Battle of Toulon (1744) order of battle
The Battle of Toulon, also known as the Battle of Cape Sicié, took place between 21 and 22 February 1744 NS[a] near the French Mediterranean port of Toulon. Although France was not yet at war with Great Britain, ships from their Levant Fleet combined with a Spanish force, which had been trapped in Toulon for two years, to break the blockade imposed by the British Mediterranean Fleet.
The initial engagement on 21 February was largely indecisive and the British continued their pursuit until midday on 22nd before their commander, Admiral Thomas Mathews, called off the chase. With several of his ships in need of repair, he withdrew to Menorca, which meant the Royal Navy temporarily lost control of the waters around Italy and allowed the Spanish to take the offensive against Savoy.[1]
In his report, Mathews blamed his subordinate Richard Lestock for the failure and the issue was hotly debated in Parliament. At the subsequent court-martial, Mathews was held responsible and dismissed from the navy in June 1747, while Lestock's political connections meant he was cleared of all charges.[2] Another seven captains were removed from command for failing to engage the enemy and the investigation led to changes that required individual captains to be far more aggressive.
Order of battle
[edit]Franco-Spanish fleet
[edit]| Franco-Spanish fleet[3] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Rate | Guns | Commander | Notes | |||
| Van | |||||||
| Borée | Third-rate | 64 | Captain Marqueu | ||||
| Toulouse | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain Dárton | ||||
| Tigre | Fourth-rate | 50 | Captain Saurin | ||||
| Éole | Third-rate | 64 | Captain D'Alver | ||||
| Alcyon | Fourth-rate | 56 | Captain Lancel | ||||
| Duc D'Orléans | Third-rate | 68 | Captain Dornés | ||||
| Espoir | Third-rate | 74 | Captain D'Hericourt (Ensign of Gavaret) | ||||
| Centre | |||||||
| Trident | Third-rate | 64 | Captain Caylus | ||||
| Heureux | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain Gramier | ||||
| Achiléon | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain Vaudevil | ||||
| Solide | Third-rate | 64 | Captain Chateauneuf | ||||
| Diamant | Fourth-rate | 50 | Captain Manak | ||||
| Ferme | Third-rate | 70 | Captain Gorgues | ||||
| Terrible | Third-rate | 74 | Vice-Admiral De Court Captain Jonquiere |
||||
| Sancti Espiritus | Third-rate | 68 | Captain Poison | ||||
| Sérieux | Third-rate | 64 | Captain Cahyla | ||||
| Rear | |||||||
| Oriente | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain Joaquín Villena | ||||
| América | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain Aníbal Petrucci | ||||
| Neptuno | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain Enrique Olivares † | ||||
| Poder | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain Rodrigo de Urrutia (POW) | Captured by the British Recaptured and scuttled by the French | |||
| Constante | Third-rate | 70 | Captain Agustín Iturriaga † | Badly damaged and taken under tow | |||
| Real Felipe | First-rate | 110 | Admiral Jose Navarro Captain Nicolas Geraldino † |
Badly damaged and taken under tow | |||
| Hércules | Third-rate | 64 | Captain Cosme Álvarez | ||||
| Brillante | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain don Blas de la Barreda | ||||
| Alcón | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain José Rentería | ||||
| San Fernando | Third-rate | 64 | Count of Vegaflorida | ||||
| Soberbio | Fourth-rate | 50 | Captain Juan Valdés | ||||
| Santa Isabel | Third-rate | 80 | Captain Ignacio Dautevil | ||||
4 frigates, 4 fire ships[4]
British fleet
[edit]| British fleet[5] [4] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Rate | Guns | Commander | Notes |
| Van | ||||
| HMS Nassau | Third-rate | 70 | Captain James Lloyd | |
| HMS Chichester | Third-rate | 80 | Captain William Dilkes | Dilkes court-martialled and dismissed, later restored |
| HMS Boyne | Third-rate | 80 | Captain Rowland Frogmore | Frogmore died before being court-martialled [6] |
