French brig Mercure (1806)

HMS 'Victorious' Taking the 'Rivoli', 22 February 1812 , Thomas Luny. The painting show the explosion of Mercure in the background.
History
France
Name	Mercure
Namesake	Mercury
Builder	Genoa, by Muzio & Migone
Laid down	May 1805
Launched	17 July 1806
Commissioned	November 1806
Stricken	14 June 1810
Kingdom of Italy
Name	Mercurio
Acquired	14 June 1810
Fate	Destroyed on 22 February 1812 during the Battle of Pirano
General characteristics
Armament	16 x
Armour	Timber

The Mercure was a brig of the French Navy.

In November 1806, she was commissioned in Genoa under Gen. Lacombe-Saint-Michel. In 1808, she was at Corfu, and in 1810 in Venice. On 14 June 1810, she was transferred to the navy of the Kingdom of Italy, along with and , in exchange for the frigate Favorite.

On 22 February 1812, as she escorted the newly commissioned 74-gun Rivoli with the brigs and Iéna, the squadron encountered a British force. In the ensuing Battle of Pirano, Mercure battled against HMS Weazel for 45 minutes until her magazines suddenly exploded, instantly sinking her and killing all aboard except for three men, who were rescued by Weazel.^[1]

The wreck of Mercure was discovered in 2001 when a fishing net caught one of her guns. Archeological campaigns were conducted from 2002, and the hull was found in 2005, in good condition.

Sources and references[]

Citations[]

References[]

• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours, 1671–1870. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. p. 260. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922.
• Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France. Vol. 4. Challamel ainé. pp. 160–162.
• Beltrame, C.; Gaddi, D. (April 2002). "Report on the first research campaign on the Napoleonic brick, Mercure, wrecked off Lignano, Udine, Italy in 1812". International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 31 (1): 60–73. doi:10.1111/j.1095-9270.2002.tb01400.x.

Coordinates: 45°33′42″N 13°12′19″E / 45.5617°N 13.2053°E / 45.5617; 13.2053