Mont-Blanc was a 74-gun

Seventy-four (ship)

The "seventy-four" was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line nominally carrying 74 guns. Originally developed by the French Navy in the mid-18th century, the design proved to be a good balance between firepower and sailing qualities, and was adopted by the British Royal Navy , as well as...

 third-rate

Third-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...

 ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 of the French Navy.

She was built at Rochefort as Pyrrhus in 1791. She was renamed Mont-Blanc in 1793 before being renamed Trente-et-un Mai in 1794. Under that name she fought at the Battle of the First of June

Glorious First of June

The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...

 in June 1794 under Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume

Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume

Count Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume was a French admiral.Ganteaume was born to a family of merchant sailors, and sailed on a dozen commercial cruises in his youth...

. She took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver

Croisière du Grand Hiver

The Croisière du Grand Hiver was a French attempt to organise a winter naval campaign in the wake of the Glorious First of June.-Context:...

, where she rescued the crew of the sinking Scipion

French ship Saint-Esprit (1766)

The Saint-Esprit was a 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was offered by the Order of the Holy Spirit, and named in its honour....

.

In 1795 she was renamed Républicain and then Mont-Blanc again in 1796.

In 1802 she took part in the expedition to Saint-Domingue

Saint-Domingue

The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...

 under Magon

Charles René Magon de Médine

Charles René Magon de Médine was a French contre-amiral killed at the battle of Trafalgar whilst commanding the ship-of-the-line Algésiras - his conduct in the battle is seen by French historians as one of the few redeeming features of that disaster, and his name appears on the Arc de Triomphe...

.

She was one of the ships of Vice Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley

Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley

Vice-Admiral Count Pierre-Etienne-René-Marie Dumanoir Le Pelley was a French Navy officer, best known for commanding the vanguard of the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...

 at the Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....

 on 21 October 1805. Dumanoir commanded the six ship vanguard of the French fleet, with Formidable

French ship Formidable (1795)

Formidable was an 80-gun Tonnant class ship of the line of the French navy, laid down as Figuires and renamed in 1795. She was launched at Toulon in 1795. She participated in the Battle of Algeciras, the Battle of Cape Finisterre and several other actions before the British captured her at the...

, Scipion, Duguay-Trouin

HMS Implacable (1805)

HMS Implacable was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy. She was originally the French Navy's Téméraire-class ship of the line Duguay-Trouin, launched in 1800....

, Mont-Blanc, Intrépide

French ship Intrépide

Intrépide was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the French navy. She was originally built at Ferrol, Spain in 1799 as the Spanish ship of the line Intrepido, and later was sold to France in 1800....

 and Neptune

French ship Neptune

Neptune was a Bucentaure-class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. Built during the last years of the French Revolutionary Wars she was launched at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars...

. Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...

's attacks left these ships downwind of the main confrontation and Dumanoir did not immediately obey Villeneuve

Pierre-Charles Villeneuve

Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar....

's orders to return to the battle. When the ships did turn back, most of them only exchanged a few shots before retiring.

On 4 November 1805, British Admiral Sir Richard Strachan

Sir Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet

Sir Richard John Strachan, 6th Baronet GCB was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral.-Childhood:...

, with Caesar

HMS Caesar (1793)

HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:...

, Hero

HMS Hero (1803)

HMS Hero was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 August 1803 at Blackwall Yard.She took part in Admiral Robert Calder's action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805....

, Courageux

HMS Courageux (1800)

HMS Courageux was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 March 1800 at Deptford. She was designed by Sir John Henslow as one of the large class 74s, and was the only ship built to her draught...

, Namur

HMS Namur (1756)

HMS Namur was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 3 March 1756....

 and four frigates, defeated and captured what remained of the squadron at the Battle of Cape Ortegal

Battle of Cape Ortegal

The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the Trafalgar Campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar...

.

Mont-Blanc was taken and commissioned in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 as HMS Mont Blanc. She was used as a gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

 hulk

Hulk (ship)

A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...

from 1811, and was sold in 1819.