Battle of Fayal
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Fayal was an engagement fought in September 1814 during the war
between the United States
and the United Kingdom
at the Portuguese
colony of Fayal
in the Azores
. A British warship and several boats filled with sailors and marines attacked an American privateer
in port. After repulsing two British attacks, the Americans won a tactical victory but they scuttled their ship the following morning to prevent her from being captured.
ships HMS Plantagenent of seventy-four guns was commanded by Captain
Robert Loyd and was sailing to the West Indies with two other ships for the Louisiana Campaign
. The other ships were the thirty-eight gun frigate
HMS Rota and the eighteen gun brig-sloop HMS Carnation. At night on September 26, all three were in company and cruising in Fayal Roads when the spotted the Baltimore Clipper
General Armstrong, a brig
of seven guns and with a complement of about ninety men. She was commanded by Captain Samuel Chester Reid
who was not prepared to surrender his ship. First Captain Loyd ordered that a pinnace
under Lieutenant
Robert Faussett be sent from the Plantagenet to ascertain the nationality of the stranger in port. But when the British came within gun range of the American vessel and requested that it's crew identify themselves, Captain Reid declared that he we would fire if the British came any closer.
At about 9:00 pm, twelve boats armed with carronade
s and filled with 180 marines and sailors from the Plantagenet and the Rota were towed into battle by the Carnation which stopped out of gun range. There the boats divided into three divisions for another attack. Lieutenant William Matterface commanded the boats and Carnation was directed to provide covering fire. Loyd anchored the Rota and the Plantagenet a few miles away from the Americans and they did not participate in the engagement. Just after 9:00 pm the British headed forward, the boats advanced but accurate American fire and the current kept the Carnation from closing the range and she was damaged fairly. It took Lieutenant Matterface until about 12:00 am for his boats to reach the General Armstrong, largely due to the current but partly because of where Loyd had stopped his ships. While the Americans were waiting they offloaded three of their cannon and erected a battery so when the British arrived, a boarding was attempted but the American gunners sank two of the British vessels before they could get close, captured two more and killed many with swords and musketry at point blank range. Lieutenant Matterface along with several other officers were killed and no one of sufficient rank survived to lead the remaining Britons.
Altogether thirty-six Royal Navy sailors and marines were killed in action, another ninety-three were wounded. The main action lasted over a half hour and only two Americans were killed and seven wounded in total, including Reid who was hit with a musket ball. Reid's men fired nails, knife blades, brass buttons and other makeshift projectiles from their cannon which reportedly caused severe pain to the surviving British. After being repulsed the British slowly rowed back to their ships and it was 2:00 am on September 27 when they found them. Captain Loyd's response to the defeat was sending the Carnation back to destroy the General Armstrong after daylight but when she arrived, American fire damaged her some more so she broke off the attack. A little later the Carnation appeared again but Captain Reid had already chose to scuttle his brig by firing one of his swivel guns straight through the hull, the vessel was boarded while she sank and the British set her sails on fire. Reid and his crew made it to shore and escaped, the British wanted to land a detachment to search for the Americans but the Portuguese governor
prevented them from doing this. Captain Reid and the crew of General Armstrong are credited with helping delay the British attack on New Orleans and when they returned to America they were greeted as heroes.
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colony of Fayal
Faial Island
Faial Island , also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group of the Azores....
in the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. A British warship and several boats filled with sailors and marines attacked an American privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
in port. After repulsing two British attacks, the Americans won a tactical victory but they scuttled their ship the following morning to prevent her from being captured.
Background
The Royal NavyRoyal 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...
ships HMS Plantagenent of seventy-four guns was commanded by Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Robert Loyd and was sailing to the West Indies with two other ships for the Louisiana Campaign
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...
. The other ships were the thirty-eight 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"...
