The Saint-Esprit in action. (Detail of an English painting of 1784)
History
France
Name	Saint-Esprit [1]
Namesake	Order of the Holy Spirit
Ordered	11 January 1762 [1]
Builder	Arsenal of Brest [1]
Laid down	May 1762 [1]
Launched	12 October 1765 [1]
Christened	20 January 1762 [1]
Commissioned	1766 [1]
Decommissioned	26 January 1795 [1]
Renamed	Scipion in April 1794 [1]
Fate	Wrecked off Brest on 26 January 1795 [1]
General characteristics
Class and type	Saint-Esprit class ship of the line
Displacement	1754 tonnes [1]
Length	59.8 m (196 ft) [1]
Beam	14.9 m (49 ft) [1]
Draught	7.5 m (25 ft) [1]
Complement	970
Armament	80 guns: [1] 30 × 36-pounder long guns 32 × 24-pounder long guns 18 × 18-pounder long guns

The Saint-Esprit (" Holy Ghost") was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. ^[1] She was funded by a don des vaisseaux donation from the Order of the Holy Spirit, and named in its honour.

Career

She took part in the Battle of Ushant under La Motte-Picquet, and to the Armada of 1779. ^[1]

In 1781, on 29 April, she took part in the Battle of Fort Royal under Chabert-Cogolin. ^{[2] [3]}

She was renamed Scipion in April 1794, and took part in the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2 under Huguet, where she was totally dismasted. ^[1] She was wrecked on 30 January 1795, during the Croisière du Grand Hiver. ^[1] Most of her crew were rescued by Trente-et-un Mai. ^{[1] [4]}

As a young man, Swedish naval officer Johan Herman Schützercrantz served onboard the Saint–Esprit; he would later become a rear admiral in Swedish service. ^[5]

Citations

References

• Levot, Prosper (1866). Les gloires maritimes de la France: notices biographiques sur les plus célèbres marins (in French). Bertrand.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN  978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC  165892922.
• Kerguelen, Yves-Joseph (1796). Relation des combats et des évènements de la guerre maritime de 1778 entre la France et l'Angleterre (in French). Imprimerie de Patris.
• Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 2. Challamel ainé. OCLC  836362484.