The action of 24 February 1780 was a minor naval battle that took place off the island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

during the

American Revolutionary War 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 ...

.Winfield pp 74 A French convoy was intercepted and pursued by a British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

squadron ending with the French 64-gun ship ''Protée'' being captured along with three transports.Roche, vol.1, p.365

Events

;Background In early 1780, the

under Admiral

George Rodney Admiral George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB ( bap. 13 February 1718 – 24 May 1792), was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at th ...

had defeated a Spanish fleet and subsequently relieved

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under siege by Spanish and French forces. Rodney then sailed for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

in February, detaching part of the fleet for service in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. On 16 February 1780, a French convoy with troops and ammunition bound for

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

departed

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

escorted by the 64-gun ship of the line ''Protée'' with ''Ajax'', ''Éléphant'' and ''Charmante''. ''Protée'', under Captain Du Chilleau de La Roche, was the flagship of the convoy.Troude, vol.2, p.66 ;Action On 23 February, off the island of Madeira, the convoy met Rodney's fleet; Duchilleau ordered ''Ajax'' to double back with most of the convoy, while he would lure the British by continuing on the same bearing with ''Charmante'' and the smallest ships of the convoy. The British fleet chased ''Protée'' while ''Ajax'' escaped with the convoy; seeing the ships under his protection out of harm's way around 1am, Duchilleau tried to effect his own escape, but ''Protée'' caught the wind, breaking her tops and mizzen, allowing , under Lord Robert Manners, to catch on around 2am, soon joined by the 74-gun HMS ''Bedford'' and HMS ''Marlborough''. Hopelessly outnumbered and out-gunned, ''Protée'' struck while ''Charmante'' returned to Lorient, arriving there on 3 March.Roche, vol.1, p.111 Three merchantmen were also captured. ;Aftermath Court-martialled for the loss of his ship, Du Chilleau was honourably acquitted. For the British the booty was substantial, as well as the three transports, ''Protée'' was carrying £60,000 worth of silver with the prize money subsequently shared. ''Protée'' was commissioned in the Royal Navy as the

third rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Years of experience proved that the third r ...

HMS ''Prothee''.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * (1671-1870) * * {{cite book, last1=Winfield, first1=Rif, title=British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714-1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates, date=2007, publisher=Seaforth Publishing, isbn=9781783469253 Naval battles involving Great Britain Naval battles involving France Naval battles of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783)

Action of 24 February 1780 The action of 24 February 1780 was a minor naval battle that took place off the island of Madeira during the American Revolutionary War.Winfield pp 74 A French convoy was intercepted and pursued by a British Royal Navy squadron ending with the Fre ...