The action of 28 February 1799 was a minor naval engagement of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

, fought off the mouth of the

Hooghly River The Bhagirathi Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelled ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli'') or the 'Bhāgirathi-Hooghly', called the Ganga or the Kati-Ganga in mythological texts, is the eastern distributary of the Ganges River in West Bengal, Indi ...

in the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

between the French

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 ...

''Forte'' and the

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 F ...

frigate HMS ''Sybille''. ''Forte'' was an exceptionally large and powerful ship engaged on a

commerce raiding Commerce raiding (french: guerre de course, "war of the chase"; german: Handelskrieg, "trade war") is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt logistics of the enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than enga ...

operation against British merchant shipping off the port of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. To eliminate this threat, ''Sybille'' was sent from

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in pursuit. Acting on information from released prisoners, Edward Cooke, captain of ''Sybille'', was sailing off

Balasore Balasore or Baleswara is a city in the state of Odisha, about north of the state capital Bhubaneswar and from Kolkata, in eastern India. It is the largest town of northern Odisha and the administrative headquarters of Balasore district. It i ...

when distant gunfire alerted him to the presence of ''Forte'' on the evening of 28 February. The French frigate was discovered at anchor in the sandbanks at the mouth of the Hooghly with two recently captured British merchant ships. For unclear reasons the French captain

Hubert Le Loup de Beaulieu Hubert Le Loup de Beaulieu,raking Raking (also called "raking ratio estimation" or " iterative proportional fitting") is the statistical process of adjusting data sample weights of a contingency table to match desired marginal totals. References {{Statistics-stub Estimation m ...

broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...

from the British ship. ''Forte''s crew continued to resist for more than two hours, only surrendering when their ship had been reduced to a battered wreck and more than a third of the crew killed or wounded. British losses by contrast were light, although Cooke had been struck by

grape shot Grapeshot is a type of artillery round invented by a British Officer during the Napoleonic Wars. It was used mainly as an anti infantry round, but had other uses in naval combat. In artillery, a grapeshot is a type of ammunition that consists of ...

during the height of the action and suffered a lingering death three months later from his wounds. The captured merchant ships subsequently escaped under their French prize crews while Cooke's executive officer Lieutenant Lucius Hardyman repaired ''Sybille '' and ''Forte''. Hardyman took both ships into Calcutta, where ''Forte'' was commissioned into the Royal Navy under the same name, although the frigate was accidentally wrecked in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

two years later.

Background

In the spring of 1796 the

enjoyed naval supremacy in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around t ...

, the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

presence limited to two frigates loosely

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

d in

Port Louis Port Louis (french: Port-Louis; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Polwi or , ) is the capital city of Mauritius. It is mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's ec ...

on Île de France.Parkinson, p.75 In April 1796 reinforcements were sent from

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

comprising four

s commanded by Contre-amiral

Pierre César Charles de Sercey Vice Admiral Pierre César Charles Guillaume, Marquis de Sercey, born at the Château du Jeu, La Comelle on 26 April 1753 and died in Paris, 1st arrondissement on 10 August 1836, was a French naval officer and politician. He is best known for ...

.Parkinson, p.98 The squadron avoided the blockade and arrived at Île de France in July and sailed eastwards during the summer, intending to raid British trading ports in the East Indies. On 9 September the squadron was intercepted and driven off by a British squadron off the northeastern coast of

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

, sheltering in

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

over the winter.Clowes, p.503 In January Sercey sailed once more, encountering on 28 January in the

Bali Strait Bali Strait is a stretch of water separating Java and Bali while connecting the Indian Ocean and the Bali Sea. At its narrowest it is wide. Geography The Bali Strait is one of the bodies of water surrounding the island of Bali: Lombok Strait ...

a fleet of six

East Indiamen East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

bound to China from

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. In the ensuing

Bali Strait Incident The Bali Strait Incident was an encounter between a squadron of six French Navy frigates and six British East India Company (EIC) East Indiamen in the Bali Strait on 28 January 1797. The incident took place amidst the East Indies campaign of the ...

