''Intrépide'' 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 ...

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 thi ...

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. She was originally built at

Ferrol, Spain Ferrol () is a city in the Province of A Coruña in Galicia, on the Atlantic coast in north-western Spain, in the vicinity of Strabo's Cape Nerium (modern day Cape Prior). According to the 2021 census, the city has a population of 64,785, ma ...

in 1790 by José Romero y Fernández de Landa as the Spanish ship of the line ''Intrepido'', and later was sold to France in 1800. On 21 October 1805, ''Intrépide'' was one of the ships of Rear-Admiral

Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley Vice-Admiral Count Pierre Étienne René Marie Dumanoir Le Pelley (2 August 1770 in Granville – 7 July 1829 in Paris) was a French Navy officer, best known for commanding the vanguard of the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. His conduct d ...

at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...

, under Captain Louis-Antoine Infernet. Dumanoir commanded the six ship vanguard of the French fleet, with , ''Duguay-Trouin'', , ''Intrépide'' and .

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

's attacks left these ships downwind of the main confrontation and Dumanoir did not immediately obey Villeneuve's orders to return to the battle. When the ships did turn back, most of them only exchanged a few shots before retiring. Infernet and his crew, wanting to join the fight, eventually disobeyed Dumanoir's orders and joined the battle, followed by the Spanish (Captain Valdes). ''Intrépide'' fought against , , , , and , only to strike her colours at about 17:00, badly damaged with half of her crew dead. ''Intrépide'' was later

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

on Admiral Collingwood's orders to avoid recapture by the counter-attack of the six ship French squadron led by Captain

Julien Cosmao Julien Marie Cosmao-Kerjulien (Châteaulin, Finistère, 27 November 1761 – Brest, 17 February 1825) was a French Navy officer, admiral, best remembered for his role in the Battle of Trafalgar. Career Early career Completing his stu ...

of , two days later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Intrépide (1800) Ships of the line of the French Navy Ships built in Spain Shipwrecks of Spain 1799 ships Captured ships Napoleonic-era ships Maritime incidents in 1805

See also

References