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Action of 13 January 1797 |
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{{Infobox Military Conflict |
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|conflict=Action of 13 January 1797 |
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|partof=the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] |
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|image=[[Image:Droits de lHomme sinking.jpg|300px]] |
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|caption=''View of the wreck of the French ship Les Droits D' Homme'',<br/> [[John Fairburn]] |
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|date=13–14 January 1797 |
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|place=[[Brittany]] coastline, [[Bay of Biscay]]. |
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|result= British victory |
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|combatant1=[[Image:Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg|22px]] [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] |
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|combatant2=[[Image:Flag of France.svg|22px]] [[First French Republic|French Republic]] |
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|commander1= [[Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth|Sir Edward Pellew]] |
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|commander2= [[Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse]] |
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|strength1= [[HMS Indefatigable (1784)|HMS ''Indefatigable'']],<br/>[[HMS Amazon (1795)|HMS ''Amazon'']] |
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|strength2= [[French ship Droits de l'Homme (1794)|''Les Droits de l'Homme'']] |
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|casualties1= ''Amazon'' wrecked, 3 killed, 34 wounded, 6 drowned, crew of ''Amazon'' taken prisoner |
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|casualties2= ''Droits de l'Homme'' wrecked, 103 killed, 150 wounded, ~900 drowned |
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}} |
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{{Campaignbox French Revolutionary Wars Naval Battles}} |
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{{coord|47|56|29|N|4|27|16|W| region:FR |display=title}} |
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The '''Action of 13 January 1797 http://ihatekaty.com/?id=1891842#6dzz5z54fsdq7ez78z8d''' was a small naval battle fought between a French [[ship of the line]] and two British [[frigate]]s off the coast of [[Brittany]] during the [[French Revolutionary Wars]]. The frigates successfully outmanoeuvred the much larger French vessel and drove it on shore in heavy seas, resulting in the death of over 900 of the 1,300 persons aboard. One of the British frigates was also lost in the engagement, running onto a sandbank after failing to escape a [[lee shore]]. |
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The French 74-gun ship [[French ship Droits de l'Homme (1794)|''Droits de l'Homme'']] had been part of the ''[[Expédition d'Irlande]]'', a disastrous attempt by a French expeditionary force to invade [[Ireland]]. During the operation, the French fleet was plagued by poor coordination and violent weather, eventually returning to France without landing a single soldier. Two British frigates, the 38-gun [[HMS Indefatigable (1784)|HMS ''Indefatigable'']] (actually carrying 44 guns) and the 36-gun [[HMS Amazon (1795)|HMS ''Amazon'']], had been ordered to patrol the seas off [[Ushant]] in an attempt to intercept the returning French force and sighted ''Droits de l'Homme'' on the afternoon of 13 January. |
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The engagement lasted from early evening until near dawn in an increasing onshore gale off the rocky Breton coast. The seas were so violent that the French ship was unable to open her lower gun ports during the action and could only fire with her upper deck guns. This significantly reduced the overwhelming advantage that a [[ship of the line]] would normally have over a [[frigate]]. The damage inflicted by the more manoeuvrable British vessels was so severe that as the winds increased, the French crew lost steerage and ''Droits de l'Homme'' was swept onto a sandbar and later destroyed. |
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==Background== |
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In December 1796, during the French Revolutionary Wars, a French force departed from [[Brest, France|Brest]] on an expedition to invade Ireland. This army of 18,000 French soldiers was intended to link up with a secret organisation of [[Irish nationalism|Irish nationalists]] known as the [[United Irishmen]] and provoke a widespread uprising that, it was hoped, would force Britain to make peace with the [[First French Republic|French Republic]] or risk losing Ireland.<ref name="TP24">Pakenham, p. 24.</ref> Led by Vice-Admiral [[Justin Bonaventure Morard de Galles|Morard de Galles]], General [[Lazare Hoche]] and leader of the United Irishmen [[Wolfe Tone]], the invasion fleet included 17 ships of the line, 27 other warships and transports, and carried extensive [[field artillery]], cavalry and military stores to equip Irish forces that they hoped would rise up against the British.<ref name="WJ5">James, p. 5.</ref> |
