The Newfoundland expedition (
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
: ''Expédition à Terre-Neuve'',
Spanish: ''Expedición a Terranova'') was a series of fleet manoeuvres and amphibious landings in the coasts of
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
,
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
and
Saint Pierre and Miquelon carried out by the combined
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
and
Spanish fleets 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 ...
. This expedition, composed of seven ships of the line and three frigates under the orders of Rear-Admiral
Richery sailed from
Cadiz in August 1796 accompanied by a much stronger Spanish squadron, commanded by General
Solano, which had the aim of escorting it to the coast of Newfoundland.
On 28 August 1796 this combined Franco-Spanish squadron of 20 vessels, carrying 1,500 regular troops, appeared off the coast of Newfoundland.
Considerable alarm was occasioned in England by the first accounts of these events in Newfoundland, the news being to the effect that the French had actually landed 1,500 men at
Bay Bulls and 2,000 at
Portugal Cove
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a Sovereign state, country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southern Europe, Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes ...
in
Conception Bay
Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it on ...
, from which they were marching against St. John's. The harbour of St. John's was defended by a number of fortifications and gun emplacements such as
Fort Amherst, Chain Rock Battery, Fort Frederick, and the large star-fort known as Fort Townshend.
[O'Neill p.60] At St. John's the local garrison of the ''Royal Newfoundland Regiment'', the ''Royal Artillery'', the ''Royal Newfoundland Volunteers'', aided by most able-bodied men, established a camp atop
Signal Hill at the beginning of September.
A boom was constructed across the harbour and three
fire ships prepared. French Admiral Joseph de Richery, decided not to land after he saw this force, and after hovering in the area for several days, he chose instead to land at Bay Bulls, 18 miles south of St. John's, on 4 September.
On 4 September the expedition entered the town of
Bay Bulls, and there being no sufficient force to protect Newfoundland, it was ravaged with fire and destruction, and a great deal of mischief was done to the fisheries.
After taking dozens of British prisoners, the combined fleet sailed toward Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which were held by the British at that time, and remained near the islands for two weeks, taking on water and preparing for the voyage back to France and Spain.
The combined expedition destroyed over 100 fishing vessels from the Newfoundland fleet and burned fishing stations along the Newfoundland coast, including the base of the English garrison at
Placentia Bay
Placentia Bay (french: Baie de Plaisance) is a body of water on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. It is formed by Burin Peninsula on the west and Avalon Peninsula on the east. Fishing grounds in the bay were used by native people long ...
.
[James p.409]
Background
On 19 August a treaty of alliance, offensive and defensive, between France and Spain was
signed at
San Ildefonso, by which the latter power was to have a fleet in readiness to assist the French.
[Cust. p.65] The treaty was ratified in Paris on 12 September, and on 5 October a declaration of war by Spain against Great Britain was issued from Madrid.
The fleet, under the command of Don
Juan de Langara, put to sea from Cadiz.
Ten sail of the line under the flag of Rear-Admiral Solano were dispatched to join with a French force consisting of seven sail of the line and three frigates, under Rear-Admiral Richery, in an expedition against the British settlement of Newfoundland.
In August 1796, both
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
were stirred by the news that Admiral Richery had escaped the vigilance of Admiral
Robert Mann
Robert Nathaniel Mann (July 19, 1920 – January 1, 2018) was a violinist, composer, Conductor (music), conductor, and founding member of the Juilliard String Quartet, as well as a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music. Mann, the fir ...
out of Cadiz, and was proceeding to Newfoundland with seven sail of the line and several frigates.
[Anspach p.227] Against this force Vice-Admiral Wallace at St. John's could only oppose the old ''
Romney'' of 50 guns, two 32's and two 16's.
Captain Taylor, in ''
Andromeda'', of thirty-two guns, had parted for the
banks with orders to cruise there for the protection of the sea trade. On 3 September he spoke with a
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
, the master of which informed him that he had seen on the coast an enemy's fleet, consisting of several ships of the line and frigates.
Subsequent reports increased alarm on the mainland by telling of French landings in
Conception Bay
Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it on ...
.
Expedition
Failure on St. John's
Richery made for St. John's, estimating that with his superior firepower, he could pound Fort Amherst into submission. With the battery silenced, he could then force his way into the harbour to destroy the town. Outnumbered at sea, the British retired behind the forts and batteries of St. John's and prepared to put up stiff resistance. It was the morning of 2 September 1796 when the French fleet was sighted off the coast. Wallace did not have a large garrison in St. John's at the time, so he tried to give the impression that he had. This was intended to make the French believe that St. John's would be too costly to try to take.
