The action of 9 February 1799 was a minor naval engagement of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
between a British
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
frigate and a French
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
frigate fought west of the southeastern coast of what is now
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. The 32-gun French frigate ''
Prudente'' had since the start of the war been part of a squadron operating from
Île de France (now
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
). This squadron had dispersed during 1798, with the ships sent on independent
commerce raiding
Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than en ...
operations across the British trade routes in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
. ''Prudente'' had subsequently been seized in the autumn of that year by
Anne Joseph Hippolyte de Maurès, Comte de Malartic, the Governor of Île de France, and sold to a private raiding company.
In early 1799 ''Prudente'' was operating off South Africa, attacking British trade passing to or from the
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
when the ship was discovered by British frigate
HMS ''Daedalus'' under Captain
Henry Lidgbird Ball
Henry Lidgbird Ball (7 December 1756 – 22 October 1818) was a Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy of the British Empire. While Ball was best known as the commander of the First Fleet's , he was also notable for the exploration and the establishmen ...
. ''Prudente'' turned away and Ball gave chase, following the French ship closely. After five hours ''Daedalus'' caught ''Prudente'' and fired a
raking broadside into the stern, disabling the French ship. For another hour the action continued at close range until ''Prudente'' was forced to surrender.
Background
By 1799 British forces dominated the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
, controlling the economically vital trade routes from
China, the
Dutch East Indies and
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
to Europe. The
French Navy
The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
had originally deployed only two
frigates in the region, ''
Prudente'' and
''Cybèle'', operating from
Port Louis
Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's e ...
on
Île de France. This force was subsequently augmented in the summer of 1796 by a large squadron of frigates under
Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey
Vice Admiral Pierre César Charles Guillaume, Marquis de Sercey, born at the Château du Jeu, La Comelle on 26 April 1753 and died in Paris, 1st arrondissement on 10 August 1836, was a French naval officer and politician. He is best known for ...
, which cruised in the East Indies during 1796 and 1797, suffering setbacks at
Action of 9 September 1796 and the
Bali Strait Incident. During 1798 the squadron dispersed, as his crews became increasingly mutinous and the Colonial Assembly of Île de France grew openly disdainful of his efforts, refusing to provide reinforcements or supplies to his ships.
To mitigate this disaffection, Sercey ordered two of his frigates, ''Prudente'' and
''Forte'' to cruise in the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...
against British trade during the autumn of 1798. When these ships returned, Sercey had already sailed for the east, leaving instructions for the frigates to follow. These orders were however countermanded by the Governor of Île de France,
Malartic, who ordered the frigates seized while they were in harbour. Although Sercey protested Malartic's actions, the governor issued new orders to the ships: ''Forte'' was sent northeast to operate in the Bay of Bengal off
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
while ''Prudente'' was partially disarmed and sold to a privateering concern to operate against trade as a commercial investment.
Battle
Command of ''Prudente'' was given to Captain
Emanuel-Hippolite Le Jolliff, who sailed to the region to the east of the British held
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with t ...
to prey on transoceanic merchant shipping sailing to and from
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. The cruise achieved some success, including the seizure of an American merchant ship from
Canton, which had been given a prize crew of 17 and armed with
6-pounder gun 6-pounder gun or 6-pdr, usually denotes a gun firing a projectile weighing approximately .
Guns of this type include:
*QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss, a 57 mm naval gun of the 1880s; a similar weapon was designed by Driggs-Schroeder for the US Navy ...
s from ''Prudente''
's quarterdeck, leaving the French frigate with only 30 guns including its main battery of
12-pounder long gun
The 12-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 18th century, on the second deck of fourth-rate ships of the line, ...
s. At dawn on 9 February 1799, while sailing approximately southwest of the coast of
Natal
NATAL or Natal may refer to:
Places
* Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil
* Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa
** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843)
** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...
a sail was seen to the southeast, approaching rapidly. Recognising a British frigate, La Joliff ordered his ships to separate at 07:00, the American ship sailing south while he took ''Prudente'' northwards, hoping to draw off the British ship so that the prize could escape.
The new arrival was
HMS ''Daedalus'', a 32-gun 12-pounder Royal Navy frigate under the command of Captain
Henry Lidgbird Ball
Henry Lidgbird Ball (7 December 1756 – 22 October 1818) was a Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy of the British Empire. While Ball was best known as the commander of the First Fleet's , he was also notable for the exploration and the establishmen ...
. Ball maintained pursuit of ''Prudente'', running behind his opponent until 10:00 when La Joliff swung his frigate to starboard with the wind, Ball following close behind. With the British frigate closing, la Joliff ordered his men to begin firing their
stern-chasers at ''Daedalus'' and at 12:10 hauled up to engage, firing a
broadside into the British ship. Ball shortened sail and brought his ship across the stern of ''Prudente'', firing a devastating
raking broadside into the French frigate at 12:25. Ball then drew ''Daedalus'' alongside ''Prudente'' and the ships fought a close range broadside duel, fire from Ball's ship bringing down the
mizenmast on ''Prudente'' after 15 minutes. It was only at 13:21, more than an hour after the battle had begun, that La Joliff acknowledged the damage to his ship and
struck his colours
Striking the colors—meaning lowering the flag (the "colors") that signifies a ship's or garrison's allegiance—is a universally recognized indication of surrender, particularly for ships at sea. For a ship, surrender is dated from the time the ...
.
Aftermath
''Prudente'' was badly damaged in the engagement and had lost heavy casualties, including 27 killed and 22 wounded. Losses and damage on ''Daedalus'' were much lighter, with only one sailor and one
Royal Marine
The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
killed and eleven wounded. Ball conducted hasty repairs and then brought the captured ''Prudente'' into
Table Bay
Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named b ...
on 15 February. There the captured ship was condemned by the port commander Captain
George Losack: although ''Prudente'' was a high-quality ship the naval facilities at the Cape Colony were insufficient to conduct the necessary repairs and the French frigate was not subsequently commissioned into the Royal Navy. As a result, there were few rewards for the action, unusually the junior officers of ''Daedalus'' were not promoted in the aftermath of the battle. Among the prisoners taken from ''Prudente'' was a
deserter
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
from the Royal Navy named Thomas Tring, who was subsequently
court martialed and
hanged
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...
.
In the Indian Ocean theatre the loss of ''Prudente'' was compounded a few weeks later by the capture of ''Forte'' at the
action of 28 February 1799
The action of 28 February 1799 was a minor naval engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought off the mouth of the Hooghly River in the Bay of Bengal between the French frigate ''Forte'' and the Royal Navy frigate HMS ''Sybille''. ' ...
, which left Sercey with a shortage of available warships. At the
action of 11 December 1799 his last frigate,
''Preneuse'', was intercepted and destroyed off Île de France. A commander without a command, the French admiral returned to France and subsequently retired.
Citations
References
*
*
* {{cite book , last = Parkinson , first = C. Northcote , author-link = C. Northcote Parkinson , year = 1954 , title = War in the Eastern Seas, 1793 - 1815 , url = https://archive.org/details/warineasternseas0000park , url-access = registration , publisher = George Allen & Unwin Ltd. , location=London, England
Naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars
Conflicts in 1799
Naval battles involving Great Britain
Naval battles involving France