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===Departure from Brest=== |
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Morard de Galles was planning to sail his fleet from the French naval fortress of [[Brest, France|Brest]] under cover of darkness on the night of 15–16 December.<ref name="JH21"/> The British [[Channel Fleet]] normally maintained a squadron off Brest to blockade the port, but this force had withdrawn {{convert|40|nmi|km}} off shore due to the severe Atlantic winter gales, its commander [[John Colpoys]] concerned that his ships might be wrecked on the Brittany coastline.<ref name="ODNBColpoys">{{cite journal |last= |first= |authorlink=[[John Knox Laughton|J. K. Laughton]] |coauthors= |year= |month= |title=Colpoys, Sir John |journal=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]], (subscription required) |volume= |issue= |pages= |id= |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5985 |accessdate=2008-10-16 |quote= }}</ref> The only British ships within sight of Brest were an inshore squadron of frigates under Sir [[Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth|Edward Pellew]] in HMS ''Indefatigable'', accompanied by HMS ''Amazon'', {{HMS|Phoebe|1795|6}}, {{HMS|Révolutionnaire|1794|6}} and the [[lugger]] HMS ''Duke of York''. Pellew was already famous for being the first British officer of the war to capture a French frigate: the [[French frigate Cléopâtre|''Cléopâtre'']] in 1793. He later captured the frigates [[French frigate Pomone (1787)|''Pomone'']] and [[French frigate Virginie (1794)|''Virginie'']] in 1794 and 1796, and saved 500 lives following the wreck of the [[East Indiaman]] ''Dutton'' in January 1796.<ref name="ODNBPellew">{{cite journal |last= |first= |authorlink=Christopher D. Hall |coauthors= |year= |month= |title=Pellew, Edward |journal=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]], (subscription required) |volume= |issue= |pages= |id= |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/21808 |accessdate=2008-10-16 |quote= }}</ref> For these actions he had first been [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] and then raised to a [[baronetcy]]. ''Indefatigable'' was a [[razee]], built as a 64-gun [[ship of the line]] in 1781-84 and cut down by a deck in 1794-95 to create one of the largest frigates in the [[Royal Navy]], fast and powerful enough to catch and fight the largest of French frigates. Armed with 24-pounder [[cannon]]s on the upper deck and 42-pounder [[carronade]]s on the quarter deck, she had a stronger armament than almost any equivalent French frigate, even after being reduced from 64 guns to 44.<ref name="RW65">Woodman, p. 65.</ref> |
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[[Image:Edward Pellew.jpg|thumb|upright|left|''[[Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth|Sir Edward Pellew]]'' by [[Thomas Lawrence (painter)|Sir Thomas Lawrence]], 1797]] |
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Observing the French fleet's departure from the harbour at dusk, Pellew immediately dispatched ''Phoebe'' to Colpoys and ''Amazon'' to the main fleet at [[Portsmouth]] with warnings, before approaching the entrance to Brest in ''Indefatigable'' with the intention of disrupting French movements.<ref name="RW84">Woodman, p. 84.</ref> Believing that the frigates in the bay must be the forerunners of a larger British force, Morard de Galles attempted to pass his fleet through the Raz de Sein. This channel was narrow, rocky, and a hazardous passage. De Galles used [[corvettes]] as temporary [[light ships]] that shone blue lights and fired fireworks to direct his main fleet through the channel.<ref name="JH21">Henderson, p. 21.</ref> Pellew observed this, and sailed the ''Indefatigable'' right through the French fleet, launching rockets and shining lights at random. This confused the French officers, causing the [[French ship Séduisant (1783)|''Séduisant'']] to strike the Grand Stevenent rock and sink with the loss of over 680 men from her complement of 1,300.<ref name="WJ6">James, p. 6.</ref> ''Séduisant''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s distress flares added to the confusion and delayed the fleet's passage until dawn.<ref name="RW84"/> His task of observing the enemy completed, Pellew took his remaining squadron to [[Falmouth, Cornwall|Falmouth]] to [[telegraph]] a report to the [[Admiralty]] and refit his ships.<ref name="JH21"/> |
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===Failure of the Expédition d'Irlande=== |
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[[Image:Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse2.JPG|thumb|upright|right|[[Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse]]]] |
