Expédition d'Irlande
Encyclopedia
The Expédition d'Irlande ("Expedition to Ireland") was an unsuccessful attempt by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars
to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican
group, in their planned rebellion against British rule. The French intended to land a large expeditionary force in Ireland during the winter of 1796–1797 which would join with the United Irishmen and drive the British out of Ireland. The French anticipated that this would be a major blow to British morale, prestige and military effectiveness, and was also intended to possibly be the first stage of an eventual invasion of Britain itself. To this end, the French Directory
gathered a force of approximately 15,000 soldiers at Brest
under General Lazare Hoche
during late 1796, in readiness for a major landing at Bantry Bay
in December.
The operation was launched during one of the stormiest winters of the 18th century, with the French fleet unprepared for such severe conditions. Patrolling British frigates observed the departure of the fleet and notified the British Channel Fleet
, most of which was sheltering at Spithead
for the winter. The French fleet was subject to confused orders as it left port and was scattered across the approaches to Brest: one ship was wrecked with heavy loss of life and the others widely dispersed. Separated, most the French fleet managed to reach Bantry Bay late in December, but its commanders were driven miles off course and without them the fleet was unsure of what action to take, with amphibious landings impossible due to the weather conditions, which were the worst recorded since 1708. Within a week the fleet had broken up, small squadrons and individual ships making their way back to Brest through storms, fog and British patrols.
The British were largely unable to effectively interfere with the French fleet before, during or after the invasion. A few ships operating from Cork
captured isolated French warships and transports, but the only significant British response came from Captain Sir Edward Pellew, who was able to drive the French ship of the line ashore in the Action of 13 January 1797
with the loss of over 1,000 lives. In total, the French lost 12 ships captured or wrecked and thousands of soldiers and sailors drowned, without a single man reaching Ireland except as a prisoner of war
. Both navies were criticised by their governments for their behaviour during the campaign, but the French were encouraged to launch a second attempt in 1798, successfully landing 2,000 men in August but failing to influence the Irish Rebellion
and again losing significant numbers of men and ships.
Following the French Revolution
in 1789, the republican cause was taken up in many countries, including Ireland
, at that time ruled by the Kingdom of Great Britain
. Opposition to British rule had existed in Ireland for centuries, but the French example, combined with by the imposition of the Penal Laws which discriminated against the Catholic
majority, prompted the creation of the Society of United Irishmen, a broad nonsectarian coalition of groups seeking to create an Irish Republic
in the place of the British government. Initially a non-violent political movement, the United Irishmen were forced to operate as a secret society after membership was made illegal in 1793 at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
. Deciding that their only hope of creating the Irish Republic lay in armed revolt, the United Irishmen began secretly organising and arming their forces. In search of external aid, two of their leaders, Lord Edward FitzGerald
and Arthur O'Connor travelled to Basle to meet with French General Lazare Hoche
. Their efforts were supported by Protestant Dublin lawyer Theobald Wolfe Tone
, who travelled to Paris to appeal to the French Directory
in person. During this period, the British government repealed some of the Penal Laws, in an attempt to quell unrest.
The First French Republic had long planned an invasion of the British Isles, but their ambitions had been repeatedly thwarted by other factors, including other fronts of the Revolutionary Wars, the War in the Vendée and the parlous state of the French Navy
. This latter problem was a major cause for concern: the Navy had suffered heavily from the removal of its officer corps during the Revolution and then endured a series of military setbacks, culminating in the tactical defeat at the Glorious First of June
in 1794 and the disastrous Croisière du Grand Hiver
in 1795. Peace on several fronts in 1795 convinced the new French Directory
that Britain was one of their most dangerous remaining opponents, and they determined to defeat them through invasion.
The applications from Tone intrigued the Directory, which understood that by attacking Ireland they would be striking at the least defensible part of the British Isles. Support for the British government was weakest there and the United Irishmen optimistically claimed to be able to raise an irregular army of as many as 250,000 waiting to join the French once they had landed, with the additional attraction that a successful establishment of an Irish Republic would prove an ideological coup for the French Republic. Finally and most significantly, a large expeditionary force in Ireland could provide an ideal springboard for an invasion of Britain, especially in combination with a plan then under development to land 2,000 uniformed criminals in Cornwall
, who would distract the British Army
during the invasion of Ireland and could potentially provide a beachhead
for future operations.
. The number of soldiers earmarked for the invasion is uncertain: the French Directory suggested 25,000 men would be required, the Irish delegates insisting that 15,000 would be sufficient. Estimates of the number of soldiers eventually embarked range between 13,500 and 20,000.[Note A]
By August the plan was already behind schedule: severe shortages of stores and wages slowed work at the Brest shipyards, while the troops set aside for the invasion of Cornwall proved unreliable, deserting in large numbers. A practice voyage of the Cornish invasion fleet ended in total failure, as the small ships intended for the operation proved unable to operate in open water. The plan was dropped and the reliable soldiers from the unit were merged into the Ireland expeditionary force and the rest returned to prison. Reinforcements from the Mediterranean Fleet were also delayed: seven ships under Rear-Admiral Joseph de Richery
had to shelter from the British blockade squadron in Rochefort
, only arriving in Brest on 8 December, while a second fleet under Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
did not arrive until after the expeditionary force had departed.
Throughout late 1796, progress on the expedition faltered. Hoche publicly blamed the naval command and specifically Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse
for the delay, whom he accused of being more interested in the planning of a proposed invasion of India. In October, Villaret was replaced by Vice-Admiral Morard de Galles
and the India plans were cancelled, while Hoche was placed in direct command of discipline within the fleet. By the second week of December the fleet was ready, consisting of 17 ships of the line, 13 frigate
s and 14 other vessels, including several large transports created made by removing the cannon
from old frigates to maximise cargo space. Each ship of the line carried 600 soldiers, the frigates 250 and the transports approximately 400. Included were cavalry units, field artillery and substantial military stores with which to arm the thousands of anticipated Irish volunteers. Hoche was still dissatisfied, announcing to the Directory on 8 December that he would rather lead his men in any other operation than the planned attack on Ireland. He was supported by Morard de Galles, who admitted that his men were so inexperienced at sea that encounters with the enemy should be avoided wherever possible.
and issued orders for his ships to pass through the Raz de Sein. The Raz was a dangerous narrow channel littered with rocks and sandbanks and subject to heavy surf during bad weather, but would also obscure the size, strength and direction of the French fleet from the British squadron offshore, which French scouts claimed consisted of 30 ships.
