Troude's expedition to the Caribbean
Encyclopedia
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 under invasion
from a British expeditionary force. The force arrived much too late to affect the outcome of the successful invasion and took shelter from a British squadron in the Îles des Saintes
, where they were blockaded by part of the British invasion fleet, led by Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane
. Two weeks after the French ships arrived, British troops invaded and captured the Saintes, constructing mortar
batteries to bombard the French squadron. With his position unsustainable, Commodore Troude decided to break out.
Attempting to escape under cover of darkness on 14 April, the French squadron was spotted by a number of small British ships stationed close inshore. These ships raised the alarm and the main British squadron followed in pursuit. The rearmost French ship of the line
, Hautpoult, was closely followed by the small brig
HMS Recruit
, which succeeded in delaying Hautpoult long enough that the main British squadron was able to attack and overwhelm her in a running battle that lasted three days and ended off the coast of Puerto Rico
. The British suffered 45 casualties, the French nearly 100. The remainder of the French squadron escaped, with the two surviving ships of the line sailing directly for France, eventually reaching Cherbourg in May.
The French expedition's two frigates, both only partially armed, were detached during the action and took shelter in harbour at Guadeloupe
. In June, heavily laden with trade goods, they attempted to escape to Europe, but were pursued by elements of the British blockade force. Félicité
was overrun after four days of manouvere, submitting to the more powerful British frigate HMS Latona without a fight. Furieuse
was able to escape immediate pursuit, but was subsequently discovered on 3 July by the smaller British ship HMS Bonne Citoyenne. In a fierce engagement two days later, the small British ship was able to defeat and capture the French vessel, which was later commissioned into the Royal Navy.
, the French Navy
suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the British Royal Navy
, culminating in the destruction of much of their Mediterranean Fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar
in 1805. Unable to compete at sea, the French were increasingly confined to their principal naval bases, especially Brest
on the Biscay
coast and Toulon
in the Mediterranean. With British squadrons patrolling the entrances to these ports, the French found it difficult not only to conduct regular overseas trade, but also to supply and reinforce their overseas colonies. As a result, the colonies faced financial collapse and the constant threat of attack by British forces, especially in the Caribbean
, where by 1809 their island colonies of Martinique
and Guadeloupe
were surrounded by British held islands and blockaded by a strong British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane
.
During the summer of 1808, messages arrived in France from Martinique, outlining the desperate situation of their supplies, morale and economy. It was determined that reinforcements and food supplies would be sent and the frigate
Thétis
was despatched in November 1808. Within days, Thétis had been captured at the Action of 10 November 1808
, and subsequent operations had mixed success: the frigate Amphitrite
reached Martinique, but a number of smaller ships were intercepted and defeated, both in Europe and the West Indies. In desperation, a major operation was planned, intended to transport substantial supplies and sufficient troops to resist the inevitable British invasion on Martinique. To this end, Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude was provided with the ships of the line Courageux
, Polonais
and Hautpoult, with the frigates Félicité
and Furieuse
en flûte
as armed storeships, carrying the bulk of the supplies.
On 21 February 1809, a large French fleet under Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez
attempted to escape Brest and was chased by the blockade squadron and driven to shelter under the Ile d'Aix. Shortly afterwards, three French frigates attempted to break out of Lorient
, but were challenged and destroyed at the Action of 24 February 1809. These operations were the preliminaries to the Battle of Basque Roads in April, but also provided the cover required for Troude's force to escape Lorient while the British were engaged elsewhere. Travelling rapidly across the Atlantic, the French encountered no British warships but were able to seize a number of lone British merchant ships, from whom Troude learned that the invasion of Martinique
was already underway. While Troude's expedition had been preparing at Lorient, Cochrane had been preparing his own operation to Martinique, following the interception of the same despatches warning of the island's low morale and preparedness in the summer of 1808. Amassing an expeditionary force of 44 ships and 10,000 men at Carlisle Bay, Barbados
, Cochrane began the invasion on 30 January 1809 and his troops rapidly overran the French defences, despite stiff resistance in the central highlands. By 10 February, the only remaining point in French hands was Fort Desaix
, which held out until the magazine was breached on 24 February, at which point Governor Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse
surrendered unconditionally.
