Action of 22 February 1812
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Pirano on 22 February 1812 was a minor naval action of the Adriatic campaign
of the Napoleonic Wars
fought between a British and a French ship of the line
in the vicinity of the town of Piran
in Adriatic Sea
. The French Rivoli
, named for Napoleon's victory
15 years earlier, had been recently completed at Venice
. The French naval authorities intended her to bolster French forces in the Adriatic, following a succession of defeats in the preceding year. This was the only battle ever fought in the sea nowadays belonging to Slovenia
.
To prevent this ship challenging British dominance in the theatre, the Royal Navy
ordered a ship of the line from the Mediterranean fleet to intercept and capture Rivoli on her maiden voyage. Captain John Talbot
of HMS Victorious
arrived off Venice in mid-February and blockaded the port. When Rivoli attempted to escape under cover of fog
, Talbot chased her and forced her to surrender in a five hour battle, Rivoli losing over half her crew wounded or dead.
withdrawal from the Adriatic and the French takeover of the strategic island fortress of Corfu
. The Treaty of Schönbrunn
with the Austrian Empire
in 1809 had further solidified French influence in the area by formalising their control of the Illyrian Provinces
on the Eastern shore. To protect these gains, the French and Italian
governments had instigated a shipbuilding program in Venice
and other Italian ports in an effort to rebuild their Mediterranean fleet and challenge British hegemony. These efforts were hampered by the poverty of the Italian government and the difficulty that the French Navy
had in manning and equipping their ships. As a result, the first ship of the line built in the Adriatic under this program was not launched until 1810 and not completed until early 1812.
By the time this ship, Rivoli
, was launched, the Royal Navy had achieved dominance over the French in the Adriatic Sea. Not only had the regional commander Bernard Dubourdieu
been killed and his squadron destroyed at the Battle of Lissa
in March 1811, but French efforts to supply their scattered garrisons were proving increasingly risky. This was demonstrated by the destruction of a well-armed convoy from Corfu
to Trieste
at the Action of 29 November 1811
. Rivoli's launch was therefore seen by the French Navy as an opportunity to reverse these defeats, as the new ship of the line
outgunned the British frigates that operated with in the Adriatic and would be able to operate in the Adriatic without the threat of attack by the frigate squadron based on Lissa
.
The Royal Navy was aware of the threat that Rivoli posed to their hegemony and were warned in advance by spies in Venice of the progress of the ship’s construction. As Rivoli neared completion, HMS Victorious
was dispatched from the Mediterranean Fleet to intercept her should she leave port. Victorious was commanded by John Talbot
, a successful and popular officer who had distinguished himself with the capture of a French frigate in 1805 and his service in the Dardanelles Operation
of 1807. Talbot was accompanied by the 18-gun brig
HMS Weazel
under Commander John William Andrew.
that had descended, to break out from Venice and elude pursuit. Victorious had held off from the land during the fog and by the time Talbot was able to observe Venice harbour at 14:30, his opponent had escaped. Searching for Barré, who was sailing to Pola
, Talbot spotted one of the French brigs at 15:00 and gave chase.
The French head-start
had enabled Rivoli to gain a substantial distance on the British ship, and so it was not until 02:30 on 22 February that Talbot was able to close with her quarry and its escort. Not wishing to be held up by the escort ships protecting Rivoli, Talbot ordered Weasel ahead to engage them while Victorious fought Barré's flagship directly. At 04:15, Weasel overhauled the rearmost French brig Mercure and opened fire from close range, Mercure replying in kind. Iéna also engaged Weasel but the greater distance between these ships allowed Commander Andrew to focus his attack on Mercure, which fought hard for twenty minutes before being destroyed in a catastrophic explosion, probably caused by a fire in the magazine
. Weasel immediately launched her boats to rescue any survivors, but only three were saved.
Following the explosion aboard Mercure, Iéna and the other French brigs scattered, briefly pursued by Weasel, who chased Iéna and Mamelouck but was unable to bring them to a decisive action. The loss of the French escorts allowed Victorious to close with Rivoli unopposed and at 04:30 the two large ships began a close range artillery duel. This combat continued unabated for the next three and a half hours, both ships being severely damaged and suffering heavy casualties. Captain Talbot was struck on the head by a flying splinter and had to quit the deck, temporarily blinded, command passing to Lieutenant Thomas Peake. To assist in subduing Rivoli, Peake recalled Weasel to block the French ship's attempts to escape, Commander Andrew sailing his ship in front of Rivoli and repeatedly raking
her.