Despite the French reports, the principal British blockade squadron was absent from the approaches to Brest during the night of 15 December. Most of the fleet had retired to one of the British Channel Ports to avoid the winter storms, while the remaining squadron under Rear-Admiral John Colpoys
had been forced to retreat 40 nautical miles (74.1 km) into the Atlantic to avoid the risk of being driven onto the rocky French Biscay shoreline during a storm. The only British ships within sight of Brest were a frigate squadron, consisting of , , , and the lugger
HMS Duke of York, under the command of Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Indefatigable. Pellew had noted French preparations on 11 December and immediately sent Phoebe to warn Colpoys and Amazon to Falmouth
, to alert the Admiralty
. He remained off Brest with the rest of the squadron, and sighted the main French fleet at 15:30 on 15 December, bringing his frigates inshore towards Camaret Bay to establish its size and purpose. At 15:30 on 16 December, the French sailed from the Bay, Pellew observing closely and despatching Revolutionnaire to assist in the search for Colpoys.
Morard de Galles had spent most of 16 December preparing for passage through the Raz de Sein, situating temporary lightships in the channel to warn of hazards and giving instructions on the use of signal rockets during the passage. The fleet was so delayed in this work that darkness began to fall before preparations were complete and he abandoned the plan at approximately 16:00 and signalled for the fleet to leave via the main channel from the port, leading the way in his flagship, the frigate . It was so dark by the time the signal was made that most ships failed to see it, Fraternité and the corvette
Atalante attempting to notify them by rocket signal. These signals were confusing and many ships failed to understand, sailing for the Raz de Sein rather than the main channel. Pellew added to the problem by weaving ahead of the fleet shining blue lights and firing rockets, further confusing the French captains as to their location.
When dawn broke on 17 December, most of the French fleet was scattered across the approaches to Brest. The largest intact group was that under Vice-Admiral François Joseph Bouvet
, which had come through the Raz de Sein with nine ships of the line, six frigates and one transport. The other ships, including Fraternité, which also carried General Hoche, were alone or in small groups, the captains forced open their secret orders to discover their destination, in the absence of instructions from any commanding officers. One ship had been lost, the 74-gun ship of the line had driven onto the Grand Stevenent rock during the night and sank with 680 lives. She too had fired numerous rockets and signal guns in an effort to attract attention, succeeding only in compounding the confusion in the fleet. Pellew, unable now to affect the large French force, sailed for Falmouth to telegraph his report to the Admiralty and replenish his supplies.
in southern Ireland, the designated rendezvous point where he was instructed by his sealed orders to wait five days for further instructions from France. One of the ships still missing was the Fraternité. Despite the disappearance of its commanders the French fleet continued to Bantry Bay
, sailing through both high winds and thick fog, which delayed its arrival until 21 December. While Bouvet sailed for Ireland, Fraternité crossed the Western Approaches
in search of the fleet, accompanied by , and . Unwittingly passing Bouvet's fleet in the fog, de Galles separated from his small squadron near the rendezvous on 21 December, only to discover a British frigate immediately ahead. Retreating from the threat, Fraternité was chased far into the Atlantic before she could escape the unidentified pursuer. On the return journey de Galle found the winds against him, and it took eight days to regain Mizen Head.
Phoebe did not find Colpoys until 19 December, deep in the Bay of Biscay
. The following day he sighted the delayed French squadron under Villeneuve and gave chase, but Villeneuve was able to outrun Colpoys' pursuit in a gale, reaching Lorient
ahead of the British, whose ships were badly damaged by the storm. Unable to continue operations, Colpoys was forced to retreat to Spithead
for repairs. The response from the Channel Fleet under Lord Bridport
was similarly ineffective. News of the French departure from Brest did not arrive in Plymouth
, the most westerly of the British fleet ports, until 20 December. Many of Bridport's ships, based at Spithead, were not ready for sea and it was several days before enough vessels were manned and equipped for service. The order to leave port was issued on 25 December, but the fleet was almost immediately thrown into chaos when the large second-rate
swung out of control and collided with the 80-gun . At almost the same time, another second-rate, , was driven into the 100-gun first-rate
HMS Ville de Paris
by strong winds while the 98-gun grounded. All five ships were required to enter dock for extensive repairs, denying Bridport his strongest vessels and delaying his departure further. When he eventually reached St Helens
, the departure point from the Solent
, the wind was blowing from the west and his remaining eight ships were rendered immobile until 3 January.
In the absence of Morard de Galles and Hoche, Bouvet and his army counterpart, General Emmanuel de Grouchy, gave orders on 21 December for the fleet to anchor in preparation for landings the following day. Local maritime pilot
s, believing the fleet to be British, rowed out to the ships and were seized, providing the French with guides to the best landing sites. During the night of 21 December, the weather suddenly and significantly worsened, Atlantic gales bringing blizzards that hid the shoreline and forced the fleet to anchor or risk being wrecked. For four days they remained in the Bay, the inexperienced French sailors, lacking any winter clothing, unable to operate their ships in the coldest winter recorded since 1708. On 24 December the wind slackened and a council of war was convened among the expedition's senior officers. Together they resolved to force a landing despite the weather, identifying a nearby creek as the safest point and giving orders for the operation to go ahead at first light on 25 December. During the night the weather deteriorated once more, and by morning the waves were so violent that they were breaking over the bows of many ships. Anchors dragged and a number of vessels were blown right out of the Bay and into the Atlantic, unable to return against the wind. In the storm, the largest ship of the line, the , collided with the frigate and both suffered severe damage.