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During December 1796 and early January 1797, the French fleet repeatedly attempted to land in Ireland. Early in the voyage the frigate [[French frigate Aglaé (1788)|''Fraternité'']], carrying de Galles and Hoche, was separated from the fleet and missed the rendezvous at [[Mizen Head]]. Admiral [[François Joseph Bouvet|Bouvet]] and General [[Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marquis de Grouchy|Grouchy]] decided to attempt the landing at [[Bantry Bay]] without their commanders, but severe weather prevented any landing.<ref name="JH22">Henderson, p. 22.</ref> For more than a week the fleet waited for a break in the storm until 29 December, when Bouvet abandoned the invasion and, after a brief and unsuccessful effort to land at the mouth of the [[River Shannon]], ordered his scattered ships to return to Brest.<ref name="GR89">Regan, p. 89.</ref> During the operation and retreat a further 11 ships were wrecked or captured, with the loss of thousands of soldiers and sailors.<ref name="WJ10">James, p. 10.</ref> |
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By 13 January most of the surviving ships had limped back to France in a state of disrepair. One ship of the line that remained at sea, the 74-gun [[French ship Droits de l'Homme (1794)|''Droits de l'Homme'']], was commanded by Commodore [[Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse]] and carried over 1,300 men, 700–800 of them soldiers including General [[Jean Joseph Amable Humbert|Jean Humbert]].<ref name="CNP177">Parkinson, p. 177.</ref> Detached from the main body of the fleet during the retreat from Bantry Bay, Lacrosse made his way to the mouth of the Shannon alone.<ref name="JH22"/> Recognising the weather was still too violent to land troops, Lacrosse acknowledged the operation's failure and ordered the ship back to France, capturing the British [[privateer]] ''Cumberland'' en route.<ref name="RW86">Woodman, p. 86.</ref> |
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==Chase== |
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Pellew too was on his way back to Brest in ''Indefatigable'', accompanied by ''Amazon'' under the command of Captain [[Robert Carthew Reynolds]]. While the rest of the Channel Fleet had been in unsuccessful pursuit of the French, Pellew had had his ships refitted and resupplied at Falmouth so that both frigates were fully manned and armed and prepared for action. At 13:00 on 13 January the British ships were approaching the island of [[Ushant]] in a heavy [[fog]] when they spied a large ship which proved to be the ''Droits de l'Homme''.<ref name="WJ11">James, p. 11.</ref> At the same time lookouts on the French ship spied the much smaller British frigates. Lacrosse was faced with the dilemma of whether or not to engage the enemy. He knew that his ship was far more powerful than either of his opponents. However, earlier Lacrosse had spotted other sails to the west that he believed were British, and thus considered himself outnumbered and possibly surrounded. British records show that no other British vessels were in the vicinity, it is likely Lacrosse had actually seen the French ships [[French ship Thésée (1790)|''Révolution'']] and [[French ship Fraternité (1793)|''Fraternité'']] returning to Brest from Bantry Bay.<ref name="RW86"/><ref name="JH23"/> Lacrosse was also concerned by the rising gale and the nearby rocky leeshore that threatened his over-laden vessel, which was already damaged from its winter voyage and carried a regiment of the [[French Army]] and General Humbert, neither of which could be risked for an inconsequential action.<ref name="JH23">Henderson, p. 23.</ref> |
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Lacrosse decided to avoid battle and turned south east, hoping to use his wider spread of sail to outrun his opponent in the strong winds. Pellew manoeuvred to cut the ''Droits de l'Homme'' off from the French coast, at this stage still uncertain of what his opponent was.<ref name="WJ11"/> As the chase developed, the weather, which had been violent for the entire preceding month, again turned severe. An Atlantic [[gale]] swept the Ushant headland, driving a blizzard eastwards and whipping the sea into high waves, making steering and aiming more difficult. At 16:15, two of ''Droits de l'Homme''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s topmasts broke in the winds, dramatically slowing the French ship. Pellew had by then recognised his opponent as a French ship of the line, and closed for battle.<ref name="RW87">Woodman, p. 87.</ref> |
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==Battle== |
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Pellew was aware that his frigate was heavily outclassed by his much larger opponent, and that ''Amazon'', which was {{convert|8|nmi|km}} distant, was not large enough to redress the balance when she did arrive. He, correctly, assumed that the ocean was too rough for Lacrosse to open his lower gunports.<ref name="RG159">Gardiner, p. 159.</ref> The French ship's design positioned her lower deck gunports {{convert|14|in|cm}} closer to the water line than usual, which allowed water to pour in at every attempt to open them in rough seas. This reduced the ship's firepower by more than half as the lower guns were larger than those on the upper deck.<ref name="WJ12">James, p. 12.</ref> Despite these circumstances, Lacrosse still held the advantage in terms of size, weight of shot and manpower. His situation was worsened by the loss of the topmasts: this reduced the stability of the French ship, and caused her to roll so severely in the high winds that it was far more difficult to both steer the ship and aim the cannon than on the British vessels.<ref name="RW87"/> |
