The action of 29 April 1758 was a naval engagement fought in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

near Brest between a 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 Fr ...

squadron and a single

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 ...

ship 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 colu ...

during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

. In an attempt to support the garrison of

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour ...

, who were facing an impending

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

, the French Atlantic Fleet sent a number of squadrons and ships to sea during the spring of 1758. To intercept these ships, Royal Navy squadrons maintained 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 leg ...

of their main port at Brest. In April a British squadron including HMS ''Intrepid'', HMS ''Dorsetshire '' and HMS ''Achilles'' was cruising off the French Biscay Coast when a lone sail was sighted to the southwest. ''Dorsetshire'', commanded by Captain Peter Denis was sent to investigate, discovering the ship to be the French ship of the line ''Raisonnable '' sailing to

. In a fierce battle, ''Dorsetshire'' managed to inflict heavy casualties on the French ship and force her captain,

Louis-Armand-Constantin de Rohan Louis-Armand-Constantin de Rohan, ''Chevalier de Rohan'' and ''Prince de Montbazon'', (6 April 1732 – 27 July 1794) was a French naval officer of the eighteenth century. Life Louis-Armand-Constantin was the fifth of seven children of He ...

, to surrender.

Action

In 1758 the British

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 ...

and the

Atlantic Fleet were contesting control of the

and 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 ...

during the

, which had broken out between Britain and France in 1755 over colonial dominance in North America. For the French Navy the priority was maintaining their lines of supply to the major

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

fortress of

, which was soon to fall under

. To support the city, the French Atlantic Fleet sent squadrons and single ships into the Atlantic to bring supplies and reinforcements to the garrison and the Royal Navy in turn deployed forces to intercept these missions.Clowes, p.182 One squadron deployed in close

at Brest in April 1758 was commanded by Captain Edward Pratten in HMS ''Intrepid''. On 19 April, a sail was sighted to the southwest and Pratten detached the 70-gun HMS ''Dorsetshire '' under Captain Peter Denis to investigate.Clowes, p.299 The ship proved to be the 64-gun French

''Raisonnable '' under Captain

, '' Chevalier de Rohan'' and ''Prince de Montbazon''. Realising the strength of the French ship, Pratten subsequently detached the 60-gun HMS ''Achilles'' under Captain Samuel Barrington to support ''Dorsetshire''. Before ''Achilles'' could arrive, Denis succeeded in bringing ''Dorsetshire'' alongside the French ship and in a fierce

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 ...

engagement successfully forcing Rohan to

strike his colours Striking the colors—meaning lowering the flag (the "colors") that signifies a ship's or garrison's allegiance—is a universally recognized indication of surrender, particularly for ships at sea. For a ship, surrender is dated from the time th ...

. Barrington's ship only arrived in range in the final minutes, confirming the French surrender. French casualties were heavy, with 61 killed and 100 wounded, while losses on ''Dorsetshire'' numbered 15 killed and 21 wounded, one of whom subsequently died. ''Raisonnable'' was subsequently repaired and commissioned into the Royal Navy under the same name, serving until she was accidentally wrecked at

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 ...

in February 1762.Clowes, p.311 The Siege of Louisbourg went ahead in June 1758, and the city fell the following month, blockaded from reinforcement by the Royal Navy.Clowes, p.183

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book , last = Clowes , first = William Laird , author-link = William Laird Clowes , year = 1997 , orig-year= 1900 , title = The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume III , publisher = Chatham Publishing , location = London , isbn = 1-86176-012-4 Naval battles involving France Naval battles involving Great Britain Conflicts in 1758 Naval battles of the Seven Years' War Military history of the Bay of Biscay