A French force from
Cayenne
Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...
under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Jean-Michel Mahė recaptured
Gorée from the British on 18 January 1804.
The vessels consisted of a naval schooner and three privateers. The troops consisted of a contingent from the 8th Demi-Brigade and another from the Cayenne Volunteers.
The French force stopped at
Dakar, Senegal, on its way. At Dakar it added the schooner ''Rosalia'' and a detachment of troops from the 46th Brigade, and requisitioned the privateer , from Rochelle, to join the expedition. ''Mon Oncle Thomas'' had put into Dakar to request an extension of her
letter of marque. The Commandant promised to renew the letter on condition that ''Mon Oncle Thomas'' joined the expedition.
The French force of some 500–600 men anchored off the island late in the evening of 17 January. Next morning 240 troops in eight boats landed east of the town. They met resistance from the 40–70 men of the British garrison and civilians. The British suffered 9 men killed and 10 wounded; the French suffered 43 men killed and 32 wounded. Facing an overwhelming force, Colonel John Frazer, the British commander, surrendered and signed terms of capitulation. The French then occupied the town.
The French put the garrison aboard a sloop and sent them to Dakar. There the French made a
cartel of the schooner ''Marengo'' and put their British captives on board. ''Marengo'' stopped at Teneriffe to replenish her supplies and arrived at
Falmouth on 17 April.
In April 1804, ''
Lloyd's List'' reported that that the French had captured the British slave vessel , Bowland, master, and had taken her into
Gorée. She had been on her way from London to Africa.
Recapture: The British recaptured Gorée on 7 March when Lieutenant Charles Pickford and a landing party from the 36-gun frigate forced the French garrison to surrender. Pickford had only been sent ashore to report on why the French held the island, and ''Inconstant'' returned on 8 March with an invasion force in four transports, not expecting the garrison to have been taken.
The French vessels
Citations
References
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{{coord missing, Senegal
Conflicts in 1804
Battles of the Napoleonic Wars
Battles involving the United Kingdom
Gorée