For four more days Bouvet's ships were battered by the high winds, none able to approach the shore without severe risk of being destroyed on the rocky coast. Losing their anchors as the cables snapped, many ships were forced to run before the wind and scatter into the Western Approaches. Others were destroyed: an American ship named Ellis, passing close to Crookhaven
on 29 December, encountered a vessel wallowing in the waves, dismasted and with the deck strewn with bodies. The American captain, Harvey, reported that he approached the ship but was unable to assist her due to the storm and as he watched, the ship was driven ashore and destroyed. This was the 44-gun frigate , of which only seven men survived from her complement of 550 crew and passengers. Harvey also recounted coming across the and frigate . Captain Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
was in the process of removing the crew and passengers from Scévola before she foundered, the heavy weather having reduced the 40-gun razee
frigate to a sinking condition. Ellis was not the only ship to discover Révolution; the long-delayed Fraternité encountered the ships and observed the destruction of the Scévola, which was burnt once she had been abandoned.
Bouvet had been driven offshore in his flagship Immortalité during the storm, and when the wind fell during 29 December he decided to abandon the operation. Signalling to the ships within view, he ordered his remaining squadron to sail southeast towards Brest. Some ships failed to receive the message and continued to the second rendezvous off the River Shannon
, but they were few and scattered and in the continuing storms no landing was possible. With provisions running low, these ships also turned and sailed for Brest, as the weather worsened once more. As their expeditionary force sailed home, Morard de Galles and Hoche arrived in Bantry Bay on 30 December, discovering that the fleet had gone. With their own provisions almost exhausted, Fraternité and Révolution were forced to return to France as well. The British response to the attempted invasion continued to be inadequate, Colpoys arriving at Spithead on 31 December with only six of his ships still in formation. Only a handful of ships based at Cork
under Rear-Admiral Robert Kingsmill
, principally under Captain George Lumsdaine and a frigate squadron, interfered with the French fleet: Polyphemus seized the transport on 30 December and captured the transport shortly afterwards, although she was later recaptured by the French frigate .
, were rescued by boats from the remaining French fleet and others scrambled ashore to become prisoners of war. On 5 January, Polyphemus outran and captured the frigate Tartu after four hours of intermittent combat, and the following day the transport Fille-Unique sank in the Bay of Biscay, although the fate of the 300 soldiers aboard is unknown.
On 7 January, the British frigates under Captain Sir Thomas Williams
, under Captain Charles Jones
and under Captain Richard King
, captured the transport , Druid escorting the prize back to Cork. The following day Unicorn and Doris encountered some of the force that had attempted to land at the Shannon. Outnumbered, the frigates retreated westwards and encountered the battered Révolution and Fraternité, which withdrew before them. This prevented Morard de Galles and Hoche from belatedly joining their squadron and took them away from the route back to France. When Unicorn and Doris reappeared the following morning, they were operating as scouts for Bridport's fleet, which had finally left port at the start of the new year and had encountered the frigates during the night. Escaping pursuit in a fog, Révolution and Fraternité sailed directly for France and arrived at Rochefort on 13 January.
The majority of the remaining French ships had reached Brest on 11 January, including , , , and , the latter towing the dismasted Résolue. On 13 January most of the remainder returned, including Nestor, , and with their attendant frigates, while the frigate arrived at Lorient alone. Losses had continued as the French neared Brest, the disarmed Suffren recaptured by off Ushant
and burnt on 8 January, while Atalante was outrun and captured by HMS Phoebe on 10 January. On 12 January, the storeship Allègre was captured by the brig
.
. Droits de l'Homme had been among the ships under Bouvet in Bantry Bay and then with those that carried on to the Shannon, but as the fleet broke up she became separated. With provisions running low and landings still impossible, Captain Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse
determined to return to France independently. Progress was slow as Droits de l'Homme was overloaded with 1,300 men, including 800 soldiers under General Jean Humbert
. She was further delayed when she encountered and captured a small British privateer
named Cumberland. As a result, La Crosse had only reached Ushant by 13 January, where he encountered the same fog that had enabled Révolution and Fraternité to reach safety.
At 13:00, two ships emerged from the gloom to the east and Lacrosse turned away rather than risk his passengers in a pointless engagement. The ships persisted and were soon revealed to be the frigates Indefatigable under Captain Sir Edward Pellew, and Amazon under Captain Robert Carthew Reynolds
, which had taken on supplies at Falmouth and then returned to their station off Brest. As Droits de l'Homme steered southwest, the winds increased once more and the sea became choppy, preventing Lacrosse from opening the gunports on his lower deck without severe risk of flooding and snapping his topmasts, which reduced his ship's stability. Realising his opponent's difficulties, Pellew closed with the larger ship and began a heavy fire. At 18:45, Amazon came within range and the frigates combined to repeatedly rake
the French ship. The combat continued throughout the night, punctuated by short breaks in which the more mobile British ships repaired their battle damage out of range of Lacrosse's guns.
At 04:20 on 14 January, lookouts on all three ships sighted waves breaking immediately eastwards. Desperate to escape the heavy surf, Indefatigable turned north and Amazon turned south, while the battered Droits de l'Homme was unable to make any maneuvre and drove straight onto a sandbar near the town of Plozévet
, the force of the waves rolling her onto her side. Amazon too was wrecked, although in a more sheltered position which enabled the frigate to remain upright. The only surviving ship was Indefatigable, which was able to round the Penmarck Rocks and reach open water. While Reynolds fashioned rafts to bring his men safely to shore, the French officers on Droits de l'Homme were unable to launch their boats, their exposed position in the heavy surf destroying every attempt to reach shore and drowning hundreds of men. Losses on board the wreck mounted as the storm continued, breaking open the stern of the ship and flooding the interior. On the morning of 15 January a group of prisoners from Cumberland reached the shore in a small boat, but subsequent attempts failed and it was not until 17 January that the sea calmed enough for the small naval vessel Arrogante to approach the wreck and remove the remaining 290 survivors.
at Fishguard
in Wales in February 1797 and a second invasion of Ireland in mid-1798.
