French ship Sévère (1778)

Sévère was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

History
France
Name: Sévère
Builder: Lorient [1]
Laid down: December 1773 [1]
Launched: 17 January 1775 [1]
In service: November 1778 [1]
Out of service: 26 January 1784 [1]
General characteristics
Class and type: Sévère class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1300 tons [1]
Length: 51.2 metres [1]
Beam: 13.2 metres [1]
Draught: 6.7 metres [1]
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament: 64 guns

Career

Built as an Indiaman by Roth on the lines of a previous ship, Superbe, that had been sold to the Austrian East India Company, Sévère was purchased by the Crown in November 1778 and commissioned for the American Revolutionary War.[1]

She was incorporated into Suffren's squadron. She took part in the Battle of Negapatam in 1782, under Captain Villeneuve-Cillart; during the battle, Cillart panicked and attempted to strike, but was prevented from doing so by officers Dieu and Kerlero de Rosbo. Sévère ended up causing damage to HMS Sultan.[1][Note 1]

In July 1782, in the wake of the Battle of Negapatam, Suffren relieved Cillart from duty and sent him to France to be Court-martialled,[4] replacing him with Lieutenant Maurville de Langle.[5] Maureville de Langle then captained Sévère during the Battle of Trincomalee between 25 August and 3 September 1782,[6] and during the Battle of Cuddalore on 20 June 1783.[7]

Fate

Sévère was later armed en flûte, and was wrecked on 26 January 1784 at the Cape of Good Hope.[1] Consequently, Maurville de Langle was retired from the Navy on 25 July. [8]

Notes, citations, and references

Notes
  1. When known in France, the anecdote yielded the pun that "Villeneuve-Cilart wanted to surrender, but "God" (Dieu, the name of the insubordinate officer) would not allow it".[2] Dieu would be killed on Sévère at the Battle of Cuddalore on 20 June 1783.[3]

Citations
  1. Roche (2005), p. 414.
  2. Hennequin (1835), p. 306.
  3. Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 546.
  4. Cunat (1852), p. 179.
  5. Cunat (1852), p. 180.
  6. Cunat (1852), p. 217.
  7. Cunat (1852), p. 301-302.
  8. Lacour-Gayet (1910), p. 657.

References
  • Cunat, Charles (1852). Histoire du Bailli de Suffren. Rennes: A. Marteville et Lefas.
  • Hennequin, Joseph François Gabriel (1835). Biographie maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marins célèbres français et étrangers (in French). 2. Paris: Regnault éditeur.
  • Lacour-Gayet, G. (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XV. Paris: Honoré Champion.
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours 1 1671 - 1870. p. 28. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
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