the British commander managed to deceive Sercey into believing that the fleet was made up of warships, the French admiral retreating back to Île de France.Parkinson, p.106 Sercey's flagship during these operations was the 40-gun frigate ''Forte''. ''Forte'', commanded by the elderly Captain

Hubert Le Loup de Beaulieu Hubert Le Loup de Beaulieu,bm, the largest purpose-built frigate at sea. The main battery of ''Forte'' consisted of 28 24-pounder long guns, only the second frigate ever built (after '' Pomone'') which could manage such a heavy armament.James, p.326 This was augmented by fourteen

8-pounder long gun The 8-pounder long gun was a light calibre piece of artillery mounted on French warships of the Age of sail. It fired a projectile of eight ''livres'' in weight, equivalent to 8.633 English pounds, or 8 lb 10 oz (the French ''livre'' was 7.916% he ...

s on the upper deck and eight 36-pounder

carronades 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 fun ...

on the quarterdeck, totaling 52 heavy cannon complemented by eight 1-pounder

swivel gun The term swivel gun (or simply swivel) usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun wi ...

s. Uniquely, the sides of the ship were lined with

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

matting to prevent splinters while the more common precaution had been taken of stringing netting over the deck to protect the crew from falling debris.James, p.329 The ship was however weakened by an ill-disciplined crew, and Sercey had expressed doubts about the ability of the aged Beaulieu.Clowes, p.520 After Sercey returned to Île de France his squadron broke up. Four ships were sent back to France in 1797 and 1798 as Île de France could no longer supply repairs, manpower or provisions in support of Sercey.Parkinson, p.121 This dispersal of the squadron was encouraged by the Colonial Assembly of Île de France and Governor Malartic neither of whom were well-disposed to the

Directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network's u ...

then ruling France. With his remaining crews becoming rebellious, Sercey sent ''Forte'' and ''Prudente'' on a

operation during the autumn of 1798, during which they achieved some success in the

.Parkinson, p.123 By the time this force returned to Île de France Sercey had sailed to Batavia, leaving instructions for ''Forte'' and ''Prudente'' to follow him. Malartic countermanded this order, seizing ''Prudente'' and selling the frigate to a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

concern and ordering ''Forte'' to operate independently in the Bay of Bengal in the autumn of 1798. Sercey was furious, but could do nothing to alter Malartic's arrangements. At the start of 1799 the Bay of Bengal was largely undefended. The British naval commander, Rear-Admiral Peter Rainier, had taken most of his ships westwards to the

to participate in opposition to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's campaign in Egypt, leaving only a single frigate to protect trade shipping in the region.Parkinson, p.139. This ship was the 40-gun HMS ''Sybille'', a large, powerful ship captured from the French at the

Battle of Mykonos The Battle of Mykonos was a minor naval engagement fought in the main harbour of the Cycladic island of Mykonos on 17 June 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars. A British Royal Navy squadron led by fourth rate ship HMS ''Romney'' was esco ...

in 1794.Clowes, p.486. Weighing more than 1,000 tons bm and with a maindeck battery of 28 18-pounder long guns supplemented by six 9-pounder long guns and fourteen 32-pounder cannonades, ''Sybille'' was a formidable ship, but significantly weaker than the massive ''Forte''. Many of ''Sybille'''s crew had fallen ill while the ship had been stationed at Calcutta, leaving her undermanned. To compensate, the crew had been augmented by a detachment from the frigate HMS ''Fox'' and soldiers from the Scotch Brigade.Henderson, p.55 In command was Captain Edward Cooke, who had distinguished himself early in the war by negotiating the surrender of the French

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

port city of

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

in 1793. This action, under threat of execution by the Republican faction in the city, led to the

siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-S ...

and the destruction of almost half of the French Mediterranean Fleet.Clowes, p.552Cooke, Edward
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'',

J. K. Laughton Sir John Knox Laughton (23 April 1830 – 14 September 1915) was a British naval historian and arguably the first to delineate the importance of the subject of Naval history as an independent field of study. Beginning his working life as a mathe ...

