Action of 27 June 1798
Encyclopedia
The Action of 27 June 1798 was a minor naval engagement between British and French frigates in the Strait of Sicily
in the Mediterranean Sea
. The engagement formed part of a wider campaign, in which a major French convoy sailed from Toulon
to Alexandria
at the start of the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. The French frigate Sensible
had been detached from the convoy after the capture of Malta
, under orders to carry wounded soldiers and looted treasure back to France while the main body continued to Egypt
. The British frigate was one of a number of vessels detached from the main British Mediterranean Fleet in the Tagus River, sent to augment the fleet under Sir Horatio Nelson
that was actively hunting the French convoy.
Lookouts on Seahorse spotted Sensible at 16:00 on 26 June and Captain Edward Foote
immediately gave chase, the French frigate fleeing southwards. For 12 hours the pursuit continued until Foote was able to catch and defeat his opponent, inflicting heavy casualties on the weaker and overladen French frigate. Among the prisoners captured was General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
who had been wounded in the storming of Malta, and among the treasure was an ornate seventeenth century cannon once owned by Louis XIV. The captured Sensible was initially fitted out as an active warship, but on arrival in Britain in 1799 the ship was downgraded to a transport. The action provided the British with the first conclusive evidence of the French intention to invade Egypt, but despite an extensive search for Nelson's fleet Foote was unable to relay the location of the French to his admiral before the Battle of the Nile
on 1 August.
for a top secret destination. The force consisted of 22 warships and 120 transports, to be joined by additional forces from Genoa
, Corsica
and Civitavecchia
as it passed south through the Ligurian Sea
. The fleet's target was Egypt
, a territory nominally controlled by the Ottoman Empire
that French General Napoleon Bonaparte considered an ideal springboard for operations against British India. Passing southwards without interference from the Royal Navy
, which had been absent from the Mediterranean for over a year following the outbreak of war between Britain and Spain, Bonaparte's convoy passed Sicily
on 7 June and two days later was at anchor off the harbour of Valetta on Malta
. The island nation of Malta was under the command of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, a religious order that depended on France for much of its wealth and recruits. Bonaparte believed that capturing Malta was essential to controlling the Central Mediterranean, and when Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim
refused the fleet entry to the harbour, Bonaparte responded with a large scale invasion. The knights put up no resistance, although fighting against native Maltese troops lasted for 24 hours until the central city of Mdina
fell. With this defeat the knights withdrew to their fortress at Valetta but were persuaded to surrender the following day with promises of pensions and estates in France.
With Malta secure, Bonaparte seized the Maltese army and navy, adding them to his own forces. He garrisoned Valetta and among the wealth he appropriated from the island was the entire property of the Roman Catholic Church
in the island. Much of this was auctioned off, while other treasures were to be transported to France, along with dispatches carried by the wounded General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
and other soldiers wounded during the invasion. On 19 June Bonaparte divided his forces, leaving 4,000 men to hold the island while the remainder of the convoy embarked on the second leg of the journey to Egypt. One ship was detailed to return to France with the wounded, despatches and some of the treasure. For this purpose the 36-gun frigate
Sensible
under Captain G. F. J. Bourdé was selected, although much of the regular crew was removed and replaced with freed Maltese galley slaves.
Although Bonaparte had not expected British interference in his operations against Egypt, the Royal Navy had responded to the reports of French mobilisation on the south coast by despatching a small squadron to the Ligurian Sea under Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson. Arriving on 21 May, Nelson's squadron was struck by a severe storm and was forced to make hasty repairs off Sardinia
. The storm had also dispersed the squadron's frigates, leaving Nelson with only three ships of the line. Although he was reinforced by another ten ships of the line and a fourth rate on 7 June, he still lacked any scouts and was thus severely hampered in his ability to search for information on French operations. The detached frigates had been scattered across the Western Mediterranean, and were unable to locate either the British or the French fleets. Reinforcements sent by Vice-Admiral Earl St Vincent
at the Tagus River suffered from the same problem, the frigates spreading out widely in their search but failing to discover either of the main British or French forces, which were rapidly sailing southeastwards towards Alexandria.
One of the British reinforcements cruising in the Central Mediterranean in June was the frigate , commanded by Captain Edward Foote
. Seahorse was officially rated as a 38-gun ship, but in reality carried 46 guns, including 14 32-pounder carronades, very heavy short-range cannon. Foote had been despatched by Earl St. Vincent to join Nelson's squadron in his hunt for the French and carried on board a number of reinforcements for , one of Nelson's ships commanded by Captain Thomas Troubridge
. On 26 June 1798, Seahorse was passing along the southern Sicilian coast in search of information about the whereabouts of the British fleet when at 16:00 his lookout sighted a ship. Advancing rapidly, Foote recognised the stranger as a French frigate and prepared for battle. The frigate was Sensible, which was on a northeasterly course from Malta to Toulon when sighted. Bourdé, knowing that his ship was overladen, undermanned and carried only 36 guns, some of which were only 6-pounders, turned away and sailed south, hoping to outrun his opponent during the night.
