Action Of 30 June 1798
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The action of 30 June 1798 was a minor naval engagement fought along the
Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...
coast of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
during 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 ...
. 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 ...
had been largely driven from the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
early in the war following heavy losses in a series of failed operations. This had allowed 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 ...
's
Channel Fleet The Channel Fleet and originally known as the Channel Squadron was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1854 to 1909 and 1914 to 1915. History Throughout the course of Royal Navy's history the ...
to institute a close
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 ...
on the French naval ports of the Biscay coast, particularly
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 *Brest, ...
in
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
. The blockade strategy included a constantly patrolling inshore squadron composed of
frigates 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 ...
, tasked with preventing the passage of French ships into or out of the port. In the spring of 1798, several French frigates stationed in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
were sent back to France as the base at Île de France could no longer supply them effectively. One of these ships was the 40-gun frigate ''Seine'', which departed
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 ...
laden with 280 soldiers from the garrison. ''Seine'' had a rapid passage back to European waters, arriving in the Bay of Biscay on 28 June. Early the following morning, with the Brittany coast in sight, ''Seine'' was spotted by the inshore frigate squadron of HMS ''Jason'', HMS ''Pique'' and HMS ''Mermaid''. While ''Mermaid'' cut ''Seine'' off from the coast, ''Jason'' and ''Pique'' gave chase as ''Seine'' fled southwards. ''Pique'' reached ''Seine'' at 23:00 that evening and for more than two and a half hours the frigates pounded at one another until ''Pique'' fell back. ''Pique'' and ''Jason'' continued the chase full speed through the night, until suddenly all three frigates crashed headlong into the sandbanks off
La Tranche-sur-Mer La Tranche-sur-Mer (, literally ''La Tranche on Sea'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. The final stages of the action of 30 June 1798, during which all three combatant frigates grounded, ...
on the
Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.
coast. Even while grounded the frigates continued to fire on one another until ''Mermaid'' finally arrived and the outnumbered ''Seine'' surrendered. ''Jason'' and ''Seine'' were badly damaged but successfully refloated, the casualties on the packed decks of the French ship appallingly high, but ''Pique'' was an irretrievable wreck: the ship was evacuated and then burnt before the remainder of the squadron returned to Britain with their prize.


Background

In the early years 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 ...
, although 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 ...
had sought to oppose 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 ...
at sea from their main base at
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 *Brest, ...
in
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
, the Royal Navy had achieved victories at the
Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
and
Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix was a large naval engagement which took place near the island of Groix off the Biscay coast of Brittany on 23 June 1795 ( 5 messidor an III) during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle was fought between elements of the ...
. The losses inflicted on the French Atlantic fleet in these battles were compounded by large numbers of ships wrecked in storms during the disastrous ''
Croisière du Grand Hiver The ''Croisière du Grand Hiver'' (French "Campaign of the Great Winter") was a French attempt to organise a winter naval campaign in the wake of the Glorious First of June. Context The Glorious First of June had ended on a strategic success f ...
'' and ''
Expédition d'Irlande The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republica ...
'' operations.Gardiner, ''Fleet Battle and Blockade'', p.16 By 1798 the Royal Navy was unopposed in its control of the Atlantic, enforcing its supremacy by a strategy of close
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 ...
, maintaining a battle fleet at sea off Brittany and an inshore squadron of
frigates 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 ...
watching the approaches to Brest.Woodman, p.100 In June 1798 the inshore squadron included a detachment comprising the 38-gun HMS ''Jason'' under Captain
Charles Stirling Charles Stirling (28 April 1760 – 7 November 1833) was a vice-admiral in the British Royal Navy. Early life and career Charles Stirling was born in London on 28 April 1760 and baptised at St. Albans on 15 May. The son of Admiral Sir Walter ...
, the 36-gun HMS ''Pique'' under Captain David Milne and 32-gun HMS ''Mermaid'' under Captain
James Newman-Newman Captain James Newman-Newman (1767–1811) of the British Royal Navy was an officer who served in numerous actions with distinction during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars before his death in the wreck of his ship of the line HMS ''He ...
.James, Vol.2 p.219 For French warships oceanic travel was extremely hazardous and ships often travelled in numbers. In the spring of 1796 a squadron 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 ...
had sailed 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 ...
to reinforce French naval forces in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
, based at
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 the Île de France.Parkinson, p.99 Sercey's squadron failed to make a significant impression, driven off from the East Indies in an inconclusive action off
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 ...
,Clowes, p.503 and then tricked into fleeing from a vulnerable
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
merchant convoy in the
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 ...
in January 1797.Clowes, p.506 By the end of the year the Colonial Assembly, which were unhappy with plans of the
French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...
to abolish
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, refused to continue supplying the squadron and garrison, forcing Sercey to disperse his ships.Parkinson, p.120 First ''Régénérée'' and ''Vertu'' were ordered back to France, and then in early 1798 the 40-gun ''Seine'' was instructed to follow them, carrying 280 soldiers from the garrison no longer supported by the Colonial Assembly. ''Seine'', still commanded by Lieutenant Julien-Gabriel Bigot following the death of Captain Latour off Sumatra in 1796, sailed on 24 March, overcrowded with the stores and dependents accompanying the soldiers.Parkinson, p.121James, Vol.2 p.221


