Fougueux was a 74-gun French ship of the line built at Lorient from 1784 to 1785 by engineer Segondat. Ship history In 1796, she took part in the Expédition d'Irlande under Esprit-Tranquille Maistral. She took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, firing the first shot of the battle upon . She later attempted to come to the aid of the by engaging . After badly damaging the Fougueux with broadsides, Temeraires first-lieutenant, Thomas Fortescue Kennedy, led a boarding party onto Fougueux, entering the French ship via her main deck ports and chains. The French tried to defend the decks port by port, but were steadily overwhelmed. Fougueuxs captain, Louis Alexis Baudoin, had suffered a fatal wound earlier in the fighting, leaving Commander François Bazin in charge. On learning that nearly all of the officers were dead or wounded and that most of the guns were out of action, Bazin surrendered the ship to Kennedy. According to the report of Captain Lucas of the Redoutable, On the day after the battle a severe storm battered the surviving ships. Fougueux was driven ashore near Torre Bermeja on the coast of Spain and was wrecked. Only 25 men aboard, British prize crew and French prisoners, survived. See also List of ships captured in the 19th century List of ships of the line of France Citations References External links The Redoutable at Trafalgar Ships of the line of the French Navy Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Shipwrecks of Spain Téméraire-class ships of the line Ships built in France 1785 ships Maritime incidents in 1805 Captured ships Napoleonic-era ships