French ship Cassard (1795)

For other ships with the same name, see French ship Cassard and French ship Brave.

Cassard was a 4th rank, 74-gun Téméraire-class ship of the line built for the French Navy during the 1790s. Completed in 1795, she played a minor role in the Napoleonic Wars. She was renamed Dix-Août in 1798, in honour of the insurrection of 10 August 1792, and subsequently Brave in 1803.

Scale model of the Brave, probably made by French sailor prisoners in Great Britain, Art Gallery of Ontario
History
France
Name	Cassard
Namesake	Jacques Cassard 10th of August Bravery
Ordered	16 February 1793
Builder	Lorient
Laid down	August 1793
Launched	2 May 1795
Renamed	Cassard in 1795 Dix-août in 1798 Brave in 1803
Captured	1806
United Kingdom
Acquired	6 February 1806
Fate	Foundered attempting to reach Britain, April 1806.
General characteristics
Class & type	Téméraire-class ship of the line
Displacement	3,069 tonneaux
Tons burthen	1,537 port tonneaux
Length	55.87 m (183 ft 4 in)
Beam	14.46 m (47 ft 5 in)
Draught	7.15 m (23.5 ft)
Depth of hold	7.15 m (23 ft 5 in)
Sail plan	Full-rigged ship
Crew	705
Armament	74 guns: Lower gun deck: 28 × 36 pdr guns Upper gun deck: 30 × 18 pdr guns Forecastle and Quarterdeck: 16 × 8 pdr guns

Description

The Téméraire-class ships had a length of 55.87 metres (183 ft 4 in), a beam of 14.46 metres (47 ft 5 in) and a depth of hold of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). The ships displaced 3,069 tonneaux and had a mean draught of 7.15 metres (23 ft 5 in). They had a tonnage of 1,537 port tonneaux. Their crew numbered 705 officers and ratings during wartime. They were fitted with three masts and ship rigged.^[1]

The muzzle-loading, smoothbore armament of the Téméraire class consisted of twenty-eight 36-pounder long guns on the lower gun deck and thirty 18-pounder long guns on the upper gun deck. On the quarterdeck and forecastle were a total of sixteen 8-pounder long guns. Beginning with the ships completed after 1787, the armament of the Téméraires began to change with the addition of four 36-pounder obusiers on the poop deck (dunette). Some ships had instead twenty 8-pounders.^[2]

Construction and career

Capture of HMS Swiftsure by Indivisible and Dix-Août, 26 September 1805

Cassard was ordered on 16 February 1793 and laid down at the Arsenal de Lorient in August. The ship was launched on 2 May 1795 and completed in July. She was renamed Dix-Août on 24 February 1798.^[3] Later that year, the ship participated in the French expedition to Ireland. On 10 February 1801 Dix-août captured the 16-gun cutter HMS Sprightly, which she scuttled. On 27 March 1801, as Dix-août sailed with the Mediterranean Fleet, she collided with Formidable and had to return to harbour. On 4 February 1803, her name was changed to Brave.^[4]

On 26 September 1805, Indivisible and Dix-Août succeeded in shooting away Swiftsure's yards and masts, crippling her and so capturing her.^[5] Swiftsure had two men killed, two men mortally wounded, and another six wounded; the French lost 33 killed and wounded.^[5] She was captured by HMS Donegal on 6 February 1806 at the Battle of San Domingo. She foundered shortly thereafter on 12 April 1806 without loss of life while en route to Britain.^[4]