The action of 8 March 1795 was a minor naval engagement in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

theatre 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, Pruss ...

. The action was part of series of battles fought in the spring of 1795 between British and French fleets for control of the

Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient ...

and thus the

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are leg ...

of the French naval base of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

. The engagement was the first significant action of the year and was fought principally between the damaged

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

and the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

32-gun

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...

''Alceste'', with the later assistance of the frigate ''Vestale'' and the 74-gun ''Duquesne'', distantly supported by the rest of the French Mediterranean Fleet. The action took place against the backdrop of a wider campaign, in which much of the French fleet had been badly damaged in 1793 during the

Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-S ...

. Freshly repaired, the French had sailed on a mission to intimidate the neutral city of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and possibly invade British-held Corsica. The British fleet had until recently been anchored for the winter in San Fiorenzo Bay off Northern Corsica, but Vice-Admiral William Hotham sailed for Leghorn for refit in late February and left behind ''Berwick'', which had been badly damaged in an accident over the winter. Equipped with the rigging of a frigate and mounting only 64-guns, Captain Adam Littlejohn was under orders to follow the fleet when practical, but in doing so in early March he ran straight into Contre-amiral Pierre Martin's French fleet. Two French ships of the line and three frigates sailed to intercept ''Berwick'', and the frigate ''Alceste'' arrived first; most of the action took place between the disabled British ship and the French frigate. Littlejohn was killed after an hour's combat, and the inability of the British ship to manoeuvre, the arrival of a second frigate, and the looming presence of the larger French detachment in pursuit convinced the surviving British officers that resistance was futile. ''Berwick'' was surrendered and taken first to Gourjean Bay and later to Toulon. The ship served with the French Navy for ten years, before being recaptured at the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1 ...

. Martin's fleet was intercepted by Hotham's a few days later in the

Gulf of Genoa The Gulf of Genoa (''Golfo di Genova'') is the northernmost part of the Ligurian Sea. This Italian gulf is about wide from the city of Imperia in the west to La Spezia in the east. The largest city on its coast is Genoa, which has an importa ...

, and at the ensuing battle two French ships were lost.

Background

The Mediterranean campaign of the

began in earnest in August 1793, seven months after war was declared, with the arrival of a powerful British fleet under Vice-Admiral Lord Hood.James, Vol.1, p.65 Hood was immediately able to take advantage of the political chaos of the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public Capital punishment, executions took pl ...

then underway in the new

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and force the French naval base of

to declare for the Royalist cause and permit Hood to occupy the city and seize almost the entire French fleet at anchor in the harbour.Ireland, p.178 Republican forces besieged the city and after four months it was recaptured, Hood

burning Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion ...

the French fleet as he left. Despite Hood's orders however only half the fleet was lost, many ships surviving in a damaged state; the French began an extensive programme of repairs.Gardiner, p.105 As the French salvaged their fleet, Hood ordered an invasion of Corsica in February 1794. French garrisons on the island were eliminated one by one in a series of sieges, and by August the island and its important anchorage at San Fiorenzo Bay, were under British control.Clowes, p.244 The repaired French fleet, under the command of Contre-amiral Pierre Martin, sailed from Toulon in June 1794 on a limited cruise, and was almost caught by Hood; Martin's ships were forced to shelter under gun batteries in Gourjean Bay until Hood departed.James, Vol.1, p.193 The French fleet sheltered in Toulon over the winter. In San Fiorenzo Bay, the British fleet had an eventful winter; Hood was recalled to Britain, leaving his deputy Vice-Admiral William Hotham in command,Gardiner, p.116 and there was a mutiny aboard the 98-gun HMS ''Windsor Castle''.Mostert, p.159 Hotham was a cautious and elderly officer, who had ordered limited refits of his ships during their time in the Bay. On 15 January a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).cross-swell rocking the anchored fleet. One ship however, the 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Berwick'' had had its rigging removed for the refit, leaving the masts unsupported and as a result destabilising the entire ship. Rocking dangerously, ''Berwick'' lost all three lower masts overboard.James, Vol.1, p.254 The masts could not be replaced in San Fiorenzo, and Hotham convened an immediate

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

which found that Captain William Smith, the first lieutenant and the ship's master had not taken the proper precautions to secure the masts. All three were pronounced guilty of negligence and dismissed from the ship.Clowes, p.267 Smith was replaced with Captain Adam Littlejohn, who was instructed to raise frigate

jury masts In maritime transport terms, and most commonly in sailing, jury-rigged is an adjective, a noun, and a verb. It can describe the actions of temporary makeshift running repairs made with only the tools and materials on board; and the subsequent r ...

, the only ones available, on ''Berwick''. Hotham then sailed to Leghorn, leaving Littlejohn behind with instructions for ''Berwick'' to follow when repairs were complete. Littlejohn raised the jury masts, but was forced to dismount a number of guns to improve stability.Troude, p.426 Delayed by contrary winds, ''Berwick'', with an improvised sail rig, was only able to follow Hotham on 7 March, steering north out of San Fiorenzo Bay.James, Vol.1, p.255 Four days earlier, upon learning of Hotham's absence, Martin had sailed once more with the French fleet. His force comprised fifteen ships of the line, including one of 120-guns, two of 80-guns and the remainder of 74-guns, supported by seven frigates and five smaller warships. On board his flagship was a Représentant en mission from the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nation ...

