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The Battle of Hudson's Bay, also known as the Battle of York Factory, was a naval battle fought during the
War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
(known in England's North American colonies as "
King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Allian ...
"). The battle took place on 5 September 1697, when a French warship commanded by
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...
defeated an English squadron commanded by Captain John Fletcher. As a result of this battle, the French took
York Factory York Factory was a settlement and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) factory (trading post) on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. York ...
, a trading post of the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
.


Prelude

During King William's War, France several times sent forces to Hudson Bay to capture or destroy the fort. In 1690, Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville tried but was driven away by a larger English ship. In 1694, d'Iberville returned and captured York Factory with a show of force; he renamed it Fort Bourbon. English naval forces returned the next year and retook the fort from its small French garrison. In 1697, D'Iberville's flagship, '' Pélican'' (44-guns), was part of a larger French squadron dispatched to contest English control of Hudson Bay. D'Iberville commanded ''Le Pélican'' (50 4cannons, captain Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville), a third-rate man-of-war cut for fifty guns, and with one hundred and fifty men ship's company. Serigny commanded the ''Le Profond'' (frigate/'storeship') (460 t, flûte de 32 canons 2 from Le Pélican commanded by Pierre Du Gué, Sieur de Boisbriand.). Boisbriant commanded ''Le Vesp/Weesph'' (frigate) (Capt. Chatrie (chevalier de Chastrier) a vessel of about 300 t with about 20–26 guns). ''Le Palmier'' (frigate) ( fifth-rate man-of-war, 300t, captain Joseph Le Moyne de Serigny) a vessel of about 20–26 guns, and originally the "Violent" renamed ''L'Esquimau/Esquimaux'' (the Eskimo), a supply ship (150 ton brigantine) Jean Outelas, Capt., capable of carrying from 10 to 12 guns; one report says the last was crushed by the ice pack. Before the battle, ''Pélican'' became separated from the rest of the French squadron in heavy fog, but D'Iberville elected to forge ahead. This set the stage for a little-known but spectacular single-ship action against heavy odds. As ''Pélican'' sailed south into clearer weather, she approached the trading post of York Factory, and a group of soldiers went ashore to scout out the fort. Captain D'Iberville remained on board ''Pélican''. While the shore party was scouting the fort, D'Iberville saw the sails and masts of approaching ships. Thinking the rest of his squadron had arrived, he set off to meet them. D'Iberville realized that the ships were not French, but were, instead, an English squadron when one fired a shot across the bow of ''Le Pélican''. The English squadron comprised the warship under Captain Fletcher, mounting 50 guns, HBC ''Royal Hudson's Bay'' (200 t) commanded by Capt. Nicholas Smithsend and mounting 32 guns, and HBC ''Dering'' (a third of this name owned by the HBC) (260 t) (Capt. Michael Grimington) mounting 36 guns.
Fireship A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the adv ...
HMS ''Owner's Love'' (217 t) (Capt. Lloyd), which also joined the expedition, was crushed by ice earlier in the passage of the
Hudson Strait Hudson Strait () in Nunavut links the Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and Nunavik, with its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut ...
.


Battle

D'Iberville, his shore party out of reach, elected to give battle. The battle began as a running fight, but after two and a half hours, D'Iberville closed with the English and a brutal broadside-to-broadside engagement took place between ''Pélican'' and ''Hampshire''. The English seemed to be gaining the upper hand with blood running from the scuppers of ''Pélican'' into the water. Captain Fletcher demanded that D'Iberville surrender, but D'Iberville refused. Fletcher is reported to have raised a glass of wine to toast D'Iberville's bravery when the next broadside from ''Pélican'' detonated ''Hampshire's'' powder magazine. ''Hampshire'' exploded and sank.


Aftermath

''Hudson's Bay'' and ''Dering'' seem to have played only a limited supporting role in the final stage of the engagement. ''Hudson's Bay'' was damaged and struck her colors to ''Pélican'' after ''Hampshire'' blew up. ''Dering'' broke off the engagement and fled, but ''Pélican'' was too badly damaged to pursue. ''Pélican'' was also fatally damaged in the battle. Holed below the waterline, the ship had to be abandoned, but the arrival of the remainder of the French squadron shortly thereafter led to the surrender of York Factory on 13 September 1697, and the continuation of D'Iberville's remarkable career. York Factory was held by the French until 1713, when it was returned to the British in the
Peace of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
.


See also

* List of Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudsons Bay (1697) 1697 in North America 17th century in Canada Battles involving the Hudson's Bay Company Conflicts in 1697 Conflicts in Canada King William's War Military history of Manitoba Naval battles of the Nine Years' War involving England Naval battles of the Nine Years' War involving France New France