French ship Oriflamme ( 1744 ) Oriflamme was a 56 - gun ship of the line of the French Navy . She was built at Toulon and launched on 1743 by engineer and builder Pierre Blaise Coulomb . The ship was named for the long , multi - tailed red banner that was historically the battle standard of the medieval French monarchy . She narrowly survived one encounter with the Royal Navy during the Seven Years ' War , but was captured during a later engagement , in 1761 . She was not taken into British service but was used as a merchant ship , ending her days in Spanish service . She sailed on her last voyage in 1770 , but her crew apparently succumbed to a plague and the ship was lost at sea . French career . " Oriflamme " served during the Seven Years ' War , and had an encounter with a superior British squadron in late February 1758 , when she was chased off the Spanish coast by the 60 - gun , under Captain Joshua Rowley and the 74 - gun under Captain John Montagu . They chased " Oriflamme " onshore , but owing to Spain ' s neutrality at the time , did not attempt to destroy her , and " Oriflamme " was later salvaged . " Oriflamme " again encountered the British , this time when she was chased by the 50 - gun , under Captain Edward Wheeler , off the Mediterranean coast of Morocco on 1 April 1761 . The two engaged at 6pm , with Wheeler being killed early in the exchange of fire . Command then devolved to Lieutenant Cunningham , who on seeing that the French ship was trying to escape towards Spain , ran aboard her , and soon forced her to strike her colours . " Oriflamme " , which had been armed " en flûte " and was carrying between 40 and 50 guns during the action , had 50 killed and wounded from her complement of around 370 . " Isis " had four killed , including Wheeler , and nine wounded . The captured " Oriflamme " was brought into Gibraltar . Spanish career . " Oriflamme " was not brought into the Royal Navy , but was instead sold into mercantile service . She appears to have then entered Spanish service , and was sold at auction to the company of Juan Baptista de Uztaris , Bros & Co . She set sail on her final voyager on 18 February 1770 , departing Cadiz under the command of Captain Joseph Antonio de Alzaga , with Joseph de Zavalsa as Master and Manuel de Buenechea as pilot . On 25 July she was sighted by the " Gallardo " , whose captain , Juan Esteban de Ezpeleta , knew de Alzaga . The " Gallardo " signalled to her with a cannon shot , but it went unanswered . The first officer of the " Gallardo " , Joseph de Alvarez , was sent to investigate and found that the " Oriflama " had been swept by a mysterious plague . Half the crew had already died , and the rest were dying , with only thirty men barely able to haul a sail . De Alvarez returned to his ship and a boatload of supplies was prepared , but bad weather drove the ships apart and it was impossible to catch up with the " Oriflama " . It was reported that as the crew of the " Gallardo " prayed for the safety of the men of the " Oriflama " , a ghostly light illuminated the latter ' s sails and she was seen to sail away into the night . On 28 July wreckage of the " Oriflama " and some bodies were washed up on the coast of Chile near the mouth of the Huenchullami River . The following spring Manuel de Amat y Juniet , the Viceroy of Peru , sent Juan Antonio de Bonachea , apparently a relative of the pilot of the " Oriflama " ( Buenechea and Bonachea were interchangeable spellings ) , with trained divers to search for the wreck , but the search was abandoned in January 1772 . References .