HMS Theseus was a 74-gun 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 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...

.

One of the eight Culloden class

Culloden class ship of the line

The Culloden-class ships of the line were a class of eight 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade. The Cullodens were the last class of 74 Slade designed before his death in 1771....

 ships designed by Thomas Slade

Thomas Slade

Sir Thomas Slade was an English naval architect, most famous for designing HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.-Career Outline:...

, she was built at Perry, Blackwall Yard

Blackwall Yard

Blackwall Yard was a shipyard on the Thames at Blackwall, London, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and launched on 25 September 1786.

Service

Commanded by Rear Admiral Horatio 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...

, she participated in the unsuccessful expedition of 1797

Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797)

The Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife was an amphibious assault by the Royal Navy on the Spanish port city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Launched by Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson on 22 July 1797, the assault was heavily defeated, and on 25 July the remains of the landing party ...

 against Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital , second-most populous city of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the 21st largest city in Spain, with a population of 222,417 in 2009...

. In the engagement, Nelson was wounded by a musket ball while aboard the Theseus, precipitating the amputation of his right arm.

In 1798, Theseus took part in the decisive Battle of the Nile

Battle of the Nile

The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...

, under the command of Captain Ralph Willett Miller

Ralph Willett Miller

Ralph Willett Miller was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the American Revolutionary and the French Revolutionary Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Captain...

. The Royal Navy fleet was outnumbered, at least in firepower, by the French fleet, which boasted the 118-gun ship-of-the-line  L'Orient

French ship Orient (1791)

The Dauphin-Royal was an Océan class 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.During the French Revolution, she was renamed Sans-Culotte in September 1792, and eventually Orient in May 1795....

, three 80-gun warships and nine of the popular 74-gun ships. The Royal Navy fleet in comparison had just thirteen 74-gun ships and one 50-gun fourth-rate

Fourth-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a fourth rate was, during the first half of the 18th century, a ship of the line mounting from 46 up to 60 guns. While the number of guns stayed subsequently in the same range up until 1817, after 1756 the ships of 50 guns and below were considered too weak to stand in...

.

During the battle Theseus, along with , assisted and , who were being attacked by a number of French warships. The French frigate Artemise

French frigate Artémise (1794)

The Artémise was a Magicienne class frigate of the French Navy.She was under construction as Aurore in Toulon when the British seized the city...

 surrendered to the British, with the crew setting fire to their ship to prevent it falling into the hands of the British. Two other French ships Heureux

French ship Heureux (1783)

The Heureux was a Centaure class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She cruised in the Mediterranean in 1794 and 1795.Under Captain Jean-Pierre Etienne, she took part in the Expedition to Egypt, and in the Battle of the Nile. The first ship to spot the British fleet on 1 August, Heureux...

 and Mercure

French ship Mercure (1783)

The Mercure was a 74-gun Séduisant-class ship of the line of the French Navy.She took part in the Battle of the Nile under Captain Cambon. She fought against HMS Majestic and was captured by HMS Alexander. Damaged beyond repair and aground, she was burnt.-See also:*List of ships captured in the...

 ran aground and soon surrendered after a brief encounter with three British warships, one of which was Theseus.

The battle was a complete success for the Royal Navy, as well as an important success for the career of Admiral Nelson. It was an utter rout for the French Navy that had been supporting a French land invasion of Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, which had the wider objective of threatening British India and so no further supplies were available to the French army in Egypt. The casualties were heavy; the French suffered over 1,700 killed, over 600 wounded and 3,000 captured. The British suffered 218 dead and 677 wounded. Nine French warships were captured and two destroyed. Two other French warships managed to escape. Theseus had five sailors killed and thirty wounded, included one officer and five Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

.

Theseus also took part in the Siege of Acre, in 1799

Siege of Acre (1799)

The Siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman-defended, walled city of Acre and was the turning point of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria.-Background:...

.

She took part in the Battle of the Basque Roads

Battle of the Basque Roads

The Battle of the Basque Roads, also Battle of Aix Roads was a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars off the Island of Aix...

 in 1809. Lord Cochrane

Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald

Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, 1st Marquess of Maranhão, GCB, ODM , styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was a senior British naval flag officer and radical politician....

 initiated a daring attack, led by fire ship

Fire ship

A fire ship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, deliberately set on fire and steered into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy ships, or to create panic and make the enemy break formation. Ships used as fire ships were usually old and worn out or...

s and other explosive vessels, in an attempt to cause chaos among their target, an anchored French squadron. Many of the French ships were subsequently run aground due to the havoc that this attack caused. The enemy squadron would probably have been completely wiped out if not for the Commander-in-Chief of the whole operations Admiral Lord Gambier, who hesitated over the necessary decisions, such as deploying the main fleet which lay in wait for their orders. Thus the remnants of the French escaped destruction.

After a long and eventful career that included participation in many of the Royal Navy's most famous victories Theseus was broken up at Chatham in 1814.