''Souverain'' was a 74-gun

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 ...

, lead ship of her class. She took part in the Battle of the Chesapeake, in 1781. In 1792, she was renamed ''Peuple Souverain'' ("Sovereign People"). In 1798, she took part in the

battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

. A shot from (at the rear of the British line) cut her cable and she drifted out of position, later in the battle being captured by the British.Crowdy, p. 47 She was subsequently recommissioned in 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 ...

as HMS ''Guerrier'', but was in too bad a shape to serve in the high sea, so she was used as a

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

HMS ''Guerrier''
Ships of the line of the French Navy Souverain-class ships of the line 1757 ships Captured ships {{France-line-ship-stub