The Biscay campaign of June 1795 consisted of a series of manoeuvres and two battles fought between the British Channel Fleet and the French Atlantic Fleet off the Southern coast of Brittany in the Bay of Biscay during the French Revolutionary Wars. In late May 1795, a British battle squadron of six ships of the line under Vice-Admiral William Cornwallis was sent by Admiral Lord Bridport to enforce the blockade of the French port of Brest, the home port of the French Atlantic Fleet.[1] On 8 June, Cornwallis discovered a convoy of merchant vessels travelling from Bordeaux to Brest under the protection of a small squadron under Contre-amiral Jean Gaspard Vence. Cornwallis attacked the convoy, Vence retreating under the protection of batteries on the fortified island of Belle Île as Cornwallis seized eight ships from the convoy. As Cornwallis sent his prizes back to Britain the main French fleet at Brest under Vice-amiral Villaret de Joyeuse put to sea to protect Vence's remaining ships.[2]
On 16 June, Cornwallis's squadron encountered Villaret's fleet, in conjunction with Vence's force, off Penmarck Point. Cornwallis had misunderstood the signals from Captain Robert Stopford on the scouting frigate HMS Phaeton and had sailed much too close to the larger French fleet.[3] When he realised his error, the British admiral turned his squadron westwards, retreating away from the French coast with Villaret's force in pursuit. Light winds and poorly loaded ships delayed his escape, and on 17 June the French vanguard caught up with his rearguard.[4] Throughout the day the French and British ships exchanged fire and by the late afternoon the rearmost British ship HMS Mars was in danger of being overwhelmed. Cornwallis responded by interposing his 100-gun flagship HMS Royal Sovereign between the British and French forces.[5] The heavy broadsides of the flagship drove back the French and soon afterwards Villaret recalled his ships, concerned by sails on the horizon which he may have believed to be the rest of the Channel Fleet, although in reality they were a British merchant convoy. The battle is known in British histories as Cornwallis's Retreat.[6]
Villaret retreated towards Brest, but was driven south by a storm on 18 June. Unbeknownst to either Cornwallis or Villaret, the main Channel Fleet was already at sea, protecting an expeditionary force carrying a French Royalist army intended to invade Quiberon, the convoy under the command of Commodore Sir John Borlase Warren.[7] On 22 June, Warren's scouts identified the French fleet at sea off the coastal island of Groix and he took the convoy further out to sea away from the French, who did not pursue, and sent word to Bridport.[8] The British admiral placed his fleet between the French and the expeditionary force, Villaret falling back towards the sheltered anchorage between Groix and the port of Lorient. Light winds delayed both fleets, but on the morning of 23 June Bridport's vanguard overran the rearmost French ships. Villaret attempted to effect a fighting withdrawal, but several of his captains ignored his orders, throwing the retreat into disorder. Three French ships were captured and the rest scattered along the nearby French coast. Although a renewed attack might have destroyed the entire French fleet Bridport, concerned his ships might be wrecked, withdrew unexpectedly.[9] The action is known as the Battle of Groix.
The campaign was a strategic victory for the British; the remainder of the French fleet was forced to shelter in Lorient, from which they were unable to sail again until 1796.[10] The expeditionary force landed safely in Quiberon but the operation ended in disaster, Warren evacuating the survivors a month later.[11] Bridport remained cruising with his fleet off the Breton Coast until September, before handing over control to Rear-Admiral Henry Harvey.[12] The battle was controversial in both countries, British commentators observing that Bridport had missed a unique opportunity to completely destroy the French Atlantic fleet,[11] while in France a series of courts-martial were held to try those officers who were felt to have disobeyed orders: two were dismissed from the French Navy.[13]
British fleet
editNote that as carronades were not traditionally taken into consideration when calculating a ship's rate,[14] these ships may have been carrying more guns than indicated below.