Troude was wary on his arrival in the Leeward Islands
on 29 March, refusing to approach Martinique and instead anchoring near the Îles des Saintes
until the situation in the islands could be established. Before he could make contact with nearby Guadeloupe, he was discovered by patrolling British warships and a warning sent to Cochrane, who was on his flagship HMS Neptune
off Martinique. Within hours Neptune was cruising off the Saintes, joined by the ships of the line HMS Pompee, HMS York
, HMS Belleisle
, HMS Captain
, HMS Polyphemus
and a number of smaller warships that could operate closer inshore. Blockading the Saintes was a difficult task: the French had three channels through which they could escape, too many to be effectively blocked by the forces at Cochrane's disposal. In addition, the Troude's force could not be attacked directly, the width of the channels making it impossible for the British ships to attack in full strength.
For two weeks the British and French squadrons watched one another, the British unable to attack and the French unable to escape. In an effort to break the dedalock, Cochrane sent to Martinique for a body of 3,000 men under Major-General Frederick Maitland
. With this force he launched a surprise invasion of the islands on 14 April, the amphibious operation commanded by Captain Philip Beaver
in HMS Acasta
and executed successfully with only minor casualties. Parties of seamen went ashore in the wake of the soldiers, working rapidly to establish a battery of two 8-inch howitzers on Morne-Russell. These guns began firing during the afternoon and by 20:00 Troude had given orders for his squadron to sail through the western channel during the night.
In their efforts to monitor the French, Cochrane's squadron had become divided, so that Neptune and Pompee were the only ships within reach of Troude's squadron when they passed through the channel. Neither ship was well placed to fight the larger French force and both were taken by surprise, only alerted to the French escape by the brig
HMS Hazard
under Captain Hugh Cameron shortly before 22:00. Pompee was closest to the French, and Captain William Charles Fahie
managed to fire two broadsides into the rearmost ship, Hautpoult before the Troude's squadron pulled away from her. Neptune, Pompee and the small brig HMS Recruit
took up the chase, the fast Recruit annoying the French with persistent minor attacks, while Neptune came too close to Hautpoult and was fired on, losing one man killed and four wounded. The French escape, while necessitated by the British battery, was actually a feint: the frigates Félicité and Furieuse had remained hidden off the Saintes during the night and at 09:00 on 15 April, with the main combat continuing to the west, slipped away into Basse-Terre
on Guadeloupe, chased in vain by HMS Intrepid
under Captain Warwick Lake. French batteries drove off the British pursuit and the frigates were anchored in harbour and their stores successfully unloaded.
at 10:45, causing severe damage but failing to dissuade Napier, who immediately counter-attacked. Hautpoults manoeuvre caused her to lose ground to her pursuers and throughout the day the squadrons exchanged shots, neither causing significant damage but the French being driven deeper into British held waters and unable to drive off their opponents.
At 20:00, Troude ordered Hautpoult to steer to the northwest while he took Courageux and Polonais southwest in an effort to divide the pursuit. Pompee and Recruit kept with Hautpoult, while Neptune, accompanied by the brig HMS Hawk continued to follow Troude's main force. During the night however Troude outdistanced Neptune, and on the morning of 16 April Cochrane ordered all available ships to converge on Hautpoult. The lone French ship of the line had finally forced the damaged Recruit to retire, but could see Pompee and Neptune to the southeast and the newly arrived frigates HMS Latona under Captain Hugh Pigot and HMS Castor
under Captain William Roberts to the northeast, with the Spanish coast of Puerto Rico
directly north. During the day the chase continued, Neptune falling behind but Pompee remaining in sight and the frigates gaining on Hautpoult. At 17:00, Puerto Rico appeared on the horizon, the French forced to follow the coastline westwards. During the night, the British pursuers were confused by a the overcast sky, which helped Hautpoult to partially obscure herself among the lights from shore.
At 02:45 on 17 April, Castor closed within range of Hautpoult and opened fire, exchanging broadsides with the much larger French ship for 75 minutes and slowing her sufficiently for Pompee to come within range. Sailing between Castor and the French ship, Fahie closed within 50 yards (45.7 m) and opened fire with his broadside. Within 15 minutes Hautpoult attempted to escape by pulling forward and engaging with Castor again, but the damage done to her sails and rigging hindered the manoeuvre and Pompee pulled across her stern, threatening to rake
her. With defeat inevitable, the French captain surrendered, Neptune, York, Captain, Hazard, Hawk, Recruit, Polyphemus, HMS Ethalion
and HMS Ringdove
all coming within sight as dawn broke, joining Pompee, Castor and Latona.