[Molloy p.40] He had his men erect tents on both sides of the entrance to the Narrows and then marched them to and fro at Fort Amherst and below
Signal Hill.
Richery was handicapped by having no intelligence of the defenses of St. John's and no pilots for Newfoundland waters.
[O'Neill p.63] He had to depend for information on John Morridge, master of a fishing ship belonging to Governor Wallace, who was one of the prisoners taken at Bay Bulls.
Richery's huge fleet hove to off
Cape Spear
Cape Spear (french: Cap d'Espoir) is a headland located on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland near St. John's in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. At a longitude of 52°37'W, it is the easternmost point in Canada and North ...
for a day observing the daunting sight. The next morning, Richery formed a battle line and drove for the harbour entrance. As they came within the range of the twenty-four pounders at Fort Amherst, his resolve weakened.
[Molloy p.41] Tacking the great ships, he headed back out to sea.
The
ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
had worked and the town saved.
Admiral Richery's threat to St. John's finally came to nothing in face of the vigour of the new Governor, Admiral Sir Richard Wallace, who raised volunteers, strengthened the forts, and prepared new batteries.
In France, the public were informed that Richery had forced the surrender of St. John's and captured large quantities of shipping and sent more than a thousand sailors as prisoners to
Santo Domingo
, total_type = Total
, population_density_km2 = auto
, timezone = AST (UTC −4)
, area_code_type = Area codes
, area_code = 809, 829, 849
, postal_code_type = Postal codes
, postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional)
, websi ...
. Not until October did ''authentic'' information reach England, when it was learned that the French admiral had given up the larger plan of an assault on St. John's and had left the coast on 29 September.
[Graham p.227]
Bay Bulls
On 4 September the French squadron entered
Bay Bulls. The
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
surrendered on their approach. Admiral Richery plundered and destroyed the entire settlement and shipping, including the fishing-stages, driving the inhabitants into the woods. 57 buildings and 47 fishing ships were captured along with more than 400 prisoners.
Chateau Bay
On 5 September, Richery detached Adm.
Zacharie Jacques Théodore Comte Allemand, to raid the Bay of Castles (Labrador) with ''
Duquesne'', ''Censeur'', and ''Friponne'' while Richery himself proceeded to Saint Pierre and Miquelon with ''Victoire'', ''Barras'', ''
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
'', ''
Berwick'', and ''
Révolution'' 74s, and frigates ''Émbuscade'' and ''
Félicité'' to visit a like treatment upon its shore establishments.
Delayed by head winds and fogs, M. Allemand did not enter the bay of Castles until 22 September, by which time most of the fishing vessels had departed for Europe. The French commodore sent an officer with a flag of truce demanding the surrender of the town. This was refused, but the approach of the squadron compelled the British commanding officer to destroy the fishing-stages.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Richery destroyed all the buildings, vessels, and fishing-stages he found at Saint Pierre and Miquelon,
claiming the islands for France but leaving them unpopulated. Approximately 225 houses, 17 large scaffolds, 8 large buildings, 80 fishing boats and 80,000
quintals of cod were burnt to the ground.
Admiral Richery hoisted the French flag on the island of St. Pierre, which had surrendered to a force from Halifax years before, but had been left without a garrison, though a number of British fishermen had taken possession and built a town. Richery's squadron then divided, and a portion sailed for the coast of Labrador to intercept the homeward-bound fishing fleet from Quebec while Admiral Richery remained near Cape Breton with four sail of the line and a frigate.
On 27 September,
Admiral Murray arrived at Halifax from Bermuda. Although the information presented to him was still confused, the apparent lack of transports and troops indicated that the expedition was a raid rather than a serious attempt to take Newfoundland.
Two days later, Allemand stood away from the coast, and, as Richery had already done, steered homeward. On 5 November, Richery, with his division, entered the port of Rochefort, and on the 15th Allemand with his reached Lorient.
Aftermath
The combined fleets of France and Spain had destroyed upwards of 100 merchant vessels, and taken a great number of prisoners. Some were sent in a
cartel to
Halifax, and the remainder, about 300 in number, were carried into France and Spain.
The British bank fisheries in Newfoundland recovered following the signing of the
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...
in March 1802, and in that year, 71 Newfoundland and 58 British "banker" vessels prosecuted the fisheries on the Grand Banks. They declined again with the outbreak of war in 1803 and recovered somewhat after the
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
in October 1805, but declined again during the
Anglo-American war of 1812–14.
