French brig Mercure (1806)
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 "Cyclope" and "Écureuil", in exchange for the frigate "Favorite". On 22 February 1812, as she escorted the newly commissioned 74-gun "Rivoli" with the brigs "Mamelouk" 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". 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.