HMS Rota and the eighteen gun brig-sloop HMS Carnation. At night on September 26, all three were in company and cruising in Fayal Roads when the spotted the Baltimore Clipper
Baltimore Clipper
Baltimore Clipper is the colloquial name for fast sailing ships built on the south-eastern seaboard of the United States of America, especially at the port of Baltimore, Maryland...
General Armstrong, a 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...
of seven guns and with a complement of about ninety men. She was commanded by Captain Samuel Chester Reid
Samuel Chester Reid
Samuel Chester Reid was an officer in the United States Navy who commanded a privateer during the War of 1812. He is also noted for having helped design the 1818 version of the flag of the United States, which first established the rule of keeping thirteen stripes and adding one star for each U.S...
who was not prepared to surrender his ship. First Captain Loyd ordered that a pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
under Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Robert Faussett be sent from the Plantagenet to ascertain the nationality of the stranger in port. But when the British came within gun range of the American vessel and requested that it's crew identify themselves, Captain Reid declared that he we would fire if the British came any closer.
Battle
Rough tide water ended up starting the engagement, according to British reports Lieutenant Faussett couldn't stop his boat where he wanted to and it ended up drifting too close to the General Armstrong. The Americans then opened fire with their long 9-pounders and scored hits on the pinnace. Two men were killed and seven others wounded before it was able to retire out of range. Carnation then immediately moved in and anchored in front of the American schooner to begin negotiations for a solution to the problem at hand. When discussing for a peaceful solution failed and now that the General Armstrong had fired the first shot in a neutral port, Carnation cut her cable and lowered four boats filled with heavily armed men and headed towards Captain Reid as he maneuvered his ship closer to shore. The first attack came at about 8:00 pm and when the American observed the incoming boats they maneuvered again to receive them. In the following skirmish, Carnation was kept out of range by enemy fire and the boats were repulsed with a loss estimated by Reid to be twenty dead and twenty wounded, one American was killed and another wounded.At about 9:00 pm, twelve boats armed with carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s and filled with 180 marines and sailors from the Plantagenet and the Rota were towed into battle by the Carnation which stopped out of gun range. There the boats divided into three divisions for another attack. Lieutenant William Matterface commanded the boats and Carnation was directed to provide covering fire. Loyd anchored the Rota and the Plantagenet a few miles away from the Americans and they did not participate in the engagement. Just after 9:00 pm the British headed forward, the boats advanced but accurate American fire and the current kept the Carnation from closing the range and she was damaged fairly. It took Lieutenant Matterface until about 12:00 am for his boats to reach the General Armstrong, largely due to the current but partly because of where Loyd had stopped his ships. While the Americans were waiting they offloaded three of their cannon and erected a battery so when the British arrived, a boarding was attempted but the American gunners sank two of the British vessels before they could get close, captured two more and killed many with swords and musketry at point blank range. Lieutenant Matterface along with several other officers were killed and no one of sufficient rank survived to lead the remaining Britons.
Altogether thirty-six Royal Navy sailors and marines were killed in action, another ninety-three were wounded. The main action lasted over a half hour and only two Americans were killed and seven wounded in total, including Reid who was hit with a musket ball. Reid's men fired nails, knife blades, brass buttons and other makeshift projectiles from their cannon which reportedly caused severe pain to the surviving British. After being repulsed the British slowly rowed back to their ships and it was 2:00 am on September 27 when they found them. Captain Loyd's response to the defeat was sending the Carnation back to destroy the General Armstrong after daylight but when she arrived, American fire damaged her some more so she broke off the attack. A little later the Carnation appeared again but Captain Reid had already chose to scuttle his brig by firing one of his swivel guns straight through the hull, the vessel was boarded while she sank and the British set her sails on fire. Reid and his crew made it to shore and escaped, the British wanted to land a detachment to search for the Americans but the Portuguese governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
prevented them from doing this. Captain Reid and the crew of General Armstrong are credited with helping delay the British attack on New Orleans and when they returned to America they were greeted as heroes.