Allemand's expedition of 1805
Encyclopedia
Allemand's expedition of 1805, often referred to as the Escadre invisible (invisible squadron) in French sources, was an important French naval expedition during the Napoleonic Wars
, which formed a major diversion to the ongoing Trafalgar campaign
in the Atlantic Ocean
. With the French Mediterranean Fleet at sea, Emperor Napoleon I
hoped to unite it with the French Atlantic Fleet and together form a force powerful enough to temporarily displace the British Royal Navy
Channel Fleet
for long enough to allow an invasion force to cross the English Channel
and land in Britain. In support of this plan, the French squadron based at Rochefort
put to sea in July 1805, initially with the intention that they would join the Atlantic Fleet from Brest
. When this fleet failed to put to sea, the Rochefort squadron, under Contre-Admiral Zacharie Allemand
, went on an extended raiding cruise across the Atlantic, both to intercept British trade left lightly defended by the concentration of British forces in European waters and with the intention of eventually combining with the French Mediterranean Fleet then blockaded in Spanish harbours.
On 25 September, Allemand achieved a major success when his squadron, while waiting for a convoy from the Leeward Islands
, encountered a seven ship convoy from the island of Saint Helena
. The convoy's commander, Captain Daniel Woodriff in the fourth rate HMS Calcutta
, sought to interpose his ship between the French squadron and his convoy and was captured after a fierce battle. All except one of convoy escaped, and by deliberately drawing the French away from his own convoy's direction, he had saved the Leewards Islands convoy from attack as well. After the battle, Allemand was forced to conduct repairs at Tenerife
, sailing again on 17 October, four days before the French Mediterranean Fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Trafalgar
. With the planned invasion impossible, Allemand began commerce raiding in the Eastern Atlantic, capturing 43 merchant ships during his cruise and successfully disrupting the British blockade of Cadiz. This had an unintended but significant effect on the Atlantic campaign of 1806
, resulting eventually in the Battle of San Domingo
in February 1806. Allemand returned to Rochefort on 23 December, having not lost a single ship during the expedition.
under Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
for an extended cruise to the West Indies, ultimately under orders to link with the French Atlantic Fleet based at Brest
. Together these fleets would stage a major operation in the English Channel
, driving off the Royal Navy
Channel Fleet
and allowing a fleet of landing barges to land on the southern coast of England
as the first move in an invasion of Britain. Arriving at Martinique
on 14 May, Villeneuve waited for reinforcements from the Atlantic fleet, only to be informed on 2 June that they had failed to leave port. Despite repeated orders issued to the Atlantic fleet instructing them to sail to Martinique, Vice-Admiral Honoré Ganteaume had failed in his one effort to break out of Brest during March and then given up. His entire fleet ultimately remained in port throughout the campaign. On 7 June Villeneuve learned of the arrival in the Caribbean of the British Mediterranean Fleet under Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson and hastily sailed back to Europe, eventually sheltering in the Spanish harbour of Vigo
after an encounter on 22 July with a British fleet under Sir Robert Calder
at the Battle of Cape Finisterre
, in which two of his ships were captured. In the aftermath of the spring campaign, both Nelson and Calder returned to Britain, leaving only relatively small squadrons off the French and Spanish coasts.
Despite delays to his plan, Napoleon had pressed ahead with preparations for the Channel campaign: an army of 200,000 men was assembling at Boulogne for the invasion, and orders continued to insist that the fleets under Villeneuve and Ganteaume put to sea. Also ordered to sail was the squadron based at the Atlantic port of Rochefort
, led by Contre-Admiral Zacharie Allemand
. Allemand's squadron consisted of the powerful 120-gun ship Majestueux
, three other ships of the line and several frigates and brigs, forming a significant force in its own right and a valuable addition to any battle fleet. Allemand was ordered to cruise off the southern coast of Cornwall
, awaiting the combined fleets of Villeneuve and Ganteaume and their descent into the Channel. If this force did not materialise, Allemand was subsequently ordered to the Bay of Biscay
to join up with Villeneuve on his route northwards and should this too fail then he was to conduct an extended commerce raiding
operation in the Atlantic to take advantage of the concentration of British forces off Europe and the consequent exposure of British trade.
was out of position, rapidly escaping the coast into the Atlantic. On 17 July, the squadron outran and captured the British brig
HMS Ranger, rated as 18 guns but actually carrying 24. Ranger' s crew had observed the approaching French squadron from some distance, and Commander Charles Coote had ordered that once their capture was inevitable, the crew were to cause as much damage as possible to their vessel to deny its use to the French. So successful were these efforts that Allemand was forced to burn Ranger once her crew had been removed as prisoners of war. Allemand subsequently reached his first station, off The Lizard
, the day after capturing Ranger. There he waited in vain for the fleet under Ganteaume, which had never departed Brest. Following his instructions, Allemand then sailed for the Bay of Biscay
, where he was to meet the fleet under Villeneuve that had been ordered north to join with Ganteaume. He passed southwards during July and was in the region of Cape Finisterre
on 22 July: later records show that he was close enough to the site of the Battle of Cape Finisterre to have participated in the engagement if he had been aware that it was underway. News of Allemand's presence reached Villeneuve early in August and on 5 August he despatched the frigate Didon in search of the Rochefort squadron. Didon was followed on 9 August by the main fleet, including 29 ships of the line and associated frigates and corvettes. Villeneuve passed up the Spanish coast, anchoring off the village of Zerez, near Ferrol, on 10 August and departing the following day in a west by northwest direction. On 13 August the fleet was spotted by the frigates HMS Iris under Captain Edward Brace and HMS Naiad
under Captain Thomas Dundas
, who were forced to flee a French detachment sent in pursuit, losing sight of the enemy on 14 August as Villeneuve's main force continued to the northwest.
