|
HMS CAESAR 1793
HMS Caesar
was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal
Navy. She was laid down at Plymouth in 1786 and launched
in 1793 when the war with France began. The Caesar and the Foudroyant were the first British 80-gun ships
to be built for nearly a hundred years, and no more were
to be ordered for two decades.
Designed by Surveyor Hunt, HMS Caesar was measured at 2,002
tons, 181 feet in length, with a 50-foot beam.
Mounting 80 guns of varying caliber, including a main
armament of 30-32pdrs. Her initial complement consisted
of 719 officers and men. Her completion - as the
first such English warship for nearly a century - even
inspired a contemporary play "The Launch of the Caesar,
or a Trip to Plymouth Dock" to celebrate the event.
Caesar was the flagship of Vice-Admiral
Charles Edmund Nugent
(promoted to Admiral in 1833), operating in the Channel
from 1795 until 1797.
Her
first major encounter with the enemy came in 1801, when
she was flagship to Sir James Saumarez's squadron
blockading Cadiz. On 12th July, Saumarez attacked and
roundly defeated a large combined Franco-Spanish
squadron in the battle which soon became known as the
action in the 'Gut of Gibraltar'.
In the
famous blockade of Brest from 1803-05, Caesar found
herself leading the squadron which, on 3rd November
1805, defeated and captured a French squadron (under
Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley) of the four
surviving French ships from Trafalgar. The battle was
known as Battle of Cape Ortegal. Caesar's commanding
officer Sir Richard Strachan was made a Knight of the
Bath.
In 1809,
by which time commanded by Captain Charles Richardson,
she took part in the action against the French fleet in
the Basque Roads, defeated the French who suffered heavy
losses at the Battle of Basque Roads.
Withdrawn
from sea service late in 1813, she was converted into an
Army Clothing Depot Ship at Plymouth where she remained
until broken up in February 1821.
This primarily wood model
is 36" long x 27" tall x 10" wide. $6,950
Shipping and insurance
in the contiguous US included. Other places: $700
flat rate.
Be sure to check out our
HMS Victory model here: HMS
Victory
Learn more about the HMS
Caesar here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Caesar_(1793)
|