, lost her mizzenmast under fire from both Victorious and Weasel. Fifteen minutes later, with his ship unmanageable and battered, Commodore Barré surrendered. Rivoli had suffered over 400 killed and wounded from her crew of over 800, who had only assembled for the first time a few days before and had never sailed their ship in open water. Losses aboard Victorious were also heavy, with one officer and 25 sailors and marines killed and six officers (including Captain Talbot) and 93 men wounded.
French losses on Mercure, although unknown exactly, were severe, only three sailors surviving. Weasel, despite being engaged with three different French ships for a considerable time, had not one man killed or wounded during the entire engagement. Rivoli's scattered escorts were not pursued, British efforts being directed instead at bringing the shattered Rivoli back to port as a prize. As a result the remaining French ships were able to make their way to friendly ports unopposed. Rivoli was a new and well-built ship and, following immediate repairs at Port St. George
, she and Victorious traveled together to Britain. There they were both repaired, Victorious returning to the fleet under Talbot for service against the United States Navy
during the War of 1812
, and Rivoli commissioned as HMS Rivoli for service in home waters.
The crews of Victorious and Weasel were well rewarded with both promotions and prize money
, the junior officers either promoted or advanced and Commander Andrew of Weasel made a post captain. Captain Talbot was rewarded at the end of the war, becoming Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in recognition of his success. Nearly four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. This was the last significant ship-to-ship action in the Adriatic, and its conclusion allowed British raiders to strike against coastal convoys and shore facilities unopposed, seizing isolated islands and garrisons with the aid of an increasingly nationalistic Illyrian population.
Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814
The Adriatic campaign was a minor theatre of war during the Napoleonic Wars in which a succession of small British Royal Navy squadrons and independent cruisers harried the combined naval forces of the First French Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, the Illyrian Provinces and the Kingdom of Naples...
of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
fought between a British and a French ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
in the vicinity of the town of Piran
Piran
Piran is a city and municipality in southwestern Slovenia on the Gulf of Piran on the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the three major towns of Slovenian Istria. The city resembles a large open-air museum, with medieval architecture and a rich cultural heritage. Narrow streets and compact houses give...
in Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
. The French Rivoli
French ship Rivoli (1810)
The Rivoli was a Téméraire class ship of the line of the French Navy.Rivoli was built in Venice, whose harbour was too shallow for a 74 to exit. To allow her to depart, a system of external ballasts, known as Chameaux , was added to improved her Buoyancy...
, named for Napoleon's victory
Battle of Rivoli
The Battle of Rivoli was a key victory in the French campaign in Italy against Austria. Napoleon Bonaparte's 23,000 Frenchmen defeated an attack of 28,000 Austrians under Feldzeugmeister Jozsef Alvinczi, ending Austria's fourth and final attempt to relieve the Siege of Mantua...
15 years earlier, had been recently completed at Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. The French naval authorities intended her to bolster French forces in the Adriatic, following a succession of defeats in the preceding year. This was the only battle ever fought in the sea nowadays belonging to Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
.
To prevent this ship challenging British dominance in the theatre, the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
ordered a ship of the line from the Mediterranean fleet to intercept and capture Rivoli on her maiden voyage. Captain John Talbot
John Talbot (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir John Talbot, GCB was a senior British Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was engaged in several prominent single ship actions, all of which were successful...
of HMS Victorious
HMS Victorious (1808)
HMS Victorious was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Bucklers Hard on 20 October 1808, just five years after the previous had been broken up....
arrived off Venice in mid-February and blockaded the port. When Rivoli attempted to escape under cover of fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
, Talbot chased her and forced her to surrender in a five hour battle, Rivoli losing over half her crew wounded or dead.
