The Battle of Fort Royal was a

naval battle 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 lan ...

fought off

Fort Royal Fort-de-France (, , ; gcf, label= Martinican Creole, Fodfwans) is a commune and the capital city of Martinique, an overseas department and region of France located in the Caribbean. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Histo ...

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

in 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 ...

during the

Anglo-French War The Anglo-French Wars were a series of conflicts between England (and after 1707, Britain) and France, including: Middle Ages High Middle Ages * Anglo-French War (1109–1113) – first conflict between the Capetian Dynasty and the House of Norma ...

on 29 April 1781, between fleets of the 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 F ...

and the French Navy. After an engagement lasting four hours, the British squadron under Admiral Samuel Hood broke off and retreated. Admiral de Grasse offered a desultory chase before seeing the French

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s safe to port.

Background

In March 1781, a large French fleet under the command of

Grasse Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence- ...

left the port of

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 ...

. Most of this fleet was headed for the

. Of the 26

ships 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 ...

, one was sent to

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, and five, under the command of the Suffren, were destined 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 ...

. The remaining twenty arrived off to

on 28 April. On 17 April, Grasse had detached a cutter which arrived at Martinique on 26 to inform Bouillé of his arrival. Before sailing to the lee (western) side of the island, Grasse anchored the fleet and sent someone ashore to gather news and bring orders to Albert de Saint-Hippolyte, commander of a 4-ship division that a

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fleet of 17 ships of the line under Samuel Hood had been blockading at

for 50 days. The division comprised the

74-gun The "seventy-four" was a type of two- decked sailing ship of the line, which nominally carried 74 guns. It was developed by the French navy in the 1740s, replacing earlier classes of 60- and 62-gun ships, as a larger complement to the recently-de ...

''Victoire'', under Saint-Hippolyte, and the

64-gun The 64-gun ship of the line was a type of two-decker warship defined during the 18th century, named after the number of their guns. 64-guns had a lower battery of 24-pounders, and an upper battery of 12-pounders. Heavier variants with 18-pounder o ...

''Caton'', under Framond, ''Réfléchi'', under Cillart de Suville, and ''Solitaire'', under Cicé-Champion. Hood was under orders from the fleet's station commander, Admiral

George Brydges 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 t ...

, to maintain the blockade of the port on the lee side, despite his protests that this would put him at a disadvantage should any other fleet arrive. Though disadvantaged by his position and his inferior firepower, the fact that all of his ships had copper bottoms, which required little maintenance compared to the alternative, and that he was not burdened with the responsibility of escorting a convoy both allowed him to focus his efforts on maintaining the blockade.

Battle

Grasse ordered his fleet to prepare for action on the morning of 29 April, and sailed for Fort Royal with the convoy ships hugging the coast and the armed ships in battle line. The French spotted Hood's fleet bearing towards them around 0800, but Grasse held the advantageous

weather gauge The weather gage (sometimes spelled weather gauge) is the advantageous position of a fighting sailing ship, 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 S ...

from an East-North-East wind. At about 0920, Hood was joined by the ''Prince William'', a

ship that had been at

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

. The two fleets continued to push for advantageous positions, however Hood's leeward position meant he was unable to prevent Grasse from bringing the convoy to the harbour, and Grasse's fleet and the four blockaded ships soon met. Around 1100, Grasse's van began firing at long range, with no effect. Saint-Hippolyte's division then set sail, leaving the harbour of Fort-Royal and making their junction with Grasse. By 1230 the two fleets were aligned, but Grasse refused to take advantage of the weather gauge to close with Hood, despite Hood's efforts to bring the French to him, as doing so entailed risking his transports. The fleets then exchanged cannonades and broadsides for the next hour; at long range, the damage incurred was modest, although , ''Russell'' and required repairs. ''Centaur'' had her captain, first officer and 10 others killed, and 26 wounded. The French suffered mostly light damage to their rigging. From 1400, the French convoy slipped between the coast and Grasse's squadron, safely arriving at Martinique. Hood finally drew away toward Saint Lucia. On 30, Grasse, having successfully completed his convoy escort, was free to give chase, and he harassed the British for a couple of days, but Hood refused to be brought to action. In the chase, the disparity of sailing performance between the French ships scattered Grasse's squadron, to the point that by 1 May, Grasse had only 11 ships with him and was losing sight of the last ones. He then returned to Fort-Royal, where he arrived on 6 May.

Aftermath

Hood dispatched ''Russell'', which had been holed below the waterline to

St. Eustatius Sint Eustatius (, ), also known locally as Statia (), is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality (officially " public body") of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, s ...

for repairs, and to bring news of the action to Admiral Rodney. Hood spent the next day in fruitless attempts to gain the windward and eventually made sail to the North. He met Rodney on 11 May between St. Kitts and

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, the latter having left Saint Eustatius on 5 May. Reports of French casualties vary from as few as 74 killed and wounded to more than 250.

Order of battle

French fleet

British fleet

British order of battle as provided by Clowes, p. 482. *, 74, Captain William Bayne *, 64, Captain James Brine *, 74, Captain Charles Thompson *, 74, Captain Sir Richard Bickerton *, 74, Captain Francis Reynolds *, 90, Captain John Knight, Rear-Admiral Samuel Hood *, 74, Captain James Ferguson *, 70, Captain

Sir Thomas Rich Sir Thomas Rich, 1st Baronet (c. 1601 – 15 October 1667) was an English merchant and politician who sat in House of Commons in 1660. He established Sir Thomas Rich's School, a grammar school.Lord Robert Manners *, 74, Captain John Houlton *, 80, Captain Charles Knatchbull, Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Samuel Drake *, 74, Captain John Neale Pleydell Nott *, 64, Captain Stair Douglas * ''Torbay'', 74, Captain John Lewis Gidoin *, 64, Captain

Anthony James Pye Molloy Anthony James Pye Molloy ( – 25 July 1814) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. Molloy rose through the ranks to command a number of ships during the war w ...

*, 74, Captain Mark Robinson

Sources and references

Notes References Bibliography * * * * * *{{Cite book, first=Onésime-Joachim , last=Troude , author-link=Onésime-Joachim Troude , year=1867 , publisher=Challamel ainé, url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6541320m , title=Batailles navales de la France, language=fr , volume=2 , oclc=836362484

History of Martinique 1781 in France 18th century in Martinique