Croisière de Bruix
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Croisière de Bruix'' (or Bruix' expedition of 1799) was the principal naval campaign of the year 1799 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 France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
. The expedition began in April 1799 when the bulk of the French Atlantic Fleet under Vice-Admiral
Étienne Eustache Bruix Étienne Eustache Bruix ( Fort-Dauphin, Saint-Domingue, 17 July 1759 – Paris, 18 March 1805) was a French Navy officer and admiral, and Minister of the Navy. Life Bruix was born to a family from Béarn. He started sailing as a volunteer o ...
departed the base at
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 ...
, evading the British Channel Fleet which was blockading the port and tricking the commander Admiral Lord Bridport into believing their true destination was
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. Passing southwards, the French fleet narrowly missed joining with an allied
Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
squadron at Ferrol and was prevented by an easterly gale from uniting with the main Spanish fleet at
Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
before entering the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
. The Mediterranean was under British control following the destruction of the French Mediterranean Fleet at the Battle of the Nile in August 1798, and a British fleet nominally under Admiral
Earl St Vincent Viscount St Vincent, of Meaford in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 27 April 1801 for the noted naval commander John Jervis, Earl of St Vincent, with remainder to his nephews William H ...
was stationed there. Due however to St. Vincent's ill-health, operational control rested with Vice-Admiral Lord Keith. As Keith sought to chase down the French, the Spanish fleet followed Bruix into the Mediterranean before being badly damaged in a gale and sheltering in Cartagena. Bruix successfully evaded Keith's pursuit, briefly putting in at
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
and then operating off the Italian coast in June. Keith belatedly followed Bruix' trail, his progress obstructed by distant orders from St Vincent and disobedience from Vice-Admiral
Lord Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...
who commanded a separate squadron at Palermo and refused to participate in the campaign due to his preoccupation with the political situation in
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. By the time Keith reached Toulon the French admiral had sailed westwards once more, joining with the Spanish force at Cartagena to form a fleet of 40 ships of the line. In early July, unaware that Bruix had returned through the Straits of Gibraltar to the Atlantic, Keith was joined by a heavy reinforcement sent by Bridport and reprovisioned his force at
Port Mahon A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
and
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
before renewing the chase. During late July and early August Keith pursued Bruix into the Atlantic and rapidly closed the gap between the fleets as they crossed the Bay of Biscay. Ultimately however Bruix reached Brest on 13 August, just one day ahead of Keith, unopposed by the remainder of Bridport's fleet which was stationed off
Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
blockading a Spanish squadron from Ferrol anchored there. Although Bruix achieved the union of the French and Spanish fleets, his operation made little difference to the ongoing strategic situation, the combined allied fleet remaining inactive at Brest for the next two years. During his time in the Mediterranean Bruix failed to exert any significant influence on the region: in June he escorted a supply convoy to the Northwestern Italian coast, but the smaller British and Russian forces operating off
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
, Corfu and
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
were left unmolested, and those blockades continued with minimal disruption. In the aftermath Keith was criticised for his failure to bring the French and Spanish fleets to action, although interference and disobedience among his fellow commanders also contributed heavily to Bruix' escape.