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[[Image:Vaisseau-Droits-de-lHomme.jpg|thumb|left|''Battle between the French warship Droits de l'Homme and the frigates HMS Amazon and Indefatigable, 13 & 14 January 1797'', Leopold Le Guen]] |
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To the surprise of Lacrosse and his officers, ''Indefatigable'' did not retreat from the ship of the line, nor did she pass the ship of the line at long-range to [[Windward and leeward|leeward]] as expected.<ref name="WJ12"/> Instead, at 17:30, Pellew closed with the stern of the ''Droits de l'Homme'' and [[raking fire|raked]] her. Lacrosse turned to meet the threat and opened fire with the guns on the upper deck accompanied by a heavy volley of [[musket]] fire from the soldiers on board.<ref name="JH24"/><ref name="CNP177"/> Pellew then attempted to pull ahead of ''Droits de l'Homme'' and rake her bow, to which Lacrosse responded by attempting to ram ''Indefatigable''.<ref name="RW87"/> Neither manoeuvre succeeded, as ''Droits de l'Homme'' raked the British ship but caused little damage as most of her shot scattered into the ocean.<ref name="WJ12"/> |
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''Indefatigable'' and ''Droits de l'Homme'' manoeuvred around one another, exchanging fire until 18:45, when ''Amazon'' arrived. During this exchange, one of ''Droits de l'Homme''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[cannon]] burst, causing heavy casualties on her packed deck.<ref name="RW88">Woodman, p. 88.</ref> Approaching the larger French ship with all sail spread, Reynolds closed to within pistol shot before raking the ''Droits de l'Homme''. Lacrosse responded to this new threat by manoeuvring to bring both British ships to face the westward side of his ship, avoiding becoming trapped in a [[crossfire]].<ref name="JH24">Henderson, p. 24.</ref> The battle continued until 19:30, when both ''Amazon'' and ''Indefatigable'' pulled away from their opponent to make hasty repairs.<ref name="RW88"/> By 20:30 the frigates had returned to the much slower French ship and began weaving in front of the ''Droits de l'Homme''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bow, repeatedly raking her.<ref name="JH25">Henderson, p. 25.</ref> Lacrosse's increasingly desperate attempts to ram the British ships were all unsuccessful and what little cannon fire he did manage to deploy was ineffectual, as the rolling of the ship of the line prevented reliable aiming.<ref name="WJ12"/> |
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By 22:30, the ''Droits de l'Homme'' was in severe difficulties, with heavy casualties among her crew and passengers and the loss of her [[Mast (sailing)|mizzenmast]] to British fire. Observing the battered state of their opponent, Pellew and Reynolds closed on the stern quarters of the French ship, maintaining a high rate of fire that was sporadically returned by the ''Droits de l'Homme''.<ref name="WJ13">James, p. 13.</ref> Having exhausted his 4,000 [[wikt:cannonball|cannon balls]], Lacrosse was forced to use [[Shell (projectile)|shell]]s against the frigates. In the high winds, these proved even less effective than his solid shot but did drive the frigates to a further distance.<ref name="JH25"/> With their opponent almost immobilised, the British frigates were able to remain outside her arc of fire, make some repairs and secure guns that had broken loose in the heavy seas.<ref name="RW89">Woodman, p. 89.</ref> For the rest of the night the three battered ships remained locked in a close-range duel, until, at 04:20, land was unexpectedly spotted just {{convert|2|nmi|km}} to leeward by Lieutenant George Bell of the ''Indefatigable''.<ref name="RW89"/> Pellew had assumed that the French were on course for Brest and had enough sea-room but in the bad weather both sides were unaware of their position. |
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==Shipwrecks== |
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Pellew immediately turned seawards in an effort to avoid running aground. He signalled Reynolds to follow suit. Although both ships had suffered severe damage from the battle and weather, both were able to make the turn away from land, ''Amazon'' to the north and ''Indefatigable'', at the insistence of its [[Breton people|Breton]] [[Maritime pilot|pilot]], to the south.<ref name="RG159"/> Initially it was believed that the land spotted was the island of [[Ushant]], which would have given the ships plenty of sea-room to manoeuvre. But at 06:30, with the sky lightening, it became apparent on the ''Indefatigable'' that there were breakers to the south and east, indicating that the three ships had drifted during the night into [[Audierne]] Bay.<ref name="WJ16">James, p. 16.</ref> Pellew determined to bring his ship westwards, attempting to fight his ship out of danger against the wind. Hasty repairs had to be made to the damaged rigging before it was safe to alter course.<ref name="CNP178">Parkinson, p. 178.</ref> Due to her northwards turn, ''Amazon'' had even less room to manoeuvre than ''Indefatigable'' and by 05:00 she had struck upright on a sandbank and could not be refloated by the crew's efforts. <ref name="LG"/> At 08:00 Reynolds ordered his men to prepare to abandon the ship.<ref name="ODNBReynolds"/> |
