''Constitution'' 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 ...

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 ...

launched as ''Viala'' (or ''Vialla'') in 1795. The Royal Navy captured her in 1806 and sold her in 1814.

French service

Between 1794 and 1795, the French successively named her ''Viala'' (in honour of Joseph Agricol Viala), ''Voltaire'' (in honour of

François-Marie Arouet François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

), and ''Constitution'' (after the Constitution of the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...

). In the winter of 1796-1797, 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 republica ...

. She managed to reach

Bantry Bay Bantry Bay ( ga, Cuan Baoi / Inbhear na mBárc / Bádh Bheanntraighe) is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 mi ...

, where on 22 December 1797 she was damaged in a collision with ''Révolution''. Between 29 September 1800 and 18 June 1802, she underwent fitting 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 ...

. In 1802, she was recommissioned in Toulon, under Captain Faure. On 5 February 1803, she was renamed again to ''Jupiter''. On 13 December 1805 she joined Vice-Admiral Corentin Urbain Leissègues's squadron bound for Santo Domingo, under Captain Laignel. On 27 December she separated from the squadron in a gale. She rejoined the squadron on 24 January 1806 at Saint Domingue. , while serving in a

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 ...

squadron under the command of Vice Admiral

Duckworth Duckworth may refer to: * Duckworth (surname), people with the surname ''Duckworth'' * Duckworth (''DuckTales''), fictional butler from the television series ''DuckTales'' * Duckworth Books, a British publishing house * , a frigate * Duckworth, W ...

, captured her at the

Battle of San Domingo The Battle of San Domingo was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars fought on 6 February 1806 between squadrons of French and British ships of the line off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish colonial Captaincy General of Santo ...

(6 February 1806). In the battle, ''Jupiter'' lost some 200 men killed and wounded; ''Donegal'' had 12 men killed and 33 wounded.

British service

''Jupiter'' arrived in Portsmouth on 6 May 1806. The

then commissioned her as ''Maida'', in honour of the

Battle of Maida The Battle of Maida, fought on 4 July 1806 was a battle between the British expeditionary force and a French force outside the town of Maida in Calabria, Italy during the Napoleonic Wars. John Stuart led 5,236 Anglo-Sicilian troops to victory ...

, the name ''Jupiter'' being already used for the 50-gun

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 ...

. She was commissioned in February 1807 under Captain Samuel Hood Linzee.

''Maida'' was one of the vessels at the

Second Battle of Copenhagen The Second Battle of Copenhagen (or the Bombardment of Copenhagen) (16 August – 7 September 1807) was a British bombardment of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, in order to capture or destroy the Dano-Norwegian fleet during the Napoleonic War ...

. There she landed a party of seamen who manned the breaching battery before the city. Because she was one of the vessels present at the seizure of the Danish fleet on 7 September, her officers and crew were entitled to share in the prize money. By the end of the year she was back in Portsmouth. On 26 October 1807, Tsar

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...

declared war on Great Britain. The official news did not arrive there until 2 December, at which time the British declared an embargo on all Russian vessels in British ports. ''Maida'' was one of some 70 vessels that shared in the proceeds of the seizure of the 44-gun Russian frigate ''Speshnoy'' (''Speshnyy''), and the Russian storeship ''Wilhelmina'' (or ''Vilghemina'') then in Portsmouth harbour. The Russian vessels were carrying the payroll for Vice-Admiral

Dmitry Senyavin Dmitry Nikolayevich Senyavin or Seniavin (russian: Дми́трий Никола́евич Сеня́вин; – ) was a Russian admiral during the Napoleonic Wars. Service under Ushakov Senyavin belonged to a notable noble family of sea ...

’s squadron in the Mediterranean. ''Maida'' was paid off at Portsmouth on 9 March 1808 and placed into

ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (Every Little Thing album) (2011) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016) * "Ordinary" (Wayne Brady song) (2008) * ...

. In 1813 she came under the command of Captain John Hayes. She remained in ordinary, i.e., she was not recommissioned, but served as flagship at Portsmouth to Rear-Admiral

Edward Griffith Colpoys Vice Admiral Sir Edward Griffith Colpoys KCB (c. 1767 – 9 October 1832) was a senior officer of the British Royal Navy during the early nineteenth century. The nephew of a prominent admiral, John Colpoys, Edward Griffith was able to rapidly a ...

Fate

On 25 July 1814 the Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy put her up for sale. The conditions of sale included that the purchaser was to give a bond, with two sureties for £3000, that they would not sell or otherwise dispose of the ship but that they would break her up within twelve months from the date of sale. She was sold on 11 August 1814 for £4,700.

Notes

Citations

References

* * *

External links

Naval Database
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Constitution (1795) Ships of the line of the French Navy Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Téméraire-class ships of the line 1795 ships Captured ships