USS ''Enterprise'' vs ''Flambeau'' 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 ...

fought in October 1800 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 Congres ...

, and the final battle between French and American forces. During the action, defeated the French

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

''Flambeau'' off the

leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

side of the island of

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. Although ''Enterprise'' was outgunned by ''Flambeau'', she was still able to take her as a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

after a short battle. The battle helped bring to fame ''Enterprise''s commanding officer, John Shaw, who added the capture of ''Flambeau'' to his already long list of French prizes. ''Enterprise'' continued patrolling the Caribbean, chasing down and capturing French vessel ''Pauline'', and later ''Guadaloupeenne''. Chronic illness forced Shaw to transfer command of ''Enterprise'' to Lieutenant

Andrew Sterett Andrew Sterett (January 27, 1778 – January 9, 1807) /sup> was an officer in the United States Navy during the nation's early days. He saw combat during the Quasi-War with France and in the Barbary Wars, commanding the schooner USS ''Enter ...

, who continued the patrol and took several more French prizes before returning home.

Background

During the

American merchant ships often became the target of 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 ...

s who seized them in large quantities. In an effort to stem these depredations against American shipping several

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

warships were dispatched to hunt down French privateers. One such vessel was , an American naval

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

under the command of Lieutenant John Shaw. ''Enterprise'' had been sent out to the

in March 1800 with orders to cruise against French shipping in the region. ''Enterprise'' had already previously engaged and defeated several French privateers when on the night of 24 October she sighted the privateer ''Flambeau'' off the leeward side of

. The French letter of marque ''Flambeau'' was a

that was slightly more powerful than ''Enterprise'', having twelve

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

as compared to the American schooner's dozen guns. The French privateer also had more crew than the American vessel, 110 opposed to ''Enterprise''s 83. With a

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

of to ''Enterprise''s and with a larger crew, ''Flambeau'' had an advantage over ''Enterprise''. Nonetheless, Shaw decided to engage ''Flambeau''. ''Enterprise'' could not catch up to ''Flambeau'' but when morning came ''Flambeau'' found herself becalmed. Her captain then used sweeps to close with ''Enterprise''.

Action

Eventually a wind came and the two ships managed to maneuver towards each other until they were within

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

range. After engaging with

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...

for a while, Lieutenant Shaw eventually veered his schooner away and ''Flambeau'' opened up on the Americans with a broadside of

roundshot A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a l ...

. ''Enterprise'' replied with her own broadside and the two vessels engaged each other with cannon for twenty minutes. ''Flambeau'' was beginning to receive heavy damage when her captain decided to disengage and maneuvered away from ''Enterprise''. However, ''Enterprise'' pursued the French brig and continued to engage her. ''Flambeau''s foretopmast was in danger of being dismasted from damage it had received from ''Enterprise'', so the French captain sent men aloft to try to repair it. However after a sudden gust of wind the mast flew off the ship carrying six French sailors with it. ''Enterprise'' ceased her attacks upon ''Flambeau'' and sent out a boat to rescue the French sailors adrift on the topmast. After rescuing the French topmen, ''Enterprise'' caught up with the French brig and came alongside. Before the action could continue the French captain struck her colours as ''Flambeau''s

medicine chest A medicine chest is a container or cabinet for storing medicine. All ships governed by the regulations of the International Maritime Organization must have medical supplies and suitable storage for them such as refrigeration and locks. In Cana ...

had been destroyed and the hull compromised multiple times.

Aftermath

The entire action lasted about forty minutes. The French were much worse off than the Americans in terms of casualties, with 7 Frenchmen killed and 33 wounded compared to 3 Americans killed and 7 wounded. A

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

crew from ''Enterprise'' was sent aboard ''Flambeau'' and sailed her to

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

where she was condemned. The proceeds from the sale of ''Flambeau'' were adjudicated to the crew of ''Enterprise''. The capture of ''Flambeau'' brought further acclaim to Shaw, who had already defeated several other French privateers and taken them as prizes. ''Enterprise'' continued her cruise, next chasing down and capturing ''Pauline'' and later ''Guadaloupeenne''. Shortly afterward, chronic illness forced Shaw to transfer command of the vessel to Lieutenant

. Sterret continued to cruise the Caribbean, taking several more prizes before returning home. Upon Shaw's return home the president and other public officials personally thanked him for his service. Shaw later continued his naval career, serving with distinction during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

Citations

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:USS Enterprise vs Flambeau Naval battles of the Quasi-War Conflicts in 1800 1800 in France 1800 in the United States