The action of 4 September 1782 was a small

naval engagement Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

fought off the

Île de Batz The Île de Batz ( br, Enez Vaz) is an island off Roscoff in Brittany, France. Administratively, it is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Climate Île de Batz has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate class ...

between a French naval frigate, , and a Royal Naval frigate, . This battle was notable as the first proper use of a

carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...

, and so effective was this weapon that the French commander promptly surrendered just after the first broadside.Rodger (2004), p. 420

Action

On 4 September the 44-gun

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 ...

under Captain Henry Trollope, armed entirely with carronades, was off the French coast near the

when a frigate was sighted. Having then chased the vessel, it turned out to be a French frigate, . The 1,063-ton ''Hébé'' was a new ship of the class of the same name whose armament consisted of 38 guns, 26 of which were

18-pounder long gun The 18-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of naval artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 19th century, on the second deck of third-rate ships of the ...

s. It was commanded by the Chevalier de Vigny (uncle of

Alfred de Vigny Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare. Biography Vigny was born in Loches (a town to which he never re ...

) and had on board 360 men. ''Hébé'' had left

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

on 3 September and was heading to

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

escorting a small convoy. At 7:00 am, having arrived within gunshot of the French ship, the ''Rainbow'' commenced firing 32-pounder

chase gun A chase gun (or chaser), usually distinguished as bow chaser and stern chaser, was a cannon mounted in the bow (aiming forward) or stern (aiming backward) of a sailing ship. They were used to attempt to slow down an enemy ship either chasing ( ...

s from the

forecastle The forecastle ( ; contracted as fo'c'sle or fo'c's'le) is the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters. Related to the latter meaning is the phrase " be ...

, which were returned by the frigate. One 32-pound ball shot away ''Hébé''s wheel and killed her second captain. Carronade (schematics)

Vigny examined the fragments of the hollow carronade shot and concluded that if she was firing 32 pounders as chase pieces, she was actually a ship of the line in disguise. He fired one broadside, "pour l'honneur du pavillon" (the honour of the flag), and

struck his colours Striking the colors—meaning lowering the flag (the "Colours, standards and guidons, colors") that signifies a ship's or garrison's allegiance—is a universally recognized indication of surrender (military), surrender, particularly for ships at ...

. The surrender of ''Hébé'' after slight resistance was not surprising when taking into consideration the advantage provided by the unusual armament of the ''Rainbow''. ''Rainbow'' lost only one man killed and two slightly wounded. The French lost five killed, including the second captain, Yves-Gabriel Calloët de Lanidy, and several wounded out of a crew of 360 men.

Consequences

A council of war was met at

Morlaix Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Leisure and tourism The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overhan ...

whereby the loss of a new frigate, with barely a fight, condemned Vigny to fifteen years in prison, the case of his rank and service being declared as unfit for service. The captured ship was immediately integrated into the Royal Navy as HMS ''Hebe''. After being renamed HMS ''Blonde'' in 1805 it was finally broken up in 1811.Gardiner, p. 94 More importantly for the Navy, ''Hebe'' would serve as a model for a new series of British frigates, the , the first of which was launched in 1800. The new class would include (1812), (1817), (1824), and a second HMS ''Hebe'' (1826).

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Action Of 4 September 1782 Conflicts in 1782 1782 in France Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving France Maritime incidents in 1782