Background

At the start of 1799 the
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 ...
exercised dominance in European waters 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 France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...
. In Northern Europe the Channel Fleet enforced a
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 ...
against the French Atlantic Fleet, with the fleet base at
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 ...
in
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
especially targeted.Gardiner, p. 97 Although the Brest fleet was strong, numbering 25 ships of the line with five more nearing completion, it had suffered a series of defeats that had left it demoralised. In June 1794 seven ships had been lost at the battle of the
Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...
when it sallied out to successfully protect a grain convoy, five more sank in winter storms during the disastrous ''
Croisière du Grand Hiver The ''Croisière du Grand Hiver'' (French "Campaign of the Great Winter") was a French attempt to organise a winter naval campaign in the wake of the Glorious First of June. Context The Glorious First of June had ended on a strategic success f ...
'' operation early in 1795 and in June of that year three more were lost at the
Battle of Groix The Battle of Groix was a large naval engagement which took place near the island of Groix off the Biscay coast of Brittany on 23 June 1795 ( 5 messidor an III) during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle was fought between elements of the ...
. During the ''
Expédition d'Irlande The French expedition to Ireland, known in French as the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' ("Expedition to Ireland"), was an unsuccessful attempt by the French Republic to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican ...
'' in December 1796 another two ships were lost, a ship was lost in the approaches to Brest itself at the Battle of the Raz de Sein in April 1798 and in October 1798 a belated attempt to influence the Irish Rebellion had been crushed at the Battle of Tory Island, with further losses.Gardiner, p. 115 British squadrons patrolled the approaches to Brest and the other harbours along the Bay of Biscay, supported by the main body of the Channel Fleet, consisting of 19 ships of the line under the command of the 72-year-old Admiral Lord Bridport.James, p. 254 In Southern Europe the French position was altogether more desperate. In the summer of 1798 the French Mediterranean Fleet had departed its base of
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
escorting a large fleet of transports carrying an army under General
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
for the Invasion of Egypt.James, p. 150 The French had believed that their passage would be unopposed as the Royal Navy had abandoned the Mediterranean Sea in 1796 following the Treaty of San Ildefonso, under the secret terms of which the
Kingdom of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
had made peace with the French Republic and declared war on
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
. Retreating to the base at Lisbon, the British Mediterranean Fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis had concentrated on blockading the main Spanish Fleet based at Cadiz.Gardiner, p. 13 On 14 February 1797 the Spanish had suffered a defeat at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, for which Jervis was made Earl of St Vincent, and the Spanish retreated to Cadiz, remaining in harbour for the next two years.Clowes, p. 320 To intercept the French expedition to Egypt, Lord Spencer at the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
ordered Earl St. Vincent to dispatch a fleet of his own under Rear-Admiral
Sir Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
. Nelson tracked the French across the Mediterranean but was unable to discover the invasion fleet until after the troops were ashore.Mostert, p. 257 On 1 August 1798 Nelson attacked the French fleet anchored in Aboukir Bay near
Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
. The ensuing Battle of the Nile was a crushing victory for Nelson: eleven of the 13 French ships of the line were captured or destroyed and Napoleon's army was trapped in Egypt.Adkins, p. 37 The destruction of the French fleet encouraged the allies to form a new coalition against the French and the
War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...
began soon afterwards.Rodger, p. 461 Royal Navy forces returned to the Mediterranean and blockades were imposed on the principal French bases, including Alexandria and
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
under the command of Nelson at Palermo with three ships on each station.Mostert, p. 344 The Spanish base at
Port Mahon A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
on
Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capi ...
was captured by a British expeditionary force in November 1798 and it was there that St. Vincent, suffering from a prolonged bout of ill-health, had retired, leaving command of the Cadiz blockade fleet to Vice-Admiral Lord Keith. Keith mustered 16 ships of the line and could potentially call on Nelson and the squadron under Rear-Admiral
John Thomas Duckworth Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB (9 February 174831 August 1817) was an officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, as the Governor ...
at Menorca should he require their assistance. The 19 ships of the Spanish fleet at Cadiz were the only remaining force in Southern Europe that could trouble British control of the Mediterranean.


