''César'' () 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 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 tactics in the Age of Sail, naval tactic known as the line of battl ...

of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

. Ordered in early 1767 from the Toulon shipyard, she was launched on 3 August 1768. ''César'' saw service in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, during which she was destroyed in the

Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The Brit ...

Career

D'Estaing's squadron (1778–1779)

At the time of the French entry to the

, ''César'' was under the command of Captain Louis de Raimondis,

flag captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a " captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "Firs ...

to Broves. On 13 April 1778, ''César'' sailed from

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

bound for North America, with the 12 ships of Estaing's fleet. The fleet arrived at the mouth of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, north of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, on 8 July and pursued several enemy ships. On 8 August, the fleet forced the straits at New York and entered the mouth of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

, where the British forces were anchored. The British burnt seven of their ships and their stores. On 11 August 1778, ''César'' was separated from the squadron by a violent storm at the time when they were about to engage in a battle with the forces of

Richard Howe Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (8 March 1726 – 5 August 1799) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving in the War of the Austrian Succession, he gained a reputation for his role in amphibious operations agai ...

. On 16 August 1778, ''César'' battled HMS ''Iris'' and then went to shelter at

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, where she was joined by the other French ships. Captain Raimondis had his right arm shot off in the battle, and was evacuated at Boston on 27 October 1778. First officer

Castellet Castellet-en-Luberon ( "Castellet-in-Luberon; Occitan: ''Lo Castelet''), known simply as Castellet until 2018,West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, ''César'' took part in the Battle of St. Lucia. On 6 July 1779 ''César'' was part of the rear squadron in the hard-fought

Battle of Grenada The Battle of Grenada took place on 6 July 1779 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy, just off the coast of Grenada. A British fleet led by Admiral John Byron (the grandfath ...

against the forces of

John Byron Vice-Admiral John Byron (8 November 1723 – 1 April 1786) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer. He earned the nickname "Foul-Weather Jack" in the press because of his frequent encounters with bad weather at sea. As a midshipman, he sa ...

. After d'Estaing's failure to support the

Siege of Savannah The siege of Savannah or the second battle of Savannah was an encounter of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) in 1779. The year before, the city of Savannah, Georgia, had been captured by a British expeditionary corps under Lieutena ...

in October 1779, ''César'' returned to France with the other ships that had arrived off North America in 1778 in order to be refitted and to recruit new crew.

De Grasse's fleet (1781–1782)

In 1781, ''César'' left for the West Indies under the command of Charles Régis de Coriolis d'Espinouse in the fleet of the

Comte de Grasse ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word "count" (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word "county" (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * ''Comte'', French for a count (i.e. the nob ...

. On 28 April she was present at the

Battle of Fort Royal The Battle of Fort Royal was a naval battle fought off Fort Royal, Martinique in the West Indies during the Anglo-French War on 29 April 1781, between fleets of the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. After an engagement lasting four hours, ...

, attempting to raise the blockade of

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. On 24 May ''César'' was part of the squadron which covered the French

Invasion of Tobago The Invasion of Tobago was a French invasion of the British-held island of Tobago during the Anglo-French War. On 24 May 1781, the fleet of Comte de Grasse landed troops on the island under the command of General Marquis de Bouillé. By 2 Jun ...

. On 5 September 1781 ''César'' was present at the decisive

Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1 ...

, which completed the encirclement of the British forces at Yorktown. In 1782, still with De Grasse's fleet, ''César'' sailed to the West Indies and in January took part in the

Battle of Saint Kitts The Battle of Saint Kitts, also known as the Battle of Frigate Bay, was a naval battle fought on 25 and 26 January 1782 during the American Revolutionary War between a British fleet under Rear Admiral Sir Samuel Hood and a larger French fleet ...

. ''César'' was then at the

on 12 April 1782, during which she was totally dismasted and then captured by . A

prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. History Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew h ...

of 58 men and one lieutenant were placed on the ship and the crew were locked below deck. Here around 9 pm they accidentally started a fire whilst breaking into the officers liquor cabinet. The fire spread and at 10.30 pm reached the

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

, causing it to explode. ''César'' was destroyed, killing 400 French sailors and 50 British members of the prize crew. To make things worse, during the 90 minutes before the explosion they were jumping in the water, not realising that the ship was surrounded by sharks. The ship's captain,

Bernard de Marigny Jean-Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville (1785–1868), known as Bernard de Marigny, was a French- Creole American nobleman, playboy, planter, politician, duelist, writer, horse breeder, land developer, and President of the Louisian ...

, who was injured and confined to his cabin, was killed in the explosion.Famous Fighters of the Fleet, Edward Fraser, 1904, p. 156 ''César'' was one of the twenty ships lost by the French Navy during the American Revolutionary War.

Citations

References

* * * (1671-1870) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cesar (1768) Ships of the line of the French Navy César-class ships of the line 1768 ships Ships built in France Maritime incidents in 1782