In Britain, the Royal Navy's response to the French campaign was heavily criticised: both fleets assigned to intercept the invasion fleet had failed, the only losses inflicted on the French coming from the small Cork squadron or Pellew's independent frigates. Colpoys was replaced in command of the blockade of Brest by Rear-Admiral Sir Roger Curtis
, and extensive deployments to the Bay of Biscay were made in February and March to prevent any further French operations. In addition, reinforcements were also sent to the fleet off Cadiz
under Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis
, who had won the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February. These extended deployments were unpopular with the regular seamen and in April the Spithead Mutiny broke out, paralysing the Channel Fleet
. The French, still recovering from their losses in the winter campaign, were unable to respond.
In Ireland, the failure of the French expeditionary force was the source of great frustration: Wolfe Tone, who was aboard Indomptable throughout the voyage, reported that he felt that he could have touched either side of the bay with both hands. Postponing the uprising, Tone continued to rally support in Europe, raising a fleet in the Netherlands for an attempted invasion that ended in destruction at the Battle of Camperdown
. In May 1798, a British crackdown arrested the leaders of the United Irishmen in Ireland and provoked the Irish Rebellion
. By the time the French had managed to gather a small force and reach Ireland in August, the rebellion was almost over and the inadequate French army, led by Jean Humbert, surrendered in September at the Battle of Ballinamuck
. A subsequent invasion attempt the following month also ended in failure, when the invasion squadron was intercepted and defeated at the Battle of Tory Island
. Wolfe Tone was captured at the action off Tory Island and committed suicide in prison. His death, combined with military defeat and reprisals against the Irish rebels, ended both the Society of United Irishmen and French invasion plans.
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
group, in their planned rebellion against British rule. The French intended to land a large expeditionary force in Ireland during the winter of 1796–1797 which would join with the United Irishmen and drive the British out of Ireland. The French anticipated that this would be a major blow to British morale, prestige and military effectiveness, and was also intended to possibly be the first stage of an eventual invasion of Britain itself. To this end, the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
gathered a force of approximately 15,000 soldiers 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...
under General Lazare Hoche
Lazare Hoche
Louis Lazare Hoche was a French soldier who rose to be general of the Revolutionary army.Born of poor parents near Versailles, he enlisted at sixteen as a private soldier in the Gardes Françaises...
during late 1796, in readiness for a major landing at Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, southwest Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km wide at the head and wide at the entrance....
in December.
The operation was launched during one of the stormiest winters of the 18th century, with the French fleet unprepared for such severe conditions. Patrolling British frigates observed the departure of the fleet and notified the British 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...
, most of which was sheltering at Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
for the winter. The French fleet was subject to confused orders as it left port and was scattered across the approaches to Brest: one ship was wrecked with heavy loss of life and the others widely dispersed. Separated, most the French fleet managed to reach Bantry Bay late in December, but its commanders were driven miles off course and without them the fleet was unsure of what action to take, with amphibious landings impossible due to the weather conditions, which were the worst recorded since 1708. Within a week the fleet had broken up, small squadrons and individual ships making their way back to Brest through storms, fog and British patrols.
The British were largely unable to effectively interfere with the French fleet before, during or after the invasion. A few ships operating from Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
captured isolated French warships and transports, but the only significant British response came from Captain Sir Edward Pellew, who was able to drive the French ship of the line ashore in the Action of 13 January 1797
Action of 13 January 1797
The Action of 13 January 1797 was a small naval battle fought between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the action the frigates successfully outmanoeuvred the much larger French vessel and drove it on shore in...
with the loss of over 1,000 lives. In total, the French lost 12 ships captured or wrecked and thousands of soldiers and sailors drowned, without a single man reaching Ireland except as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. Both navies were criticised by their governments for their behaviour during the campaign, but the French were encouraged to launch a second attempt in 1798, successfully landing 2,000 men in August but failing to influence the Irish Rebellion
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
and again losing significant numbers of men and ships.
Background
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
in 1789, the republican cause was taken up in many countries, including Ireland
Kingdom of Ireland
The Kingdom of Ireland refers to the country of Ireland in the period between the proclamation of Henry VIII as King of Ireland by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 and the Act of Union in 1800. It replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171...
, at that time ruled by the Kingdom of 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...
. Opposition to British rule had existed in Ireland for centuries, but the French example, combined with by the imposition of the Penal Laws which discriminated against the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
majority, prompted the creation of the Society of United Irishmen, a broad nonsectarian coalition of groups seeking to create an Irish Republic
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
in the place of the British government. Initially a non-violent political movement, the United Irishmen were forced to operate as a secret society after membership was made illegal in 1793 at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. Deciding that their only hope of creating the Irish Republic lay in armed revolt, the United Irishmen began secretly organising and arming their forces. In search of external aid, two of their leaders, Lord Edward FitzGerald
Lord Edward FitzGerald
Lord Edward FitzGerald was an Irish aristocrat and revolutionary. He was the fifth son of the 1st Duke of Leinster and the Duchess of Leinster , he was born at Carton House, near Dublin, and died of wounds received in resisting arrest on charge of treason.-Early years:FitzGerald spent most of his...
and Arthur O'Connor travelled to Basle to meet with French General Lazare Hoche
Lazare Hoche
Louis Lazare Hoche was a French soldier who rose to be general of the Revolutionary army.Born of poor parents near Versailles, he enlisted at sixteen as a private soldier in the Gardes Françaises...
. Their efforts were supported by Protestant Dublin lawyer Theobald Wolfe Tone
Theobald Wolfe Tone
Theobald Wolfe Tone or Wolfe Tone , was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members of the United Irishmen and is regarded as the father of Irish Republicanism. He was captured by British forces at Lough Swilly in Donegal and taken prisoner...
, who travelled to Paris to appeal to the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
in person. During this period, the British government repealed some of the Penal Laws, in an attempt to quell unrest.