(including 12 carronades) and a crew of just 200, while Félicité had even fewer defences, carrying just 14 cannon and 174 men. Watching these ships was a small British blockade force led by Hugh Pigot in Latona with a few brigs and sloops, Cochrane's invasion fleet having been dispersed.
under Captain Thomas Tudor Tucker were able to maintain contact. Throughout 15, 16 and most of 17 June the chase continued, until the frigates separated: Furieuse led Cherub away from Latona and then outdistanced her, disappearing into the Atlantic. Félicité was unable to escape Latona however, and on 18 June was overrun. Outgunned by his larger opponent, Félicité' s captain surrendered immediately. An old and worn ship, she was not deemed worthy of purchase into the Royal Navy and was instead sold to Haiti
, reappearing in 1812 as the Améthyste under the control of a privateer commissioned by Haitian rebels. She was quickly attacked and captured again by Captain Yeo during the Action of 3 February 1812
.
' s pursuit, she still had to cross the Atlantic. Passing up the Eastern Seaboard
of the United States
, her commander, Lieutenant Gabriel-Etienne-Louis Le Marant Kerdaniel, raided British merchant shipping and was consequently delayed. At 15:00 on 5 July, the 20-gun sloop
HMS Bonne Citoyenne under Captain William Mounsey
, on passage from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Quebec
, spotted Furieuse to the southwest taking possession of a British merchant ship. As Bonne Citoyenne approached, Kerdaniel abandoned the merchant ship and sailed northwards, Mounsey giving chase but trailing 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) behind throughout the day.
As darkness fell, Furieuse disappeared ahead, Mounsey pursuing in the hope of rediscovering his opponent during the night. At 03:00 on 6 July, the British lookouts spotted the French ship in the distance and the chase began again, Bonne Citoyenne proving much faster than the French ship as the wind strengthened. At 09:10 it became clear to Kerdaniel that he could not escape his opponent and instead turned to meet her, opening fire five minutes later as Bonne Citoyenne came within range. Mounsey replied immediately, the two ships exchanging fire at close range for nearly seven hours, the smaller and more manoeuvrable Bonne Citoyenne successfully turning several times to vary her broadsides and prevent her guns overheating. In the exchange, the British ship fired 129 broadsides, while Furieuse only managed 70: Bonne Citoyenne lost three cannon to fractures caused by the intense heat generated by repeated firing. With his ammunition spent, Mounsey swung towards Furieuse at 18:16 to board and capture her, at which point Kerdaniel, whose ship was battered and unmanoeuvrable, surrendered.
Due to her small size and high speed, Bonne Citoyenne suffered minimal casualties of one man killed and five wounded, although the ship itself was badly damaged. French losses were far more severe, with 35 killed, 37 seriously wounded including her captain, and 20 lightly wounded. Furieuse, built as a 40-gun frigate, had proven unable to match the speed an agility of the smaller ship and as a result her reduced armament had proven inadequate when faced with Mounsey's determined opposition. It was not until 01:30 on 7 July that temporary repairs were complete and the two ships began the long, slow journey to Halifax, Nova Scotia
. The following day however, two of the Furieuse' s masts collapsed and Mounsey was forced to take her in tow, both ships in constant danger of foundering. After 25 days in tow, Furieuse arrived in Halifax. Mounsey and his officers were widely praised for their success and Mounsey was given command of the repaired and newly purchased HMS Furieuse several months later as a reward. His first lieutenant was also promoted and the whole crew benefitted from the award of prize money
. As with the April engagement, the capture of Furieuse was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal.
and San Domingo
falling the same year, Guadeloupe was the only remaining French possession in the West Indies. Despite the supplies carried by Troude's ships, the situation there was desperate: food shortages and financial crisis causing a collapse in the island's morale. When a further effort to resupply the island
was defeated in December 1809, the French losing two more frigates, the inhabitants had no alternative but to wait for the inevitable British invasion. In January 1810, Cochrane ordered an amphibious landing
on Guadeloupe, which rapidly overwhelmed the weakened defenders and eliminated the last remaining French colony in the Caribbean Sea.
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...
. The French squadron departed from 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...
in February 1809 in an attempt to reach and resupply the island colony of 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...
in the Caribbean Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, then under invasion
Invasion of Martinique (1809)
The invasion of Martinique of 1809 was a successful British amphibious operation against the French West Indian island of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars...
from a British expeditionary force. The force arrived much too late to affect the outcome of the successful invasion and took shelter from a British squadron in 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...