Expedition


Departure from Brest

In early 1799 the French Directory ordered the commander of the Atlantic Fleet, Vice-Admiral
Étienne Eustache Bruix Étienne Eustache Bruix ( Fort-Dauphin, Saint-Domingue, 17 July 1759 – Paris, 18 March 1805) was a French Navy officer and admiral, and Minister of the Navy. Life Bruix was born to a family from Béarn. He started sailing as a volunteer o ...
to take his fleet to sea, with the express intention of ending British dominance in the Mediterranean and relieving the army trapped in Egypt. The force Bruix mustered was one of the most numerous and strongest fleets to sail during the French Revolutionary Wars. It included four ships of more than 100 guns, two 80-gun and 19 74-gun ships of the line accompanied by six frigates two
corvettes A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloop ...
and two
aviso An ''aviso'' was originally a kind of dispatch boat or "advice boat", carrying orders before the development of effective remote communication. The term, derived from the Portuguese and Spanish word for "advice", "notice" or "warning", an ...
s. The ships were fully manned, the 100-gun ships carrying more than a thousand crew each and the total number of sailors estimated at 23,761 with an additional 100 soldiers. Unusually for a French fleet of this era, the crews were also experienced men; many having served in the squadrons of French gunboats that defended the coast against the blockade squadrons of the Royal Navy.James, p. 255 Bruix' orders were to reclaim the Mediterranean by relieving Malta and the island of Corfu which, unbeknownst to the French, had just fallen to a Russian expeditionary force. The fleet was then instructed to convoy supplies and reinforcements to the army in Egypt.Mostert, p. 345 The destination of this force was well hidden: French newspapers announced the intention of the fleet was to convey another expeditionary force to Ireland following the failure at Tory Island in October 1798.James, p. 256 On 27 April 1799, when the French fleet was already at sea, a ''
chasse-marée In English, a chasse-marée is a specific, archaic type of decked commercial sailing vessel. In French, ''un chasse-marée'' was 'a wholesale fishmonger', originally on the Channel coast of France and later, on the Atlantic coast as well. The ...
'' ''Rebecca'' allowed itself to be captured by the armed
lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively ...
''Black Joke''. On board the French vessel was a naval captain who was carrying false dispatches which identified Ireland as the target.Clowes, p. 381 This information encouraged the Admiralty to consider Ireland the most likely target They consequently ordered Bridport to make the defence of Ireland his highest priority,Rodger, p. 462 although many naval officers questioned the circumstances in which ''Rebecca'' was captured, correctly guessing that the dispatches were fakes.Gardiner, p. 124 The blockade of Brest had been prosecuted since January 1799 by a large battle squadron while the majority of the Channel Fleet waited for the calmer spring weather: Bridport's main force departed the anchorage at St Helens on 13 April. On 16 April the blockade squadron sighted and chased a French resupply convoy, which reached Brest unmolested; Bridport arrived the following day.Clowes, p. 380 on 25 April he sent scouts to investigate Brest, discovering 18 ships of the line ready to sail. Due to strong northeasterly winds, Bridport then ordered his fleet to sail out of the Iroise Passage at the entrance to Brest Roadstead and hold station instead to the southwest of the island of
Ushant Ushant (; br, Eusa, ; french: Ouessant, ) is a French island at the southwestern end of the English Channel which marks the westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and, in medieval terms, Léon. In lower tiers of govern ...
.Mostert, p. 343 Bridport's movement had left a significant gap in the blockade: taking advantage of the empty Iroise, Bruix ordered his fleet to sea on the evening of 25 April passing through the Iroise and then southwards around the Saintes Rocks. On the morning of 26 April the patrolling British frigate HMS ''Nymphe'' under Captain Percy Fraser discovered the French fleet and immediately sailed in search of Bridport, discovering the Channel Fleet at 13:00 and signalling the presence of the French to HMS ''Dragon'', which passed the message on to the admiral. Bridport's first reaction was to return to the Iroise and determine the truth of Fraser's report. On discovering that the French had indeed sailed, he sent messages to the Admiralty, Lord Keith and Earl St. Vincent and then turned his ships north with instructions for reinforcements to join him off Cape Clear. By 30 April he had mustered 26 ships of the line off the Irish Coast in anticipation of the arrival of the French force, which he still expected imminently despite warnings from British merchant captains that the French had been sighted sailing southwest.