The First French Republic had long planned an invasion of the British Isles, but their ambitions had been repeatedly thwarted by other factors, including other fronts of the Revolutionary Wars, the War in the Vendée and the parlous state of the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
. This latter problem was a major cause for concern: the Navy had suffered heavily from the removal of its officer corps during the Revolution and then endured a series of military setbacks, culminating in the tactical defeat at the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
in 1794 and the disastrous Croisière du Grand Hiver
Croisière du Grand Hiver
The Croisière du Grand Hiver was a French attempt to organise a winter naval campaign in the wake of the Glorious First of June.-Context:...
in 1795. Peace on several fronts in 1795 convinced the new French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
that Britain was one of their most dangerous remaining opponents, and they determined to defeat them through invasion.
The applications from Tone intrigued the Directory, which understood that by attacking Ireland they would be striking at the least defensible part of the British Isles. Support for the British government was weakest there and the United Irishmen optimistically claimed to be able to raise an irregular army of as many as 250,000 waiting to join the French once they had landed, with the additional attraction that a successful establishment of an Irish Republic would prove an ideological coup for the French Republic. Finally and most significantly, a large expeditionary force in Ireland could provide an ideal springboard for an invasion of Britain, especially in combination with a plan then under development to land 2,000 uniformed criminals in 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...
, who would distract the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
during the invasion of Ireland and could potentially provide a beachhead
Beachhead
Beachhead is a military term used to describe the line created when a unit reaches a beach, and begins to defend that area of beach, while other reinforcements help out, until a unit large enough to begin advancing has arrived. It is sometimes used interchangeably with Bridgehead and Lodgement...
for future operations.
Preparation
With the end of the War in the Vendée and peace with Spain, substantial French forces were made available for the operation, to be led by General Hoche and scheduled for the end of October 1796. Hoche was a successful military commander, who had defeated the Vendée Royalists and been subsequently engaged in planning the Cornish invasion. A body of veteran soldiers and the entire French Atlantic Fleet were placed at his disposal, based in the major Atlantic seaport of BrestBrest, 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...
. The number of soldiers earmarked for the invasion is uncertain: the French Directory suggested 25,000 men would be required, the Irish delegates insisting that 15,000 would be sufficient. Estimates of the number of soldiers eventually embarked range between 13,500 and 20,000.[Note A]
By August the plan was already behind schedule: severe shortages of stores and wages slowed work at the Brest shipyards, while the troops set aside for the invasion of Cornwall proved unreliable, deserting in large numbers. A practice voyage of the Cornish invasion fleet ended in total failure, as the small ships intended for the operation proved unable to operate in open water. The plan was dropped and the reliable soldiers from the unit were merged into the Ireland expeditionary force and the rest returned to prison. Reinforcements from the Mediterranean Fleet were also delayed: seven ships under Rear-Admiral Joseph de Richery
Joseph de Richery
Rear-Admiral Joseph de Richery was a French naval officer. He distinguished himself in the French Navy in the American Revolutionary War. From 1781 until 1785 he served in the Indian Ocean under Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez...
had to shelter from the British blockade squadron in 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:...
, only arriving in Brest on 8 December, while a second fleet under Rear-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....
did not arrive until after the expeditionary force had departed.
Throughout late 1796, progress on the expedition faltered. Hoche publicly blamed the naval command and specifically Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse
Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse
Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse was a French admiral.-Early career:Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse was born in Auch, in the heart of Gascony. The Villaret de Joyeuse family figured among the minor nobility from Languedoc...
for the delay, whom he accused of being more interested in the planning of a proposed invasion of India. In October, Villaret was replaced by Vice-Admiral Morard de Galles
Justin Bonaventure Morard de Galles
Justin-Bonaventure Morard de Galles was a French admiral.-Family:de Galles was the issue of a noble family from Dauphiné whose origins stretched right back to the end of the 11th century...
and the India plans were cancelled, while Hoche was placed in direct command of discipline within the fleet. By the second week of December the fleet was ready, consisting of 17 ships of the line, 13 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"...
s and 14 other vessels, including several large transports created made by removing the cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
from old frigates to maximise cargo space. Each ship of the line carried 600 soldiers, the frigates 250 and the transports approximately 400. Included were cavalry units, field artillery and substantial military stores with which to arm the thousands of anticipated Irish volunteers. Hoche was still dissatisfied, announcing to the Directory on 8 December that he would rather lead his men in any other operation than the planned attack on Ireland. He was supported by Morard de Galles, who admitted that his men were so inexperienced at sea that encounters with the enemy should be avoided wherever possible.
Departure
Despite the misgivings of the expedition's commanders, the fleet left Brest as scheduled on 15 December 1796, one day ahead of a message from the Directory calling off the entire operation. De Galles knew that the British would be watching Brest harbour: their frigates were a constant presence as part of the Inshore Squadron of the blockade. In an effort to disguise his force's intentions, he first anchored in Camaret BayCamaret Bay
Camaret Bay is a small bay on the north coast of Brittany, France.In 1694 it was the site of the battle of Camaret, a naval action between French and English forces, which culminated in a disastrous amphibious landing by the English as part of an attempt to seize the nearby port of Brest.-See...
and issued orders for his ships to pass through the Raz de Sein. The Raz was a dangerous narrow channel littered with rocks and sandbanks and subject to heavy surf during bad weather, but would also obscure the size, strength and direction of the French fleet from the British squadron offshore, which French scouts claimed consisted of 30 ships.
Despite the French reports, the principal British blockade squadron was absent from the approaches to Brest during the night of 15 December. Most of the fleet had retired to one of the British Channel Ports to avoid the winter storms, while the remaining squadron under Rear-Admiral John Colpoys
John Colpoys
Admiral Sir John Colpoys, GCB was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served in three wars but is most notable for being one of the catalysts of the Spithead Mutiny in 1797 after ordering his marines to fire on a deputation of mutinous sailors...
had been forced to retreat 40 nautical miles (74.1 km) into the Atlantic to avoid the risk of being driven onto the rocky French Biscay shoreline during a storm. The only British ships within sight of Brest were a frigate squadron, consisting of , , , and the lugger
Lugger
A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...