, where they were blockaded by part of the British invasion fleet, led by Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
. Two weeks after the French ships arrived, British troops invaded and captured the Saintes, constructing mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
batteries to bombard the French squadron. With his position unsustainable, Commodore Troude decided to break out.
Attempting to escape under cover of darkness on 14 April, the French squadron was spotted by a number of small British ships stationed close inshore. These ships raised the alarm and the main British squadron followed in pursuit. The rearmost French ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
, Hautpoult, was closely followed by the small 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 Recruit
HMS Recruit (1806)
HMS Recruit was an 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in 1806 at Sandwich, Kent. She is best known for an act of pique by Cmdr. Warwick Lake, who marooned a seaman, and for an inconclusive but hard fought ship action under Cmdr. Charles John Napier against the French...
, which succeeded in delaying Hautpoult long enough that the main British squadron was able to attack and overwhelm her in a running battle that lasted three days and ended off the coast of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. The British suffered 45 casualties, the French nearly 100. The remainder of the French squadron escaped, with the two surviving ships of the line sailing directly for France, eventually reaching Cherbourg in May.
The French expedition's two frigates, both only partially armed, were detached during the action and took shelter in harbour at Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
. In June, heavily laden with trade goods, they attempted to escape to Europe, but were pursued by elements of the British blockade force. Félicité
French frigate Félicité (1785)
The Félicité was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Captured by the British Navy and sold to the State of Haiti, she entered Haitian service as Améthyste.-French service:In 1792, she traveled to the Caribbean Sea...
was overrun after four days of manouvere, submitting to the more powerful British frigate HMS Latona without a fight. Furieuse
HMS Furieuse (1809)
Furieuse was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1809 and taken into servive as the fifth rate HMS Furieuse.-French career and capture:...
was able to escape immediate pursuit, but was subsequently discovered on 3 July by the smaller British ship HMS Bonne Citoyenne. In a fierce engagement two days later, the small British ship was able to defeat and capture the French vessel, which was later commissioned into the Royal Navy.
Background
During the Napoleonic WarsNapoleonic 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...
, 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...
suffered a series of defeats at the hands of 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...
, culminating in the destruction of much of their Mediterranean Fleet 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 ....
in 1805. Unable to compete at sea, the French were increasingly confined to their principal naval bases, especially 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...
on the 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...
coast and 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 the Mediterranean. With British squadrons patrolling the entrances to these ports, the French found it difficult not only to conduct regular overseas trade, but also to supply and reinforce their overseas colonies. As a result, the colonies faced financial collapse and the constant threat of attack by British forces, especially in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, where by 1809 their island colonies of 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...
and Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
were surrounded by British held islands and blockaded by a strong British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
.
During the summer of 1808, messages arrived in France from Martinique, outlining the desperate situation of their supplies, morale and economy. It was determined that reinforcements and food supplies would be sent and the 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"...
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...
was despatched in November 1808. Within days, Thétis had been captured at the Action of 10 November 1808
Action of 10 November 1808
The Action of 10 November 1808 was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, in which a British frigate defeated and captured a French frigate in the Bay of Biscay...
, and subsequent operations had mixed success: the frigate Amphitrite
French frigate Amphitrite (1808)
The Amphitrite was a 44-gun Armide class frigate of the French Navy.Amphitrite, under frigate captain Trobriand, departed Cherbourg for Martinique on 10 November 1808, along with Vénus, Junon, Cygne and Papillon, under contre-amiral Hamelin...
reached Martinique, but a number of smaller ships were intercepted and defeated, both in Europe and the West Indies. In desperation, a major operation was planned, intended to transport substantial supplies and sufficient troops to resist the inevitable British invasion on Martinique. To this end, Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude was provided with the ships of the line Courageux
French ship Courageux (1806)
The Courageux was a 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.She was started as Alcide, and renamed in 1802. She was commissioned on 8 April 1806 under Amable Troude. On 16 February 1809, she left Lorient as flagship of a squadron also comprising Polonais and Hautpoult.She...
