French ship Jean Bart (1791)

Jean Bart was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

Ship history
The ship was laid down at Lorient on 1 June 1788 from a design by Jacques-Noël Sané, and launched on 7 November 1790. Construction was delayed by lack of materials, and she was not completed until March 1791.

In 1793, she was part of the squadron led by Van Stabel. Along with the FRENCH SHIP Tigre, she rescued the FRENCH FRIGATE Sémillante which was in danger of being captured by the British.

She took part in the Atlantic campaign of May 1794, and in the capture of HMS Alexander (1778) on 6 November. She was also part of the Croisière du Grand Hiver winter campaign in 1794/95, serving in Van Stabel's division, and was present at the Battle of Genoa in March 1795, and in Cornwallis's Retreat and the subsequent Battle of Groix in June 1795.

In 1800, she sailed to the Mediterranean and made her homeport at Toulon. In February 1809 she formed part of a French fleet which departed from Brest intending to aid the French colony of Martinique which was under threat from invasion. The fleet sailed for Basque Roads to rendezvous with the Rochefort squadron but upon entering the roadstead they were immediately blockaded by the British. On 26 February 1809 the Jean Bart grounded on a shoal near Île Madame while attempting to enter the anchorage south of Ile d'Aix and was subsequently declared a wreck. In April, the British seized the wreck and burnt the remains.

Replica
A full scale model is under construction in Gravelines, France.