praia (, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.''Hinchinbrooke'', until ''Hannibal'' made signals that he was unable to answer. A chase ensued, and with the night Suffren abandoned the pursuit to rejoin his fleet. On 21January, the fleet once more encountered ''Hannibal.'' ''Héros,'' ''Artésien,'' and the 64-gun '' Vengeur'' were deployed but this time along with other ships as to ensure communication between the pursuers and the main body of the fleet, allowing Suffren to press on his chase. Suffren caught up with his quarry on 22 January at around noon. ''Héros'' was first of the three pursuing ships to come within range of ''Hannibal,'' and thus the first to bring her guns to bear on the English vessel.

James Scurry James Scurry (1766–1822) was a British soldier and memoirist. He was held captive by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan for 10 years (1780–1790) at Seringapatam. He had been kept as a prisoner, first at Bangalore and then moved to the Seringapatnam f ...

, a 14 year old sailor of the Royal Navy was aboard ''Hannibal'' at the time of her capture. He went on to publish a memoir concerning his time as a prisoner. In the first chapter of his account, he discusses his ship's capture. On 17 February 1782, under Suffren and Lieutenant de Moissac, his

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 ...

, ''Héros'' fought at the

battle of Sadras The Battle of Sadras was the first of five largely indecisive naval battles fought between a British fleet (under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes) and a French fleet (under Admiral Pierre Suffren) off the east coast of India during the Anglo-French ...

off the coast of Coromandel, attacking the centre of the British formation and seriously damaging below the waterline Edward Hughes's flagship, the 74 gun . ''Héros'' and the rest of the squadron then called at Pondichéry and Porto-Novo to disembark general Duchemin's troops (21 February to 23 March 1782). On 12 April ''Héros'', still Suffren's flagship, fought in the bitter

battle of Providien The Battle of Providien was the second in a series of naval battles fought between a British fleet, under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, and a French fleet, under the Bailli de Suffren, off the coast of India during the Anglo-French War. The ...

off

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. She attacked HMS ''Superb'' again at pistol-shot range, causing a fire to break out aboard the British ship. She then de-masted , forcing her to leave the British line. However, ''Héros'' was also heavily damaged, losing the top of her foremast. This meant she was no longer maneuverable and so was forced to leave the battle, with Suffren switching his flag to the 64-gun ''Ajax'' mid-battle. ''Héros'' then stopped at

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

with the rest of the squadron for repairs and to rest her crew. On 6 July ''Héros'' fought in the battle of Negapatam. The wind suddenly changed direction mid-battle and broke up the two lines of battle, turning the engagement into a general mêlée. ''Héros'' saved the 64-gun ''Brillant'', which had lost her mainmast. ''Héros'' then tried to engage HMS ''Superb'', but the British refused to engage and the two squadrons disengaged for the third time after an indecisive battle. ''Héros'' called at

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

on 8 July and she and the squadron were based there until 1 August. There Suffren met nabab

Haidar Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...

, who had come with his army to ally with Suffren against the British. The force then sailed again for Ceylon. ''Héros'' and the squadron called at Batticaloa again from 9 to 23 August 1782 to be reinforced by the 74-gun ''Illustre'' and the 60-gun ''Saint-Michel'', and seventeen transports with troops and supplies. ''Héros'' was also placed on her side at Batticaloa to repair her hull, caulking, and upperwork. Meanwhile, Suffren prepared an attempt to recapture

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

, the main port on Ceylon. On 25 August, en route to Trincomalee, ''Héros'' had her stern and

aftcastle An aftercastle (or sometimes aftcastle) is the stern structure behind the mizzenmast and above the transom on large sailing ships, such as carracks, caravels, galleons and galleasses. It usually houses the captain's cabin and perhaps additional ...

lightly damaged in a collision with ''Artésien''.. She was still able to take part in the French landings on 26 August which ended in the surrender of the British garrison on 31 August and the port's recapture. On 3 September 1782, in the

battle of Trincomalee A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, ''Héros'' was again engaged against Hughes' squadron, which had come to the aid of Trincomalee. ''Héros'', ''Illustre'', and ''Ajax'' attacked the British centre but the wind dropped on part of the French line and the rest of the squadron was unable to follow – several captains only bombarded the British ships from a distance, contrary to Suffren's orders. A sketch by one of Suffren's officers shows ''Héros'' spending several hours at the height of the action in the crossfire of HMS ''Superb'', HMS ''Monmouth'' (64 guns), (74 guns) and (64 guns). ''Héros'' lost her mainmast and then her mizzenmast – the latter dragged the French flag into the water with it and for a moment the British thought that Suffren had struck his colours. Unengaged French ships of the line finally managed to tack into the battle and get ''Héros'' to safety. Suffren moved to ''Orient'' and ''Sphinx'' took ''Héros'' in tow. ''Héros'' stayed at Trincomalee for repairs until 1 October; she was repaired with matured timber and supplies taken from other ships of the line and transport ships. ''Héros'' and the squadron sailed to Cuddalore in October to support the French garrison there, then under threat of siege. The squadron wintered, resupplied, and rested at

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

in November and December.. On 12 November ''Héros'' became a floating embassy when Suffren received

Alauddin Muhammad Syah Sultan Alauddin Muhammad Syah (c. 1760 – 1795) was the twenty-eighth sultan of Aceh in northern Sumatra. He was the fourth ruler of the Bugis Dynasty and reigned between 1781 and 1795. Youth and accession Tuanku Muhammad, as he was called be ...

