''San Antonio'' was a 74-gun, two-decked,

third-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

ship of the line built for the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

and launched in Cartagena in 1785. She was present under Captain Salvador Medina at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797. In August 1800 the ''San Antonio'' was at Ferrol during 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 ...

Ferrol Expedition The Ferrol Expedition (or Battle of Brión) took place on 25 and 26 August 1800, and was an unsuccessful British attempt to capture Ferrol from Spain. Ferrol was a major Spanish naval base with a shipyard for shipbuilding and dry dock for re ...

failed attempt to take the town.

French service

Gibraltar and Trafalgar, 1801 RCIN 735100

By the terms of the

Third Treaty of San Ildefonso The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret agreement signed on 1 October 1800 between the Spanish Empire and the French Republic by which Spain agreed in principle to exchange its North American colony of Louisiana for territories in Tuscany ...

of October 1800, Spain agreed to supply France with "six ships of war in good condition built for seventy-four guns, armed and equipped and ready to receive French crews and supplies". The ''San Antonio'' was handed over in May 1801 to become the French ship ''Saint Antoine'' under Commodore Julien Le Ray, though some Spanish seamen remained aboard. Taking part in the

Second Battle of Algeciras The Second Battle of Algeciras (also known as the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar) was a naval battle fought on the night of 12 July 1801 (23 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of ...

during the night of 12–13 July 1801, she was pursued by HMS ''Superb'', Captain Keats, the combined French and Spanish crew engaging the British vessel as it approached. At 23:50 on the 12th, Keats laid his ship close alongside the new French ship, beginning a close and heated action as the ships of the line exchanged broadsides with one another in pitch darkness and with an increasing wind.Clowes, p. 467 For thirty minutes the battle continued until, with the ships off Cape Spartel in North Africa, a wounded Le Ray decided that his ship was no longer able to contest the action and hailed ''Superb'' to announce that he had surrendered. The halyards that held up his pennant had however become tangled in the rigging, giving the appearance that the ship was still in French hands: this later led ''Saint Antoine'' to be attacked repeatedly by other British ships as they came up during the night.James, p. 127 Keats remained with his prize, awaiting the arrival of the rest of the squadron: ''Caesar'', ''Venerable'', ''Spencer'' and ''Thames'' arrived after midnight, all firing on ''Saint Antoine'' as they passed before continuing westwards in search of other enemy vessels.

British service

''Saint Antoine'' was commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1801 as the ''San Antonio'' and sailed under Captain Dundas''Naval Chronicle'', vol. 6, p. 346 to Portsmouth. There she was laid up for repairs and eventually commissioned as a

Prison ship A prison ship, often more accurately described as a prison hulk, is a current or former seagoing vessel that has been modified to become a place of substantive detention for convicts, prisoners of war or civilian internees. While many nat ...

in October 1807, and later as a powder magazine from May to September 1814. She was sold in 1828.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:San Antonio 1785 ships Ships built in Spain Ships of the line of the Spanish Navy Ships of the line of the Royal Navy Ships of the line of the French Navy Captured ships