The ''Vétéran'' 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 ...

. She was a development of the , joining in a two-ship sub-class. The pair, both built by Pierre Ozanne at Brest to the plans of

Jacques-Noël Sané Jacques-Noël Sané (18 February 1740 – 22 August 1831) was a French shipwright. He was the creator of standardised designs for ship of the line, ships of the line and frigates fielded by the French Navy in the 1780s, which served during the Fr ...

, were enlarged to carry an upper deck battery of

24-pounder long gun The 24-pounder long gun was a heavy calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. 24-pounders were in service in the navies of France, Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. They were comparable ...

s instead of the 18-pounders used on the standard ships of the ''Téméraire'' class. Ordered as ''Magnanime'', she was renamed ''Quatorze Juillet'' on 7 May 1798, and ''Vétéran'' on 6 December 1802. On 13 December 1805, she departed Brest under captain

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...

, as part of Willaumez division, to participate in what became the

Atlantic campaign of 1806 The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

. The

1806 Great Coastal hurricane The 1806 Great Coastal hurricane was a severe and damaging storm along the East Coast of the United States which produced upwards of of rainfall in parts of Massachusetts. First observed east of the Lesser Antilles on 17 August, the hu ...

scattered the division and ''Vétéran'' found herself isolated. She cruised off Quebec, destroying

merchantmen A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which ar ...

and skirmishing with Royal Navy forces. She eventually returned to France and evaded the British blockade, entering

Concarneau Concarneau (, meaning "Bay of Cornouaille") is a Communes of France, commune in the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in Northwestern France. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie ...

thanks to the experience of a sailor who had been a fisherman in the region. However, she ended up trapped, unable to leave the harbour for years. At some point before 1812 she fled to

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

. In 1812, she took part in Allemand's escape from Lorient. She then sailed to Brest under Captain Jurien de Lagravière. She was decommissioned in 1833, and broken up in 1842.Roche, vol.1, p.461

Citations

Sources and references

Ships of the line
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Veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

1803 ships Ships built in France Concarneau {{France-line-ship-stub