HMS Tonnant (1798)

HMS Tonnant (1798)

For other ships of the same name, see French ship Tonnant.

Tonnant (French: "Thundering") was an 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy and lead ship of the Tonnant class. Admiral Nelson captured her at Aboukir Bay on 1 August 1798. The Royal Navy then took her into service. She participated in the Battle of Trafalgar during the Napoleonic Wars, and was the flagship for Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane during most of the campaign in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812. Francis Scott Key wrote the American national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, while on her deck watching the British attack on Baltimore. She was broken up in 1821.