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''Droits de l'Homme'' had been more seriously damaged than the British frigates, and nearer to shore at the time land was spotted. As Lacrosse's crew fought to turn southwards, the ship's foremast and [[bowsprit]] collapsed under the pressure of the wind. With the ship virtually unmanageable, Lacrosse ordered anchors lowered in an attempt to hold the ship in position until repairs could be made. All but two of the ship's anchors had been lost during efforts to hold position in Bantry Bay, and British gunfire had damaged one of the remaining anchor's cables.<ref name="WJ17">James, p. 17.</ref> The final anchor was deployed, but it failed to hold the ship and at 07:00 (according to the French account), the ''Droits de l'Homme'' struck a sandbank close to the town of [[Plozévet]]. The force of the grounding broke off the remaining mast and caused the ship to heel over onto her side.<ref name="WJ18">James, p. 18.</ref> |
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===HMS ''Amazon''=== |
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As daylight broke over Audierne Bay, crowds of locals gathered on the beach. The ''Droits de l'Homme'' lay on her side directly opposite the town of Plozévet, with large waves breaking over her hull; {{convert|2|nmi|km}} to the north, ''Amazon'' stood upright on a sandbar, her crew launching boats in an effort to reach the shore, while ''Indefatigable'' was the only ship still afloat, rounding the Penmarck Rocks at the southern edge of the bay at 11:00.<ref name="LG">{{londonGazette|issue=13972|startpage=53|date=17 January 1797|supp=|accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> On board the ''Amazon'', Reynolds maintained discipline. Only six men disobeyed his orders to launch the boats in an orderly fashion and build rafts to bring off the entire crew. These six stole a launch and attempted to reach the shore alone but were swept away. Their boat capsized and all six drowned. The remaining crew, including those wounded in the previous night's action (3 had been killed and 15 wounded in the fight), were brought ashore by 09:00, where they were made [[prisoners of war]] by the French authorities.<ref name="JH29">Henderson, p. 29.</ref> |
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===''Droits de l'Homme''=== |
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''Droits de l'Homme'' was irreparably damaged. Each successive wave swept more men into the water and attempts to launch boats failed when the small craft were swept away by the waves and broken in the surf. Rafts were built, but several were swamped in attempts to carry a rope to the shore, and the men on the raft that remained upright cut the rope to keep them from foundering.<ref name="WJ18"/> Some of the men on this raft reached the beach. Subsequent attempts were made by men to swim to shore with ropes, but they were either drowned or driven back to the ship by the force of the sea. With no aid possible from the shore, night fell on 14 January with most of the crew and passengers still aboard. During the night, the waves stove in the stern of the ship, flooding much of the interior.<ref name="WJ18"/> On the morning of 15 January, a small boat carrying nine British prisoners from the ''Cumberland'' managed to reach shore, which prompted a mass launching of small rafts from the wreck in hopes of gaining the beach. But the waves increased once more, and not one of these small craft survived the passage.<ref name="NT169">Pipon in Tracy, p. 169.</ref> |
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By the morning of 16 January, hunger and panic had taken over on the wreck, and when a large raft carrying the wounded, two women and six children was launched during a lull in the weather, over 120 unwounded men scrambled to board it. This severely overloaded the craft and within minutes a large wave struck the heavy raft and capsized it. Everyone aboard drowned.<ref name="WJ19">James, p. 19.</ref> By the evening the survivors, without food or fresh water, began to succumb to exposure and at least one officer drowned trying to swim to shore. Through the night, the survivors gathered on the less exposed parts of the hull, and in the hope of staving off death by dehydration, drank sea water, urine, or vinegar from a small barrel that had floated up from the hold.<ref name="NT170">Pipon in Tracy, p. 170.</ref> The morning of 17 January finally saw a reduction in the storm and the arrival of a small French naval vessel, the ''Arrogante''. This ship could not come too close without risk of grounding, but sent her boats to the wreck.<ref name="WJ19"/> |