, Polonais
French ship Polonais (1808)
The Polonais was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.First named Glorieux, she was renamed on 23 February 1807....
and Hautpoult, with the frigates Félicité
French frigate Félicité (1785)
The Félicité was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Captured by the British Navy and sold to the State of Haiti, she entered Haitian service as Améthyste.-French service:In 1792, she traveled to the Caribbean Sea...
and Furieuse
HMS Furieuse (1809)
Furieuse was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1809 and taken into servive as the fifth rate HMS Furieuse.-French career and capture:...
en flûte
En flûte
Arming a ship en flûte means removing some or all of the artillery. Since ships have a limited amount of cargo space, they may be armed en flûte to make room for other cargo, such as troops and ammunition...
as armed storeships, carrying the bulk of the supplies.
On 21 February 1809, a large French fleet under Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez
Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez
Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez was a French sailor and admiral of the First French Empire....
attempted to escape Brest and was chased by the blockade squadron and driven to shelter under the Ile d'Aix. Shortly afterwards, three French frigates attempted to break out of 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...
, but were challenged and destroyed at the Action of 24 February 1809. These operations were the preliminaries to the Battle of Basque Roads in April, but also provided the cover required for Troude's force to escape Lorient while the British were engaged elsewhere. Travelling rapidly across the Atlantic, the French encountered no British warships but were able to seize a number of lone British merchant ships, from whom Troude learned that the invasion of Martinique
Invasion of Martinique (1809)
The invasion of Martinique of 1809 was a successful British amphibious operation against the French West Indian island of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars...
was already underway. While Troude's expedition had been preparing at Lorient, Cochrane had been preparing his own operation to Martinique, following the interception of the same despatches warning of the island's low morale and preparedness in the summer of 1808. Amassing an expeditionary force of 44 ships and 10,000 men at Carlisle Bay, Barbados
Carlisle Bay, Barbados
Carlisle Bay is a small natural harbor located in the southwest region of Barbados. The island nation's capital, Bridgetown, is situated on this bay, which has been turned into a marine park. Carlisle Bay's marine park is a popular spot on the island for scuba diving...
, Cochrane began the invasion on 30 January 1809 and his troops rapidly overran the French defences, despite stiff resistance in the central highlands. By 10 February, the only remaining point in French hands was Fort Desaix
Fort Desaix
Fort Desaix is a Vauban fort and one of four forts that protects Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. The fort was built from 1768 to 1772 and sits on a hill, Morne Garnier, overlooking what was then Fort Royal...
, which held out until the magazine was breached on 24 February, at which point Governor Louis Thomas 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...
surrendered unconditionally.
Îles des Saintes
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...
on 29 March, refusing to approach Martinique and instead anchoring near 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...
until the situation in the islands could be established. Before he could make contact with nearby Guadeloupe, he was discovered by patrolling British warships and a warning sent to Cochrane, who was on his flagship HMS Neptune
HMS Neptune (1797)
HMS Neptune was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She served on a number of stations during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was present at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805....
off Martinique. Within hours Neptune was cruising off the Saintes, joined by the ships of the line HMS Pompee, HMS York
HMS York (1807)
HMS York was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Rotherhithe by the contract firm Samuel & Daniel Brent, and launched on 7 July 1807. She saw service during the Napoleonic Wars, though is best known for her time spent as a prison ship...
, HMS Belleisle
HMS Belleisle (1795)
Lion was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the French Navy, which later served in the Royal Navy. She was built at Rochefort. She was later renamed Marat and then Formidable, with the changing fortunes of the French Revolution....
, HMS Captain
HMS Captain (1787)
HMS Captain was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 November 1787 at Limehouse. She served during the French revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars before being placed in harbour service in 1799...
, HMS Polyphemus
HMS Polyphemus (1782)
HMS Polyphemus, a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 27 April 1782 at Sheerness. She was the first ship of the Royal Navy named for Polyphemus the Cyclops.-Baltic service:...
and a number of smaller warships that could operate closer inshore. Blockading the Saintes was a difficult task: the French had three channels through which they could escape, too many to be effectively blocked by the forces at Cochrane's disposal. In addition, the Troude's force could not be attacked directly, the width of the channels making it impossible for the British ships to attack in full strength.
For two weeks the British and French squadrons watched one another, the British unable to attack and the French unable to escape. In an effort to break the dedalock, Cochrane sent to Martinique for a body of 3,000 men under Major-General Frederick Maitland
Frederick Maitland
General Frederick Maitland was the youngest son of the hon. Sir Alexander Maitland Baronet and Penelope, daughter of Martin Madan and Judith Madan the poet...
