Alcide (64)
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Origin and History
The ship was built by Blaise Ollivier in 1741 in Brest. She was launched on December 6, 1743.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in the French service:
- in 1755: M. Hocquart de Blincourt
- in the British service
- in 1759: Captain James Douglas
The ship was captured by the Royal Navy in 1755 and renamed "H.M.S. Alcide".
The ship was stricken off of the Royal Navy in 1772.
Service during the War
In 1755, the ship took part in the expedition to reinforce Canada. On June 8, she was captured along with the Lys (64) by the British fleet of vice-admiral Boscawen on Newfoundland Banks.
In February 1759, the ship sailed from Spithead in Great Britain as part of the fleet destined for the expedition against Québec. The voyage was long and tedious. On April 21, when the fleet finally reached Louisbourg, it was to find the harbour blocked with ice, so that the fleet made for Halifax instead. The fleet finally sailed for Louisbourg in May. Between June 1 and 6, the fleet gradually left the harbour of Louisbourg and sailed for Québec. On June 23, Saunders's fleet made a junction with Durell's squadron at Isles-aux-Coudres. On June 26, the whole British fleet of Vice-Admiral Saunders was anchored safely off the southern shore of Isle-d'Orléans, a few km below Québec without loosing a single ship. The town finally surrendered on September 18. At the end of October, Vice-Admiral Saunders fired his farewell salute and dropped down the Saint-Laurent River with his fleet on his way to Great Britain. However, he also left Captain Lord Colville in command of a small squadron, including this ship, in North America.
Characteristics
| Guns | 64
| ||||||
| Crew | 500 | ||||||
| Length | 149 ft (48.40 m) | ||||||
| Width | 40 ft 6 in (13.15 m) | ||||||
| Depth | 19 ft (6.17 m) | ||||||
| Displacement | 1100 tons |
References
Deschênes, Ronald, Répertoire des vaisseaux de ligne français 1682-1780
Harrison, Simon and Manuel Blasco: Three Decks - Warships in the Age of Sail
Vial J. L., Nec Pluribus Impar
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