Background
The Treaty of Tilsit in 1807 had resulted in a RussianRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
withdrawal from the Adriatic and the French takeover of the strategic island fortress of Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
. The Treaty of Schönbrunn
Treaty of Schönbrunn
The Treaty of Schönbrunn , sometimes known as the Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at the Schönbrunn Palace of Vienna on 14 October 1809. This treaty ended the Fifth Coalition during the Napoleonic Wars...
with the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
in 1809 had further solidified French influence in the area by formalising their control of the Illyrian Provinces
Illyrian provinces
The Illyrian Provinces was an autonomous province of the Napoleonic French Empire on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic Sea between 1809 and 1816. Its capital was established at Laybach...
on the Eastern shore. To protect these gains, the French and Italian
Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
governments had instigated a shipbuilding program in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and other Italian ports in an effort to rebuild their Mediterranean fleet and challenge British hegemony. These efforts were hampered by the poverty of the Italian government and the difficulty that the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
had in manning and equipping their ships. As a result, the first ship of the line built in the Adriatic under this program was not launched until 1810 and not completed until early 1812.
By the time this ship, Rivoli
French ship Rivoli (1810)
The Rivoli was a Téméraire class ship of the line of the French Navy.Rivoli was built in Venice, whose harbour was too shallow for a 74 to exit. To allow her to depart, a system of external ballasts, known as Chameaux , was added to improved her Buoyancy...
, was launched, the Royal Navy had achieved dominance over the French in the Adriatic Sea. Not only had the regional commander Bernard Dubourdieu
Bernard Dubourdieu
Bernard Dubourdieu was a French rear-admiral who led the allied French-Venetian forces at the Battle of Lissa in 1811, during which he was killed....
been killed and his squadron destroyed at the Battle of Lissa
Battle of Lissa (1811)
The Battle of Lissa was a naval action fought between a British frigate squadron and a substantially larger squadron of French and Venetian frigates and smaller ships on 13 March 1811 during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars...
in March 1811, but French efforts to supply their scattered garrisons were proving increasingly risky. This was demonstrated by the destruction of a well-armed convoy from Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
to Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
at the Action of 29 November 1811
Action of 29 November 1811
The Action of 29 November 1811 was a minor naval engagement fought between two frigate squadrons in the Adriatic Sea during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. The action was one of a series of operations conducted by the British Royal Navy and the French Navy to contest dominance over...
. Rivoli's launch was therefore seen by the French Navy as an opportunity to reverse these defeats, as the new ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
outgunned the British frigates that operated with in the Adriatic and would be able to operate in the Adriatic without the threat of attack by the frigate squadron based on Lissa
Vis (island)
Vis is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 . Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast...
.
The Royal Navy was aware of the threat that Rivoli posed to their hegemony and were warned in advance by spies in Venice of the progress of the ship’s construction. As Rivoli neared completion, HMS Victorious
HMS Victorious (1808)
HMS Victorious was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Bucklers Hard on 20 October 1808, just five years after the previous had been broken up....
was dispatched from the Mediterranean Fleet to intercept her should she leave port. Victorious was commanded by John Talbot
John Talbot (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir John Talbot, GCB was a senior British Royal Navy officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was engaged in several prominent single ship actions, all of which were successful...
, a successful and popular officer who had distinguished himself with the capture of a French frigate in 1805 and his service in the Dardanelles Operation
Dardanelles Operation
The Dardanelles Operation was the Royal Navy's unsuccessful attempt to impose British demands on the Ottoman Empire as part of the Anglo-Turkish War ....
of 1807. Talbot was accompanied by the 18-gun brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
HMS Weazel
HMS Weazel (1805)
HMS Weazel was a Royal Navy 18-gun , launched in 1805 at Topsham, Devon. She saw active service in and around the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars, was decommissioned in 1815 and was sold for breaking in 1825.-Service:Weazel entered service in 1805, under the command of Commander Peter...
under Commander John William Andrew.
Battle
Rivoli departed Venice on 21 February 1812 under the command of Commodore Jean-Baptiste Barré, accompanied by five smaller escort ships, the 16-gun brigs Mercure and Iéna, the 8-gun brig Mamelouck and two small gunboats, strung out in an improvised line of battle. Barré hoped to make use of a heavy sea fogFog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
that had descended, to break out from Venice and elude pursuit. Victorious had held off from the land during the fog and by the time Talbot was able to observe Venice harbour at 14:30, his opponent had escaped. Searching for Barré, who was sailing to Pola
Pola
Pola may refer to:In places:*Pola, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in south Poland*Pola, Oriental Mindoro, a municipality in the Philippines*Pola de Allande, a town and a parish in Allande, a municipality within the province of Asturias, in northern Spain...
