''Tyrannicide'' was a

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 ...

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 ...

. In 1794, under Alain Joseph Dordelin, she took part in the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...

. Along with ''Indomptable'', she helped rescue the ''Montagne'' trapped in the midst of the British fleet. Under Zacharie Jacques Théodore Allemand, ''Tyrannicide'' was part of Bruix's squadron from March 1799 and took part in the

Cruise of Bruix A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

. ''Tyrannicide'' was renamed ''Desaix'' in August 1800 in honour of General

Louis Desaix Louis Charles Antoine Desaix () (17 August 176814 June 1800) was a French general and military leader during the French Revolutionary Wars. According to the usage of the time, he took the name ''Louis Charles Antoine Desaix de Veygoux''. He was co ...

. Under Captain Jean-Anne Christy de la Pallière, she captured the 14-gun brig , captained by Lord Cochrane, on 3 July 1801. ''Desaix'' took part in the

First Battle of Algeciras The First Battle of Algeciras was a naval battle fought on 6 July 1801 (17 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of the line and a smaller French Navy squadron at anchor in the forti ...

in Algeciras Bay on the coast of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on 6 July 1801 as part of a French

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

under the command of

Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand, Comte de Linois (27 January 1761 – 2 December 1848) was a French admiral who served in the French Navy during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte. He commanded the combined Franco-Spanish fleet during the Algeci ...

, who formed his squadron into

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

with his ships 500 yards (460 meters) apart and his flagship, the 80-gun ship of the line '' Formidable'', at the northern end, with ''Desaix'' behind her. As the ships of the British squadron under the command of Rear Admiral

James Saumarez Admiral of the Red James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez (or Sausmarez), GCB (11 March 1757 – 9 October 1836) was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, known for his victory at the Second Battle of Algeciras. Early life Saumarez was b ...

entered the bay, they were becalmed, and Linois ordered his ship′s crews to

warp Warp, warped or warping may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books and comics * WaRP Graphics, an alternative comics publisher * ''Warp'' (First Comics), comic book series published by First Comics based on the play ''Warp!'' * Warp (comics), a ...

their vessels into shallow water. Meanwhile, the British

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 ...

ship of the line under Captain Samuel Hood, opened fire on ''Desaix'' at long range at 08:50. At 09:15, Saumarez′s flagship, the 74-gun third rate ship of the line , anchored in the bay and joined the action, also firing on ''Desaix''. When a light breeze began to blow in from the northwest, Linois ordered his ships to sever their

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

cables and maneuver into better defensive positions close inshore, but ''Desaix'' ran aground directly in front of

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

during the maneuver. ''Desaix'' was one of the more badly damaged of the French ships involved in the battle, which ended in a French victory. ''Desaix'' was refloated, repaired, and returned to service after the battle, but in January 1802 she was wrecked at Saint-Domingue while trying to enter

Cap Français A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

harbour.Troude, ''Batailles navales'', p. 270

References

Comte Louis Thomas VILLARET DE JOYEUSE
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrannicide (1793) Ships of the line of the French Navy Téméraire-class ships of the line 1793 ships Ships built in France Maritime incidents in 1801 Shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea Shipwrecks of Spain Maritime incidents in 1802 Shipwrecks of France