Action of 11 April 1783
| Action of 11 April 1783 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |
 Great Britain | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Villaret de Joyeuse  |
 Samuel Graves | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 30 gun Corvette | 64 gun ship of the line | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 Corvette captured 34 wounded 160 sailors and Marines captured. | 24 wounded | ||||||
The action of 11 April 1783 was a naval engagement which took place during the American Revolutionary war in the East Indies campaign. The French corvette Naïade was spotted by the 64-gun HMS Sceptre. In a five hour long fight Sceptre captured Naïade off Trincomalee on the night of 14 April 1783.[1]
Background
[edit]On 11 April, Captaine de Brûlot Villaret de Joyeuse was given command of Naïade. Admiral Pierre André de Suffren sent her to Madras to warn the French blockading squadron, composed of the 74-gun Fendant, the 64-gun Saint-Michel and the frigates Cléopâtre and Coventry, of the imminent arrival of a superior British force.[2]
Action
[edit]Three days after her departure, on 11 April 1783, Naïade spotted the 64-gun HMS Sceptre, under Captain Samuel Graves. In the light of a full moon and with the wind too light to escape and trying without success to elude his much stronger opponent, Villaret was forced into battle.[1] At 22:00 the cannonade began and after two hours of resistance as Sceptre closed in on Naïade, Graves invited Villaret to surrender but the latter flatly refused.[3]
The fight resumed, but soon Naïade began suffering heavy damage. After two hours of resistance the French corvette had lost two topmasts, her wheel shot away, seven guns dismounted and her rigging was disabled. Villaret seeing that further resistance was futile struck his colours. The Sceptre had only the mizenmast damaged; casualties were light on both sides, 24 on the Sceptre and 34 on the Naïade. Having admired the fight and the resistance, Graves reportedly returned Villaret de Joyeuses' sword to him.[3]
Aftermath
[edit]The Naïade was found to be armed with eighteen to twenty 8-pounder guns and ten swivel guns, and had a crew of 160 men, the latter of which became prisoners of war including Villaret. Despite the loss of Naïade, the British squadron was unable to locate the French ships,[1] Sceptre would next take part in the Battle of Cuddalore against Suffren's fleet two months later. The British armed Naïade with twenty-two 12-pounder guns, and two 18-pounder and six 12-pounder carronade, but never commissioned her.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "No. 12509". The London Gazette. 10 January 1784. p. 1.
- ^ Hennequin, Joseph François Gabriel (1835). Biographie maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marins célèbres français et étrangers (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: Regnault éditeur. p. 214.
- ^ a b Cavaliero 1994, p. 215.
- ^ Demerliac 1996, p. 73.
Bibliography
[edit]- Cavaliero, Roderick (1994). Admiral Satan Life and Campaigns of Suffren. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781850436867.
- Demerliac, Alain (1996). La Marine de Louis XVI Nomenclature des navires français, de 1774 à 1792 (in French). FeniXX réédition numérique. ISBN 9782307464198.