The Action between the USS ''Boston'' and ''Berceau'', was a

single ship action A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions. Single-shi ...

off Guadeloupe, during the

Quasi-War The Quasi-War (french: Quasi-guerre) was an undeclared naval war fought from 1798 to 1800 between the United States and the French First Republic, primarily in the Caribbean and off the East Coast of the United States. The ability of Congress ...

with

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. (32 guns), Capt. George Little, captured the French corvette , ''capitaine de frégate''

Louis-André Senez Louis-André Senez (Toulon, 19 April 1761 — Paris, 8 November 1836Louis André Senez (1 ...

. Cruising 600 miles northeast of Guadeloupe in the morning of 12 October, ''Boston'', spotted two vessels that by 8:00 A.M. were determined to be warships, a schooner (not identified) and the 24-gun ''Berceau'', which then headed in different directions. Pursuing the latter, ''Boston'' gained steadily before catching her in the late afternoon (the American report gives the time as 4:30 P.M., French 3:30 P.M.). ''Berceau'' then shortened sail and the two began a stubborn engagement, each trying to wreck the spars, sails and rigging of the other until the damage to the tops of both made them unmanageable and they drifted apart. The crews then spent the next several hours repairing their damage so that they could rejoin the fight. Well after dusk, the two were again able to engage (the French report gives an additional intermediate engagement), which they did for more than an hour. The action was finally terminated (American, 10:20 P.M.; French 11:30 P.M.) when, losing her fore and main mast and already having had boarding attempts repulsed, ''Berceau'' was forced to strike her colors. Following several days spent immobile, repairing spars, sails and rigging, ''Boston'' towed ''Berceau'' under prize-master Robert Haswell to its namesake home port of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. On arrival, it was discovered that the action had actually been fought two weeks after a peace agreement had formally ended hostilities. As a consequence ''Berceau'' was repaired at American expense and returned to France. The victory was also tainted by charges that the French officers had been plundered of their personal belongings and negro servants, with the active participation of most of their American counterparts. Acquitted in a resulting court martial proceeding, most of ''Boston''s officers were nonetheless dismissed from the Navy.

References

James Truslow Adams James Truslow Adams (October 18, 1878 – May 18, 1949) was an American writer and historian. He was a freelance author who helped to popularize the latest scholarship about American history and his three-volume history of New England is well r ...

, ''Dictionary of American History'', Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1940 * Frederick C. Leiner, ''Millions for Defense: The Subscription Warships of 1798'', Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1999 {{coord missing, France Naval battles of the Quasi-War Conflicts in 1800 1800 in France 1800 in the United States