''Saint Michel'' was a 64-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.

Career

Built for the Crown, ''Saint Michel'' was originally manned by officers of the

French East India Company The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in the ...

. During the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

, ''Saint Michel'' was part of a squadron under Admiral de Rochambeau; on 17 August 1744, she captured the 20-gun near Gibraltar. In 1747, her command was transferred to Navy officers. In 1761, she was recommissioned in Rochefort under Captain de Lizardais to serve in 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 (1754� ...

, to serve in the Caribbean theatre, but she never actually departed. She was then refitted as a 60 gun ship in 1762. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, ''Saint Michel'' took part in the Battle of Ushant on 27 July 1778, under Mithon de Genouilly. She and later took part in the capture of HMS ''Ardent'' off Plymouth on 17 August 1779. She took part in the Battle of Martinique in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

on 17 April 1780, under Chevalier d'Aymar. On 11 December 1781, Bussy-Castelnau departed Cadiz with a squadron comprising ''Saint-Michel'' and the 74-gun ''Illustre'', escorting three transports, to make his junction at

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

with another squadron under

Guichen Guichen (; ; Gallo: ''Gischen'') is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. History Population Inhabitants of Guichen are called ''Guichenais'' in French. Image gallery File: Halles-guichen-2014 ...

. the next day, they encountered a British squadron under Kempenfelt. In the subsequent Second Battle of Ushant, most of the French transports were captured by the British, except ''Marquis de Castries'' and ''Neptune-Royal'', which reached Sainte-Croix carrying siege artillery and an artillery company. Bussy sailed on towards the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, arriving to

Table Bay Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named ...

in early April. He landed his troops to reinforce the Dutch Cape Colony against a possible British attack, and on 2 May he sailed to Isle de France (Mauritius), where ''Saint-Michel'' and ''Illustre'' arrived on 31, the transports following a few days later. Informed that Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves had left the island on 7 December 1781 with his squadron to attack Trincomalee, Bussy decided to attach the 40-gun frigate ''Consolante'' to his squadron, as well as 800 men from the garrison which he embarked on 9 transports, and go reinforce him. On 21 August 1782, ''Ilustre'' and ''Saint-Michel'' arrived at Batacalo, making their junction with the squadron under Suffren. They were escorting 8 transports and preceded by the corvette ''Fortune'', under Lusignan. Appointed to Suffren's squadron in the Indian Ocean, she took part in the battles of Trincomalee. After D'Aymar was promoted to ''Annibal'', Suffren appointed Lieutenant

Beaumont le Maître Beaumont le Maître was a French Navy officer. He fought in the Indian Ocean under Suffren during the War of American Independence, notably captaining the 64-gun ''Ajax'' at the Battle of Trincomalee from 25 August to 3 September 1782 and ''Sai ...

to replace him. ''Saint Michel'' took part in the

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

, before she returned to France in 1784. ''Saint Michel'' carried out another mission to the Indian Ocean in 1787 before returning to France to be hulked the next year.

Notes, citations, and references

Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Michel (1741) Ships of the line of the French Navy 1741 ships