Fragment of La Sémillante

Built in Lorient’s naval shipyard in 1827, La Sémillante, a top-tier frigate, was not launched until 1841.

It did very little sailing until 1854, when it joined the fleet operating in the Baltic alongside the English navy.

In September the same year, it was turned into a troop transport vessel at Brest’s shipyard. In January 1855, it sailed to the naval shipyard in Toulon.

On 14 February 1855, La Sémillante left Toulon under the orders of Commander Jugan, bound for Crimea and carrying troops, food and equipment. France was at war with Russia at the time.

The tragedy

Soon after its departure, the ship was caught in a storm that rapidly turned into a hurricane. The frigate had reached the south coast of Corsica and was in great difficulty. On the morning of 15 February, without sails, it drifted into the Straits of Bonifacio, an area abounding in rocks and breakers. A little before midday, the frigate smashed into Roche du Briquet to the southwest of the Lavezzi Islands. La Sémillante sank with all hands. None of the 773 men on board survived the disaster. The sea cast up their corpses by the dozen in the months that followed, but 113 were never recovered. Only the captain and a chaplain could be identified.

The tragedy left its mark on the whole of France, due to its scale and suddenness alike. A mass was even held in memory of the victims at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, with Emperor Napoleon III in attendance.

The shipwreck was a wake-up call as its victims might well have been saved if such simple safety measures as lifejackets, lifeboats and shore teams had existed: everything in that line was yet to be created.