, Talbot spotted one of the French brigs at 15:00 and gave chase.
The French head-start
Head start (positioning)
In positioning, a head start is a start in advance of the starting position of others in competition, or simply toward the finish line or desired outcome...
had enabled Rivoli to gain a substantial distance on the British ship, and so it was not until 02:30 on 22 February that Talbot was able to close with her quarry and its escort. Not wishing to be held up by the escort ships protecting Rivoli, Talbot ordered Weasel ahead to engage them while Victorious fought Barré's flagship directly. At 04:15, Weasel overhauled the rearmost French brig Mercure and opened fire from close range, Mercure replying in kind. Iéna also engaged Weasel but the greater distance between these ships allowed Commander Andrew to focus his attack on Mercure, which fought hard for twenty minutes before being destroyed in a catastrophic explosion, probably caused by a fire in the magazine
Magazine (artillery)
Magazine is the name for an item or place within which ammunition is stored. It is taken from the Arabic word "makahazin" meaning "warehouse".-Ammunition storage areas:...
. Weasel immediately launched her boats to rescue any survivors, but only three were saved.
Following the explosion aboard Mercure, Iéna and the other French brigs scattered, briefly pursued by Weasel, who chased Iéna and Mamelouck but was unable to bring them to a decisive action. The loss of the French escorts allowed Victorious to close with Rivoli unopposed and at 04:30 the two large ships began a close range artillery duel. This combat continued unabated for the next three and a half hours, both ships being severely damaged and suffering heavy casualties. Captain Talbot was struck on the head by a flying splinter and had to quit the deck, temporarily blinded, command passing to Lieutenant Thomas Peake. To assist in subduing Rivoli, Peake recalled Weasel to block the French ship's attempts to escape, Commander Andrew sailing his ship in front of Rivoli and repeatedly raking
Raking fire
In naval warfare, raking fire is fire directed parallel to the long axis of an enemy ship. Although each shot is directed against a smaller target profile than by shooting broadside and thus more likely to miss the target ship to one side or the other, an individual cannon shot that hits will pass...
her.
Surrender and aftermath
At 08:45 Rivoli, which had been struggling to reach the harbour of TriesteTrieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
, lost her mizzenmast under fire from both Victorious and Weasel. Fifteen minutes later, with his ship unmanageable and battered, Commodore Barré surrendered. Rivoli had suffered over 400 killed and wounded from her crew of over 800, who had only assembled for the first time a few days before and had never sailed their ship in open water. Losses aboard Victorious were also heavy, with one officer and 25 sailors and marines killed and six officers (including Captain Talbot) and 93 men wounded.
French losses on Mercure, although unknown exactly, were severe, only three sailors surviving. Weasel, despite being engaged with three different French ships for a considerable time, had not one man killed or wounded during the entire engagement. Rivoli's scattered escorts were not pursued, British efforts being directed instead at bringing the shattered Rivoli back to port as a prize. As a result the remaining French ships were able to make their way to friendly ports unopposed. Rivoli was a new and well-built ship and, following immediate repairs at Port St. George
Vis (town)
Vis is a town on the Vis island of the same name in Croatia. It has a population of 1960 residents . It is the center of the Vis municipality and part of Split-Dalmatia County.-History:...
, she and Victorious traveled together to Britain. There they were both repaired, Victorious returning to the fleet under Talbot for service against the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, and Rivoli commissioned as HMS Rivoli for service in home waters.
The crews of Victorious and Weasel were well rewarded with both promotions and prize money
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
, the junior officers either promoted or advanced and Commander Andrew of Weasel made a post captain. Captain Talbot was rewarded at the end of the war, becoming Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in recognition of his success. Nearly four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. This was the last significant ship-to-ship action in the Adriatic, and its conclusion allowed British raiders to strike against coastal convoys and shore facilities unopposed, seizing isolated islands and garrisons with the aid of an increasingly nationalistic Illyrian population.