Cádiz

Bruix was not sailing to Ireland. Passing far out into the Atlantic, the French fleet, described as "one of the best manned and best found fleets that ever issued from a French harbour", turned southwest on 30 April for the coast of Spain, passing the base at Ferrol. Bruix had hoped to bring out the five ships of the Spanish squadron in the port, but these ships had already sailed to Corunna in anticipation of Bruix' arrival and the two forces missed one another.Woodman, p. 120 Continuing southwards, Bruix' force sighted a sail on 1 May while west of the Portuguese city of
Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...
. Bruix sent frigates in pursuit of the stranger but was unable to catch it, and the new arrival, the British frigate HMS ''Success'' under Captain Shuldham Peard was able to escape to the south at 16:00 on 2 May.James, p. 257 Peard sailed directly for the Cadiz blockade fleet under Keith, which had just returned to its station after replenishing its supplies at
Tétouan Tétouan ( ar, تطوان, tiṭwān, ber, ⵜⵉⵟⵟⴰⵡⴰⵏ, tiṭṭawan; es, Tetuán) is a city in northern Morocco. It lies along the Martil Valley and is one of the two major ports of Morocco on the Mediterranean Sea, a few miles so ...
and on 3 May he notified the admiral of the size of the approaching fleet. Although Keith had only 15 ships under his command, he ordered his force to prepare for battle. At 08:30 on 4 May the French fleet was sighted to the northwest. With the British fleet deployed in a
line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...
between Bruix' force and Cádiz, the French admiral ordered his ships to
tack TACK is a group of archaea acronym for Thaumarchaeota (now Nitrososphaerota), Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), and Korarchaeota, the first groups discovered. They are found in different environments ranging from acidophilic th ...
to
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
towards the northeast.James, p. 258 Keith, who later said that he was "between the devil and the deep sea", manoeuvred his forces so that his fleet was sailing parallel with the French, still blocking access to Cádiz in the face of a rising
storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
. Recognising that access to the port was blocked and that conditions made it impossible for the Spanish fleet, trapped in Cádiz by the wind, to join his force,Mostert, p. 346 Bruix followed his standing orders to avoid delay through battle and turned his fleet away to the southwest. By 17:00 the French force had disappeared, although four stragglers were sighted on the morning of 5 May. As Keith maintained station off the Spanish port, Bruix made use of the storm to blow his ships straight through the Straits of Gibraltar, from where they were sighted at 17:00 on 5 May. As they passed through the straits, two of the French fleet collided with one another and were badly damaged, concerning Bruix sufficiently to alter his plans and steer for Toulon. As the French pushed eastwards, Keith cast south for them on 6 May, cruising off Cape Spartel. The British fleet returned to Cádiz on 8 May and observed that the Spanish fleet was not ready to put to sea, although a French ship damaged in the storm, '' Censeur'', had managed to enter the port for urgent repairs.Clowes, p. 382 On 9 May Keith received orders from St Vincent to abandon the Cádiz blockade and pursue Bruix into the Mediterranean and so he sailed for the
Bay of Gibraltar The Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeciras), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait ...
. Due to the storm, dispatch vessels could not sail westwards through the Straits and St Vincent was forced to send the orders overland, arranging special diplomatic passage for a courier to Lisbon who made his way to Faro and from there procured passage to Cádiz Bay.Mostert, p. 347 At Gibraltar, St Vincent had sent a flurry of instructions, recalling HMS ''Edgar'' from Tétouan and ordering the seriously ill Rear-Admiral Thomas Frederick to make it his flagship. Warnings were sent to the other British officers commanding stations in the Mediterranean, including Duckworth at Menorca, Nelson at Palermo,
Alexander Ball Sir Alexander John Ball, 1st Baronet ( it, Alessandro Giovanni Ball, 22 July 1757 – 25 October 1809) was a Rear-Admiral and Civil Commissioner of Malta. He was born in Ebworth Park, Sheepscombe, Gloucestershire. He was the fourth son of Rober ...
at the Siege of Malta and Sir Sidney Smith off Alexandria.James, p. 259 Additional support was also urgently requested from Bridport, although reinforcements from that quarter would take weeks to arrive.Mostert, p. 348 The only immediate response was from Nelson, who withdrew Ball's forces from Malta and took a station off
Marettimo Marettimo (; Sicilian: ''Marrètimu'') is one of the Aegadian Islands in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily, Italy. It forms a part of the municipality (''comune'') of Favignana in the Province of Trapani. It takes about an hour to reach the ...
with seven ships, pledging that "the squadron under my command shall never fall into the hands of the enemy; and before we are destroyed the enemy shall have their wings so completely clipped they shall be easily overtaken by you." Keith's force arrived at Gibraltar on 10 May and by 11 May was reprovisioned and ready to continue the pursuit with St. Vincent now in command, passing through a severe
gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Clowes, p. 384 The only ship damaged in the storm was ''Edgar'', which had grounded and was forced to make repairs in Port Mahon.James, p. 260 In early May the Spanish squadron at Ferrol, having missed Bruix at Corunna, came under observation by the large 44-gun frigate HMS ''Indefatigable'' under Captain Henry Curzon.James, p. 268 On 8 May Curzon sailed in search of Bridport to warn him that the Ferrol squadron was at sea, and in his absence the Spanish sailed from Corunna, intending to anchor at Brest and await the French return. Concerned about meeting Bridport's fleet off the port however the Spanish squadron eventually put into
Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...
instead. On 1 June Bridport finally realised that the Irish invasion plan had been a ruse and detached a fleet of 16 ships under Admiral Sir Alan Gardner to join Keith in the Mediterranean. Bridport then stationed eight ships and four frigates off Rochefort under Rear-Admiral Charles Maurice Pole accompanied by three bomb vessels. On 2 July, Pole sent the bomb vessels and frigates into Basque Roads to attack the anchored Spanish squadron, which responded with a squadron of
gunboats A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-stea ...
. Although the two sides bombarded one another throughout the day there were no casualties or serious damage, the British withdrawal allowing the French government to pronounce the engagement as a victory.Clowes, p. 389 The Spanish squadron remained under blockade throughout the remainder of the campaign, eventually slipping past Pole's force in September and, after an abortive attempt to reach Brest, retiring to Ferrol.