While Villeneuve was searching for Allemand, the Rochefort squadron was passing south along the Spanish coast in search of Villeneuve, anchoring at Vigo on 16 August without having seen any sign of the combined fleet. Villeneuve had not left instructions at Vigo for the Rochefort squadron and Allemand was uncertain where his superior was intending to sail to. One of Villeneuve's scouting frigates meanwhile had spoken with a Danish ship that reported a fleet of 25 British ships of the line actively searching the region for the combined fleet. When on the evening of 14 August Villeneuve's scouts sighted the ship of the line HMS Dragon
under Captain Edward Griffiths, the frigate HMS Phoenix
and the captured Didon to the west, the French admiral assumed they were an advance guard of this British fleet and turned away to the south, the impression encouraged by frantic signals raised by Dragon. In fact, these ships were the only British forces in the region. The Danish ship had been boarded by Dragon earlier in the day and her crew deliberately fed misinformation about British strength. When the French scouts sighted Dragon, the presence of the captured Didon and Captain Griffiths' signals, that were made to an expanse of empty sea beyond the visible horizon on the French ship, successfully misled the French admiral into fleeing a non-existent fleet.
Bypassing Vigo on his flight southwards, Villeneuve put into the Southern Spanish fleet base of Cadiz
on 20 August. By abandoning his efforts to reach the English Channel, Villeneuve was in effect abandoning the entire invasion strategy and, when news of Villeneuve's retreat reached him, Napoleon decided to formally abandon the campaign, marching the army at Boulogne south to the Austrian border. Without instructions from his superior, and with no idea where the main French fleet was, Allemand spent much of August off the Spanish coast before deciding to turn to the third aspect of his orders, the disruption of British trade.
. From the prisoners taken out of these ships, the French admiral learned that a large convoy was due from the West Indies, protected only by a single ship of the line, HMS Illustrious
. This rich prize would be a major success for Allemand and his squadron cruised the Western Approaches in anticipation of its arrival during September 1805.
At 12:00 on 25 September at 49°30′N 09°00′W, Armide
, an outlying frigate from Allemand's squadron, spotted sails to the southeast. Closing to investigate, these sails were identified as a small British convoy, not the expected force under Illustrious but another convoy from Saint Helena
, consisting of the East Indiaman Indus, two whalers, three small merchant ships, the slow merchant vessel Brothers and the 50-gun fourth rate ship HMS Calcutta
. The convoy had departed Saint Helena with seven ships on 3 August, and made fast time northwards until 14 September when it was joined by Brothers, which had been blown out of the Illustrious convoy by Atlantic gales several days earlier. Brothers was a heavily laden ship that sailed poorly, and as a result the entire Saint Helens convoy was severely delayed. When lookouts on Calcutta sighted the sails to the northwest, Captain Daniel Woodriff was not immediately alarmed. He was expecting the Illustrious convoy from that direction, and knew that a number of British squadrons were at sea. Throughout the afternoon and the following night the sails closed with his squadron until at 11:00 on 26 September they were close enough for Woodriff to make the Royal Navy secret recognition signals.
By 12:00, Woodriff had realised that the approaching ships did not know the recognition signals and therefore must be enemies. With his first priority to protect his convoy, Woodriff sent an urgent message to Indus, the largest and strongest of the merchant ships, to lead the main body of the convoy ahead eastwards at all speed. With his most valuable charges now making distance away from the French, Woodriff persuaded the captain of Brothers to sail northwards while he intended to engage the French directly and draw them southwards, away from the Saint Helena convoy and also away from the projected track of the Illustrious convoy. Once the merchant ships were gone beyond the horizon, Woodriff turned Calcutta about and sailed directly for the nearest French ship, the frigate Armide, which was gaining on his vessel. Armide was far more nimble than the lumbering Calcutta, and rapidly passed her out of range of her broadside
, the frigate turning about and opening fire with her stern chasers, cannon mounted in the front of the ship, at 15:00. Calcutta replied ineffectually with her bow chasers, until Armide allowed the British ship to draw alongside. The two ships then opened a heavy fire on one another which continued for an hour until Armide, with her rigging badly damaged, drew back towards the rapidly approaching French squadron.
At 17:00, the leading French ship of the line, Magnanime
, came within range with her bow chasers. Calcutta continued sailing southwards, remaining ahead of the squadron but not at a sufficient distance to avoid Magnanime' s fire. Realising that unless he took drastic measures his ship would be caught, Woodriff turned Calcutta back towards Magnanime, hoping to disable her before the next ship in line, the frigate Thétis
, could join the battle. Captain Pierre-Francois Violette on Magnanime prepared to meet Calcutta and the engagement rapidly became furious, Calcutta and Magnanime exchanging full broadsides at close range. Within 45 minutes, it was clear that Woodriff's gamble had failed. The larger and more powerful Magnanime inflicted severe damage to the British ship's rigging, rendering her unable to manoeuvre or escape, with the remainder of the French squadron bearing down. With defeat inevitable, Woodriff spared the lives of his men by striking his colours and surrendering to Violette. Although Calcutta was badly damaged among her rigging and sails, her hull had suffered little from the engagement and she had only lost six killed and six wounded. French casualties were negligible, although Armide was forced to undergo extensive temporary repairs on her own sails and rigging before she was able to operate as a scout once more. Brothers had also been captured: the corvette Sylphe
had separated during the chase and rapidly overhauled the lumbering merchant ship, which had surrendered without a fight.