, (subscription required), Retrieved 25 May 2015 In January 1798 Cooke and ''Sybille'' had participated in the successful Raid on Manila.Henderson, p.53

Battle

''Forte'''s raiding cruise initially proved devastating. The usual raiding season had passed, and the shipping transiting the mouth of the

was unprepared for Beaulieu's assault.Parkinson, p.124 In rapid succession ''Forte'' seized the local-trading country ships ''Recovery'', ''Yarmouth'', ''Chance'' and ''Surprise''.Parkinson, p.125 Beaulieu was forced to send 143 sailors away as

prize crew A prize crew is the selected members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship. Prize crews were required to take their prize to appropriate prize courts, which would determine whether the ship's officers and crew had sufficie ...

s, reducing the complement on ''Forte'' by a quarter. Beaulieu had also only just missed a major convoy from the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

, escorted only by HMS ''Sceptre''. The Canton East Indiamen ''Endeavour'' and ''Lord Mornington'' were taken off

on 28 February, after coming under fire from ''Forte'''s bow chasers. The gunfire attracted the attention of ''Sybille'', which was returning to Calcutta after transporting Lord Mornington,

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

, to Madras. ''Sybille'' had sailed on 19 February with instructions to search for ''Forte''.James, p.325 On 23 February Cooke had encountered a

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

sent to Madras by Beaulieu and brought the ship into Balasore on 26 February. At 20:30, while sailing to the southeast, flashes were seen on the northeast horizon. Although this was initially dismissed as

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

, it continued until 21:00, convincing Cooke that it had another cause. Turning to the northeast, he took ''Sybille'' to investigate.James, p.327 At 21:30 ''Forte'' and the captured merchant ships were visible from ''Sybille'', ''Forte'' brilliantly illuminated in the tropical night. Cooke brought ''Sybille'' westwards in order to take the

weather gage The weather gage (sometimes spelled weather gauge) is the advantageous position of a fighting sailing vessel relative to another. It is also known as "nautical gauge" as it is related to the sea shore. The concept is from the Age of Sail and is no ...

before wearing and bearing down on the French ship, under a light wind from the southwest.Henderson, p.58 Despite the illumination on the French ship, ''Sybille'''s sails were clearly identified on ''Forte'' but Beaulieu gave no orders to prepare for action: he seems to have thought that the sails belonged to an approaching East Indiaman despite the concerns of his officers, or that he wished to lure ''Sybille'' close enough to ensure its defeat in the coming engagement. At approximately midnight ''Forte'' slowly moved to the lee of ''Sybille'', firing a small

at long range at the British ship's bow, accompanied by scattered fire from the French prize crews on the merchant ships. Apart from damage to the

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsail ...

, ''Sibylle'' remained unharmed, advancing silently and in darkness.Lardas, p.67 French fire continued with little effect, allowing Cooke to bring ''Sybille'' within of the stern of ''Forte'' at 12:45 and fire a raking broadside, followed by a second as the British ship pulled alongside the French frigate. The cannon were complemented by

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

ry from the soldiers aboard, which swept the exposed deck of ''Forte''. The damage to the French ship was catastrophic: guns were smashed from their carriages and dozens of men killed and more wounded, the dead including Beaulieu and his first lieutenant.Henderson, p.59 Despite their losses the French survivors returned to the remaining guns, although most of their first broadside scattered into the sea, and at least some of their shot was misdirected towards the merchant ships. The French gunners aimed too high however, most of their shot tearing through the rigging of ''Sybille'' while the British broadsides slammed into the hull of ''Forte''. This problem was partly attributed to the French gun quoins which had been replaned three days earlier, exacerbated by the lack of suitable gun crews which meant that many of the upperdeck guns were unmanned.Clowes, p.521 The French gunners were also more used to firing warning shots at distant merchant ships and may not have realised that their guns needed to be depressed for combat at point blank range.James, p.330 For the next hour and a half the frigates poured shot into one another at close range, until Cooke was struck by

at 01:30 on 1 March, replaced by his first lieutenant Lucius Hardyman. For another hour the action continued, French fire gradually slackening until it stopped completely at 02:30, by which time only four French guns remained operational. Hardyman hailed to ask whether ''Forte'' had surrendered but the French did not reply and he ordered another broadside. A second hail also brought no response but sailors were seen attempting to repair the rigging on ''Forte''.James, p.328 Concerned that the French were attempting to escape, Hardyman concentrated his fire on the masts of ''Forte'', bringing them crashing down one by one until at 03:00 ''Forte'' was completely dismasted.Lardas, p.68 With all resistance ended, British merchant prisoners on board ''Forte'' emerged from below decks and hailed ''Sybille'', requesting a

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

be sent across so that British Lieutenant Nicholas Manger could formally take the surrender of the French ship.