Toulon, Genoa and Cartagena

While Keith was entering the Mediterranean, Bruix used the favourable winds to carry him northeast unmolested, protecting his damaged ships and reaching Toulon safely on 13 May. On 22 May St Vincent's fleet of 20 ships sailed from Port Mahon, intending to pursue Bruix to Toulon. On 26 May however news reached St Vincent of a threat to his rear: the Spanish fleet at Cadiz had finally put to sea. The fleet had departed on 14 May under the command of Admiral Mazarredo with 17 ships, passing Gibraltar and turning northeast in search of Bruix. The Spanish ships were in poor condition however and the storm of 17 May inflicted enormous damage, with 12 ships no longer seaworthy. Hastily abandoning plans to follow Bruix, Mazarredo turned his fleet towards the safety of Cartagena, the principal Spanish Mediterranean naval base, arriving on 20 May. Perceiving the Spanish as the greater threat, St Vincent ordered his ships to hold station at Cape San Sebastian in
Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...
in case the fleets attempted to combine.James, p. 261 As St Vincent patrolled the Spanish coast, Bruix's fleet returned to sea on 27 May, accompanied by eleven smaller warships and two small ships of the line laden with stores and provisions armed '' en flute''. The two damaged ships remained in harbour and so the force mustered 22 ships of the line.James, p. 263 In Northern Italy French forces had been forced back by the Austrian Army and Bruix was ordered to resupply besieged French cities along the coast. Sailing eastwards unopposed, the fleet anchored off
Vado Ligure Vado Ligure ( lij, Voæ), in antiquity Vada Sabatia, is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Savona, Liguria, in northern Italy. Economy Vado has a large industrial and commercial port. Vado Ligure is home to a railway construction plant, ...
on 30 May and the troops carried aboard were landed for service against the Austrian and Russian armies then engaged against the French in Northern Italy, relieving the besieged city of Savona.Clowes, p. 386 On 3 June the fleet arrived at
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, under siege with the defence led by General
André Masséna André Masséna, Prince of Essling, Duke of Rivoli (born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.Donald D. Horward, ed., trans, annotated, The Fre ...
.Mostert, p. 350 On 5 June the fleet disembarked the stores and provisions for General
Jean Moreau Adrien Édouard Jean Moreau (31 July 1888 – 5 June 1972) was a French politician. Moreau was born in Paris. He belonged first to the Republican Party of Liberty (1945–1946), then to the Independent Republicans (1946–1955) and then to ...
's army, the general holding a conference on Bruix' flagship ''Océan''. On 6 June, following reports that the British fleet had appeared off Toulon, Bruix sailed from Genoa, his fleet returning westward to Toulon.James, p. 264 While Bruix was supplying the French armies in Northern Italy, St Vincent's fleet had been augmented on 30 May by a squadron of five ships under Rear-Admiral James Hawkins-Whitshead. This reinforcement persuaded St Vincent to send Rear-Admiral Duckworth and four ships to join Nelson at Palermo in case he should come under attack by the French. On 1 June, St Vincent cast south off
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in the hope of encountering the Spanish fleet and then, finding nothing, returned northeastwards towards Toulon. On 2 June St Vincent's health failed and he turned command over to Keith, taking his flagship HMS ''Ville de Paris'' back to Port Mahon. Keith continued to Toulon and on 3 June sent HMS ''Centaur'' and HMS ''Montagu'' to scout the port. These ships intercepted a coastal convoy at the entrance to the harbour, burning four settees and coming under ineffective fire from the Toulon batteries.James, p. 262 From prisoners removed from the settees, it was learned that Bruix was at sea to the eastwards and Keith immediately acted on the information by setting off in pursuit. Off Fréjus Keith's force encountered the British armed brig ''Telegraph'' the commander of which reported that the French were off Vado Ligure. The following day the British fleet passed Antibes where batteries on offshore islands opened an ineffective fire on the attached brig HMS ''Espoir''.


