In 1759,
Brillant captured three privateer vessels:
Marquis de Barail,
Marquis de Durat, and
Le Basque. The ship took part in the
Battle of Quiberon Bay on 20 November 1759, serving in the White and Blue Squadron, which formed the vanguard of the fleet and was commanded by
Joseph de Bauffremont. Following the French defeat,
Brillant took refuge in the estuary of the Vilaine together with six other ships—,
Inflexible, ,
Éveillé,
Dragon, and
Sphinx—as well as two frigates,
Vestale and
Aigrette, and two corvettes,
Calypso and . Owing to poor visibility,
Glorieux and
Éveillé ran aground in the mud. The grounding caused no serious damage to
Éveillé, but
Glorieux sustained a leak, while
Inflexible lost its
foremast and
bowsprit.
Charles-Henri-Louis d’Arsac de Ternay and
Charles-Jean d’Hector, the ships trapped at the mouth of the Vilaine were finally extracted. On the night of 6–7 January 1761, in conditions of heavy fog followed by a violent storm,
Dragon and
Brillant, under the command of Ternay and d’Hector, sailed out accompanied by the frigates
Vestale and
Aigrette and the corvette
Calypso, and reached Brest or Rochefort. Shortly afterward,
Vestale was captured by HMS
Unicorn on 9 January, while
Aigrette successfully engaged
HMS Seahorse. In the same year,
Brillant captured the privateer
Curieux, armed with six guns. The ship was decommissioned at
Brest in November 1770 and dismantled in 1773. == See also ==