HMS ''Caesar'', also ''Cæsar'', was an 80-gun

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 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

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 F ...

, launched on 16 November 1793 at

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.Lavery, Ships of the Line, vol. 1, p. 183. She was also one of only two British-built 80-gun ships of the period, the other being HMS ''Foudroyant''.

Service

In 1798, some of her crew were court-martialed for

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

Battle of Algeciras Bay

She was involved in the Battle of Algeciras Bay in 1801, during which her Master, William Grave, was killedMcCarthy, ''The Road to McCarthy. p.10''

Battle of Cape Ortegal

The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the Trafalgar Campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the

and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier 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 (180 ...

. It took place on 4 November 1805 off

Cape Ortegal Ortegal is a ''comarca'' in the north of the Galician Province of A Coruña, Spain. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Cantabrian Sea to the north, the Province of Lugo to the east, the comarca of O Eume O Eume is a comarca in the province o ...

, in north-west

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 ...

and saw a squadron under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Sir Richard Strachan in ''Caesar'' defeat and capture a French squadron under 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 ...

Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne

In 1809, she took part in the Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne.

Fate

She was converted to serve as a depot ship in 1814, and was broken up in 1821.

Notes

References

*Lavery, Brian (2003) ''The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850.'' Conway Maritime Press. . *McCarthy, Pete (2003) ''The Road to McCarthy'' Sceptre. .

External links

* Ships of the line of the Royal Navy 1793 ships {{UK-line-ship-stub