, where he was able to repair and resupply his squadron before embarking on a lengthy cruise against the British convoys that regularly crossed the region.
Elsewhere, the Trafalgar campaign reached its climax on 21 October 1805, when Villeneuve's fleet was intercepted at sea off Cadiz by Nelson's fleet and destroyed at the Battle of Trafalgar
, the French and Spanish losing 17 out of 30 ships of the line. The British fleet did not lose a single ship, but the cost of the victory was severe: Lord Nelson, victor of four major battles in the previous eight years, had been killed at the height of the combat by a musket ball. The survivors of the combined fleet scattered, most making their way back to Cadiz. However, the four ships of the French vanguard, which had rapidly outdistanced the battle and not returned, escaped towards the Bay of Biscay under Contre-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
. Allemand's cruise was to have unforeseen consequences for Dumanoir's squadron: among the British forces mustered to hunt for the ships from Rochefort was a squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan in HMS Caesar
, consisting of five ships of the line and two frigates. On 2 November, the frigate HMS Phoenix, which had also been ordered to search for signs of Allemand, discovered four French ships near Cape Finisterre. Unaware of the events of Trafalgar and assuming these ships to be a part of Allemand's force, Captain Dundas sought to lure them towards Strachan's squadron, which he knew to be in the area. Dundas was successful in provoking Dumanoir to chase his frigate, and two days later, on 4 February, Strachan was able to bring the French squadron to battle, capturing all four ships at the Battle of Cape Ortegal
.
As these events unfolded Allemand was many hundreds of miles to the south, preying successfully on the trade that passed along the African coast without any serious opposition from major British forces, which were still largely confined to European waters. There was particular fear in Britain that Allemand might intercept two convoys of vital strategic importance: one extremely valuable convoy from India to Britain that also carried Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley
as a passenger, and an expeditionary force under Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham
for a planned invasion of South Africa
. In the event however, both these convoys managed to successfully avoid Allemand's force. On 20 November, with his supplies running low, Allemand attacked a convoy of seven ships sailing from Britain to Goree
, passing close to the Savage Islands
. Although his attack was successful, Allemand was unable to prevent the escape of the convoy's escort, the 18 gun brig HMS Lark
under Commander Frederick Langford. Making all sail northwards in search of reinforcements, Langford encountered his target on 26 November, meeting HMS Agamemnon
, one of the ships that made up the squadron under Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth
. Duckworth had, with his subordinate Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis
, been ordered to keep a close blockade on Cadiz in case the remainder of the combined fleet that still sat at anchor there should try to escape. The work was tedious, and Duckworth immediately abandoned his post when news of attack by Allemand's squadron reached him. He cast southwards in search of the French, leaving Cadiz guarded by just two frigates.
Allemand was aware of the risk involved in allowing Lark to escape, and was already many miles to the north when Duckworth headed southwards. There was no benefit to be had in a battle with Duckworth or any other British squadron and he did not delay on his journey home, reaching Rochefort without further incident on 23 December. His actions off the Savage Islands were to have far reaching consequences however. Duckworth continued southwards for much of December 1805, only turning back north once he had reached the Cape Verde Islands, a point far too far south for Allemand to have been operating in. Accepting that his enemy had escaped him, Duckworth turned back north but soon afterwards ran into the frigate HMS Arethusa
under Captain Charles Brisbane
, whose large convoy had been broken up by an unidentified French battle squadron in the Bay of Biscay. Assuming this force to be Allemand, Duckworth set a course to intercept them based on their last known heading. Duckworth's reckoning was good, and on 26 December he encountered a large squadron and immediately gave chase. It was not until sometime later that he realised the force he was chasing was too large to be Allemand's: in fact Duckworth had stumbled into a squadron under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez, sent from Brest with another force under Contre-Admiral Corentin-Urbain Leissègues on 15 December at the start of the Atlantic campaign of 1806
, an operation largely inspired by the success of Allemand's expedition. Although Willaumez was eventually able to outrun Duckworth, the chase continued for so long that Duckworth's squadron was forced to take on fresh supplies at St Kitts in the West Indies. There news reached him that Leissègues had been sighted off Santo Domingo
and he sailed to investigate, annihilating the French squadron at the Battle of San Domingo
in February 1806.
and honourably acquitted at the court martial that investigated her loss.
In France, Allemand was highly commended for the success of his operation, especially as both Leissègues and Willaumez met with disaster during the 1806 campaign. He remained with the Atlantic fleet for the next two years and in 1808 commanded a second successful operation in the Atlantic, carrying reinforcements to the Mediterranean Fleet at Toulon
. In 1809 he returned to the Brest fleet as its commander, his ships trapped near the Île-d'Aix
. He subsequently commanded the fleet at the defeat of the Battle of Basque Roads. His captains on the expedition were also praised and two later led their own campaigns, although both ended in defeat: Captain Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil
was in command of the frigate squadron destined for the West Indies that was destroyed in the Bay of Biscay at the Action of 25 September 1806
, while Captain Amable-Gilles Troude led a larger squadron
to the West Indies in early 1809, suffering defeat in a battle off the Îles des Saintes
.
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...
, which formed a major diversion to the ongoing Trafalgar campaign
Trafalgar Campaign
The Trafalgar Campaign was a long and complicated series of fleet manoeuvres carried out by the combined French and Spanish fleets; and the opposing moves of the Royal Navy during much of 1805. These were the culmination of French plans to force a passage through the English Channel, and so achieve...
in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. With the French Mediterranean Fleet at sea, Emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
hoped to unite it with the French Atlantic Fleet and together form a force powerful enough to temporarily displace the British 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...
Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
for long enough to allow an invasion force to cross the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and land in Britain. In support of this plan, the French squadron based at Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
put to sea in July 1805, initially with the intention that they would join the Atlantic Fleet from Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
. When this fleet failed to put to sea, the Rochefort squadron, under Contre-Admiral Zacharie Allemand
Zacharie Allemand
Zacharie Jacques Théodore Allemand, was a French admiral.- Early career :Allemand was born to a captain of the East Indian Company. Orphaned at an early age, he started his sailing career at 12 as an apprentice on Superbe, an East Indiaman...
, went on an extended raiding cruise across the Atlantic, both to intercept British trade left lightly defended by the concentration of British forces in European waters and with the intention of eventually combining with the French Mediterranean Fleet then blockaded in Spanish harbours.
On 25 September, Allemand achieved a major success when his squadron, while waiting for a convoy from the Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
, encountered a seven ship convoy from the island of Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
. The convoy's commander, Captain Daniel Woodriff in the fourth rate HMS Calcutta
HMS Calcutta (1795)
HMS Calcutta was an East Indiaman converted to a Royal Navy 56-gun fourth rate. This ship of the line served for a time as an armed transport. She also transported convicts to Australia in a voyage that became a circumnavigation of the world. The French 74-gun Magnanime captured Calcutta in 1805...
, sought to interpose his ship between the French squadron and his convoy and was captured after a fierce battle. All except one of convoy escaped, and by deliberately drawing the French away from his own convoy's direction, he had saved the Leewards Islands convoy from attack as well. After the battle, Allemand was forced to conduct repairs at Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, sailing again on 17 October, four days before the French Mediterranean Fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. With the planned invasion impossible, Allemand began commerce raiding in the Eastern Atlantic, capturing 43 merchant ships during his cruise and successfully disrupting the British blockade of Cadiz. This had an unintended but significant effect on the Atlantic campaign of 1806
Atlantic campaign of 1806
The Atlantic campaign of 1806 was a complicated series of manoeuveres and counter-manoeuveres conducted by squadrons of the French Navy and the British Royal Navy across the Atlantic Ocean during the spring and summer of 1806, as part of the Napoleonic Wars...
, resulting eventually in the Battle of San Domingo
Battle of San Domingo
The Battle of San Domingo, in 1806, was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. French and British squadrons of ships of the line met off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean...
in February 1806. Allemand returned to Rochefort on 23 December, having not lost a single ship during the expedition.
Trafalgar campaign
In March 1805, the French Mediterranean Fleet sailed from 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....
under Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar....
for an extended cruise to the West Indies, ultimately under orders to link with the French Atlantic Fleet based at Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
. Together these fleets would stage a major operation in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, driving off 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...
Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
and allowing a fleet of landing barges to land on the southern coast of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
as the first move in an invasion of Britain. Arriving at Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
on 14 May, Villeneuve waited for reinforcements from the Atlantic fleet, only to be informed on 2 June that they had failed to leave port. Despite repeated orders issued to the Atlantic fleet instructing them to sail to Martinique, Vice-Admiral Honoré Ganteaume had failed in his one effort to break out of Brest during March and then given up. His entire fleet ultimately remained in port throughout the campaign. On 7 June Villeneuve learned of the arrival in the Caribbean of the British Mediterranean Fleet under Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson and hastily sailed back to Europe, eventually sheltering in the Spanish harbour of Vigo
Vigo
Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...
after an encounter on 22 July with a British fleet under Sir Robert Calder
Robert Calder
Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
at the Battle of Cape Finisterre
Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)
In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies...
, in which two of his ships were captured. In the aftermath of the spring campaign, both Nelson and Calder returned to Britain, leaving only relatively small squadrons off the French and Spanish coasts.
Despite delays to his plan, Napoleon had pressed ahead with preparations for the Channel campaign: an army of 200,000 men was assembling at Boulogne for the invasion, and orders continued to insist that the fleets under Villeneuve and Ganteaume put to sea. Also ordered to sail was the squadron based at the Atlantic port of Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
, led by Contre-Admiral Zacharie Allemand
Zacharie Allemand
Zacharie Jacques Théodore Allemand, was a French admiral.- Early career :Allemand was born to a captain of the East Indian Company. Orphaned at an early age, he started his sailing career at 12 as an apprentice on Superbe, an East Indiaman...
. Allemand's squadron consisted of the powerful 120-gun ship Majestueux
French ship République française (1802)
The République française was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané and built by Pierre Rolland....
, three other ships of the line and several frigates and brigs, forming a significant force in its own right and a valuable addition to any battle fleet. Allemand was ordered to cruise off the southern coast of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, awaiting the combined fleets of Villeneuve and Ganteaume and their descent into the Channel. If this force did not materialise, Allemand was subsequently ordered to the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
to join up with Villeneuve on his route northwards and should this too fail then he was to conduct an extended commerce raiding
Commerce raiding
Commerce raiding or guerre de course is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt the logistics of an enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a blockade against them.Commerce raiding was heavily criticised by...
operation in the Atlantic to take advantage of the concentration of British forces off Europe and the consequent exposure of British trade.