Battle

Despite the overloading, ''Seine'' made a rapid journey to European waters, arriving in the Bay of Biscay just three months later on 28 June. Sailing for Brest with the wind, the
Penmarck rocks Point Penmarc'h, often spelled Point Penmarch, or in French Pointe de Penmarc'h, is the extremity of a small peninsula in Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France,''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Third Edition'', p. 91 ...
were visible from ''Seine'' at 07:00 on 29 June when three sails appeared to the northeast. This was the inshore squadron under Stirling, and ''Jason'' and ''Pique'' immediately gave chase while ''Mermaid'' diverted northwards, cutting ''Seine'' off from the Breton coast and the harbour of
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 ...
and forcing Bigot to turn away, fleeing southwards towards
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
and the
Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.
coast instead. ''Jason'' and ''Pique'' followed under all sail while ''Mermaid'' was left far behind.Clowes, p.511 Throughout the day the chase continued, the British frigates gaining slowly on their quarry and as darkness fell ''Pique'' closed with the larger French ship. At 23:00 Milne was close enough to open fire on ''Seine'', to which Bigot responded without reducing speed.Gardiner, ''Nelson Against Napoleon'', p.127 For the next two and a half hours the frigates exchanged
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 ...
s at full speed as the French coastline rapidly approached ahead. At 01:35 a shot from ''Seine'' struck the main topmast on ''Pique'', bringing it crashing down. The consequent loss of speed forced Milne back, ''Seine'' pulling away from the smaller ship but unable to escape ''Jason'' which was steadily gaining. Stirling was concerned by the proximity of the coast and hailed ''Pique'' with orders to anchor before it grounded, but Milne did not hear the order correctly and instead increased sail, lurching ahead of ''Jason'' and straight onto a sandbank close to
La Tranche-sur-Mer La Tranche-sur-Mer (, literally ''La Tranche on Sea'') is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. The final stages of the action of 30 June 1798, during which all three combatant frigates grounded, ...
on the Vendée coast.James, Vol.2 p.220 ''Seine'' too had struck the shore a little distance ahead, and Stirling was unable to arrest ''Jason'''s momentum before his ship too became stuck, lying between ''Pique'' and ''Seine''. The French ship had been badly damaged in the crash, all three masts collapsing overboard at impact, but actually lay in a stronger position: ''Jason'' blocked ''Pique'''s arc of fire and Stirling's ship had swung with the rising tide, leaving its stern exposed. Bigot took advantage of this position to fire several
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 ...
broadsides into ''Jason'', during which Stirling was wounded and command passed to Lieutenant Charles Inglis. Inglis responded to the fire by cutting stern gunports to fire
chase guns A chase gun (or chaser), usually distinguished as bow chaser and stern chaser, was a cannon mounted in the bow (ship), bow (aiming forward) or stern (aiming backward) of a sailing ship. They were used to attempt to slow down an enemy ship either ...
at ''Seine'', and Milne succeeded in dragging his frigate around through the novel expedient of ordering his men to run towards the bows carrying
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 ...
. This sudden shift in weight gently rotated the grounded ship to face ''Seine'' and Milne could direct four of his
12-pounder long gun The 12-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of artillery mounted on warships of the Age of sail. They were used as main guns on the most typical frigates of the early 18th century, on the second deck of fourth-rate ships of the line, ...
s at the French ship.Wareham, p.180 Under fire and with ''Mermaid'' finally approaching, Bigot determined that further resistance was hopeless 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 ...
.