For 12 hours Sensible fled southwards, but Foote's pursuit was relentless and Bourdé found the distance between his frigate and Seahorse gradually disappearing. At 04:00 on 27 July, with the island of Pantelleria
36 miles (57.9 km) to the northwest, Foote was able to pull Seahorse alongside his opponent and open a heavy fire from close range. At the first shots, many of the galley slaves deserted their positions and fled below decks, leaving the French ship dangerously exposed. Within eight minutes Sensible was battered into submission, Bourdé's desperate attempt to board Seahorse easily avoided by Foote. The French frigate received 36 cannon shot in the hull and significant damage to the masts. Casualty estimates vary, but between 18 and 25 men were killed and 35 to 55 were wounded from a total of approximately 300. Seahorse by contrast suffered only light damage, losing two men dead and 16, including first Lieutenant Wilmot, wounded.
Foote removed much of the treasure and prisoners from Sensible before despatching the vessel under a prize crew to Earl St. Vincent in the Tagus. Among the goods seized from the frigate were copies of the French naval code books, as well as information about the destination of Bonaparte's invasion fleet. Sailing immediately for Alexandria, Foote was joined soon afterwards by under Captain William Hall Gage
, who was also searching for Nelson. Together they reached Alexandria on 21 July, discovering that the French were already in the harbour although Nelson was nowhere to be seen. Observing the French dispositions, Foote and Gage disguised their ships as a French frigate and its prize, Gage hoisting French colours over British to indicate that his ship had been captured and Foote displaying the secret French recognition codes. This appears to have convinced the French that the strangers were not enemy ships, and no move was made against them, Foote and Gage free to observe the French anchorage in Aboukir Bay before striking out along the African coast in search of Nelson. The British admiral was at this time resupplying his ships at Syracuse on Sicily, and when he sailed on 25 July he passed eastwards to Morea
where he learned of the French invasion of Egypt from the Turkish governor of Coron
. Striking directly southwards, Nelson arrived at Aboukir Bay on 1 August without ever encountering Foote or learning his intelligence. Seahorse eventually returned to Alexandria on 17 August to discover that Nelson had fought and won the Battle of the Nile
nearly three weeks earlier.
in November 1799, the prize money
shares subsequently awarded to the crew of Seahorse.
General d'Hilliers and the other prisoners were taken to Britain, but the officers were soon parole
d. On their return to France, d'Hilliers and Bourdé were court martialled and initially condemned by the Minister of Marine Étienne Eustache Bruix
. Bruix believed that the ship had been too easily surrendered and publicly released a strongly worded letter criticising their "talents and courage". This level of criticism, which British naval historian William James
considers excessive, was eventually toned down and after a spirited defence by d'Hilliers both officers were honourably acquitted. Foote was praised for his success, and Lieutenant Wilmot, who successfully carried the frigate to the Tagus, was promoted. Foote later commanded Seahorse off Naples
, and became embroiled in the controversy that surrounded the execution of the leaders of the Parthenopean Republic in 1799.
Strait of Sicily
The Strait of Sicily is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. It is about wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea from the eastern Mediterranean. Its maximum depth is ....
in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. The engagement formed part of a wider campaign, in which a major French convoy sailed from Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
at the start of the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. The French frigate Sensible
French frigate Sensible (1788)
Sensible was a 32-gun Magicienne-class frigate of the French Navy. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1798 and taken in to service as HMS Sensible. She was lost in a grounding off Ceylon in 1802.-French Navy service:...
had been detached from the convoy after the capture of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, under orders to carry wounded soldiers and looted treasure back to France while the main body continued to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The British frigate was one of a number of vessels detached from the main British Mediterranean Fleet in the Tagus River, sent to augment the fleet under Sir Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
that was actively hunting the French convoy.
Lookouts on Seahorse spotted Sensible at 16:00 on 26 June and Captain Edward Foote
Edward Foote
Vice-Admiral Sir Edward James Foote, KCB was a prominent Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He served on a number of ships and at several actions, but is best known for becoming caught up in the aftermath of the collapse of the Parthenopean Republic at...
immediately gave chase, the French frigate fleeing southwards. For 12 hours the pursuit continued until Foote was able to catch and defeat his opponent, inflicting heavy casualties on the weaker and overladen French frigate. Among the prisoners captured was General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
thumbLouis Baraguey d'Hilliers was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France.-French Revolution:...
who had been wounded in the storming of Malta, and among the treasure was an ornate seventeenth century cannon once owned by Louis XIV. The captured Sensible was initially fitted out as an active warship, but on arrival in Britain in 1799 the ship was downgraded to a transport. The action provided the British with the first conclusive evidence of the French intention to invade Egypt, but despite an extensive search for Nelson's fleet Foote was unable to relay the location of the French to his admiral before the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
on 1 August.