| HMS Barfleur | Second-rate | 90 | Rear-Admiral William Rowley (Red) Captain Meyrick de L'Angle |
Damaged; 25 killed, 20 wounded [7] |
| HMS Ranelagh | Third-rate | 80 | Captain Henry Osborn | |
| HMS Berwick | Third-rate | 70 | Captain Edward Hawke | 17 members of the Prize crew taken prisoner when the French recaptured the Poder [8] |
| HMS Stirling Castle | Third-rate | 70 | Captain Thomas Cooper | |
| HMS Bedford | Third-rate | 70 | Captain Hon. George Townshend | |
| HMS Feversham | Fifth-rate | 40 | Captain John Watkins | |
| HMS Winchelsea | Sixth-rate | 20 | Captain William Marsh | |
| Centre | ||||
| HMS Dragon | Fourth-rate | 60 | Captain Charles Watson | |
| HMS Royal Oak | Third-rate | 70 | Captain Edmund Williams | Williams court-martialled and dismissed |
| HMS Princess | Third-rate | 70 | Captain Robert Pett | Damaged; 8 killed, 20 wounded [9] |
| HMS Somerset | Third-rate | 80 | Captain George Slater | |
| HMS Norfolk | Third-rate | 80 | Captain Hon. John Forbes | Damaged; 12 killed, 25 wounded [9] |
| HMS Marlborough | Second-rate | 90 | Captain James Cornewall † | Badly damaged; 53 killed, 138 wounded [9] |
| HMS Dorsetshire | Third-rate | 80 | Captain George Burrish | Burrish court-martialled and dismissed |
| HMS Essex | Third-rate | 70 | Captain Richard Norris | Norris court-martialled and dismissed |
| HMS Rupert | Third-rate | 60 | Captain John Ambrose | Ambrose court-martialled and suspended for a year |
| HMS Namur (Flagship) | Second-rate | 90 | Admiral Thomas Mathews (Blue) Captain John Russell † |
Damaged; 8 killed, 20 wounded [6] |
| HMS Dursley Galley | Sixth-rate | 20 | Captain Giles Vanbrugh | |
| HMS Anne Galley[10] | Fire ship | 8 | Commander James Mackie † | Blew up, 25 killed [9] |
| HMS Sutherland | Hospital ship | 18 | Lieutenant Lord Colville | |
| Rear | ||||
| HMS Salisbury | Fourth-rate | 50 | Captain Peter Osborne | |
| HMS Romney | Fourth-rate | 50 | Captain Henry Godsalve | |
| HMS Dunkirk | Third-rate | 60 | Captain Charles Wager Purvis | |
| HMS Swiftsure | Third-rate | 70 | Captain George Berkeley | |
| HMS Cambridge | Third-rate | 80 | Captain Charles Drummond | |
| HMS Neptune | Second-rate | 90 | Vice-Admiral Richard Lestock (White) Captain George Stepney |
|
| HMS Torbay | Third-rate | 80 | Captain John Gascoigne | |
| HMS Russell | Third-rate | 80 | Captain Robert Long | |
| HMS Buckingham | Third-rate | 70 | Captain John Towry | |
| HMS Elizabeth | Third-rate | 70 | Captain Joshua Lingen | |
| HMS Kingston | Third-rate | 60 | Captain John Lovatt | |
| HMS Oxford | Fourth-rate | 50 | Captain Harry Powlett | |
| HMS Warwick | Third-rate | 60 | Captain Temple West | |
| HMS Mercury | Fire ship | 8 | Commander Moses Peadle | |
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ The dates of the battle were 21 to 22 February 1744 (New Style (NS)) according to the Gregorian calendar then used by France and Spain. The British still used the Julian calendar, which gave dates of 10–11 February 1744 (OS)
References
[edit]- ^ Dull 2009, p. 52.
- ^ Baugh 2004.
- ^ Allen 1842, p. 323.
- ^ a b Schomberg 1802, p. 36.
- ^ Allen 1842, p. 150.
- ^ a b Allen 1842, p. 327.
- ^ Allen 1842, p. 331.
- ^ Allen 1842, p. 330.
- ^ a b c d Allen 1842, p. 329.
- ^ Ships of the Royal Navy:The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy J. Colledge, Ben Warlow p.17
Sources
[edit]- Allen, Joseph (1842). "Admirals Mathews and Lestock". United Service Magazine.
- Baugh, Daniel (2004). "Mathews, Thomas (1676–1751)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18332. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Dull, Jonathan R (2009). The Age of the Ship of the Line: The British and French Navies, 1650–1815 (Studies in War, Society, and the Military). University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803219304.
- Schomberg, Isaac (1802). Naval Chronology; or, an Historical Summary of Naval and Maritime Events from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace 1802 (2015 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1139878494.