. With this force he launched a surprise invasion of the islands on 14 April, the amphibious operation commanded by Captain Philip Beaver
Philip Beaver
Philip Beaver was an officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries...
in HMS Acasta
HMS Acasta (1797)
HMS Acasta was a 40-gun Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate. She saw service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as the War of 1812. Although she never took part in any notable single-ship actions nor saw action in a major battle though she was at the Battle of San Domingo, she...
and executed successfully with only minor casualties. Parties of seamen went ashore in the wake of the soldiers, working rapidly to establish a battery of two 8-inch howitzers on Morne-Russell. These guns began firing during the afternoon and by 20:00 Troude had given orders for his squadron to sail through the western channel during the night.
In their efforts to monitor the French, Cochrane's squadron had become divided, so that Neptune and Pompee were the only ships within reach of Troude's squadron when they passed through the channel. Neither ship was well placed to fight the larger French force and both were taken by surprise, only alerted to the French escape 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...
HMS Hazard
HMS Hazard (1794)
HMS Hazard was an 16-gun Royal Navy Cormorant class ship-sloop built by Josiah & Thomas Brindley at Frindsbury, Kent, and launched in 1794. She served in the French Revolutionary Wars and throughout the Napoleonic Wars...
under Captain Hugh Cameron shortly before 22:00. Pompee was closest to the French, and Captain William Charles Fahie
William Charles Fahie
Vice-Admiral Sir William Charles Fahie KCB was a prominent British Royal Navy officer during the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. Unusually, Fahie's service was almost entirely spent in the West Indies, where he had been born and where he lived during...
managed to fire two broadsides into the rearmost ship, Hautpoult before the Troude's squadron pulled away from her. Neptune, Pompee and the small brig HMS Recruit
HMS Recruit (1806)
HMS Recruit was an 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in 1806 at Sandwich, Kent. She is best known for an act of pique by Cmdr. Warwick Lake, who marooned a seaman, and for an inconclusive but hard fought ship action under Cmdr. Charles John Napier against the French...
took up the chase, the fast Recruit annoying the French with persistent minor attacks, while Neptune came too close to Hautpoult and was fired on, losing one man killed and four wounded. The French escape, while necessitated by the British battery, was actually a feint: the frigates Félicité and Furieuse had remained hidden off the Saintes during the night and at 09:00 on 15 April, with the main combat continuing to the west, slipped away into Basse-Terre
Basse-Terre
Basse-Terre is the prefecture of Guadeloupe, an overseas region and department of France located in the Lesser Antilles...
on Guadeloupe, chased in vain by HMS Intrepid
HMS Intrepid (1770)
HMS Intrepid was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 4 December 1770 at Woolwich.In 1772 the Intrepid sailed to the Dutch East Indies...
under Captain Warwick Lake. French batteries drove off the British pursuit and the frigates were anchored in harbour and their stores successfully unloaded.
Battle
During the night of 14–15 April 1809, contact was maintained with the French squadron by Recruit, Captain Charles John Napier firing on the rearmost ship Hautpoult and coming under fire from the French stern-chasers, guns situated in the rear of a ship to fire on pursuers. Shortly after 04:00, Pompee came within range and began to fire her bow-chasers, the chase continuing westwards into the Caribbean Sea. Frustrated by her inability to escape Recruit, Hautpoult eventually turned and fired a broadsideBroadside
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:...
at 10:45, causing severe damage but failing to dissuade Napier, who immediately counter-attacked. Hautpoults manoeuvre caused her to lose ground to her pursuers and throughout the day the squadrons exchanged shots, neither causing significant damage but the French being driven deeper into British held waters and unable to drive off their opponents.
At 20:00, Troude ordered Hautpoult to steer to the northwest while he took Courageux and Polonais southwest in an effort to divide the pursuit. Pompee and Recruit kept with Hautpoult, while Neptune, accompanied by the brig HMS Hawk continued to follow Troude's main force. During the night however Troude outdistanced Neptune, and on the morning of 16 April Cochrane ordered all available ships to converge on Hautpoult. The lone French ship of the line had finally forced the damaged Recruit to retire, but could see Pompee and Neptune to the southeast and the newly arrived frigates HMS Latona under Captain Hugh Pigot and HMS Castor
HMS Castor (1785)
HMS Castor was a 32-gun Amazon-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The French briefly captured her during the Atlantic Campaign of May 1794 but she spent just 20 days in French hands as a British ship retook her before her...
under Captain William Roberts to the northeast, with the Spanish coast of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
directly north. During the day the chase continued, Neptune falling behind but Pompee remaining in sight and the frigates gaining on Hautpoult. At 17:00, Puerto Rico appeared on the horizon, the French forced to follow the coastline westwards. During the night, the British pursuers were confused by a the overcast sky, which helped Hautpoult to partially obscure herself among the lights from shore.