HMS Duke of York, under the command of Captain Sir Edward Pellew in Indefatigable. Pellew had noted French preparations on 11 December and immediately sent Phoebe to warn Colpoys and Amazon to Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
, to alert the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. He remained off Brest with the rest of the squadron, and sighted the main French fleet at 15:30 on 15 December, bringing his frigates inshore towards Camaret Bay to establish its size and purpose. At 15:30 on 16 December, the French sailed from the Bay, Pellew observing closely and despatching Revolutionnaire to assist in the search for Colpoys.
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
Atalante attempting to notify them by rocket signal. These signals were confusing and many ships failed to understand, sailing for the Raz de Sein rather than the main channel. Pellew added to the problem by weaving ahead of the fleet shining blue lights and firing rockets, further confusing the French captains as to their location.
When dawn broke on 17 December, most of the French fleet was scattered across the approaches to Brest. The largest intact group was that under Vice-Admiral François Joseph Bouvet
François Joseph Bouvet
- Early life :Son of a captain in the service of the French East India Company, he went to sea at the age of twelve with his father aboard the Villevault in 1765. In 1780, Bouvet served in the East Indies in the famous campaign of 1781–83 under the command of Suffren...
, which had come through the Raz de Sein with nine ships of the line, six frigates and one transport. The other ships, including Fraternité, which also carried General Hoche, were alone or in small groups, the captains forced open their secret orders to discover their destination, in the absence of instructions from any commanding officers. One ship had been lost, the 74-gun ship of the line had driven onto the Grand Stevenent rock during the night and sank with 680 lives. She too had fired numerous rockets and signal guns in an effort to attract attention, succeeding only in compounding the confusion in the fleet. Pellew, unable now to affect the large French force, sailed for Falmouth to telegraph his report to the Admiralty and replenish his supplies.
Voyage to Ireland
By 19 December, Bouvet had gathered 33 ships together and set a course for Mizen HeadMizen Head
Mizen Head , is located at the extremity of a peninsula in the district of Carbery in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of the extreme points of the island of Ireland and is a major tourist attraction, noted for its dramatic cliff scenery...
in southern Ireland, the designated rendezvous point where he was instructed by his sealed orders to wait five days for further instructions from France. One of the ships still missing was the Fraternité. Despite the disappearance of its commanders the French fleet continued to Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay
Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, southwest Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km wide at the head and wide at the entrance....
, sailing through both high winds and thick fog, which delayed its arrival until 21 December. While Bouvet sailed for Ireland, Fraternité crossed the Western Approaches
Western 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...
in search of the fleet, accompanied by , and . Unwittingly passing Bouvet's fleet in the fog, de Galles separated from his small squadron near the rendezvous on 21 December, only to discover a British frigate immediately ahead. Retreating from the threat, Fraternité was chased far into the Atlantic before she could escape the unidentified pursuer. On the return journey de Galle found the winds against him, and it took eight days to regain Mizen Head.
Phoebe did not find Colpoys until 19 December, deep in 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...
. The following day he sighted the delayed French squadron under Villeneuve and gave chase, but Villeneuve was able to outrun Colpoys' pursuit in a gale, reaching Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
ahead of the British, whose ships were badly damaged by the storm. Unable to continue operations, Colpoys was forced to retreat to Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
for repairs. The response from the Channel Fleet under Lord Bridport
Alexander Hood, 1st Viscount Bridport
|-...
was similarly ineffective. News of the French departure from Brest did not arrive in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, the most westerly of the British fleet ports, until 20 December. Many of Bridport's ships, based at Spithead, were not ready for sea and it was several days before enough vessels were manned and equipped for service. The order to leave port was issued on 25 December, but the fleet was almost immediately thrown into chaos when the large second-rate
Second-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a second rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. The term in no way implied...
swung out of control and collided with the 80-gun . At almost the same time, another second-rate, , was driven into the 100-gun first-rate
First-rate
First rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for its largest ships of the line. While the size and establishment of guns and men changed over the 250 years that the rating system held sway, from the early years of the eighteenth century the first rates comprised those ships mounting 100...
HMS Ville de Paris
HMS Ville de Paris
HMS Ville de Paris was a 110-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 July 1795 at Chatham Dockyard. She was designed by Sir John Henslow, and was the only ship built to her draught. She was named after the French ship of the line Ville de Paris, flagship of François Joseph...
by strong winds while the 98-gun grounded. All five ships were required to enter dock for extensive repairs, denying Bridport his strongest vessels and delaying his departure further. When he eventually reached St Helens
St Helens, Isle of Wight
St. Helens is a village and civil parish located on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight. The village is based around village greens. This is claimed to be the largest in England but some say the Village Green is the second largest. The greens are often used for cricket matches during the summer...
, the departure point from the Solent
Solent
The Solent is a strait separating the Isle of Wight from the mainland of England.The Solent is a major shipping route for passengers, freight and military vessels. It is an important recreational area for water sports, particularly yachting, hosting the Cowes Week sailing event annually...
, the wind was blowing from the west and his remaining eight ships were rendered immobile until 3 January.
In the absence of Morard de Galles and Hoche, Bouvet and his army counterpart, General Emmanuel de Grouchy, gave orders on 21 December for the fleet to anchor in preparation for landings the following day. Local maritime pilot
Maritime pilot
A pilot is a mariner who guides ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbours or river mouths. With the exception of the Panama Canal, the pilot is only an advisor, as the captain remains in legal, overriding command of the vessel....
s, believing the fleet to be British, rowed out to the ships and were seized, providing the French with guides to the best landing sites. During the night of 21 December, the weather suddenly and significantly worsened, Atlantic gales bringing blizzards that hid the shoreline and forced the fleet to anchor or risk being wrecked. For four days they remained in the Bay, the inexperienced French sailors, lacking any winter clothing, unable to operate their ships in the coldest winter recorded since 1708. On 24 December the wind slackened and a council of war was convened among the expedition's senior officers. Together they resolved to force a landing despite the weather, identifying a nearby creek as the safest point and giving orders for the operation to go ahead at first light on 25 December. During the night the weather deteriorated once more, and by morning the waves were so violent that they were breaking over the bows of many ships. Anchors dragged and a number of vessels were blown right out of the Bay and into the Atlantic, unable to return against the wind. In the storm, the largest ship of the line, the , collided with the frigate and both suffered severe damage.