Cornwallis's Squadron
edit| Vice-Admiral Cornwallis's squadron | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Rate | Guns | Commander | Casualties | Notes | |||||
| Killed | Wounded | Total | ||||||||
| HMS Royal Sovereign | First rate | 100 | Vice-Admiral William Cornwallis Captain John Whitby |
0 | 0 | 0 | Heavily engaged on 17 June. | |||
| HMS Mars | Third rate | 74 | Captain Sir Charles Cotton | 0 | 12 | 12 | Heavily engaged on 17 June, severe damage to rigging and sails. | |||
| HMS Triumph | Third rate | 74 | Captain Sir Erasmus Gower | 0 | 0 | 0 | Engaged on 8 June. Heavily engaged on 17 June: severe damage to rigging, sails and stern. | |||
| HMS Brunswick | Third rate | 74 | Captain Lord Charles Fitzgerald | 0 | 0 | 0 | Engaged on 17 June. | |||
| HMS Bellerophon | Third rate | 74 | Captain Lord Cranstoun | 0 | 0 | 0 | Engaged on 17 June. | |||
| HMS Phaeton | Fifth rate | 38 | Captain Robert Stopford | - | - | - | Lightly damaged, 1 killed, 7 wounded on 8 June. Present but not engaged on 17 June. | |||
| HMS Pallas | Fifth rate | 32 | Captain Henry Curzon | - | - | - | Present but not engaged on 17 June. | |||
| HMS Kingfisher | Brig-sloop | 18 | Commander Thomas Le Marchant Gosselin | - | - | - | Retired to Spithead on 11 June. | |||
| Total casualties: 12 wounded | ||||||||||
| Sources: James, pp. 237–240; Clowes, pp. 255–258; "No. 13790", The London Gazette, 23 June 1795, pp. 655–656 | ||||||||||
Bridport's fleet
edit| Admiral Lord Bridport's Fleet | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Rate | Guns | Commander | Casualties | Notes | |||||
| Killed | Wounded | Total | ||||||||
| HMS Royal George | First rate | 100 | Admiral Lord Bridport Captain William Domett |
0 | 7 | 7 | Engaged on 23 June. | |||
| HMS Queen Charlotte | First rate | 100 | Captain Sir Andrew Snape Douglas | 4 | 32 | 36 | Heavily engaged on 23 June and damaged in rigging and sails. | |||
| HMS Queen | Second rate | 98 | Vice-Admiral Sir Alan Gardner Captain William Bedford |
0 | 0 | 0 | Engaged on 23 June. | |||
| HMS London | Second rate | 98 | Vice-Admiral John Colpoys Captain Edward Griffith |
0 | 3 | 3 | Engaged on 23 June. | |||
| HMS Prince of Wales | Second rate | 98 | Vice-Admiral Henry Harvey Captain John Bazely |
- | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Prince | Second rate | 98 | Captain Charles Powell Hamilton | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Prince George | Second rate | 98 | Captain William Edge | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Barfleur | Second rate | 98 | Captain James Richard Dacres | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Sans Pareil | Third rate | 80 | Rear-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour Captain William Browell |
10 | 2 | 12 | Heavily engaged on 23 June and lightly damaged. | |||
| HMS Valiant | Third rate | 74 | Captain Christopher Parker | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Orion | Third rate | 74 | Captain Sir James Saumarez | 6 | 18 | 24 | Heavily engaged on 23 June. | |||
| HMS Irresistible | Third rate | 74 | Captain Richard Grindall | 3 | 11 | 14 | Heavily engaged on 23 June and lightly damaged. | |||
| HMS Russell | Third rate | 74 | Captain Thomas Larcom | 3 | 10 | 13 | Heavily engaged on 23 June. | |||
| HMS Colossus | Third rate | 74 | Captain John Monkton | 5 | 30 | 35 | Heavily engaged on 23 June. | |||
| Support ships | ||||||||||
| HMS Revolutionnaire | Fifth rate | 38 | Captain Francis Cole | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Thalia | Fifth rate | 36 | Captain Lord Henry Paulet | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Nymphe | Fifth rate | 36 | Captain George Murray | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Aquilon | Fifth rate | 32 | Captain Robert Barlow | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Astrea | Fifth rate | 32 | Captain Richard Lane | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Babet | Sixth rate | 20 | Captain Edward Codrington | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Charon | Hospital Ship | Commander Walter Lock | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | ||||
