French ship Agamemnon (1812)

Agamemnon was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She served during the later days of the First French Empire, notably taking part in the Action of 5 November 1813. During the Bourbon Restoration, she was razéed into a 58-gun frigate and renamed Amphitrite.

Scale model of Achille, sister ship of French ship Agamemnon (1812), on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris.
History
France
Name:	Agamemnon
Namesake:	Agamemnon
Builder:	Genoa, Italy
Laid down:	1809
Launched:	23 February 1812
Stricken:	1836
General characteristics
Class and type:	Téméraire class ship of the line
Displacement:	2966 tonnes 5260 tonnes fully loaded
Length:	55.87 metres (183.3 ft) (172 pied)
Beam:	14.90 metres (48 ft 11 in)
Draught:	7.26 metres (23.8 ft) (22 pied)
Propulsion:	Up to 2,485 m^2 (26,750 sq ft) of sails
Armament:	74 guns: Lower gundeck: 28 × 36-pounder long guns Upper gundeck: 30 × 18-pounder long guns Forecastle and Quarter deck: 16 × 8-pounder long guns 4 × 36-pounder carronades
Armour:	Timber

Career

Built in French-occupied Genoa, Agamemnon was commissioned in 1812 and appointed to Toulon squadron. She took part in the Action of 5 November 1813 under Jean-Marie Letellier, and suffered the brunt of the French losses during the engagement, with nine wounded and damage to her masts.[1]

In June 1822, she transferred to Brest and the next year, she was razéed into a 58-gun frigate. She was recommissioned on 17 April 1824 as Amphitrite. In 1827, she cruised the Mediterranean under Commander Troude, taking part in the blockage of Algiers in October. She notably chased 11 ships from Algiers on 4 October, along with Galathée.[2]

Agamemnon was decommissioned in July 1829, but reactivated for the Invasion of Algiers.[2] She was again decommissioned in November 1830,[2] and hulked in Toulon in 1836.

Citations and references

Citations

1. James. The Naval History of Great Britain. p. 155.
2. Roche. Dictionnaire des bâtiments. p. 24.

References

• James, William (1847). The Naval History of Great Britain: From the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV. 6. London: R. Bentley.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)