''Sagittaire'' was a 50-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.
Career
''Sagittaire'' was designed by Coulomb, but as he had to leave for a mission to Malta, Chapelle supervised her launch.
On 13 April 1778, ''Sagittaire'' departed Toulon in a squadron under
Admiral d'Estaing, along with
''Languedoc'',
''Tonnant'',
''César'',
''Zélé'',
''Hector'',
''Guerrier'',
''Marseillais'',
''Protecteur'',
''Vaillant'',
''Provence'' and
''Fantasque''.
She fought at the
Battle of St. Lucia on 15 December 1778, where she was tasked to bombard the British battery on the Southern peninsula, along with the 32-gun
''Chimère''.
On 8 July, ''Sagittaire'' and ''Fantasque'' forced the frigate
HMS ''Mermaid'' to beach herself at Cape Henhlopen.
On 9 June 1779,
''Vengeur'' and ''Sagittaire'', along with the frigates
''Chimère'' and
''Aimable'', departed for Martinique under
Brach as a distraction to cover
Du Rumain's departure, who was sailing for his
Capture of Saint Vincent with
''Lavely'', ''Lys'' and four transports.
On 14 July, under
Albert de Rions, ''Sagittaire'' captured the
Grenadines
The Grenadines is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted): ...
, along with ''Fantasque'', under
Suffren, and the frigates ''Lively'' and ''Fortunée''.
On 15 December 1778, she took part in the
Battle of St. Lucia. Two days later, she helped
''Iphigénie'' capture
HMS ''Ceres''.
On 23 September, ''Sagittaire'' captured the 50-gun
HMS ''Experiment'', which carried 118,819 piastres. In late 1779, she returned to Toulon, along with ''Experiment''.
Around 1781 she had six 6-pounder guns added on quarterdeck and forecastle, while replacing the 24-pounder guns on the lower gun deck with 18-pounders.
''Le Sagittaire'' on threedecks.org
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In March 1781, ''Sagittaire'' departed France, under Montluc de la Bourdonnaye, along with ''Experiment'', under Médine, to join the French squadron off Rhode Island. In April 1782, De Grasse sent them to escort a convoy and put them out of danger from Hood's squadron.
Fate
''Sagittaire'' was loaned to the Compagnie de Chine to be used as a merchantman in 1783, until 1785. In 1788, she was hulked in Lorient, and in 1790 she was sold for use as a merchantman.
Citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagittaire
Ships built in France
1761 ships