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 that 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 that could be fired in a single simultaneous discharge of an entire
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 ...
.''


Aftermath

Dawn on 30 June revealed the three frigates grounded on the sandbar, prompting a response from the French forces in nearby La Rochelle. Two frigates, a
brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
and a squadron of
gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...
s were sent to fire on the British ships, but this force was dissuaded from engaging by the arrival of another British blockade squadron comprising HMS ''Phaeton'' under Captain
Robert Stopford Robert Wright Stopford, (20 February 1901 – 13 August 1976) was a British Anglican bishop. Early life and education Stopford was born in Garston, Merseyside (then in Lancashire), and educated at Coatham School in Redcar and Liverpool Colle ...
, HMS ''San Fiorenzo'' under Captain Sir Harry Neale and HMS ''Triton'' under Captain John Gore. Stopford's squadron assisted Stirling's force as ''Jason'' was towed off by ''Mermaid''. ''Pique'' however was irretrievably stuck with water leaking into the hull. After all efforts to refloat the ship had been exhausted, the frigate was evacuated and stripped of stores before the wreck was set on fire. It took some time for boarding parties to reach ''Seine'' and a number of the French crew had taken the delay in seizure of the ship to dive overboard and swim for the beach, making an accounting of casualties difficult. As the day continued, boat parties of French civilians sailed out to the ship and climbed aboard, breaking into the liquor stores leading to drunken confusion on deck. Bigot was allowed to go ashore temporarily, as were four men escorting a lady from Île de France: all five French sailors subsequently returned to captivity voluntarily. ''Seine'' was subsequently refloated with
jury mast In maritime transport terms, and most commonly in sailing, jury-rigged is an adjective, a noun, and a verb. It can describe the actions of temporary makeshift running repairs made with only the tools and materials on board; and the subsequent r ...
s after the guns were thrown overboard to lighten the ship, and the figurehead of ''Pique'' was nailed over her own, ''Seine'' sailing with the squadron to
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
. Losses on the British ships had been light, with seven killed on ''Jason'', including the second lieutenant, and eleven wounded, including Stirling. ''Pique'' lost one killed and another lost overboard and six wounded. French losses were enormous, the effects of concentrated cannon fire on the packed decks producing casualties of approximately 170 killed and 100 wounded, the former including a number who drowned after the ship grounded. Bigot and his crew were brought to Britain as
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...
, the commander later exchanged and twice promoted on his return to France in recognition of his resistance during the engagement, although unsubstantiated rumours persisted that he had personally shot some of his men when they abandoned their guns.Wareham, p.181 Milne was complimented for his tenacious pursuit of ''Seine'' and after repairs he and his crew were confirmed in possession of the French ship, which served in the Royal Navy under the same name.Wareham, p.182 By the time the prize was commissioned many of its captors were prisoners of war. On 13 October 1798 ''Jason'' was patrolling off Brest when a number of French
lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively i ...
s were sighted. Stirling gave chase but ''Jason'' ran headlong into a submerged rock near the
Pointe du Raz The Pointe du Raz is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, in France. The local Breton name is ''Beg ar Raz''. It is the western point of the ''commune'' of Plogoff, Finistère. It is named after the ''Raz de Sein'', ...
and began to founder. Stirling had no choice but to bring the frigate inshore and land on the French coast as the frigate sank. Stirling and his men were captured, except for twelve sailors who, in groups of six, stole a cutter and a jollyboat and escaped to
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
.Grocott, pp.61–62


Citations


References

* * * * * * * * * {{cite book , last = Woodman , first = Richard , author-link = Richard Woodman , year = 2001 , title = The Sea Warriors , publisher = Constable Publishers , location = London , isbn = 1-84119-183-3 Naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars Conflicts in 1798 Naval battles involving France Naval battles involving Great Britain Military history of the Bay of Biscay