Action of 6 July 1746

For other actions with this location, see Battle of Negapatam (disambiguation).

The action of 6 July 1746 was an inconclusive naval engagement between the British and French fleets during the War of the Austrian Succession.

Battle of Negapatam (1746)
Part of War of the Austrian Succession
Date 6 July 1746 Location Coast of Negapatam, Indian Ocean Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Edward Peyton	Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Strength
4 Ships of the line 2 Frigates	1 Ship of the line 8 East Indiamen
Casualties and losses
14 killed 46 wounded	27 killed 53 wounded

Battle

The English fleet, first under the command of Commodore Curtis Barnett and then Edward Peyton, and a French fleet under Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais, engaged each other early in the First Carnatic War. Both fleets were damaged, with La Bourdonnais putting in at Pondicherry for repairs, and Peyton at Trincomalee. La Bourdonnais acquired additional guns at Pondicherry, and when the fleets met again in August 1746, Peyton refused battle and retreated to Bengal. La Bourdonnais then proceeded to lead the successful French attack on Madras in September.

Order of Battle

Royal Navy

Ship	Guns	Commander	Ref.
Medway	60	Commodore Edward Peyton Captain Henry Rosewell
Preston	50	Captain Lord Northesk
Winchester	50	Captain Lord Thomas Bertie
Harwich	50	Captain Philip Carteret
Medway Prize	40	Captain Thomas Griffin
Lively	20	Captain Nathaniel Stephens

France

Ship	Guns	Ref.
Achille	60
Duc d'Orléans	26
Bourbon	36
Neptune	34
Phénix	34
Saint Louis	30
Lys	34
Insulaire	28

References

• Clowes, William Laird (1898). The Royal Navy, a History from the Earliest Times to the Present. Vol. 3. London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company.
• Dodwell, Dupleix and Clive
• The Navy in the War of 1739–1748