The ''Languedoc'' was a 80-gun 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 ...

and flagship of Admiral d'Estaing. She was offered to King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

by the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

, as part of the '' Don des vaisseaux'', a national effort to rebuild the navy after the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

. She was designed by the naval architect Joseph Coulomb, and funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Estates of Languedoc.

Construction

Ordered in Toulon, ''Languedoc'' took several years to complete due to a lack of timber in the shipyard, already busy building ''Zélé'' and ''Bourgogne'', and with the orders for the

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 ...

''Marseillois'' and the

64-gun The 64-gun ship of the line was a type of two-decker warship defined during the 18th century, named after the number of their guns. 64-guns had a lower battery of 24-pounders, and an upper battery of 12-pounders. Heavier variants with 18-pounder o ...

''Provence'' in queue.

Career

In 1773, she was under

Apchon Apchon () is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region of south-central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Apchonnais'' or ''Apchonnaises''. Geography Apchon is located some 80 km south-west of Clermont ...

War of American Independence

In 1778, France decided to intervene in the American War of Independence, and 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 ...

broke out. Vice-amiral d'Estaing was ordered to take the fleet to the Americas. He set his flag on the ''Languedoc'', after her upgrade to 90 guns. His 12-ship fleet set sail on the 18 April 1778. The fleet reached New York on 8 July 1778, and ''Languedoc'' landed the French ''chargé d'affaires''.Troude, op. cit., p. 13. On the 10th of August, the French fleet encountered the English fleets of Admirals

Howe Howe may refer to: People and fictional characters * Howe (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters * Howe Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo (1788–1845), Irish peer and colonial governor Titles * Earl Howe, two titles, an ext ...

and

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

. A tempest broke out, and ''Languedoc'' lost her rigging and steering. The 50-gun '' Renown'' raked her, but she was saved by the timely arrival of a French squadron led by Suffren. ''Languedoc'' was Estaing's flagship for his mission to America, with Boulainvilliers as

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 ...

. She 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 ...

in December 1778. ''Languedoc'' then took part in the Capture of Grenada from 2 to 4 July 1779. ''Languedoc'' returned to France, where she was refitted. In 1781, she set sail in the fleet of Admiral 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 ...

under Parscau du Plessix. 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 ...

, ''Languedoc'' was under Captain Arros d'Argelos, and followed the fleet flagship '' Ville de Paris'' in the French line of battle. The French fleet was parted in two, and ''Languedoc'' retreated, leaving De Grasse to be captured. ''Languedoc'' then joined with La Pérouse, and reached Brest on the 28 June 1783. The subsequent inquiry into the battle found Argelos innocent, De Grasse being found ultimately responsible.

French Revolutionary wars

''Languedoc'' was refitted and upgraded by engineer Jacques-Noël Sané. On the 5 September 1792, she set sail under Admiral de Latouche Tréville. She took part in the campaign off Italy, and was badly damaged in the tempests of December; from 21 to 23, ''Scipion'' had to assist.Roche, vol.1, p.408 On the 7 February, she took part in the landing of troops in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. She sailed back to

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 ...

and undertook extensive repairs. Toulon fell to the hands of the English and was retaken by the French. The ''Languedoc'', being deemed unusable, was not destroyed when the English left the city. She was renamed ''Antifédéraliste'' at the height of Robespierre's power, and renamed again to ''Victoire'' at the

Thermidorian Reaction The Thermidorian Reaction (french: Réaction thermidorienne or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespie ...

. As ''Victoire'', under captain Savary, she took part in the campaign off Italy, where she confronted

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

's squadron. She served off Canada in 1796, returned to France, and was deemed too old to take part in the landing in Ireland.

Fate

''Victoire'' was condemned in Brest in 1798 as it is written in her last log.SHD Toulon 2E6.305

Sources and references

Notes Citations References * * * (1671-1870) * External links *
The "Languedoc" (1761–1798), history of an XVIIIth century Ship of the Line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Languedoc Ships of the line of the French Navy Saint-Esprit-class ships of the line Ships built in France 1766 ships Don des vaisseaux