Sultan of Aceh The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam ( ace, Keurajeuën Acèh Darussalam; Jawoë: كاورجاون اچيه دارالسلام), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major ...

, on board her. This was the first French squadron of such size to visit the region and – fearing it was an invasion – Syah wished to find out whether or not its intent was hostile towards him. On 8 January 1783, ''Héros'' returned to the Indian coast and took part in a deception that captured a British frigate. She then arrived in Cuddalore on 6 February. From February to June 1783 ''Héros'' cruised between the Coromandel and Trincomalee coasts, with Suffren making Trincomalee his main base. She was present on 10 March when the squadron was reinforced by a large force under Bussy (consisting of the 74-gun ''Fendant'' and ''Argonaute'', the 66-gun ''Hardi'', and transports carrying 2,500 men). Suffren ordered this force to attack the British forces heading for

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. ''Héros'' escorted the force before returning to Trincomalee and on 20 June she and the squadron fought the battle of Cuddalore. This was the final engagement between Hughes' and Suffren's squadrons – Suffren decided to give battle despite being outnumbered 18 to 15 in an attempt to lift the encirclement of Bussy's forces at Cuddalore. ''Héros'' took part in the battle, but orders received from the French king forced Suffren to lead the squadron from a frigate instead to avoid being wounded or captured – this directive had come into force after de Grasse's capture from the '' Ville de Paris'' 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 ...

on 12 April the previous year. Hughes's squadron was forced to flee, saving Bussy's force as Suffren had hoped. However, Suffren was unable to capitalize upon the victory as nine days later he received a dispatch reporting the signing of a preliminary peace agreement in Europe five months earlier that would become the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

. ''Héros'' sailed back to France in triumph – she and ''Vengeur'' sailed on 6 October and arrived at Mauritius on 12 November, where its governor M. de Souillac came on board to salute Suffren. On 29 November, now accompanied by the frigate ''Cléopâtre'', she sailed from the Cape, which she reached on 22 December. Nine British ships of the line were calling at the Cape at the same time – most of them had fought against Suffren but his renown was such that all the British officers came on board ''Héros'' "to salute in person a master of their profession, in a unique scene in French naval history. On 3 January 1784 ''Héros'' resumed her journey, reaching Toulon on 26 March to a rapturous reception and festivities at the city's hôtel de l’Intendance. On 6 April a local newspaper, the ''

Courrier d'Avignon The ''Courrier d'Avignon'' was a newspaper which had an important role in the international French-language press of the 18th century. Published in the papal enclave within the kingdom of France, then in Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the ...

'', reported a surprise dessert served to Suffren: Impressed by the quality of

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...

i textile manufacture and hoping to set up a textile industry on

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, Suffren had embarked fifty Indian cotton manufacturers on the ''Héros'' for the voyage home. They were immediately sent from Toulon to Malta to use its local cotton.

Evolution during the Indian Campaign

''Héros'' was on station for 27 months and then took 9 months to get back to France, meaning she was away from home waters for almost three years. This made her one of the most heavily engaged French warships of the time, though she was much-changed when she returned to Toulon – she had been dismasted twice (at Providien and Trincomalee) and repaired with modified rigging and masts from other ships and her launch had been so badly damaged by gunfire that Suffren suspended it from the stern at the level of the gallery. The good health and discipline of the ship's crew (or at least those who remained on the flagship) is also instructive as to the kind of men being recruited in Brest in March 1781.. However, it is difficult to trace changes in personnel over the course of the campaign – for example, the ship's muster does not take into account the presence of slaves,

Lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the 2 ...

s, and

sepoy ''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire. In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...

s, who at times formed a considerable proportion of the crew. This was especially true during the final months in the Indian Ocean, when large numbers of the original crew had been killed in action or lost to sickness, wounds, or desertion. The Indian sailors' pay was different and records of their service are incomplete. Of the 19 officers and

gardes de la marine In France, under the Ancien Régime, the Gardes de la Marine (Guards of the Navy), or Gardes-Marine were young gentlemen undergoing training to be naval officers. The training program was established by Cardinal Richelieu in 1670 and lasted until Ad ...

who left Brest with the ship in March 1781, only eight returned to Toulon aboard her – eight had left the ship during the campaign, two had been killed in combat, and one had died of his wounds. eighty-eight of the seamen were killed in batt. Of that 399, it is recorded that 41 died in hospital, though that is definitely an under-estimate. Forty-nine men deserted. Total losses were 365 out of a complement of 712 men on departure from Brest. Suffren made up these losses by taking men from frigates and transport ships, recruiting locally and redistributing among the squadron the crews of ''Orient'' and ''Bizarre'', which both ran aground in 1782. Research is complicated by these crew movements and by the fact that Suffren gave preference to sailors from Provence for the voyage home, so that they could return home more easily to their family, since he chose Toulon not Brest as his destination. It is estimated that around 40% of the original crew did not return to Toulon.

Later career

Suffren died in December 1788 and ''Héros'' remained stationed at Toulon with the Levant squadron. Early in 1793 war broke out again between France and Britain and the British seized ''Héros'' as she was moored at Toulon when a Royalist cabale surrendered the city to them on 29 August. As the

Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-Spa ...

ended in the liberation of the city, Captain Sidney Smith had her scuttled by fire on 18–19 December along with ''Thémistocle'' and six other ships of the line which he was unable to take with him as prize ships.Roche, vol.1, p.435

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * * * * * * * * * * * (1671-1870) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Héros (1778) Ships of the line of the French Navy Shipwrecks of France Maritime incidents in 1793 1778 ships