The ''Illustre'' was a 74-gun
''Magnanime'' class 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 took part in the
War of American Independence
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 ...
and in the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
. Damaged beyond repairs during the
Expédition d'Irlande
The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican ...
, she was scuttled on 30 December 1796.
Career
War of American Independence
On 11 December 1781,
Bussy-Castelnau departed
Cadiz with a squadron comprising the 64-gun
''Saint-Michel'' and ''Illustre'', under
Bruyères-Chalabre, escorting three transports, to make his junction at
Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
with another squadron under
Guichen. the next day, they encountered a British squadron under
Kempenfelt. In the subsequent
Second Battle of Ushant
The Second Battle of Ushant was a naval battle fought between French and British squadrons near Ushant, an island off the coast of Brittany, on 12 December 1781, as part of the American Revolutionary War.
Background
On 10 December 1781 a French ...
, most of the French transports were captured by the British, except ''Marquis de Castries'' and ''Neptune-Royal'', which reached Sainte-Croix carrying siege artillery and an artillery company.
Bussy sailed on towards the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
, arriving to
Table Bay
Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named b ...
in early April. He landed his troops to reinforce the
Dutch Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie) was a Dutch United East India Company (VOC) colony in Southern Africa, centered on the Cape of Good Hope, from where it derived its name. The original colony and its successive states that the colony was inco ...
against a possible British attack, and on 2 May 1782 he sailed to
Isle de France (Mauritius), where ''Saint-Michel'' and ''Illustre'' arrived on 31, the transports following a few days later. Informed that
Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves
Jean-Baptiste Barthélémy Thomas, comte d’Orves (1727 — ''Orient'', off Madras,Present-day Chennai 9 February 1782Cunat, p.103 ) was a French Navy officer, who rose to have flag officer rank.
Biography
Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves was born ...
had left the island on 7 December 1781 with his squadron to attack
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
, Bussy decided to attach the 40-gun frigate
''Consolante'' to his squadron, as well as 800 men from the garrison which he embarked on 9 transports, and go reinforce him.
On 21 August 1782, ''Ilustre'' and ''Saint-Michel'' arrived at
Batacalo
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 ...
, making their junction with the squadron under
Suffren. They were escorting 8 transports and preceded by the corvette
''Fortune'', under Lusignan.
In the night of 12 January 1783, chasing the frigate
''Fine'' which she had mistaken for a privateer,
HMS Coventry (1757) sailed into
Ganjam
Ganjam is a town and a notified area council in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Brahmapur, one of the major city of Odisha is situated in this district.
Geography
Ganjam is located at in the Ganjam district of Odisha with an ...
Roads, where Suffren's
''Héros'', ''Illustre'',
''Ajax'' and
''Brillant'' were at anchor. Captain Wolseley, of ''Coventry'', had no information that French vessels were in the area and so allowed the current to take him towards the vessels, the wind being weak. As ''Coventry'' arrived, Suffren, on ''Héros'', was sending a boat over to ''Illustre'', but the boat master was drunk and instead mistakenly came aboard ''Coventry''. The boat's crew was promptly taken prisoners and taken to the
orlop deck
The orlop is the lowest deck in a ship (except for very old ships). It is the deck or part of a deck where the cables are stowed, usually below the water line.
According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the word descends from Dutch
Dut ...
. At this moment, the French division noticed ''Coventry'', and ''Illustre'', ''Ajax'' and ''Brillant'' opened fire. Interrogating his prisoners, Wolseley learnt that the ships firing on him were part of Suffren's squadron, at which point his men rushed below. Alone on his quarterdeck, Wolseley had no choice but to
surrender
Surrender may refer to:
* Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy
* Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power
Film and television
* ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...
.
Later service
In 1788, ''Illustre'' was the flagship of a squadron under
Nieuil, cruising off Tunis.
''Illustre'' stayed in Brest between 1788 and 1791. She was
razeed into a 44-gun frigate in 1793.
In February 1794, she was renamed ''Mucius Scévola'', and ''Scévola'' the next month.
She took part in the
Expédition d'Irlande
The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican ...
. On 30 December 1796, she was wrecked in a storm and was so badly damaged that she was scuttled. The crew was evacuated by
''Révolution''.
Sources and references
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Illustre
Ships of the line of the French Navy
Ships built in France
Magnanime-class ships of the line
Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean
Maritime incidents in 1796
1781 ships