Action of 8 June 1755
Encyclopedia
The Action of 8 June 1755 was a naval battle between France
and Great Britain
early in the French and Indian War
. The British captured the third-rate
French ships Alcide
and Lys off Cape Race
, Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The battle contributed to the eventual war declarations that in 1756 formally began the Seven Years' War
.
, and then in the Battle of Fort Necessity, over control of the upper Ohio River
valley, near present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. When word of these conflicts reached London
, government leaders decided to send regular army
troops to occupy the site on which the French had constructed Fort Duquesne
. Word of the British military planning leaked to France, where convoys of troops were also rushed into readiness for service in North America. The Royal Navy
, aware of the French plans, dispatched Vice Admiral Edward Boscawen
and a fleet of eleven ships of the line to the Gulf of St. Lawrence to intercept French shipping headed for Quebec City
. Boscawen patrolled along the southern shore of Newfoundland. Three weeks later, a second fleet of seven ships was despatched under Admiral Holbourne to intercept French shipping.
The French fleet, under the command of Admiral Dubois de la Motte
, for the most part managed to avoid these British forces. Many of its ships landed at Louisbourg, and some successfully eluded Boscawen's fleet to reach Quebec. However, three ships became separated from the rest of the fleet in fog, and encountered some of Boscawen's ships.
, HMS Defiance
and HMS Torbay
caught sight of the Dauphin Royal
, Alcide
, and Lys under the command of Toussaint Hocquart. The Lys was sailing en flûte
, and had been reduced to 22 cannons because it was carrying soldiers of the regiment de la Reine and the Languedoc regiment; eight companies in all. The Alcide had 64 guns and these ships soon fell in with the British ships. Hocquart of the Alcide called out to the commander of the Dunkirk Richard Howe, "Are we at war, or at peace?" to which the English replied, "At peace, at peace." After a brief discussion, the Royal Navy ships opened fire on the three French ships. The Alcide being better armed than the other two French ships, returned fire and fought bravely for five hours. However after sustaining much damage it surrendered along with the Lys. The Dauphin Royal escaped in the fog to tell the tale.
and were treated as prisoners of war.
On board the ships Alcide and Lys are found to contain 10,000 scalping knives for Acadians and Indians under MicMac Chief Cope and Acadian Beausoleil as they continue to fight Father Le Loutre's War
.
Hocquart became Boscawen's prisoner for the third time; he had been captured by him in a frigate action back in 1744. He was then captured again in the First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)
before finally being captured in the Alcide.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
early in the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. The British captured the third-rate
Third-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...
French ships Alcide
French ship Alcide (1742)
Alcide was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1742.The captain of the vessel was Toussaint Hocquart, for the re-enforcement campaign that was sent to Canada in May of 1755....
and Lys off Cape Race
Cape Race
Cape Race is a point of land located at the southeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland, Canada. Its name is thought to come from the original Portuguese name for this cape, "Raso", or "bare"...
, Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The battle contributed to the eventual war declarations that in 1756 formally began the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
.
Background
In 1754, French and British colonial forces clashed in 1754, first in the Battle of Jumonville GlenBattle of Jumonville Glen
The Battle of Jumonville Glen, also known as the Jumonville affair, was the opening battle of the French and Indian War fought on May 28, 1754 near what is present-day Uniontown in Fayette County, Pennsylvania...
, and then in the Battle of Fort Necessity, over control of the upper Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
valley, near present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. When word of these conflicts reached London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, government leaders decided to send regular army
Regular army
A regular army consists of the permanent force of a country's army that is maintained under arms during peacetime.Countries that use the term include:*Australian Army*British Army*Canadian Forces, specifically "Regular Force"*Egyptian army*Indian Army...
troops to occupy the site on which the French had constructed Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne
Fort Duquesne was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in what is now downtown Pittsburgh in the state of Pennsylvania....
. Word of the British military planning leaked to France, where convoys of troops were also rushed into readiness for service in North America. 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...