Bay of Biscay
Allemand sailed from Rochefort on 16 July while the blockade squadron under Rear-Admiral Charles StirlingCharles Stirling
Sir Charles Stirling was a vice-admiral in the Royal Navy.-Early life and career:Charles Stirling was born in London on 28 April 1760 and baptised at St. Albans on 15 May. The son of Admiral Sir Walter Stirling, he was born into a family with a long and proud naval tradition. Stirling joined the...
was out of position, rapidly escaping the coast into the Atlantic. On 17 July, the squadron outran and captured the British 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 Ranger, rated as 18 guns but actually carrying 24. Ranger
The Lizard
The Lizard is a peninsula in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at ....
, the day after capturing Ranger. There he waited in vain for the fleet under Ganteaume, which had never departed Brest. Following his instructions, Allemand then sailed for the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
, where he was to meet the fleet under Villeneuve that had been ordered north to join with Ganteaume. He passed southwards during July and was in the region of Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
on 22 July: later records show that he was close enough to the site of the Battle of Cape Finisterre to have participated in the engagement if he had been aware that it was underway. News of Allemand's presence reached Villeneuve early in August and on 5 August he despatched the frigate Didon in search of the Rochefort squadron. Didon was followed on 9 August by the main fleet, including 29 ships of the line and associated frigates and corvettes. Villeneuve passed up the Spanish coast, anchoring off the village of Zerez, near Ferrol, on 10 August and departing the following day in a west by northwest direction. On 13 August the fleet was spotted by the frigates HMS Iris under Captain Edward Brace and HMS Naiad
HMS Naiad (1797)
HMS Naiad was a Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate that served in the Napoleonic Wars. She was built by Hall and Co. at Limehouse on the Thames, launched in 1797 and commissioned in 1798. She served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and her last actions occurred in 1824-5. She was paid...
under Captain Thomas Dundas
Thomas Dundas (Royal Navy officer)
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Dundas KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. An effective frigate captain he made a number of small captures, but not did not see action in any major fleet clashes,...
, who were forced to flee a French detachment sent in pursuit, losing sight of the enemy on 14 August as Villeneuve's main force continued to the northwest.
While Villeneuve was searching for Allemand, the Rochefort squadron was passing south along the Spanish coast in search of Villeneuve, anchoring at Vigo on 16 August without having seen any sign of the combined fleet. Villeneuve had not left instructions at Vigo for the Rochefort squadron and Allemand was uncertain where his superior was intending to sail to. One of Villeneuve's scouting frigates meanwhile had spoken with a Danish ship that reported a fleet of 25 British ships of the line actively searching the region for the combined fleet. When on the evening of 14 August Villeneuve's scouts sighted the ship of the line HMS Dragon
HMS Dragon (1798)
HMS Dragon was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 2 April 1798 at Rotherhithe. She was designed by Sir William Rule, and was the only ship built to her draught....
under Captain Edward Griffiths, the frigate HMS Phoenix
HMS Phoenix (1783)
HMS Phoenix was a 36-gun Perseverance-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The shipbuilder George Parsons built her at Bursledon and launched her on 15 July 1783. She served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was instrumental in the events leading up to the battle of Trafalgar...
and the captured Didon to the west, the French admiral assumed they were an advance guard of this British fleet and turned away to the south, the impression encouraged by frantic signals raised by Dragon. In fact, these ships were the only British forces in the region. The Danish ship had been boarded by Dragon earlier in the day and her crew deliberately fed misinformation about British strength. When the French scouts sighted Dragon, the presence of the captured Didon and Captain Griffiths' signals, that were made to an expanse of empty sea beyond the visible horizon on the French ship, successfully misled the French admiral into fleeing a non-existent fleet.
Bypassing Vigo on his flight southwards, Villeneuve put into the Southern Spanish fleet base of Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
on 20 August. By abandoning his efforts to reach the English Channel, Villeneuve was in effect abandoning the entire invasion strategy and, when news of Villeneuve's retreat reached him, Napoleon decided to formally abandon the campaign, marching the army at Boulogne south to the Austrian border. Without instructions from his superior, and with no idea where the main French fleet was, Allemand spent much of August off the Spanish coast before deciding to turn to the third aspect of his orders, the disruption of British trade.
The Calcutta convoy
The threat posed by the fleets in Brest and Cadiz was stretching the Royal Navy, and convoy escorts were weaker than usual as so many vessels had been diverted to the blockade fleets needed to watch French and Spanish movements. As a result, there were a number of independently sailing merchant ships in the Bay of Biscay and Allemand encountered and captured three on his journey north into the area later known as the Western ApproachesWestern Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
. From the prisoners taken out of these ships, the French admiral learned that a large convoy was due from the West Indies, protected only by a single ship of the line, HMS Illustrious
HMS Illustrious (1803)
HMS Illustrious was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 September 1803 at Rotherhithe.Illustrious served as a gunnery ship from 1854, and was broken up in 1868....
. This rich prize would be a major success for Allemand and his squadron cruised the Western Approaches in anticipation of its arrival during September 1805.
At 12:00 on 25 September at 49°30′N 09°00′W, Armide
French frigate Armide (1804)
Armide was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class, and launched in 1804 at Rochefort. She served briefly in the French navy before the British captured her in 1806. She went on to serve in the British Navy until 1815 when she was broken up.-French service:She took part in...
, an outlying frigate from Allemand's squadron, spotted sails to the southeast. Closing to investigate, these sails were identified as a small British convoy, not the expected force under Illustrious but another convoy from Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...