At 02:45 on 17 April, Castor closed within range of Hautpoult and opened fire, exchanging broadsides with the much larger French ship for 75 minutes and slowing her sufficiently for Pompee to come within range. Sailing between Castor and the French ship, Fahie closed within 50 yards (45.7 m) and opened fire with his broadside. Within 15 minutes Hautpoult attempted to escape by pulling forward and engaging with Castor again, but the damage done to her sails and rigging hindered the manoeuvre and Pompee pulled across her stern, threatening to 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...
her. With defeat inevitable, the French captain surrendered, Neptune, York, Captain, Hazard, Hawk, Recruit, Polyphemus, HMS Ethalion
HMS Ethalion (1802)
HMS Ethalion was a Royal Navy 36-gun frigate, launched in 1802 at Woolwich Dockyard.-Service:Ethalion entered service in 1807 under Captain Charles Stuart, operating in the North Sea. In May 1804 she captured the 16-gun Dutch brig Union off Bergen...
and HMS Ringdove
HMS Ringdove (1806)
HMS Ringdove was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop that Matthew Warren built at Brightlingsea and launched in 1806. She took some prizes and participated in three actions or campaigns that qualified her crew for clasps to the Naval General Service Medal...
all coming within sight as dawn broke, joining Pompee, Castor and Latona.
Aftermath
Hautpoult had fought hard during the engagement and was badly damaged, suffering between 80 and 90 casualties. Pompee was also badly damaged, losing nine killed and 30 wounded, including Fahie wounded. Other casualties were suffered on Castor, with one killed and five wounded; Neptune one killed and four wounded and Recruit one wounded. In total, British losses were 11 killed and 40 wounded. Cochrane ordered Pompee and the newly captured French ship back to port, promoting Napier to command the ship of the line for his service on Recruit and despatching York and Captain to hunt for Troude's remaining squadron. Despite their efforts, Troude evaded pursuit and eventually reached Cherbourg in May. In addition to Napier there were further promotions and awards and Hautpoult was taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Abercromby. Four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847.Félicité and Furieuse
During May 1809, the frigates Félicité and Furieuse remained at Guadeloupe, taking on stores and preparing for their eventual return journey to France. Although they were both large frigates, they had been largely disarmed in France to create space for cargo: Furieuse was provided with only 20 cannonCannon
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,...
(including 12 carronades) and a crew of just 200, while Félicité had even fewer defences, carrying just 14 cannon and 174 men. Watching these ships was a small British blockade force led by Hugh Pigot in Latona with a few brigs and sloops, Cochrane's invasion fleet having been dispersed.
Félicité
On 14 June under the cover of darkness, the French frigates set sail, laden with colonial merchandise for sale in France. They were immediately spotted leaving Basse-Terre by the blockade squadron, but although the brig HMS Haughty managed to fire a few shots before they pulled away, only Latona and HMS CherubHMS Cherub (1806)
HMS Cherub was an 18-gun Royal Navy Cormorant-class sloop built in Dover in 1806.-West Indies and Pacific service:Cherub was stationed in the West Indies and took part in the capture of Guadeloupe in 1810 and remained on the Leeward Islands station until 1812. That year she returned to England with...
under Captain Thomas Tudor Tucker were able to maintain contact. Throughout 15, 16 and most of 17 June the chase continued, until the frigates separated: Furieuse led Cherub away from Latona and then outdistanced her, disappearing into the Atlantic. Félicité was unable to escape Latona however, and on 18 June was overrun. Outgunned by his larger opponent, Félicité
State of Haiti
The State of Haiti was the name of the state in northern Haiti. It was created on October 17, 1806 following the overthrow of the Empire of Haiti following the assassination of Emperor Jacques I...