Return to the Atlantic

On 8 June, off Cape delle Melle, dispatches reached the fleet from St Vincent, who ordered Keith to abandon pursuit and return to Rosas to prevent a junction of the French fleet and the Spanish in Cartagena. Keith was also instructed to send two more ships to Nelson at Palermo with orders to take his squadron, now mustering 18 ships of the line including three Portuguese vessels by withdrawing Ball's blockade force from Malta, in search of the French fleet. Nelson angrily refused Keith's order. Since late 1798, Nelson had become embroiled in the politics of the Kingdom of Naples, having encouraged King Ferdinand to go to war with France. The Neapolitan army had been defeated,
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
fell to the French armies and the city became the centre of the short-lived
Parthenopean Republic The Parthenopean Republic ( it, Repubblica Partenopea, french: République Parthénopéenne) or Neapolitan Republic (''Repubblica Napoletana'') was a short-lived, semi-autonomous republic located within the Kingdom of Naples and supported by the ...
.Gardiner, p. 49 Nelson had evacuated the Neapolitan royal family to Palermo and made a personal vow to Queen Maria Carolina not to leave them unsupported. He had also begun his notorious affair with
Emma, Lady Hamilton Dame Emma Hamilton (born Amy Lyon; 26 April 176515 January 1815), generally known as Lady Hamilton, was an English maid, model, dancer and actress. She began her career in London's demi-monde, becoming the mistress of a series of wealthy me ...
, wife of the British ambassador to Naples Sir William Hamilton. To follow Keith's orders would have meant breaking his promise and abandoning both women in Palermo.Forester, p. 137 He was also concerned for his reputation: the French force was significantly stronger than his own fleet both in number and size of ships and a battle could well have ended in defeat, while to refuse combat would have been heavily criticised in Britain.Forester, p. 138 Keith, concerned for the undefended base at Menorca, did not steer for Rosas immediately. Instead he first sailed via the island to collect ''Ville de Paris'', which had left St Vincent at Port Mahon. On 13 June, Keith took over HMS ''Queen Charlotte'' as his flagship and on 15 June ''Ville de Paris'' rejoined the fleet, following which Keith turned northwards towards Cape Sicie near Toulon.Clowes, p. 385 On 19 June, south of Toulon, the advance squadron of Keith's fleet encountered a squadron of French frigates. This force, consisting of the frigates ''Junon'', ''Alceste'' and ''Courageuse'' and the brigs ''Alerte'' and ''Salamine'' was under the command of Contre-Amiral
Jean-Baptiste Perrée Jean-Baptiste Perrée (19 December 1761Levot, p.394 in 1866 write 19 April 1761 – 18 February 1800Levot, p.395) was a French Navy officer and Rear-admiral. Career Born to a family of sailors in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, Perrée started sailing i ...
, sailing to Toulon from Jaffa. The squadron had been protecting French coastal supply convoys during Bonaparte's Syrian Campaign: on 4 May ''Salamine'' had captured the 10-gun
polacre A polacca (or ''polacre'') is a type of seventeenth- to nineteenth-century sailing vessel, similar to the xebec. The name is the feminine of "Polish" in the Italian language. The polacca was frequently seen in the Mediterranean. It had two or th ...
HMS ''Fortune'' off Jaffa. Ordered to return to France, the squadron had departed Jaffa on 17 May and had almost reached Toulon when it was discovered.Clowes, p. 522 Perrée's force was unable to outrun Keith's advance squadron of ships of the line HMS ''Captain'', HMS ''Centaur'' and HMS ''Bellona'' with frigates HMS ''Emerald'' and HMS ''Santa Teresa'' in support. Faced with overwhelming opposition, the French squadron surrendered, all five ships subsequently being commissioned into the Royal Navy, although ''Junon'', renamed HMS ''Princess Charlotte'', was considered to be a more valuable prize than all of the others together.James, p. 263 On 20 June Keith arrived off Toulon to find that the French fleet was not in the harbour. He remained off the port until 23 June in the hope of their arrival and then turned eastwards to investigate first Vado Ligure and then Genoa, where coastal forts fired on the scouting
brig-sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...
HMS ''Vincejo'', which escaped by hosting a false
Spanish flag The national flag of Spain ( es, Bandera de España), as it is defined in the Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle ...
. Learning off Genoa that the French fleet had departed over a month ago, Keith turned back towards Menorca. Bruix had in fact stolen a considerable march on Keith's pursuit. Having left Genoa on 6 June, the French fleet passed Toulon on 9 June without stopping. As Keith waited off Menorca', Bruix sailed down the Spanish coastline and arrived off Cartagena on 22 June while Keith was watching Toulon.Mostert, p. 349 The Spanish fleet had conducted extensive repairs in the month since the storm in the Straits of Gibraltar and was almost ready for sea once more, the combined fleets now mustering 39 ships, having left ''Censeur'' at Cadiz and two more French ships at Toulon for urgent repairs. At Cartagena the combined fleet assisted in the loading of a troop convoy carrying 5,000 Spanish soldiers to reinforce the garrison at Majorca and sailed on 24 June for Cadiz. Keith's 19 ships arrived off Menorca once again on 6 July and the following day joined with the substantial reinforcement of 12 ships of the line commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton and Rear-Admiral
Cuthbert Collingwood Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as ...
. This force had been detached from the Channel Fleet by Lord Bridport following his realisation that the French fleet was not intended for Ireland. It had originally included 16 vessels, but four had detached under Admiral Gardner at Lisbon where he had encountered the convoy of prizes returning slowly from the Nile and the large annual merchant convoy from Portugal, both of which Gardner escorted back to Britain safely.James, p. 265 Thus reinforced, Keith entered Port Mahon to procure water only to learn of the French arrival at Cartagena. By 10 July the British fleet was ready to sail, Keith twice ordering Nelson to detach ships from his squadron to protect Menorca. Nelson however had by this time abandoned his station at Marettimo without orders and was, at the request of Queen Maria Carolina, stationed in the Bay of Naples. Nelson had previously ignored Keith's orders to focus on his operations around Naples,Adkins, p. 61 but on 22 July eventually sent a small squadron to Menorca.Mostert, p. 355 Aware that the combined fleet would not stay at Cartagena, Keith sailed for Gibraltar directly, collecting more supplies at Tétouan on 26 July and entering the Straits on 29 July.James, p. 267