Background
On 19 May 1798, a French fleet departed ToulonToulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
for a top secret destination. The force consisted of 22 warships and 120 transports, to be joined by additional forces from Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
and Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
as it passed south through the Ligurian Sea
Ligurian Sea
The Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera and the island of Corsica. The sea is probably named after the ancient Ligures people.-Geography:...
. The fleet's target was Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, a territory nominally controlled by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
that French General Napoleon Bonaparte considered an ideal springboard for operations against British India. Passing southwards without interference from 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...
, which had been absent from the Mediterranean for over a year following the outbreak of war between Britain and Spain, Bonaparte's convoy passed Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
on 7 June and two days later was at anchor off the harbour of Valetta on Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. The island nation of Malta was under the command of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, a religious order that depended on France for much of its wealth and recruits. Bonaparte believed that capturing Malta was essential to controlling the Central Mediterranean, and when Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim
Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim
Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim was the 71st Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta, the first German to be elected to the office....
refused the fleet entry to the harbour, Bonaparte responded with a large scale invasion. The knights put up no resistance, although fighting against native Maltese troops lasted for 24 hours until the central city of Mdina
Mdina
Mdina, Città Vecchia, or Città Notabile, is the old capital of Malta. Mdina is a medieval walled town situated on a hill in the centre of the island. Punic remains uncovered beyond the city’s walls suggest the importance of the general region to Malta’s Phoenician settlers. Mdina is commonly...
fell. With this defeat the knights withdrew to their fortress at Valetta but were persuaded to surrender the following day with promises of pensions and estates in France.
With Malta secure, Bonaparte seized the Maltese army and navy, adding them to his own forces. He garrisoned Valetta and among the wealth he appropriated from the island was the entire property of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in the island. Much of this was auctioned off, while other treasures were to be transported to France, along with dispatches carried by the wounded General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
thumbLouis Baraguey d'Hilliers was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France.-French Revolution:...
and other soldiers wounded during the invasion. On 19 June Bonaparte divided his forces, leaving 4,000 men to hold the island while the remainder of the convoy embarked on the second leg of the journey to Egypt. One ship was detailed to return to France with the wounded, despatches and some of the treasure. For this purpose the 36-gun frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Sensible
French frigate Sensible (1788)
Sensible was a 32-gun Magicienne-class frigate of the French Navy. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1798 and taken in to service as HMS Sensible. She was lost in a grounding off Ceylon in 1802.-French Navy service:...
under Captain G. F. J. Bourdé was selected, although much of the regular crew was removed and replaced with freed Maltese galley slaves.
Although Bonaparte had not expected British interference in his operations against Egypt, the Royal Navy had responded to the reports of French mobilisation on the south coast by despatching a small squadron to the Ligurian Sea under Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson. Arriving on 21 May, Nelson's squadron was struck by a severe storm and was forced to make hasty repairs off Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. The storm had also dispersed the squadron's frigates, leaving Nelson with only three ships of the line. Although he was reinforced by another ten ships of the line and a fourth rate on 7 June, he still lacked any scouts and was thus severely hampered in his ability to search for information on French operations. The detached frigates had been scattered across the Western Mediterranean, and were unable to locate either the British or the French fleets. Reinforcements sent by Vice-Admiral Earl St Vincent
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
at the Tagus River suffered from the same problem, the frigates spreading out widely in their search but failing to discover either of the main British or French forces, which were rapidly sailing southeastwards towards Alexandria.
Battle
Edward Foote
Vice-Admiral Sir Edward James Foote, KCB was a prominent Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He served on a number of ships and at several actions, but is best known for becoming caught up in the aftermath of the collapse of the Parthenopean Republic at...
. Seahorse was officially rated as a 38-gun ship, but in reality carried 46 guns, including 14 32-pounder carronades, very heavy short-range cannon. Foote had been despatched by Earl St. Vincent to join Nelson's squadron in his hunt for the French and carried on board a number of reinforcements for , one of Nelson's ships commanded by Captain Thomas Troubridge
Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet was a British naval commander and politician.Troubridge was educated at St Paul's School, London. He entered the Royal Navy in 1773 and, together with Nelson, served in the East Indies in the frigate Seahorse. In 1785 he returned to England in the Sultan as...
. On 26 June 1798, Seahorse was passing along the southern Sicilian coast in search of information about the whereabouts of the British fleet when at 16:00 his lookout sighted a ship. Advancing rapidly, Foote recognised the stranger as a French frigate and prepared for battle. The frigate was Sensible, which was on a northeasterly course from Malta to Toulon when sighted. Bourdé, knowing that his ship was overladen, undermanned and carried only 36 guns, some of which were only 6-pounders, turned away and sailed south, hoping to outrun his opponent during the night.