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On the ''Droits de l'Homme'', many survivors were too weak to swim out to the boats and a number of men drowned in the attempt. Many more could not find room in the small boats, and only 150 were rescued on 17 January.<ref name="WJ19"/> The following morning, when the boats returned, they found just another 140 survivors, at least that many having died during the night. The last people to leave the ship were Jean Humbert and Jean-Baptiste Lacrosse.<ref name="NT170"/> Taken to Brest, the survivors were fed and clothed and given medical treatment. All the surviving prisoners from the ''Cumberland'' were returned to Britain, in recognition of their efforts to save lives from the shipwreck.<ref name="WJ20">James, p. 20.</ref> |
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==Aftermath== |
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Exact French casualties are hard to calculate, but of the 1,300 aboard ''Droits de l'Homme'', 103 are known to have died in the battle and just over 300 were saved from the wreck, indicating the deaths of approximately 900 men on the French ship between the morning of 14 January and the morning of 18 January.<ref name="WJ1519">James, pp. 15–19.</ref> ''Amazon'' lost three in the battle and six in her wreck, with 15 wounded, while ''Indefatigable'' did not lose a single man killed, suffering only 18 wounded.<ref name="WJ15">James, p. 15.</ref> British authorities attributed the discrepancy in losses during the action to the difficulty the French crew had in aiming their guns as their ship was inherently unstable in heavy seas following the loss of her topmasts.<ref name="WJ15"/> |
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Reynolds and his officers were exchanged for French prisoners some weeks later and in the court-martial for the loss of their ship were honourably acquitted "with every sentiment of the court's highest approbation."<ref name="WJ17"/> Reynolds was subsequently appointed to the large frigate [[HMS Pomone (1794)|HMS ''Pomone'']]. The senior lieutenants of each frigate were promoted to commander and head money ([[prize money]] based on the number of the enemy's crew and awarded when the defeated ship was destroyed) was distributed among the crews.<ref name="LG2">{{londonGazette |issue=14089 |startpage=120 |date=6 February 1798 |supp= |accessdate=2008-10-16}}</ref> Pellew remained in command of ''Indefatigable'' off Brest for another year and seized a number of French merchant ships. He was later promoted several times and by the end of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in 1815 had become Lord Exmouth, Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet.<ref name="ODNBPellew"/> Reynolds did not survive the war, dying in the wreck of [[HMS St George (1785)|HMS ''St George'']] in 1811.<ref name="ODNBReynolds">{{cite journal |last= |first= |authorlink=[[John Knox Laughton|J. K. Laughton]] |coauthors= |year= |month= |title=Reynolds, Robert Carthew |journal=[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]], (subscription required)|volume= |issue= |pages= |id= |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/23436 |accessdate=2008-10-16 |quote= }}</ref> Lacrosse and Humbert were not censured for the loss of their ship: the commodore was promoted to admiral and later became ambassador to Spain, while Humbert led France's next and equally unsuccessful attempt to invade Ireland, surrendering at the [[Battle of Ballinamuck]] in 1798.<ref name="TP289">Pakenham, p. 289.</ref> |
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In Britain, the action was lauded at the time and since: [[First Lord of the Admiralty]] [[George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer|Lord Spencer]] described the operation as "an exploit which has not I believe ever before graced our naval Annals".<ref name="ODNBPellew"/> Historian James Henderson says of the action: "It was a feat of arms and seamanship such as had never been done before, and never was done again,"<ref name="JH29"/> and [[Richard Woodman]] calls it "a dazzling display of seamanship by all concerned in the alternating darkness and moonlight of a boisterous night".<ref name="RW88"/> |
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==Notes== |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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==References== |
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*{{cite book |
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| editor =Gardiner, Robert |
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| year = 2001 [1996] |
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| title = Fleet Battle and Blockade |
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| publisher = Caxton Editions |
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| isbn= 1-84067-363-X |
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}} |
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*{{cite book |
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| last = Henderson CBE |
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| first = James |
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| year = 1994 [1970] |
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| title = The Frigates |
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| publisher = Leo Cooper |