, aware of the French plans, dispatched Vice Admiral Edward Boscawen
Edward Boscawen
Admiral Edward Boscawen, PC was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall. He is known principally for his various naval commands throughout the 18th Century and the engagements that he won, including the Siege of Louisburg in 1758 and Battle of Lagos...
and a fleet of eleven ships of the line to the Gulf of St. Lawrence to intercept French shipping headed for Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. Boscawen patrolled along the southern shore of Newfoundland. Three weeks later, a second fleet of seven ships was despatched under Admiral Holbourne to intercept French shipping.
The French fleet, under the command of Admiral Dubois de la Motte
Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc, Comte Dubois de la Motte
Vice-Admiral Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc, Comte Dubois de la Motte was a French naval officer.Emmanuel-Auguste de Cahideuc entered the navy as a midshipman in 1698, and received his first command in 1708. Following a promotion to sub-lieutenant, he fought at Rio de Janeiro in 1711...
, for the most part managed to avoid these British forces. Many of its ships landed at Louisbourg, and some successfully eluded Boscawen's fleet to reach Quebec. However, three ships became separated from the rest of the fleet in fog, and encountered some of Boscawen's ships.
Battle
HMS DunkirkHMS Dunkirk (1754)
HMS Dunkirk was a 60-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 22 July 1754.-Career:...
, HMS Defiance
HMS Defiance (1744)
HMS Defiance was a 58-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the dimensions laid out in the 1741 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Deptford, and launched on 12 October 1744....
and HMS Torbay
HMS Neptune (1683)
HMS Neptune was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built under the 1677 "Thirty Great Ships" Programme and launched in 1683 at Deptford Dockyard. She was first commissioned in 1690 under Captain Thomas Gardiner, as the flagship of Vice-Admiral George Rooke...
caught sight of the Dauphin Royal
French ship Dauphin Royal (1735)
The Dauphin Royal was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Royal Navy.She notably took part in the Battle of Quiberon Bay under captain d'Uturbie Fragosse, and in the Battle of Ushant.She was decommissioned in 1783.- Sources and references :*...
, Alcide
French ship Alcide (1742)
Alcide was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1742.The captain of the vessel was Toussaint Hocquart, for the re-enforcement campaign that was sent to Canada in May of 1755....
, and Lys under the command of Toussaint Hocquart. The Lys was sailing en flûte
En flûte
Arming a ship en flûte means removing some or all of the artillery. Since ships have a limited amount of cargo space, they may be armed en flûte to make room for other cargo, such as troops and ammunition...
, and had been reduced to 22 cannons because it was carrying soldiers of the regiment de la Reine and the Languedoc regiment; eight companies in all. The Alcide had 64 guns and these ships soon fell in with the British ships. Hocquart of the Alcide called out to the commander of the Dunkirk Richard Howe, "Are we at war, or at peace?" to which the English replied, "At peace, at peace." After a brief discussion, the Royal Navy ships opened fire on the three French ships. The Alcide being better armed than the other two French ships, returned fire and fought bravely for five hours. However after sustaining much damage it surrendered along with the Lys. The Dauphin Royal escaped in the fog to tell the tale.
Aftermath
After this action and further harassment of French shipping by British naval forces, the two countries declared war on each other in the spring of 1756. The prisoners of this battle, most of them French land troops intended for service in New France, were held at Georges Island in Halifax HarbourHalifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
and were treated as prisoners of war.
On board the ships Alcide and Lys are found to contain 10,000 scalping knives for Acadians and Indians under MicMac Chief Cope and Acadian Beausoleil as they continue to fight Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre’s War , also known as the Indian War, the Micmac War and the Anglo-Micmac War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the British and New England colonists were led by British Officer Charles...
.
Hocquart became Boscawen's prisoner for the third time; he had been captured by him in a frigate action back in 1744. He was then captured again in the First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)
First battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)
The First Battle of Cape Finisterre saw 14 British ships of the line under Admiral George Anson attack a French 30-ship convoy commanded by Admiral de la Jonquière during the War of the Austrian Succession. The British captured 4 ships of the line, 2 frigates and 7 merchantmen, in a five-hour...
before finally being captured in the Alcide.