Retirement to Brest

The combined fleet was at this stage three weeks ahead of Keith's pursuit. During the night of 7 July Bruix' force had passed Gibraltar, the Spanish ships randomly firing on two Algerian ships as they passed. At Gibraltar St. Vincent, who was traveling back to Britain on the frigate HMS ''Argo'' and had paused in the port, ordered a ship to be sent to investigate the firing and dispatched the 18-gun hired armed cutter ''Penelope'' under Lieutenant
Frederick Lewis Maitland Rear-Admiral Sir Frederick Lewis Maitland (7 September 177730 November 1839) was an officer in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He rose to the rank of rear admiral and held a number of commands. The most ...
. As dawn rose on 8 July, Maitland found that he had sailed into the Spanish division of the fleet. In calm conditions, Maitland managed to drive off the Spanish brig ''Vivo'' but was forced to surrender soon afterwards to the frigate ''Carmen''. In the hold the captors found a large cargo of
specie Specie may refer to: * Coins or other metal money in mass circulation * Bullion coins * Hard money (policy) * Commodity money Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects ...
that had inadvertently been left on board.James, p. 266 Between 10 and 12 July the combined fleet arrived at Cádiz, where the two ships left at Toulon rejoined the fleet although ''Censeur'' was discovered to be damaged beyond repair and so was transferred to the Spanish Navy, the French receiving the ''San Sebastian'', renamed ''Alliance'', in return. On 21 July, with no sign of the British blockade returning, Bruix' fleet put to sea again, although the 112-gun Spanish ships ''Mexicano'' and ''Santa Ana'' were forced to return after ''Santa Ana'' ran aground while leaving the harbour. Bruix fleet now numbered 59 ships, of which 40 were ships of the line. The combined fleet turned north, passing up the Portuguese coast.Clowes, p. 387 On 30 July, nine days after Bruix' departure, Keith's fleet sailed from Gibraltar. Over the next nine days the British fleet followed Bruix, although Keith was unsure of his location or destination. On 8 August off Cape Finisterre a Danish ship reported sighting the combined fleet two days previously to the northeast. The following day the frigate HMS ''Stag'' under Captain
Joseph Sydney Yorke Admiral Sir Joseph Sydney Yorke KCB (6 June 1768 – 5 May 1831) was an officer of the Royal Navy. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of the Saintes in April 1782 during the American Revolutionary War. He commanded at the defeat ...
joined the fleet having sighted Bruix' force off Cape Ortegal sailing for the Bay of Biscay. On 12 August the British fleet was from Ushant with no sign of the combined fleet and on 14 August Keith sent a scouting squadron to investigate the
Roadstead of Brest The roadstead of Brest (''rade de Brest'') is a roadstead or bay located in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. The surface area is about 180 km² (70 sq mi). The port of Brest and one of the two French naval ...
. This force, consisting of HMS ''Impetueux'', HMS ''Pompee'' and HMS ''Ethalion'' under the command of Captain
Sir Edward Pellew Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother I ...
, closed with the anchorage and discovered the combined fleet there. Bruix had arrived only the day before.


