Action of 17 July 1761

The action of 17 July 1761 was a naval engagement fought off the Spanish port of Cádiz between a British Royal Navy squadron and a smaller French Navy squadron during the Seven Years' War. British fleets had achieved dominance in European waters over the French following heavy defeats of French fleets in 1759. To maintain this control, British battle squadrons were stationed off French ports, as well as ports in neutral but French-supporting Spain which sheltered French warships. In 1761, two French ships, the 64-gun ship of the line ''Achille'' and 32-gun frigate ''Bouffone'' were blockaded in the principal Spanish naval base of Cádiz, on the Southern Atlantic coast of Spain.

''Achille'' had departed the French Atlantic base of Brest in March, fighting though the blockade of that port, and was then trapped in Cádiz by a British squadron detached from the Mediterranean Fleet based at Gibraltar comprising ships of the line HMS ''Thunderer'' and HMS ''Modeste'', frigate HMS ''Thetis'' and sloop HMS ''Favourite'', under the command of Captain Charles Proby on ''Thunderer''. When the French ship attempted to leave Proby gave chase, eventually catching them and bringing them to battle. ''Thunderer'' suffered heavy losses when a cannon exploded, but Proby was able to bring his ship alongside ''Achille'' and capture the ship in a boarding action while ''Thetis'' and ''Modeste'' captured ''Bouffone''.

Action

Background

In 1759 the French Navy suffered heavy losses in the defeats at the Battle of Lagos and the Battle of Quiberon Bay, which gave the Royal Navy superiority in the Atlantic.Clowes, p.232 To retain this advantage, the Royal Navy stationed squadrons off the principal French naval bases in a strategy of close blockade; French ships periodically attempted to break through this blockade to operate against British commerce. On 9 March 1761, the squadron off the port of Brest in Brittany, led by Commodore Matthew Buckle, sighted a French ships of the line and a frigate sailing from the port. Buckle ordered the 60-gun British ship HMS ''Rippon'' under Captain Edward Jekyll to pursue the French, Jekyll chasing the enemy ships into the Bay of Biscay. The French ships were the 64-gun ''Achille'' and frigate ''Bouffone''.

Although the French ships outdistanced ''Rippon'', Jekyll sighted them again the following afternoon and at 21:30 successfully drew alongside ''Achille'', opening fire at close range. The wind was strong and the seas rough, neither ship able to easily use their lower gun deck without water sloshing in through the gunports. During the exchange of fire, one of the guns on ''Rippon'' suddenly exploded, causing heavy casualties among the gun crews. Jekyll was forced to order most of the forward gunports closed in consequence, but fire from ''Rippon'' was able to knock away the foreyard and foretop mast on ''Achille''. This caused ''Rippon'' to pull ahead of ''Achille'' and Jekyll brought his ship into the wind in readiness for an attack by the French ship. ''Achille'' however passed by the stern of ''Rippon'' missing the opportunity to rake the British ship. With the French now pulling away, Jekyll ordered his crew to wear around and follow ''Achille'', but the damage to the British ship was too extensive and ''Achille'' was able to escape in the darkness.Clowes, p.305

Having escaped the blockade, ''Achille'' and ''Bouffone'' cruised in the Atlantic for several months before entering the neutral but friendly Spanish port of Cádiz. There they were discovered in July and a small British squadron sent to blockade the harbour in anticipation of ''Achille'' returning to sea.

Battle

The British blockade squadron stationed off Cádiz comprised the 74-gun HMS ''Thunderer'' under Captain Charles Proby, the 64-gun HMS ''Modeste'' under Captain Robert Boyle Walsingham, the 32-gun frigate HMS ''Thetis'' under Captain John Moutray and the sloop HMS ''Favourite'' under Commander Philemon Pownall.Clowes, p.305 This force patrolled off the port in early summer, discovering on 14 July that ''Achille'' and ''Bouffone'' had recently sailed unopposed. Proby ordered his squadron to search for the French ships, discovering them on 16 July approximately southwest of Cádiz. A chase ensued, with the French sailing northwest into the Gulf of Cádiz. Proby's ships were faster however and ''Thunderer'' successfully reached ''Achille'' on the morning of 17 July approximately northwest of Cádiz.

''Thunderer'' opened fire on ''Achille'' as the ships came within range, the ships of the line exchanging broadsides. As the action intensified, a cannon on the upper deck of ''Thunderer'' suddenly burst, the explosion killing and wounding dozens of sailors. In the aftermath of the blast, Proby, who had been wounded in the hand, brought ''Thunderer'' alongside ''Achille'' and led a boarding action which captured ''Achille''. Nearby, ''Thetis'' successfully brought ''Bouffone'' to action, holding up the French frigate long enough that ''Modeste'' was able to come within range. With his frigate heavily outgunned, the French captain surrendered.

Aftermath

Proby brought the squadron and its prizes back to Gibraltar, where the wounded were treated in the city's hospitals. British casualties were listed as 17 killed and 114 wounded, all on ''Thunderer'' and most from the gun explosion. ''Thunderer'' had also taken severe damage to the masts and rigging from French shot. The only other heavily engaged British ship was ''Thetis'' which had also suffered damage to masts and rigging, but received no casualties. According to Proby's dispatch to the Admiralty, no record of French losses was made in the aftermath of the battle.

References

Bibliography

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Naval battles involving France
Naval battles involving Great Britain
Conflicts in 1761
Naval battles of the Seven Years' War