Popular literature
The
Spanish novelist
Arturo Pérez-Reverte cites this expedition in one of his works, ''Cabo Trafalgar: un relato naval''.
[Pérez Reverte, Arturo (2011). ''Cabo Trafalgar: un relato naval''. Suma de Letras, page 63. ]
See also
*
Governors of Newfoundland
* ''
''
* ''
''
* ''
''
Notes
References
* Anson, V. Walter. ''The Life of John Jervis: Admiral Lord St. Vincent.'' Nabu Press (2010)
* Anspach, Lewis. ''A History of the Island of Newfoundland: Containing a Description of the Island, the Banks, the Fisheries, and Trade of Newfoundland, and the Coast of Labrador.'' London: T. and J. Allman, 1819.
*
Burke, Edmund. ''The
Annual Register
''The Annual Register'' (originally subtitled "A View of the History, Politicks and Literature of the Year ...") is a long-established reference work, written and published each year, which records and analyses the year's major events, developmen ...
.'' Vol 38.
*
Cust, Edward. ''Annals of the Wars of the Eighteenth Century: Compiled From The Most Authentic Histories of the Period'' 3. John Murray.
* Faivre J P. ''Le Contre-Amiral Hamelin et la Marine Française.'' Nel Publishing (2008)
* Fullom, W. Stephen. ''The Life of General Sir Howard Douglas Bart GCB GCMG FRS DCL: From His Notes, Conversations, and Correspondence.'' University of Michigan Library (2009) ASIN B002NEFQ96
* Gardiner, Robert. ''Fleet Battle and Blockade: The French Revolutionary War, 1793–1797.'' Mercury Books (2006)
* Graham, S. Gerald. ''Empire of the North Atlantic.'' University of Toronto Press (1966) ASIN B0007JCEB2
* Horn, Bernd. ''The Canadian Way of War: Serving the National Interest.'' Dundurn Press (2006)
*
James, William. ''The Naval History of Great Britain From the Declaration of War by France in February 1793 to the Accession of George IV in January 1820: With an Account of the Origin and Progressive Increase of the British Navy.'' Vol I. (London Baldwin, Cradock & Joy, 1822–24)
* Marley, F. David. ''Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the New World, 1492 to the Present.'' ABC-CLIO (1998)
* McKee, Cristopher. ''Edward Preble: A Naval Biography, 1761–1807.'' US Naval Institute Press (1996)
* Miller, R. James. ''The History of Great Britain from the Death of George II: To the Coronation of George IV ; Designed as a Continuation of Hume and Smollett, Vol IV.'' Dated Jones & Company (London) by Publisher – full-leather binding
* Molloy, J. David. ''The First Landfall: Historic Lighthouses of Newfoundland and Labrador.'' Breakwater Books Ltd (1994)
* O'Neill, Paul. ''The Oldest City: The Story of St. John's, Newfoundland.''
* Page, Frederick. ''A Conside History and Description of Newfoundland.'' BiblioBazaar Publishing (2008)
* Pedley, Charles. ''The History of Newfoundland from the Earliest Times to the Year 1860.'' London (1863).
* Rannie, F. William ''Saint Pierre and Miquelon.'' Rannie Publications (1966) ASIN B000J0PTKM
* Ryan, Shannon. ''The Ice Hunters: A History of Newfoundland Sealing to 1914.'' Breakwater Books Ltd (1994)
* Scott, Robert. ''History of the Reign of George III, Vol III.''
* Smith, Frederick. ''The Story of Newfoundland.'' London (1920)
* Tocque, Philip. ''Newfoundland: As It Was, and As It Is in 1877.'' S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington.
* Tocque, Philip. ''Wandering Thoughts, or Solitary Hours.'' Old Classics (2009) ASIN B002LLN3LY
External links
Biography at Government House ''The Governorship of Newfoundland and Labrador''
{{Coord, 52, 37, 28, N, 59, 41, 06, W, region:CA-NL_type:adm1st, display=title
Battles of the War of the First Coalition
Conflicts in 1793
Naval battles involving Great Britain
Naval battles of the French Revolutionary Wars
Naval battles involving England
Naval battles involving France
Naval battles involving Spain
Conflicts in Canada
Military expeditions
Military history of Newfoundland
Expeditions from France
Expeditions from Spain