Aftermath

For all the vast effort expended by both sides, the ''Croisière de Bruix'' comprised a catalogue of failures. Bruix had successfully evaded pursuit by the main strength of the Royal Navy for more than three months, undermined British control of the Mediterranean and had united with the principal Spanish fleet to create the largest fleet anywhere in the world at that time: some 47 ships of the line.Clowes, p. 388 This force was now anchored in the strongest French Atlantic naval base which ostensibly controlled access to the English Channel. For the next two and a half years, until the Peace of Amiens brought the French Revolutionary Wars to a close, the fleet remained at anchor: Bruix' expedition was the last time during the war that either the French or the Spanish deployed their full naval force.Gardiner, p. 99 A major cause of this reluctance to sail was daily visible from Brest: The British Channel Fleet. Aware that losing control of the English Channel could mean an invasion of Britain, the Admiralty ordered a rejuvenated St. Vincent to assume command of the fleet, now numbering 30 ships of the line. St Vincent ordered his fleet to remain on constant vigil, only retiring from the blockade in the very worst weather, and then only to an offshore anchorage in
Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...
, not to their home port at
Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshire ...
. In the wider strategic situation of Northern Europe, the ''Croisière de Bruix'' had achieved nothing: historian N. A. M. Rodger has called it a "brilliant failure", noting that "Tactical skill combined with irrational and unpredictable changes of strategy had baffled British pursuit, but ruixhad made nothing of his opportunities to change the course of the war at sea."Rodger, p. 463 In the Mediterranean theatre too, little had been achieved. The convoy operation to Genoa in June could have been equally achieved with a small frigate escort rather than the full force of the French Atlantic Fleet, while the smaller allied forces in the Eastern Mediterranean could have been easily swept away by Bruix' superior numbers had he deployed them: Nelson at Palermo had only ten ships to protect the blockade forces at Malta and Alexandria and the Russians at the recently captured island of Corfu. Had Bruix sought to relieve these blockades the British would have been powerless to stop him.Mostert, p. 356 By failing to directly challenge British control of the Mediterranean and by removing the Spanish fleet from the region, Bruix' expedition actually weakened the French position still further, allowing the Russians control of the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...
and the British to capture Malta in 1800 and Egypt in 1801 without opposition at sea.Gardiner, p. 125 For the Royal Navy the campaign highlighted serious problems in the highest command of the Mediterranean theatre. The infirmity of Earl St. Vincent did not prevent him from attempting to interfere with Keith's operational command at a distance, a situation that may have caused Keith to miss the French fleet in early June, when St Vincent ordered Keith to return to Rosas rather than continue pursuit towards Toulon, although historian
William Laird Clowes Sir William Laird Clowes (1 February 1856 – 14 August 1905) was a British journalist and historian whose principal work was ''The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900'', a text that is still in print. He also wrote numerous ...
lays the blame for this error with Keith. Keith compounded this confusion by returning to Menorca against instructions to collect ''Ville de Paris'', which ship St Vincent had removed from the fleet to take him to Port Mahon.
William James William James (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American philosopher, historian, and psychologist, and the first educator to offer a psychology course in the United States. James is considered to be a leading thinker of the lat ...
opines that a frigate would have sufficed without weakening Keith's fleet, although Clowes points out that in these strategic pursuits at sea the more agile frigates were more valuable than lumbering
first rate In the rating system of the British Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a first rate was the designation for the largest ships of the line. Originating in the Jacobean era with the designation of Ships Royal capable of carrying at ...
s. Further problems were caused by Nelson's deliberate obstruction at Palermo, which had forced Keith to cover a much wider range of the Mediterranean that he had intended. Nelson's reputation in Britain, which had been so concerned to protect, had been seriously damaged as a result. In summarising the confusion, historian Noel Mostert notes that "in such a strategic situation, blame could fly in any direction." Given the delays and missteps it was remarkable and a testament to the skill of his crews and captains that Keith made up so much distance in the final days of the campaign, and had the combined fleet had a little further to travel, he might have caught them.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * {{cite book , last = Rodger , first = N.A.M. , author-link = Nicholas Rodger , year = 2004 , title = The Command of the Ocean , publisher = Allan Lane , isbn = 0-7139-9411-8 Campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars 1799 in military history