French ship Neptune (1803)

''Neptune'' was a 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Built during the last years of the French Revolutionary Wars she was launched at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. Her brief career with the French included several major battles, though she spent the last 12 years of her life under the Spanish flag.

''Neptune'' was built at Toulon and launched in 1803. She was commissioned in time to join an abortive attempt to break the British blockade of the port in October 1804, but the fleet was forced back to port by bad weather. She sailed again with the fleet, under Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, in early 1805, and this time succeeded in breaking out of the Mediterranean, and sailing to the West Indies, where the fleet was joined by Spanish ships. After achieving little in the Caribbean, the fleet sailed back to Europe, where they were engaged by a British fleet in the Battle of Cape Finisterre. ''Neptune'' saw little action, and was relatively unscathed. She took part in the final fleet manoeuvres, and ended up blockaded in Cadiz by a British fleet under Lord Nelson.

Villeneuve came out of Cadiz in late 1805, and was engaged by Nelson in the decisive Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October. During the battle ''Neptune'' fired on Nelson's flagship, , and duelled with several British ships including , and . As the British began to overwhelm the combined fleet, the relatively undamaged ''Neptune'' joined several ships in a retreat to Cadiz. She sortied again two days later in an attempt to recover some of the prizes, but the fleet lost more ships than they regained, and ''Neptune'' had to be towed back to harbour. There she remained, under a close British blockade, until the Spanish declared war on the French. Trapped in the port, the French handed their ships over to the Spanish, who renamed ''Neptune'' ''Neptuno'', replacing a Spanish ship lost at Trafalgar. ''Neptuno'' served with the Spanish for a further 12 years, being broken up in 1820.

Construction and commissioning

''Neptune'' was built at Toulon to a design by Jacques-Noël Sané, with her keel laid down in 1801. One of Sané's 80-gun , her lines were virtually identical to those of her contemporaries , and , all of which fought at Trafalgar. She was also similar to another Trafalgar combatant, the 80-gun , which had previously been a French warship. She was still under construction on the resumption of the war in 1803 after the Peace of Amiens, but was launched later that year. She was fitted out with masts, yards and rigging, and in late 1804 she was commissioned under Commodore Esprit-Tranquille Maistral.

Trafalgar campaign

''Neptune'' joined the rest of the Toulon fleet preparing to sail for the West Indies on 21 October 1804 under the command of Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve. The fleet was to transport 6,500 troops to attack British possessions in the Caribbean, but was unable to leave Toulon owing to the presence of a British fleet under Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, that was blockading the port. It was not until early January that Villeneuve judged the situation favourable enough to make a sortie. ''Neptune'' sailed with the 20-strong fleet on 17 January, but were sighted by the patrolling frigates of Nelson's inshore squadron. Villeneuve struggled on, but bad weather in the Gulf of Lyons dispersed his fleet, and fearing an attack on his disorganised forces, returned to Toulon three days after setting out. Villeneuve had in fact managed to give Nelson the slip. The two patrolling frigates, and , had rushed to report the news to Nelson, anchored at La Maddalena, and in so doing, left the French unobserved. Nelson had rushed his fleet to sea, anticipating that Villeneuve would heading east. Nelson spent nearly six weeks sailing back and forth across the Mediterranean through heavy seas while the French remained in port, before news finally reached him of Villeneuve's location.

It was not until March that the French made another attempt to break out of Toulon, putting to sea on 29 March. ''Neptune'' formed part of Villeneuve's division, consisting of the flagship, the 80-gun ''Bucentaure'', and the 74-gun ships , , and . The other division was commanded by Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley, flying his flag aboard the 80-gun ''Formidable'', and accompanied by the 80-gun ''Indomptable'', and the 74-gun ships , and . Accompanying the fleet were six frigates and two brigs. The French fleet reached Cartagena on 6 April, having evaded Nelson through sheer chance, and pressed on from there, sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar on 8 April. After resupplying briefly at Cadiz, the fleet sailed to the West Indies, arriving at Fort de France, Martinique on 14 May, where they were joined over the next two days by six Spanish ships of the line and a frigate under Frederico Gravina.

The fleets resupplied and settled in to await the arrival of a large French fleet from Brest under Vice-Admiral Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume. Unbeknownst to Villeneuve, Ganteaume was still being blockaded in Brest. The combined fleet achieved little while in the West Indies, managing only to capture the British-held Diamond Rock

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