, consisting of the East Indiaman Indus, two whalers, three small merchant ships, the slow merchant vessel Brothers and the 50-gun fourth rate ship HMS Calcutta
HMS Calcutta (1795)
HMS Calcutta was an East Indiaman converted to a Royal Navy 56-gun fourth rate. This ship of the line served for a time as an armed transport. She also transported convicts to Australia in a voyage that became a circumnavigation of the world. The French 74-gun Magnanime captured Calcutta in 1805...
. The convoy had departed Saint Helena with seven ships on 3 August, and made fast time northwards until 14 September when it was joined by Brothers, which had been blown out of the Illustrious convoy by Atlantic gales several days earlier. Brothers was a heavily laden ship that sailed poorly, and as a result the entire Saint Helens convoy was severely delayed. When lookouts on Calcutta sighted the sails to the northwest, Captain Daniel Woodriff was not immediately alarmed. He was expecting the Illustrious convoy from that direction, and knew that a number of British squadrons were at sea. Throughout the afternoon and the following night the sails closed with his squadron until at 11:00 on 26 September they were close enough for Woodriff to make the Royal Navy secret recognition signals.
By 12:00, Woodriff had realised that the approaching ships did not know the recognition signals and therefore must be enemies. With his first priority to protect his convoy, Woodriff sent an urgent message to Indus, the largest and strongest of the merchant ships, to lead the main body of the convoy ahead eastwards at all speed. With his most valuable charges now making distance away from the French, Woodriff persuaded the captain of Brothers to sail northwards while he intended to engage the French directly and draw them southwards, away from the Saint Helena convoy and also away from the projected track of the Illustrious convoy. Once the merchant ships were gone beyond the horizon, Woodriff turned Calcutta about and sailed directly for the nearest French ship, the frigate Armide, which was gaining on his vessel. Armide was far more nimble than the lumbering Calcutta, and rapidly passed her out of range of her broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
, the frigate turning about and opening fire with her stern chasers, cannon mounted in the front of the ship, at 15:00. Calcutta replied ineffectually with her bow chasers, until Armide allowed the British ship to draw alongside. The two ships then opened a heavy fire on one another which continued for an hour until Armide, with her rigging badly damaged, drew back towards the rapidly approaching French squadron.
At 17:00, the leading French ship of the line, Magnanime
French ship Magnanime (1803)
The Magnanime was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Her keel was laid in June 1802, and she was launched in Rochefort on 18 August 1803.She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under Captain Pierre-Francois Violette...
, came within range with her bow chasers. Calcutta continued sailing southwards, remaining ahead of the squadron but not at a sufficient distance to avoid Magnanime
French frigate Thétis (1788)
Thétis was a 40-gun Nymphe-class frigate frigate of the French Navy.From 1790, she served in various diplomatic missions in the Indian Ocean, before returning for a refit in Brest in 1793. From 1795, she was shuttled from France to Guadeloupe...
, could join the battle. Captain Pierre-Francois Violette on Magnanime prepared to meet Calcutta and the engagement rapidly became furious, Calcutta and Magnanime exchanging full broadsides at close range. Within 45 minutes, it was clear that Woodriff's gamble had failed. The larger and more powerful Magnanime inflicted severe damage to the British ship's rigging, rendering her unable to manoeuvre or escape, with the remainder of the French squadron bearing down. With defeat inevitable, Woodriff spared the lives of his men by striking his colours and surrendering to Violette. Although Calcutta was badly damaged among her rigging and sails, her hull had suffered little from the engagement and she had only lost six killed and six wounded. French casualties were negligible, although Armide was forced to undergo extensive temporary repairs on her own sails and rigging before she was able to operate as a scout once more. Brothers had also been captured: the corvette Sylphe
French corvette Sylphe (1804)
Sylphe was ar Abeille class 16-gun brig of the French Navy.She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under commander Langlois, capturing the merchantman Brothers...
had separated during the chase and rapidly overhauled the lumbering merchant ship, which had surrendered without a fight.
Raiding operations
Woodriff's resistance had an important indirect effect on Allemand's cruise. In drawing the squadron southwards, Woodriff had pulled them out of the line travelled by the Illustrious convoy. In the aftermath of the engagement, it took two days to repair the battered Calcutta and in that time the convoy had safely passed Allemand's former position without sighting the French force. With his object frustrated, Allemand completed the repairs to Calcutta and crewed her with men drawn from the rest of the squadron, adding the ship to his force. Aware that news of his presence would rapidly spread, Allemand subsequently turned southwards, sailing from the North Atlantic to the coast of North Africa to avoid pursuing British forces. There Allemand anchored for a time at the Spanish island of TenerifeTenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, where he was able to repair and resupply his squadron before embarking on a lengthy cruise against the British convoys that regularly crossed the region.
Elsewhere, the Trafalgar campaign reached its climax on 21 October 1805, when Villeneuve's fleet was intercepted at sea off Cadiz by Nelson's fleet and destroyed at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, the French and Spanish losing 17 out of 30 ships of the line. The British fleet did not lose a single ship, but the cost of the victory was severe: Lord Nelson, victor of four major battles in the previous eight years, had been killed at the height of the combat by a musket ball. The survivors of the combined fleet scattered, most making their way back to Cadiz. However, the four ships of the French vanguard, which had rapidly outdistanced the battle and not returned, escaped towards the Bay of Biscay under Contre-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
Vice-Admiral Count Pierre-Etienne-René-Marie Dumanoir Le Pelley was a French Navy officer, best known for commanding the vanguard of the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...
. Allemand's cruise was to have unforeseen consequences for Dumanoir's squadron: among the British forces mustered to hunt for the ships from Rochefort was a squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan in HMS Caesar
HMS Caesar (1793)
HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:...