Collapse of the expedition
Crookhaven
Crookhaven is a village in County Cork, Ireland, on the most southwestern tip of Ireland. A winter population of about forty swells in the summer to about four hundred with the occupants of the many holiday homes arriving.-History:...
on 29 December, encountered a vessel wallowing in the waves, dismasted and with the deck strewn with bodies. The American captain, Harvey, reported that he approached the ship but was unable to assist her due to the storm and as he watched, the ship was driven ashore and destroyed. This was the 44-gun frigate , of which only seven men survived from her complement of 550 crew and passengers. Harvey also recounted coming across the and frigate . Captain 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 :...
was in the process of removing the crew and passengers from Scévola before she foundered, the heavy weather having reduced the 40-gun razee
Razee
A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French vaisseau rasé, meaning a razed ship.-Sixteenth century:...
frigate to a sinking condition. Ellis was not the only ship to discover Révolution; the long-delayed Fraternité encountered the ships and observed the destruction of the Scévola, which was burnt once she had been abandoned.
Bouvet had been driven offshore in his flagship Immortalité during the storm, and when the wind fell during 29 December he decided to abandon the operation. Signalling to the ships within view, he ordered his remaining squadron to sail southeast towards Brest. Some ships failed to receive the message and continued to the second rendezvous off the River Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
, but they were few and scattered and in the continuing storms no landing was possible. With provisions running low, these ships also turned and sailed for Brest, as the weather worsened once more. As their expeditionary force sailed home, Morard de Galles and Hoche arrived in Bantry Bay on 30 December, discovering that the fleet had gone. With their own provisions almost exhausted, Fraternité and Révolution were forced to return to France as well. The British response to the attempted invasion continued to be inadequate, Colpoys arriving at Spithead on 31 December with only six of his ships still in formation. Only a handful of ships based at Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
under Rear-Admiral Robert Kingsmill
Sir Robert Kingsmill, 1st Baronet
Sir Robert Brice Kingsmill, 1st Baronet was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned nearly 60 years...
, principally under Captain George Lumsdaine and a frigate squadron, interfered with the French fleet: Polyphemus seized the transport on 30 December and captured the transport shortly afterwards, although she was later recaptured by the French frigate .
Retreat
The first French ships to return to Brest arrived on 1 January, including Bouvet's flagship Immortalité accompanied by Indomptable, , , , and some smaller ships. They had avoided any contact with British warships and had been able to make good speed in a period of relatively calm weather. During the following days, the French ships that had gathered off the Shannon limped home, all badly damaged due to the increasingly rough seas and high winds. Several ships did not return to France at all, including the frigate , which was wrecked in Bantry Bay on 2 January; many of her men, including General Julien MermetJulien Augustin Joseph Mermet
General Julien Augustin Joseph Mermet fought in the Napoleonic Wars as a division commander in Italy and in the Peninsular War.-Empire:...
, were rescued by boats from the remaining French fleet and others scrambled ashore to become prisoners of war. On 5 January, Polyphemus outran and captured the frigate Tartu after four hours of intermittent combat, and the following day the transport Fille-Unique sank in the Bay of Biscay, although the fate of the 300 soldiers aboard is unknown.
On 7 January, the British frigates under Captain Sir Thomas Williams
Thomas Williams (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir Thomas Williams GCB was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, who served in numerous theatres during the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars...
, under Captain Charles Jones
Charles Jones, 5th Viscount Ranelagh
Captain Charles Jones, 5th Viscount Ranelagh, RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Irish peer of the late-eighteenth century who served on the Ireland station in but died aged 39 from illness during his military service....
and under Captain Richard King
Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet
Vice Admiral Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet KCB was an officer in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, who fought with distinction at the battle of Trafalgar despite being amongst the youngest captains present.King was the son of Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet, a...
, captured the transport , Druid escorting the prize back to Cork. The following day Unicorn and Doris encountered some of the force that had attempted to land at the Shannon. Outnumbered, the frigates retreated westwards and encountered the battered Révolution and Fraternité, which withdrew before them. This prevented Morard de Galles and Hoche from belatedly joining their squadron and took them away from the route back to France. When Unicorn and Doris reappeared the following morning, they were operating as scouts for Bridport's fleet, which had finally left port at the start of the new year and had encountered the frigates during the night. Escaping pursuit in a fog, Révolution and Fraternité sailed directly for France and arrived at Rochefort on 13 January.
The majority of the remaining French ships had reached Brest on 11 January, including , , , and , the latter towing the dismasted Résolue. On 13 January most of the remainder returned, including Nestor, , and with their attendant frigates, while the frigate arrived at Lorient alone. Losses had continued as the French neared Brest, the disarmed Suffren recaptured by off Ushant
Ushant
Ushant is an island at the south-western end of the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ushant is a commune in the Finistère department...
and burnt on 8 January, while Atalante was outrun and captured by HMS Phoebe on 10 January. On 12 January, the storeship Allègre was captured by the 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...
.
Droits de l'Homme
By 13 January, all of the French fleet had been accounted for except the small brig Mutine, which was blown all the way to Santa Cruz and was captured there in July, and the 74-gun Droits de l'HommeFrench ship Droits de l'Homme (1794)
The Droits de l'Homme was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy during the French Revolution.The Droits de l'Homme, was involved in the Action of 6 November 1794, chasing the British 74s Canada and Alexander...