| HMS Maegera | Fireship | 14 | Commander Henry Blackwood | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Incendiary | Fireship | 14 | Commander John Draper | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Argus | Lugger | 14 | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | ||||
| HMS Dolly | Lugger | 14 | - | - | - | Not engaged in the action. | ||||
| Total casualties: 31 killed, 113 wounded | ||||||||||
| Sources: James, pp. 240–250; Clowes, pp. 260–263; "No. 13790", The London Gazette, 27 June 1795, pp. 673–674 | ||||||||||
Quiberon Expeditionary Force
edit| Commodore Warren's squadron | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Rate | Guns | Commander | Casualties | Notes | |||||
| Killed | Wounded | Total | ||||||||
| HMS Robust | Third rate | 74 | Captain Edward Thornbrough | - | - | - | Attached to Bridport's fleet on 20 June but not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Thunderer | Third rate | 74 | Captain Albemarle Bertie | - | - | - | Attached to Bridport's fleet on 20 June but not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Standard | Third rate | 64 | Captain Joseph Ellison | - | - | - | Attached to Bridport's fleet on 20 June but not engaged in the action. | |||
| HMS Pomone | Fifth rate | 44 | Commodore Sir John Borlase Warren | - | - | - | ||||
| HMS Anson | Fifth rate | 44 | Captain Philip Charles Durham | - | - | - | ||||
| HMS Artois | Fifth rate | 38 | Captain Sir Edmund Nagle | - | - | - | ||||
| HMS Arethusa | Fifth rate | 38 | Captain Mark Robinson | - | - | - | ||||
| HMS Concorde | Fifth rate | 32 | Captain Anthony Hunt | - | - | - | ||||
| HMS Galatea | Fifth rate | 32 | Captain Richard Goodwin Keats | - | - | - | ||||
| Sources: James, p. 253; Clowes, p. 265 | ||||||||||
French fleet
editOfficers killed in action are marked with a † symbol. Note that as carronades were not traditionally taken into consideration when calculating a ship's rate,[14] these ships may have been carrying more guns than indicated below.
- Ships in this colour were captured during the Battle of Groix, 23 June 1795
| Villaret de Joyeuse's fleet | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Rate | Guns | Commander | Casualties | Notes | |||||
| Killed | Wounded | Total | ||||||||
| Peuple | First rate | 120 | Vice-amiral Villaret de Joyeuse Captain Étienne Eustache Bruix Captain Jacques Angot †[15] |
Unknown | Heavily engaged on 23 June. | |||||
| Redoutable | Third rate | 74 | Vice-amiral Kerguelen Captain Pierre Augustin Moncousu |
- | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Alexandre | Third rate | 74 | Captain François Charles Guillemet[16] | 220 | Heavily engaged, badly damaged and captured, later became HMS Alexander. | |||||
| Droits de l’Homme | Third rate | 74 | Captain Yves Cornic Dumoulin | Unknown | Engaged on 17 June. Not engaged on 23 June. | |||||
| Formidable | Third rate | 74 | Captain Charles Linois | 320 | Engaged on 17 June. Heavily engaged on 23 June, badly damaged and captured, later became HMS Belleisle. | |||||
| Fougueux | Third rate | 74 | Captain Giot-Labrière | - | Not engaged on 17 or 23 June. Captain later court-martialled and dismissed for disobeying orders. | |||||
| Jean Bart | Third rate | 74 | Captain Louis Marie Le Gouardun | - | Not engaged on 17 or 23 June. | |||||
| Mucius | Third rate | 74 | Captain Larréguy | Unknown | Engaged on 23 June. Captain later court-martialled and censured for disobeying orders. | |||||
| Nestor | Third rate | 74 | Contre-amiral Jean Gaspard Vence Captain Henry |
Unknown | Engaged on 23 June. | |||||
| Tigre | Third rate | 74 | Captain Jacques Bedout | 130[Note A] | Engaged on 17 and 23 June. | |||||
| Wattignies | Third rate | 74 | Captain Joseph René Donat | Unknown | Engaged on 23 June. | |||||
| Zélé[17] | Third rate | 74 | Captain Jean-Charles-François Aved-Magnac | 0 | 5 | 5 | Heavily engaged on 17 June. Not engaged on 23 June. Captain later court-martialled and dismissed for disobeying orders. | |||
| Support ships | ||||||||||