For 12 hours Sensible fled southwards, but Foote's pursuit was relentless and Bourdé found the distance between his frigate and Seahorse gradually disappearing. At 04:00 on 27 July, with the island of Pantelleria
Pantelleria
Pantelleria , the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and just east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani...
36 miles (57.9 km) to the northwest, Foote was able to pull Seahorse alongside his opponent and open a heavy fire from close range. At the first shots, many of the galley slaves deserted their positions and fled below decks, leaving the French ship dangerously exposed. Within eight minutes Sensible was battered into submission, Bourdé's desperate attempt to board Seahorse easily avoided by Foote. The French frigate received 36 cannon shot in the hull and significant damage to the masts. Casualty estimates vary, but between 18 and 25 men were killed and 35 to 55 were wounded from a total of approximately 300. Seahorse by contrast suffered only light damage, losing two men dead and 16, including first Lieutenant Wilmot, wounded.
Foote removed much of the treasure and prisoners from Sensible before despatching the vessel under a prize crew to Earl St. Vincent in the Tagus. Among the goods seized from the frigate were copies of the French naval code books, as well as information about the destination of Bonaparte's invasion fleet. Sailing immediately for Alexandria, Foote was joined soon afterwards by under Captain William Hall Gage
William Hall Gage
Admiral of the Fleet Sir William Hall Gage GCB GCH was Second Sea Lord in the British Navy.-Naval career:Born the third son of General Thomas Gage, Gage joined the Royal Navy in 1789. In 1797 he was given command of the frigate HMS Terpsichore and sailed in the Mediterranean to conduct the Siege...
, who was also searching for Nelson. Together they reached Alexandria on 21 July, discovering that the French were already in the harbour although Nelson was nowhere to be seen. Observing the French dispositions, Foote and Gage disguised their ships as a French frigate and its prize, Gage hoisting French colours over British to indicate that his ship had been captured and Foote displaying the secret French recognition codes. This appears to have convinced the French that the strangers were not enemy ships, and no move was made against them, Foote and Gage free to observe the French anchorage in Aboukir Bay before striking out along the African coast in search of Nelson. The British admiral was at this time resupplying his ships at Syracuse on Sicily, and when he sailed on 25 July he passed eastwards to Morea
Morea
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...
where he learned of the French invasion of Egypt from the Turkish governor of Coron
Koroni
Koroni or Coroni is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal unit. Known as Corone by the Venetians and Ottomans, the town of Koroni Koroni or Coroni is a...
. Striking directly southwards, Nelson arrived at Aboukir Bay on 1 August without ever encountering Foote or learning his intelligence. Seahorse eventually returned to Alexandria on 17 August to discover that Nelson had fought and won the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
nearly three weeks earlier.
Aftermath
Earl St Vincent was suffering from an extreme shortage of frigates, and on the arrival of Sensible at the Tagus immediately ordered the frigate to be commissioned as HMS Sensible, stripping six men from each of his ships to man her and turning the frigate into an active warship in just 12 hours. For a year Sensible remained with St. Vincent, until she was sent back to Britain in November 1799. On arrival the ship was downgraded from frontline service, but did spend several years commissioned as a military transport until wrecked off Ceylon on 3 March 1802. Among the treasures removed from the ship was a decorated brass cannon captured from the Ottomans in the seventeenth century and presented to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem by King Louis XIV of France, as well as a model of a galley made from gilt silver. These were sold, along with the other cargo and ships fittings at SheernessSheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
in November 1799, the 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...
shares subsequently awarded to the crew of Seahorse.
General d'Hilliers and the other prisoners were taken to Britain, but the officers were soon parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
d. On their return to France, d'Hilliers and Bourdé were court martialled and initially condemned by the Minister of Marine Étienne Eustache Bruix
Étienne Eustache Bruix
Étienne Eustache Bruix was a French sailor.-Life:From a distinguished family originating from Béarn, he embarked as a volunteer on a slaving vessel commanded by captain Jean-François Landolphe...
. Bruix believed that the ship had been too easily surrendered and publicly released a strongly worded letter criticising their "talents and courage". This level of criticism, which British naval historian William James
William James (naval historian)
William M. James was a British lawyer turned naval historian who wrote important naval histories of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815.-Career:...
considers excessive, was eventually toned down and after a spirited defence by d'Hilliers both officers were honourably acquitted. Foote was praised for his success, and Lieutenant Wilmot, who successfully carried the frigate to the Tagus, was promoted. Foote later commanded Seahorse off Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, and became embroiled in the controversy that surrounded the execution of the leaders of the Parthenopean Republic in 1799.