''Saint Louis'' was a French
East Indiaman
East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
, launched on 27 July 1752. She served in the Indian Ocean where she participated in three battles and at least one
single-ship action
A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions.
Single-shi ...
. In 1768, she became a
careening hulk in Lorient.
Career
In February 1753, ''Saint-Louis'' departed Lorient, bound for the Indian Ocean. She called in at
Gorée and
ÃŽle de France (now Mauritius) before arriving in
Pondicherry. She returned via ÃŽle de France, Bourbon (now
Réunion
Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
), and
Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...
, returning to
Lorient in January 1755.
With 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†...
underway, she was prepared for a new voyage in March 1756, but remained in Lorient harbour, ready to depart, until June. She eventually sailed in December with a 253-man complement and full armament (26 heavy guns out of a total of 54 guns), under Captain Louis de Joannis, to reinforce
Aché
The Aché ( ) are an indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous people of Paraguay. They are hunter-gatherers living in eastern Paraguay.
From the earliest Jesuit accounts of the Aché in the 17th century until their peaceful outside contac ...
's Indian Ocean squadron.
On 29 April 1758, she took part in the
Battle of Cuddalore, engaging and .
[Roche, p.397] At the
battle of Negapatam, her first officer, Langery, had his head shot away by a cannonball.
Next, she took part in the
battle of Pondicherry
The Battle of Pondicherry was a naval battle between a British squadron under Vice-Admiral George Pocock and French squadron under Comte d'Aché on 10 September 1759 off the Carnatic coast of India near Pondicherry during the Seven Years' Wa ...
on 10 September, engaging , and .
On 29 September 1758, she had an inconclusive engagement with the British East Indiaman
''Pitt'',
[Winfield (2007), p.xii.] before returning to France in December 1760.
She cruised again from January 1761 to March 1763. In January 1764 she departed Lorient, armed with 12 guns, bound for ÃŽle de France. She returned to Lorient in July 1764.
In September 1766, she departed Lorient with a 211-man complement and 14 guns, sailed to the Indian Ocean, and returned to Lorient in May 1768,
but ran aground in the harbour on 31 May.
This led to her decommissioning and use as a careening hulk. 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 ...
was dissolved in 1769, and in April 1770 the French Royal Navy purchased ''Saint Louis''.
Fate
''Saint Louis'' was eventually broken up in 1783.
Notes, citations & references
Notes
Citations
References
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* (1671–1870)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Louis (1752 ship)
1752 ships
Age of Sail merchant ships
Merchant ships of France