Trident (64)
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Origin and History
The ship was built by F. Coulomb in Toulon (France) in 1740. She was launched in 1742 as the Trident.
The ship was captured from the French in 1747.
During the Seven Years' War, the ship was under the command of:
- in 1756: captain Philip Durell
- in 1759: captain Julian Legge
The ship was stricken off of the fleet in 1763.
Service during the War
In 1756, the ship was part of Byng's squadron sent to relieve Fort St. Philip besieged by a French amphibious force who had invaded the island of Minorca. The squadron set sail from England on April 10. On May 2, it arrived at Gibraltar. On May 8, Byng's squadron left Gibraltar. On May 19, it came into sight of Fort St. Philip. The French fleet then advanced to meet Byng. On May 20, the ship took part to the battle of Minorca where several British ships were seriously damaged but none was lost on either side. After a council of war, Byng gave orders to return to Gibraltar, abandoning Minorca to its fate.
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. From June 1 to 6, the fleet gradually left the harbour of Louisbourg and sailed for Québec. On June 23, Saunders' 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.
To do: details for the campaigns from 1760 to 1762
Characteristics
| Guns | 64
| ||||||
| Crew | n/a | ||||||
| Length | 145 feet (44.20 m) | ||||||
| Width | 40 feet (12.19 m) | ||||||
| Depth | 19.3 feet (5.88 m) | ||||||
| Displacement | 1200 tons (1,089 metric tons) |
References
Anonymous, A Complete History of the Present War, from its Commencement in 1756, to the End of the Campaign, 1760, London, 1761
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. 146-160
Deschênes, Ronald, Répertoire des vaisseaux de ligne français 1682-1780
- "Battle of Minorca"
N.B.: the section Service during the War is mostly derived from our articles depicting the various campaigns, battles and sieges.