, Étienne-François Letourneur, sent to provide political oversight for the operation.Troude, p.425. Martin's mission has never been adequately determined: The report of the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety (french: link=no, Comité de salut public) was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. S ...

to the National Convention states that the fleet was at sea to secure shipping lines in the Mediterranean, although a possible

amphibious landing Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducte ...

in Corsica is mentioned in Letourneur's correspondence and indicated by the numbers of troopships assembling in Toulon. However these forces did not leave Toulon harbour, and historian

Adolphe Thiers Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers ( , ; 15 April 17973 September 1877) was a French statesman and historian. He was the second elected President of France and first President of the French Third Republic. Thiers was a key figure in the July Rev ...

has suggested that the objective may have been a demonstration of force against

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, following the lynching of French ambassador Nicolas Bassville there two years earlier.Thiers, ''Histoire de la Révolution'', vol.7.

Battle

Regardless of their purpose, the French fleet, delayed by the same winds which had held back Littlejohn, arrived off Northern Corsica in the early morning of 8 March. Martin had sent frigates to scout his advance, and it was one of these that spied the disabled ''Berwick'' limping northwards along the coast at 07:00. Littlejohn's lookouts sighted the French fleet, noting that they were flying the colours of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

, a British ally. Littlejohn was not deceived however and when his flag signals went unanswered he turned away in an effort to escape. The damage to ''Berwick''s rigging was too severe to make any speed, and within four hours the leading French ships were within range. Martin had detached the ships of the line ''Duquesne'' and ''Censeur'' to give chase, supported by the frigates ''Alceste'' and ''Minerve''; the frigate ''Vestale'' also joined the chase without orders. This force had rapidly overhauled ''Berwick'', and at 11:00 the lead ship ''Alceste'', under Lieutenant Louis-Jean-Nicolas Lejoille, was the first to open fire from close range as ''Minerve'', ''Vestale'' and then the ships of the line all rapidly approached. For an hour Littlejohn tried to keep ahead of his pursuers in the hope of meeting Hotham sailing westwards from Leghorn, as return fire from ''Berwick'' caused significant damage to ''Alceste''; Lejoille was badly wounded in the arm and leg,Hennequin, ''Biographie maritime'' and ''Alceste'' disabled, the

foremast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation ...

brought down by British shot. Just as the frigate started to fall back however a bar shot from ''Alceste'' skimmed ''Berwick''s deck and struck Littlejohn in the head, instantly decapitating him. The surviving officers, seeing their captain fall and the rest of the French pursuit squadron closing on their crippled ship, held a brief council where the decision was taken to surrender rather than be destroyed. As ''Vestale'' arrive and opened fire, Lieutenant Nesbit Palmer, the senior surviving officer, struck the colours. Shortly thereafter, and unaware of the British surrender, ''Duquesne'' pulled alongside and opened fire, although without causing serious damage.

Aftermath

Apart from Littlejohn ''Berwick'' had suffered minimal casualties, only four men wounded. This had been attributed to a French desire not to damage the ship too severely and thus only targeting the jury rigging during most of the engagement. In addition to Lejoille, seven were wounded on ''Alceste'' and there were no losses on any of the other French ships present. The crew were removed from ''Berwick'' and shared amongst the other ships of the pursuit squadron, forbidden to take any baggage with them except the clothes they wore; British historian

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

says that they were "shamefully treated". The officers were later exchanged and honourably acquitted at the subsequent court-martial into the loss of the ship.Clowes, p.268 James and later historian

William Laird Clowes Sir William Laird Clowes (1 February 1856 – 14 August 1905) was a British journalist and historian whose principal work was ''The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900'', a text that is still in print. He also wrote numerous ...

both blame Hotham for the loss of the ship through his impatience in sailing for Leghorn and abandoning an obviously vulnerable and disabled member of his fleet.Clowes, p.267 ''Berwick'' was taken to Gourjean Bay by ''Alceste'', where the ships refitted in preparation for the journey to Toulon. They were joined on 12 March by the ship of the line ''Mercure'', damaged in a storm, while the rest of Martin's fleet sailed across the

.James, Vol.1, p.257 The following day Hotham's fleet discovered the French and gave chase, overhauling the French rearguard in a running battle and capturing ships of the line ''Ça Ira'' and ''Censeur''.Gardiner, p.117 Hotham declined to press the attack further and Martin retreated to Îles d'Hyères, later joined by ''Berwick'' and ''Mercure''. The damaged ships of the fleet, including ''Berwick'' and ''Alceste'', were sent to Toulon for repairs, where the ship of the line was commissioned into the French Navy under the same name.James, p.265 Lejoille was rewarded with command of ''Berwick'', but his wounds were too serious for an immediate return to service and he was initially hospitalised on the flagship ''

Sans-Culottes The (, 'without breeches') were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th-century France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the . T ...

'', and later convalesced in Genoa for eight months, during which time he was promoted to commodore. He went on to fight at the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; french: Bataille d'Aboukir) was a major naval battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast off the ...

in 1798, and subsequently captured HMS ''Leander'' at the

action of 18 August 1798 The action of 18 August 1798 was a minor naval engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought between the British fourth rate ship HMS ''Leander'' and the French ship of the line ''Généreux''. Both ships had been engaged at the Battle ...

.James, Vol.2, p. 238 Lejoille was killed in action not long after by fire from

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

shore batteries at

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

.James, Vol.2, p. 271 As a French ship ''Berwick'' was later present at the action of 7 October 1795 off

Cape St Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already s ...

when ''Censeur'' was recaptured by the French,Clowes, p.271 and served for ten years until being recaptured at the

in 1805 and subsequently wrecked on the Spanish coast.Adkins, p.248

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{Cite book, first=Onésime-Joachim, last=Troude, author-link=Onésime-Joachim Troude, year=1867, publisher=Challamel ainé, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TwZv6FX-RpsC, title=Batailles navales de la France, language=fr, volume=2 Naval battles involving France Naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Conflicts in 1795 Naval battles involving Great Britain