, reappearing in 1812 as the Améthyste under the control of a privateer commissioned by Haitian rebels. She was quickly attacked and captured again by Captain Yeo during the Action of 3 February 1812
Action of 3 February 1812
The Action of 3 February 1812 was an unusual minor naval engagement between a British frigate and a large pirate ship manned by a loose collation of Haitian rebels off the western coast of Haiti. The battle was fought against the background of the Napoleonic Wars and the collapse of government in...
.
Furieuse
Although Furieuse had escaped CherubEastern seaboard
An Eastern seaboard can mean any easternmost part of a continent, or its countries, states and/or cities.Eastern seaboard may also refer to:* East Coast of Australia* East Coast of the United States* Eastern Seaboard of Thailand-See also:...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, her commander, Lieutenant Gabriel-Etienne-Louis Le Marant Kerdaniel, raided British merchant shipping and was consequently delayed. At 15:00 on 5 July, the 20-gun sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
HMS Bonne Citoyenne under Captain William Mounsey
William Mounsey
William Mounsey CB was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the American Revolutionary, the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, rising to the rank of Captain.-Family and early life:...
, on passage from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, spotted Furieuse to the southwest taking possession of a British merchant ship. As Bonne Citoyenne approached, Kerdaniel abandoned the merchant ship and sailed northwards, Mounsey giving chase but trailing 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) behind throughout the day.
As darkness fell, Furieuse disappeared ahead, Mounsey pursuing in the hope of rediscovering his opponent during the night. At 03:00 on 6 July, the British lookouts spotted the French ship in the distance and the chase began again, Bonne Citoyenne proving much faster than the French ship as the wind strengthened. At 09:10 it became clear to Kerdaniel that he could not escape his opponent and instead turned to meet her, opening fire five minutes later as Bonne Citoyenne came within range. Mounsey replied immediately, the two ships exchanging fire at close range for nearly seven hours, the smaller and more manoeuvrable Bonne Citoyenne successfully turning several times to vary her broadsides and prevent her guns overheating. In the exchange, the British ship fired 129 broadsides, while Furieuse only managed 70: Bonne Citoyenne lost three cannon to fractures caused by the intense heat generated by repeated firing. With his ammunition spent, Mounsey swung towards Furieuse at 18:16 to board and capture her, at which point Kerdaniel, whose ship was battered and unmanoeuvrable, surrendered.
Due to her small size and high speed, Bonne Citoyenne suffered minimal casualties of one man killed and five wounded, although the ship itself was badly damaged. French losses were far more severe, with 35 killed, 37 seriously wounded including her captain, and 20 lightly wounded. Furieuse, built as a 40-gun frigate, had proven unable to match the speed an agility of the smaller ship and as a result her reduced armament had proven inadequate when faced with Mounsey's determined opposition. It was not until 01:30 on 7 July that temporary repairs were complete and the two ships began the long, slow journey to Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
. The following day however, two of the Furieuse
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
. As with the April engagement, the capture of Furieuse was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal.
Subsequent operations
The failure of Troude's squadron to escape the British pursuit highlights the dominance of the Royal Navy in the Atlantic by 1809. With Martinique gone, and French GuianaFrench Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
and San Domingo
French occupation of Santo Domingo
The French occupation of Santo Domingo started in 1795 when France came to own the whole island when by the Treaty of Basel Spain ceded Santo Domingo as a consequence of the French Revolutionary Wars. At the time, slaves led by Toussaint Louverture in Saint-Domingue were in revolt against France...
falling the same year, Guadeloupe was the only remaining French possession in the West Indies. Despite the supplies carried by Troude's ships, the situation there was desperate: food shortages and financial crisis causing a collapse in the island's morale. When a further effort to resupply the island
Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean
Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean, was an unsuccessful operation by a French naval squadron to transport supplies to Guadeloupe in December 1809 at the height of the Napoleonic Wars. Over the previous year, British Royal Navy squadrons had isolated and defeated the French Caribbean colonies...
was defeated in December 1809, the French losing two more frigates, the inhabitants had no alternative but to wait for the inevitable British invasion. In January 1810, Cochrane ordered an amphibious landing
Invasion of Guadeloupe (1810)
The Invasion of Guadeloupe was a British amphibious operation fought between 28 January and 6 February 1810 over control of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe during the Napoleonic Wars. The island was the final remaining French colony in the Americas, following the systematic invasion and capture...
on Guadeloupe, which rapidly overwhelmed the weakened defenders and eliminated the last remaining French colony in the Caribbean Sea.