French ship Vengeur du Peuple

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[edit] The Ship

The Vengeur du Peuple (eng. "Avenger of the People") was a warship of the French Revolutionary Navy. Launched in 1762 she was a 2 deck ship of the line carrying 74 guns. Originally named the Marseillais ( eng. "citizen of Marseilles", not to be confused with the revolutionary song of that name, which did not become popular until after the ship was lost) she saw action during the American War of Independence. In 1778 she fought a single-ship action with HMS Preston, and in 1779 was with admiral d'Estaing at the capture of Grenada. In 1781 she was at the battle of the Chesapeake with admiral de Grasse. Re-named in 1794 by the French Republic, the Vengeur was part of the French fleet under admiral Villaret de Joyeuse which fought the Third Battle of Ushant. In that action she engaged in an epic four-hour duel with HMS Brunswick. With 2 masts down and one-third of her crew out of action, and with severe damage below the waterline, the Vengeur sank, an unusual occurrence in a time of wooden warships.

[edit] The Legend

The incident gave rise to the legend, first reported to the National Convention, that the ship sank with her crew who chose to go down with the ship rather than surrender, shouting " long live the fatherland, long live the republic".The nation was inflamed, and the poet Andre Chenier composed a eulogy to commemorate the event.In fact close to 400 officers and men were rescued by the enemy, and were released some months later. (The rescue is depicted in Loutherbourg's canvas of the battle) The legend has persisted, however, and Jules Verne reported the incident with its revolutionary slant, and the ships early history, in his book " Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea".