Greenwich (50)
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Hierarchical Path: Seven Years War (Main Page) >> Navies >> French Navy >> Greenwich (50)
Origin and History
The ship was built by Moody Janverin at Lepe and launched on March 19, 1747.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in the British service:
- from May 13, 1755 to March 18, 1757: Captain Robert Roddam (soon exchanged after the capture of his ship and cleared by a court martial on July 14, 1757)
- in the French service
- 1757: Captain Foucault
The ship was captured by a French squadron on March 18, 1757. She was wrecked in a severe storm while sailing towards France at the end of the year.
Service during the War
On August 5, 1756, the ship sailed for Jamaica.
On March 16 1757, the ship was sighted by the French squadron of Beauffremont (8 sail) while cruising off Cape Cabron, Saint Domingue (present-day Haïti). The ship made sail from them. The French gave chase and, on March 18, the three leading ships (Diadème (74), Éveillé (64) and a frigate) came up with her and opened fire. The Greenwich was quite hemmed in, and at length, seeing that her position was hopeless, shestruck. The ship was immediately incorporated into the French Navy. On June 5, Beauffremont's squadron entered the harbour of Louisbourg. In October, the ship was part of a French squadron under the command of Captain Kersaint. This squadron had been sent to Cap-François (present-day Cap-Haïtien) to escort a convoy of French ships to France. On October 21, Kersaint's squadron engaged a British squadron in the Combat of Cap-François. The British ships were so badly damaged that they had to return to Jamaica for repair. Kersaint quickly repaired his ships and, seizing this opportunity, set sail for France with the French convoy. At the very end of this voyage, the French fleet met with a severe storm and the Greenwich was driven ashore and wrecked.
Characteristics
| Guns | 50
| ||||||
| Crew | between 350 and 400 men | ||||||
| Length | 144 ft 6 in (44.04 m.) | ||||||
| Width | 41 f. 3 in (12.65 m.) | ||||||
| Depth | 17 ft 7 in (5,21 m) | ||||||
| Displacement | 1053 British tons (955 metric tons) |
References
Castex, Jean-Claude: Dictionnaire des batailles terrestres franco-anglaises de la Guerre de Sept Ans, Presse de l'université Laval, Québec: 2006, pp. 42-45
Clowes, Wm. Laird: The Royal Navy – A History from the Earliest Time to the Present, Vol. III, Sampson Low, Marston and Company, London: 1898, pp. 164-166, 294
Deschênes, Ronald: Répertoire des vaisseaux de ligne français 1682-1780
Harrison, Simon and Manuel Blasco, 3 Decks
Lévis, Chevalier de: Journal des campagnes du chevalier de Lévis en Canada de 1756 à 1760, Montréal, Beauchemin, 1889, pp. 110-112
Phillip, Michael: Ships of the Old Navy