, consisting of five ships of the line and two frigates. On 2 November, the frigate HMS Phoenix, which had also been ordered to search for signs of Allemand, discovered four French ships near Cape Finisterre. Unaware of the events of Trafalgar and assuming these ships to be a part of Allemand's force, Captain Dundas sought to lure them towards Strachan's squadron, which he knew to be in the area. Dundas was successful in provoking Dumanoir to chase his frigate, and two days later, on 4 February, Strachan was able to bring the French squadron to battle, capturing all four ships at the Battle of Cape Ortegal
Battle of Cape Ortegal
The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the Trafalgar Campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar...
.
As these events unfolded Allemand was many hundreds of miles to the south, preying successfully on the trade that passed along the African coast without any serious opposition from major British forces, which were still largely confined to European waters. There was particular fear in Britain that Allemand might intercept two convoys of vital strategic importance: one extremely valuable convoy from India to Britain that also carried Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
as a passenger, and an expeditionary force under Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham
Home Riggs Popham
Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham KCB was a British Royal Naval Commander who saw service during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
for a planned invasion of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. In the event however, both these convoys managed to successfully avoid Allemand's force. On 20 November, with his supplies running low, Allemand attacked a convoy of seven ships sailing from Britain to Goree
Gorée
Île de Gorée Île de Gorée Île de Gorée (i.e. "Gorée Island"; is one of the 19 communes d'arrondissement (i.e. "commune of arrondissement") of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is a island located at sea from the main harbor of Dakar ....
, passing close to the Savage Islands
Savage Islands
The Savage Islands, also referred to as the Salvage Islands or the Selvagens Islands, of Sé. They are designated a Nature Reserve, comprising two areas: one on Selvagem Grande Island and the second on Selvagem Pequena Island.-Geography:...
. Although his attack was successful, Allemand was unable to prevent the escape of the convoy's escort, the 18 gun brig HMS Lark
HMS Lark (1794)
HMS Lark was a 16-gun ship sloop of the Cormorant class, built in 1794 at Northfleet. She served primarily in the Caribbean, where she took a number of prizes, some after quite intensive action...
under Commander Frederick Langford. Making all sail northwards in search of reinforcements, Langford encountered his target on 26 November, meeting HMS Agamemnon
HMS Agamemnon (1781)
HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts...
, one of the ships that made up the squadron under Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth
John Thomas Duckworth
Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...
. Duckworth had, with his subordinate Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis
Thomas Louis
Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis, 1st Baronet was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served in three wars and saw numerous actions, notably as one of Horatio Nelson's "Band of Brothers" in the Mediterranean in 1798 who commanded ships at the Battle of the Nile...
, been ordered to keep a close blockade on Cadiz in case the remainder of the combined fleet that still sat at anchor there should try to escape. The work was tedious, and Duckworth immediately abandoned his post when news of attack by Allemand's squadron reached him. He cast southwards in search of the French, leaving Cadiz guarded by just two frigates.
Allemand was aware of the risk involved in allowing Lark to escape, and was already many miles to the north when Duckworth headed southwards. There was no benefit to be had in a battle with Duckworth or any other British squadron and he did not delay on his journey home, reaching Rochefort without further incident on 23 December. His actions off the Savage Islands were to have far reaching consequences however. Duckworth continued southwards for much of December 1805, only turning back north once he had reached the Cape Verde Islands, a point far too far south for Allemand to have been operating in. Accepting that his enemy had escaped him, Duckworth turned back north but soon afterwards ran into the frigate HMS Arethusa
HMS Arethusa (1781)
HMS Arethusa was a 38-gun Minerva-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy built at Bristol in 1781.She took part in the Action of 23 April 1794, capturing Pomone....
under Captain Charles Brisbane
Charles Brisbane
Sir Charles Brisbane KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence, and with distinction under Lords Hood and Nelson....
, whose large convoy had been broken up by an unidentified French battle squadron in the Bay of Biscay. Assuming this force to be Allemand, Duckworth set a course to intercept them based on their last known heading. Duckworth's reckoning was good, and on 26 December he encountered a large squadron and immediately gave chase. It was not until sometime later that he realised the force he was chasing was too large to be Allemand's: in fact Duckworth had stumbled into a squadron under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez, sent from Brest with another force under Contre-Admiral Corentin-Urbain Leissègues on 15 December at the start of the Atlantic campaign of 1806
Atlantic campaign of 1806
The Atlantic campaign of 1806 was a complicated series of manoeuveres and counter-manoeuveres conducted by squadrons of the French Navy and the British Royal Navy across the Atlantic Ocean during the spring and summer of 1806, as part of the Napoleonic Wars...
, an operation largely inspired by the success of Allemand's expedition. Although Willaumez was eventually able to outrun Duckworth, the chase continued for so long that Duckworth's squadron was forced to take on fresh supplies at St Kitts in the West Indies. There news reached him that Leissègues had been sighted off Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
and he sailed to investigate, annihilating the French squadron at the Battle of San Domingo
Battle of San Domingo
The Battle of San Domingo, in 1806, was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. French and British squadrons of ships of the line met off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean...
in February 1806.