Combatant summary

''In this table, "Guns" refers to all

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

carried by the ship, including the maindeck guns which were taken into consideration when calculating its rate, as well as any

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 ...

s carried aboard.James, Vol.1, p.32 Broadside weight records the combined weight of shot which could be fired in a single simultaneous discharge of an entire

.''

Aftermath

Damage to ''Forte'' was extensive. The stern and side facing ''Sybille'' had been beaten in by gunfire as more than 300 shot holes combined to form gaping holes in hull above the waterline. As well as the masts the bulkheads had been smashed apart and all deck furniture blasted to splinters. 65 of the crew had been killed, including Captain Beaulieu, and approximately 80 wounded, more than a third of the crew listed as casualties; many of the wounded later died from the effects of amputation. Damages to ''Sybille'' were considerably lighter: only six shot had struck the hull in the entire battle: one gun was dismounted, but the worst damage was to Cooke's cabin where a

round shot A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a la ...

had destroyed most of his furniture. In addition, most of the damage to the masts and rigging proved superficial. Just five crew were killed outright, with another 17 wounded, the latter including Cooke. The British captain had been struck in the left arm, the shot exiting near his spine, with additional injuries to the chest and right arm.James, p.333 He eventually died after a long and agonising deterioration at Calcutta on 25 May 1799 and was buried under a monument with full military honours. A memorial was subsequently placed in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

in his memory.Parkinson, p.129 In the initial aftermath of victory, Hardyman attempted to lure the captured merchant ships close to ''Sybille'' by raising the

French tricolor The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Irela ...

over the

British ensign In British maritime law and custom, an ensign is the identifying flag flown to designate a British ship, either military or civilian. Such flags display the United Kingdom Union Flag in the canton (the upper corner next to the staff), with eith ...

. ''Lord Mornington'' took the bait and closed with the British ship. However, when ''Sybille'' gave chase the prizes fled, the fatigued British crew unable to effectively pursue after losing their damaged cross-jack

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...

. ''Forte'' had lost its anchors in the battle and was consequently lashed to ''Sybille''. Repairs to the combatants took two days, particularly the fitting of jury masts on ''Forte'', before Hardyman was comfortable making the journey up the Hooghly to Calcutta for more permanent repairs. Hardyman was commended for the victory, promoted to commander and then later

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

. ''Forte'' was subsequently taken into service in the Royal Navy under the same name as a 44-gun

fifth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

frigate with Hardyman in command.James, p.332 ''Forte'' continued in service in the Indian Ocean under Hardyman until June 1801, when the frigate was wrecked on the

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

coast near

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

.Grocott, p.112 Nearly five decades after the battle, the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

recognised the action with the clasp "SYBILLE 28 FEBRUARY 1799" attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. The battle has been considered by British historians as an unusual engagement marked by extremely disciplined fire from ''Sybille'', the product of unusually extensive gunnery training by Cooke and complemented by the musket fire of the soldiers which affected the accuracy of the French gunners.Henderson, p.60 Naval historian

William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...

wrote that "the action of the Sibylle icand Forte was gallantly fought on both sides, but skilfully fought on one side only; the weaker side, and, by the due exercise of that skill, the one which was ultimately successful.James, p.331

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{cite book , last = Parkinson , first = C. Northcote , author-link = C. Northcote Parkinson , year = 1954 , title = War in the Eastern Seas, 1793–1815 , url = https://archive.org/details/warineasternseas0000park , url-access = registration , publisher = George Allen & Unwin Ltd. , location = London Naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Conflicts in 1799 Naval battles involving France Naval battles involving Great Britain