| Brave | Fifth rate | 42 | Captain Antoine René Thévenard | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Scévola | Fifth rate | 42 | Captain Le Bozec | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Cocarde Nationale | Fifth rate | 40 | Captain Pierre Quérangal | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Driade | Fifth rate | 36 | Lieutenant Gramont | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Fidèle | Fifth rate | 38 | Lieutenant Bernard | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Fraternité | Fifth rate | 36 | Lieutenant Florinville | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Insurgente | Fifth rate | 32 | Lieutenant Violette | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Néréide | Fifth rate | 36 | Lieutenant Briand | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Proserpine | Third rate | 38 | Captain Daugier | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Régénérée | Third rate | 40 | Captain Héron | None | Lightly engaged on 23 June. | |||||
| Républicaine française | First rate | 40 | Lieutenant François Pitot | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Tribune | Third rate | 40 | Lieutenant Bernard | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Vengeance | Fifth rate | 40 | Lieutenant Leconte | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Virginie | Fifth rate | 40 | Lieutenant Jacques Bergeret | Unknown | Heavily engaged on 17 June. | |||||
| Atalante | Corvette | 16 | Ensign Dordelin | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Constance | Corvette | 22 | Lieutenant Bouchet | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Las Casas | Corvette | 18 | Lieutenant Blanzon | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Abeille | Corvette | 14 | Ensign Denis | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Papillon | Brig | 14 | Lieutenant Cousin | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Lark | Corvette | 10 | Ensign Le Large | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Printemps | Cutter | 10 | Ensign Le Faucheur | - | Not engaged in the action. | |||||
| Sources: James, pp. 237–253; Clowes, pp. 255–264; Rouvier, pp. 213–214 | ||||||||||
Notes
edit- ^ Note A: In his 1868 account of the battle, Charles Rouvier gives casualties on Tigre as 150 killed and 300 wounded, although other sources give total casualties as 130.
References
edit- ^ James, p. 237
- ^ James, p. 238
- ^ Tracy, p. 121
- ^ Brenton, p. 229
- ^ Clowes, p. 257
- ^ Woodman, p. 60
- ^ Gardiner, p. 48
- ^ Clowes, p. 261
- ^ James, p. 247
- ^ James, p. 253
- ^ a b Clowes, p. 266
- ^ James, p. 252
- ^ Rouvier, p. 214
- ^ a b James, p. 32
- ^ Décret no 1051 de la Convention nationale, Collection générale des décrets rendus par la Convention Nationale, Volume 51, Retrieved 28 April 2012
- ^ François Charles Guillemet, Société d’Entraide des Membres de la Légion d’Honneur, Retrieved 28 April 2012
- ^ Jean-Charles François Aved-Magnac, Pieces Justificatives, p. 32, Retrieved 28 April 2012
Bibliography
edit- Brenton, Edward Pelham (1837) [1825]. The Naval History of Great Britain, Vol. I. London: C. Rice.
- Clowes, William Laird (1997) [1900]. The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume IV. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-013-2.
- Gardiner, Robert (editor) (2001) [1996]. Fleet Battle and Blockade. Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-363-X.
{{cite book}}:|author=has generic name (help) - James, William (2002) [1827]. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 1, 1793–1796. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-905-0.
- Rouvier, Charles (1868). "Crosière dans l'océan". Histoire des marins français sous la République, de 1789 à 1803 (in French). Paris: Librairie Maritime at Scientifique.
- Tracy, Nicholas (editor) (1998). "Cornwallis's Retreat". The Naval Chronicle, Volume 1, 1793–1798. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-091-4.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help) - Woodman, Richard (2001). The Sea Warriors. Constable Publishers. ISBN 1-84119-183-3.