French brig Argus (1802)

Argus
Career (France)
Name: Argus
Builder: Jean Fouache and Enterprise Thibaudier, Le Havre[1]
Laid down: July 1799
Launched: 20 July 1800
Commissioned: May 1802
Struck: 31 March 1807
Fate: Broken up April 1807
General characteristics
Displacement:160 tons (French)
Length:29.2 m (96 ft)
Beam:8.4 m (28 ft)
Draught:3.5 m (11 ft)
Complement:84
Armament:14 × 8-pounder (bronze) guns[1]
Armour:Timber

Argus was a 16-gun brig of the French Navy, launched in 1800 and broken up at Cayenne in 1807.

Career

Argus was a Vigilant-class brig, designated No. 3 in 1799, of a six-vessel class. She was launched 1800, but not commissioned until 1802.[1]

She took part in the Battle of Trafalgar. On 23 October 1805 French Captain Julien Cosmao made a sortie from Cadiz with some of the more seaworthy ships that had escaped the battle, in an attempt to retake some of the captured prizes. Argus was among the sortieing vessels. A storm came up that wrecked many vessels and forced the remains of the French fleet back to Cadiz. There the Spanish seized a number of them after they entered the war against France in 1808. However, Argus was not among them.

She fought off Cayenne on 27 January 1807 at the side of Favorite. The British report from the engagement states that she was armed with fourteen brass 8-pounder guns, which were the equivalent of English 9-pounders, and had a crew of 120 men.[2]

Argus was condemned and ordered broken up at Cayenne on 31 March 1807. She was decomissioned on 21 April and then broken up.[1]

Citations and references

Citations
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Winfield and Roberts (2015 forthcoming), Chap. 7.
  2. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 16020. p. 479. 14 April 1807.
References