Aftermath
The French naval authorities considered Allemand's cruise a major success in a year that had cost them huge numbers of ships and men. In addition to Ranger and Calcutta, Allemand had captured the hired naval cutter Dove and 43 merchant ships, including the lumbering Brothers. With the exception of Calcutta, all of these prizes had been burnt and their prisoners had been transferred to the French squadron, 1,200 in total. For minimal casualties, Allemand had inflicted a blow against British Atlantic trade and tied up substantial Royal Navy resources during a complicated and strategically vital campaign. Calcutta was bought into the French Navy and became an armed storeship, still carrying the designated 50-guns. She served for three years before her destruction at the Battle of Basque Roads in April 1809. Her British officers were later exchangedPrisoner exchange
A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners. These may be prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc...
and honourably acquitted at the court martial that investigated her loss.
In France, Allemand was highly commended for the success of his operation, especially as both Leissègues and Willaumez met with disaster during the 1806 campaign. He remained with the Atlantic fleet for the next two years and in 1808 commanded a second successful operation in the Atlantic, carrying reinforcements to the Mediterranean Fleet at 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....
. In 1809 he returned to the Brest fleet as its commander, his ships trapped near the Île-d'Aix
Île-d'Aix
Île-d'Aix is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department off the west coast of France. It occupies the territory of small island of Île d'Aix in the Atlantic. It is a popular place for tourist day-trips during the summer months.-Location:...
. He subsequently commanded the fleet at the defeat of the Battle of Basque Roads. His captains on the expedition were also praised and two later led their own campaigns, although both ended in defeat: Captain Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil
Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil
Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil was a French Navy officer and captain.- Biography :Born to the family of a surgeon, Soleil started sailing on a merchantman in 1783. In 1785, he served in the French Royal Navy on a fluyt, before returning to merchant shipping.In August 1789, Soleil joined up as a...
was in command of the frigate squadron destined for the West Indies that was destroyed in the Bay of Biscay at the Action of 25 September 1806
Action of 25 September 1806
The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of...
, while Captain Amable-Gilles Troude led a larger squadron
Troude's expedition to the Caribbean
Troude's expedition to the Caribbean was a naval operation by a French force under Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude during the Napoleonic Wars. The French squadron departed from Lorient in February 1809 in an attempt to reach and resupply the island colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, then...
to the West Indies in early 1809, suffering defeat in a battle off the Îles des Saintes
Îles des Saintes
The Îles des Saintes , also called simply Les Saintes , is a small archipelago of French Antilles located in the South of Basse-Terre Island, on the West of Marie-Galante and in the North of Dominica in the arc of Lesser Antilles...
.
Order of battle
| Admiral Allemand's squadron | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Guns | Commander | Notes | |||||||
| Majestueux | 120 | Contre-Admiral Zacharie Allemand Zacharie Allemand Zacharie Jacques Théodore Allemand, was a French admiral.- Early career :Allemand was born to a captain of the East Indian Company. Orphaned at an early age, he started his sailing career at 12 as an apprentice on Superbe, an East Indiaman... Captain Etienne-Joseph Willaumez |
||||||||
| Magnanime French ship Magnanime (1803) The Magnanime was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Her keel was laid in June 1802, and she was launched in Rochefort on 18 August 1803.She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under Captain Pierre-Francois Violette... |
74 | Captain Pierre-Francois Violette | Heavily engaged with Calcutta, suffered moderate damage. | |||||||
| Jemmapes French ship Jemmapes (1794) The Jemmapes was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Laid down as Alexandre, she was renamed Jemmapes on 7 January 1793 in honour of the Battle of Jemappes. She took part in the Atlantic campaign of May 1794 and ultimately in the Glorious First of June... |
74 | Captain Jean-Nicolas Petit | ||||||||
| Suffren French ship Suffren (1801) The Suffren was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Suffren took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under Captain Amable Troude.... |
74 | Captain Amable-Gilles Troude | ||||||||
| Lion French ship Lion (1803) The Lion was a Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under Captain Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil.... |
74 | Captain Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil was a French Navy officer and captain.- Biography :Born to the family of a surgeon, Soleil started sailing on a merchantman in 1783. In 1785, he served in the French Royal Navy on a fluyt, before returning to merchant shipping.In August 1789, Soleil joined up as a... |
||||||||
| Calcutta HMS Calcutta (1795) HMS Calcutta was an East Indiaman converted to a Royal Navy 56-gun fourth rate. This ship of the line served for a time as an armed transport. She also transported convicts to Australia in a voyage that became a circumnavigation of the world. The French 74-gun Magnanime captured Calcutta in 1805... |
50 | Captured on 26 September and remained with the squadron throughout the cruise. | ||||||||
| Armide French frigate Armide (1804) Armide was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class, and launched in 1804 at Rochefort. She served briefly in the French navy before the British captured her in 1806. She went on to serve in the British Navy until 1815 when she was broken up.-French service:She took part in... |
40 | Louvel | Heavily engaged with Calcutta, suffered moderate damage. | |||||||
| Gloire French frigate Gloire (1803) Gloire was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy.She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805. On 18 July, she captured and burnt a Prussian cutter to maintain the secrecy of the movements of the fleet, in spite of the neutrality of Prussia at the time... |
40 | Commander Bonamy | ||||||||
| Thétis French frigate Thétis (1788) Thétis was a 40-gun Nymphe-class frigate frigate of the French Navy.From 1790, she served in various diplomatic missions in the Indian Ocean, before returning for a refit in Brest in 1793. From 1795, she was shuttled from France to Guadeloupe... |
36 | Lieutenant Baudoin | ||||||||
| Sylphe French corvette Sylphe (1804) Sylphe was ar Abeille class 16-gun brig of the French Navy.She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under commander Langlois, capturing the merchantman Brothers... |
16 | Langlois | ||||||||
| Palinure | 16 | Jance | ||||||||
| Source: James, p. 148 | ||||||||||