. Droits de l'Homme had been among the ships under Bouvet in Bantry Bay and then with those that carried on to the Shannon, but as the fleet broke up she became separated. With provisions running low and landings still impossible, Captain Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse
Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse
Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse was a French sailor and admiral, hero of the French Revolutionary Wars.Raymond de Lacrosse joined the Navy in 1779 as a Garde marine...
determined to return to France independently. Progress was slow as Droits de l'Homme was overloaded with 1,300 men, including 800 soldiers under General Jean Humbert
Jean Joseph Amable Humbert
General Jean Joseph Amable Humbert was a French soldier, a participant in the French Revolution, who led a failed invasion of Ireland to assist Irish rebels in 1798....
. She was further delayed when she encountered and captured a small British 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...
named Cumberland. As a result, La Crosse had only reached Ushant by 13 January, where he encountered the same fog that had enabled Révolution and Fraternité to reach safety.
Robert Carthew Reynolds
Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds was a long serving and widely respected officer of the British Royal Navy who served in four separate major wars in a 52 year career...
, which had taken on supplies at Falmouth and then returned to their station off Brest. As Droits de l'Homme steered southwest, the winds increased once more and the sea became choppy, preventing Lacrosse from opening the gunports on his lower deck without severe risk of flooding and snapping his topmasts, which reduced his ship's stability. Realising his opponent's difficulties, Pellew closed with the larger ship and began a heavy fire. At 18:45, Amazon came within range and the frigates combined to repeatedly rake
Raking fire
In naval warfare, raking fire is fire directed parallel to the long axis of an enemy ship. Although each shot is directed against a smaller target profile than by shooting broadside and thus more likely to miss the target ship to one side or the other, an individual cannon shot that hits will pass...
the French ship. The combat continued throughout the night, punctuated by short breaks in which the more mobile British ships repaired their battle damage out of range of Lacrosse's guns.
At 04:20 on 14 January, lookouts on all three ships sighted waves breaking immediately eastwards. Desperate to escape the heavy surf, Indefatigable turned north and Amazon turned south, while the battered Droits de l'Homme was unable to make any maneuvre and drove straight onto a sandbar near the town of Plozévet
Plozévet
Plozévet is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Breton language:The municipality launched a linguistic plan through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on November 23, 2007....
, the force of the waves rolling her onto her side. Amazon too was wrecked, although in a more sheltered position which enabled the frigate to remain upright. The only surviving ship was Indefatigable, which was able to round the Penmarck Rocks and reach open water. While Reynolds fashioned rafts to bring his men safely to shore, the French officers on Droits de l'Homme were unable to launch their boats, their exposed position in the heavy surf destroying every attempt to reach shore and drowning hundreds of men. Losses on board the wreck mounted as the storm continued, breaking open the stern of the ship and flooding the interior. On the morning of 15 January a group of prisoners from Cumberland reached the shore in a small boat, but subsequent attempts failed and it was not until 17 January that the sea calmed enough for the small naval vessel Arrogante to approach the wreck and remove the remaining 290 survivors.
Aftermath
The French attempt to invade Ireland had ended in total failure. With the exception of a handful of prisoners of war, not one French soldier had successfully landed in Ireland, despite some ships remaining off the coast for almost two weeks. Twelve ships had been lost and over two thousand soldiers and sailors drowned. The invasion was abandoned, Hoche and his remaining men were returned to the army for service in Germany, and the general died nine months later from natural causes. The French Navy, although criticised for failing to land the expeditionary force, was also praised for successfully reaching Ireland and returning without encountering the main body British fleet. This achievement encouraged further invasion attempts, including a landingLast invasion of Britain
The Battle of Fishguard was a military invasion of Great Britain by Revolutionary France during the War of the First Coalition. The brief campaign, which took place between 22 February and 24 February 1797, was the most recent effort by a foreign force that was able to land on Britain, and thus is...
at Fishguard
Fishguard
Fishguard is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, with a population of 3,300 . The community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5043 at the 2001 census....
in Wales in February 1797 and a second invasion of Ireland in mid-1798.
In Britain, the Royal Navy's response to the French campaign was heavily criticised: both fleets assigned to intercept the invasion fleet had failed, the only losses inflicted on the French coming from the small Cork squadron or Pellew's independent frigates. Colpoys was replaced in command of the blockade of Brest by Rear-Admiral Sir Roger Curtis
Roger Curtis
Admiral Sir Roger Curtis, 1st Baronet, GCB was an officer of the British Royal Navy, who saw action in several battles during an extensive career that was punctuated by a number of highly controversial incidents...
, and extensive deployments to the Bay of Biscay were made in February and March to prevent any further French operations. In addition, reinforcements were also sent to the fleet off 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....
under Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis
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...
, who had won the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February. These extended deployments were unpopular with the regular seamen and in April the Spithead Mutiny broke out, paralysing the 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...
. The French, still recovering from their losses in the winter campaign, were unable to respond.
In Ireland, the failure of the French expeditionary force was the source of great frustration: Wolfe Tone, who was aboard Indomptable throughout the voyage, reported that he felt that he could have touched either side of the bay with both hands. Postponing the uprising, Tone continued to rally support in Europe, raising a fleet in the Netherlands for an attempted invasion that ended in destruction at the Battle of Camperdown
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
. In May 1798, a British crackdown arrested the leaders of the United Irishmen in Ireland and provoked the Irish Rebellion
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
. By the time the French had managed to gather a small force and reach Ireland in August, the rebellion was almost over and the inadequate French army, led by Jean Humbert, surrendered in September at the Battle of Ballinamuck
Battle of Ballinamuck
The Battle of Ballinamuck marked the defeat of the main force of the French incursion during the 1798 Rebellion in Ireland.- Background :The victory of General Humbert at Castlebar, despite gaining him c. 5,000 Irish recruits had not led to a renewed outbreak of the rebellion as hoped...
. A subsequent invasion attempt the following month also ended in failure, when the invasion squadron was intercepted and defeated at the Battle of Tory Island
Battle of Tory Island
The Battle of Tory Island, was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwest coast of Donegal, then in the Kingdom of Ireland...
. Wolfe Tone was captured at the action off Tory Island and committed suicide in prison. His death, combined with military defeat and reprisals against the Irish rebels, ended both the Society of United Irishmen and French invasion plans.