The action of 20 October 1778 was an inconclusive engagement between the French

ship-of-the-line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colum ...

''Triton'' and British

'' Jupiter'' with a

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

'' Medea'' that took place off

Cape Finisterre Cape Finisterre (, also ; gl, Cabo Fisterra, italic=no ; es, Cabo Finisterre, italic=no ) is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain. In Roman times it was believed to be an end of the known world. The name Finisterre, like ...

in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. Darkness separated the combatants before any decisive result was obtained.

Background

The outbreak of the

War of the American Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

caused relations between France and Great Britain to deteriorate. After signing a formal treaty with the United States in February 1778, France broke diplomatic ties and declared war on Britain on 16 March 1778.

Action

On 20 October, the French ship-of-the-line ''Triton'' under Captain

Gaspard de Ligondès Gaspard de Ligondès ( Saint-Bonnet-de-Rochefort, 11 December 1732 – Brest, 26 January 1779) was a French Navy officer. He served in the American Revolutionary War. Biography Ligondès was born to the family of a Navy officer. He joined ...

, cruising on the

, fell in with the British ship of the line ''Jupiter'', under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Francis Reynolds, and the frigate ''Medea'', under Captain James Montagu. At about 5 PM both sides were at close quarters; ''Jupiter'' ranged up on one side of ''Triton'', ''Medea'' on the other, about nightfall, and they fired on ''Triton''. Ligondès succeeded in turning the same broadside to both his assailants, putting ''Medea'' out of action with a shot below the water line after the first half-hour of the fight, but he was wounded in both arms soon afterward and had to hand over the command to Lieutenant de Roquart. ''Medea'' retreated from the action; ''Triton'' and ''Jupiter'' continued to exchange fire for more two hours, until a squall of wind and rain, and the impenetrable darkness of the night separated the combatants. ''Triton'' had thirteen killed and about twenty wounded, she had fifty shots in her hull or masts, and her sails and rigging were much cut up, but Captain Reynolds reported that she was still able to sail. ''Jupiter'' had to sail back into

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

for refit with three killed and seven wounded. ''Medea'' suffered one killed and three wounded.

Aftermath

Ligondès died of his wound in Brest on 26 January 1779.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Naval action of 20 October 1778 Naval battles involving France Naval battles involving Great Britain Naval battles of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783) Action of 20 October 1778