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| isbn = 0-85052-432-6 |
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}} |
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*{{cite book |
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| last = James |
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| first = William |
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| authorlink = William James (naval historian) |
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| year = 2002 [1827] |
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| title = The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 2, 1797–1799 |
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| publisher = Conway Maritime Press |
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| isbn = 0-85177-906-9 |
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}} |
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*{{cite book |
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|last= Pakenham |
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|first= Thomas |
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|authorlink= Thomas Pakenham |
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|year= 2000 |
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|origyear= 1997 |
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|title= The Year of Liberty: The Story of the Great Irish Rebellion of 1798 |
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|publisher= Abacus |
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|location= London |
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|isbn= 978-0349112527 }} Rev. ed. |
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*{{cite book |
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| last = Parkinson |
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| first = C. Northcote |
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| authorlink = C. Northcote Parkinson |
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| year = 1934 |
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| title = Edward Pellew Viscount Exmouth |
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| publisher = Methuen & Co |
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| location = London |
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}} |
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*{{cite book |
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| last = Regan |
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| first = Geoffrey |
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| authorlink = Geoffrey Regan |
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| year = 2001 |
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| title = Naval Blunders |
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| publisher = Andre Deutsch |
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| isbn = 0-23399-978-7 |
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}} |
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*{{cite book |
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| editor = Tracy, Nicholas |
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| year = 1998 |
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| chapter = Narrative of the dreadful Shipwreck of Les Droits de L'Homme, a French ship, of 74 guns, driven on shore on the 14th February 1797, after a severe Action with the Indefatigable and Amazon Frigates, under the Command of Sir Edward Pellew and Captain Reynolds. By Elias Pipon, Lieutenant. 63rd Regiment. |
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| title = The Naval Chronicle, Volume 1, 1793-1798 |
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| publisher = Chatham Publishing |
|||
| isbn = 1-86176-091-4 |
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}} |
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*{{cite book |
|||
| last = Woodman |
|||
| first = Richard |
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| authorlink = Richard Woodman |
|||
| year = 2001 |
|||
| title = The Sea Warriors |
|||
| publisher = Constable Publishers |
|||
| id = ISBN 1-84119-183-3 |
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}} |
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==External links== |
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{{commonscat}} |
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{{featured article}} |
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[[Category:Conflicts in 1797]] |
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[[Category:1797 in France]] |
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[[Category:Naval battles involving France]] |
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[[Category:Naval battles involving the United Kingdom]] |
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[[Category:Naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars]] |
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[[fr:Naufrage du Droits de l'Homme]] |
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Revision as of 18:18, 6 February 2009
Action of 13 January 1797