Soon after her commissioning, from June to September 1779, Auguste patroles the Channel under Captain de Rochechouart. She took part in the Battle of St. Lucia, the Battle of Fort Royal and the Battle of the Chesapeake under Captain Castellan, as flagship of the Blue-and-White squadron under Chef d'Escadre Bougainville. She was also at the Battle of the Saintes on 12 April 1782.
In 1793, she was renamed to Jacobin and was part of the Brest squadron. She was involved in the Quibéron mutinies in September 1793.
The next year, she took part in the Combat de Prairial, where she followed the flagship Montagne, and failed to prevent HMS Queen Charlotte from breaking the French line.
In December 1794, she was renamed Neuf Thermidor. On 29 January, as she took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver, she was caught in a tempest off Brest and wrecked with the loss of most of her crew.