Action of 13 March 1806

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Action of 13 March 1806
Part of the War of the Third Coalition

The London Man of War capturing the Marengo Admiral Linois, 13 March 1806, "W. C. I."
Date13 March 1806
Location
Off the Canary Islands, Atlantic Ocean
26°16′N 29°25′W / 26.267°N 29.417°W / 26.267; -29.417
Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom France
Commanders and leaders
John Warren Charles Linois  Surrendered
Strength
7 ships of the line
1 frigate		 1 ship of the line
1 frigate
Casualties and losses
40 killed and wounded 175 killed and wounded
1 ship of the line captured
1 frigate captured

The action of 13 March 1806 was a naval engagement of the

Peace of Amiens. Linois raided British shipping lanes and harbours across the region, achieving limited success against undefended merchant ships but repeatedly withdrawing in the face of determined opposition, most notably at the Battle of Pulo Aura in February 1804. With his stores almost exhausted and the French ports east of the Cape of Good Hope
that could have offered him replenishment eliminated, Linois decided to return to France in January 1806, and by March was inadvertently sailing across the cruising ground of Warren's squadron.

Linois had twice failed to capture, or even seriously engage, large and valuable British merchant convoys on his cruise. When he saw scattered sails in the distance at 03:00 on 13 March 1806, he decided to investigate in his

Belle Poule attempted to escape from the approaching squadron independently, but was also run down and brought to battle by the British frigate HMS Amazon
. Both engagements lasted over three hours and were bloody, the French ships surrendering after three and a half hours and losing nearly 70 men between them.

The battle marked the end of Linois's three-year campaign against British trade and was the second British victory of the Atlantic campaign, following the Battle of San Domingo the previous month. Willaumez eventually returned to France, although without many of his squadron who were destroyed by British operations or Atlantic gales. Linois, despite the criticism levelled at him for his failures in the Indian Ocean, was considered to have fought hard and been unlucky to have encountered such an overwhelming force. Made a prisoner of war, Linois was not exchanged by Napoleon, who criticised his behaviour during the campaign and refused to employ him at sea again.

Background

Further information: Linois's expedition to the Indian Ocean
An engraving of Sir John Borlase Warren, by Daniel Orme

By March 1806, the French squadron under Contre-Admiral

Charles Decaen.[4]

An engraving of Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois, by Antoine Maurin.

Six months later, Linois was operating off the Indian port of

Belle Poule, sailing northwards and crossing the equator on 17 February.[10]

Unknown to Linois, he was sailing directly into the middle of a complex series of manoeuvres by British and French squadrons known as the

Cadiz. Duckworth pursued Lessigues to the Caribbean and on 6 February annihilated his force at the Battle of San Domingo, but Willaumez avoided encountering any of the squadrons sent to intercept him. Anticipating Willaumez's return to France, the remaining British squadrons took up station in the Mid-Atlantic.[13]

Battle

On 13 March 1806, Warren's squadron was cruising in the Eastern Atlantic. Most of the squadron were grouped to the northwest, but

Sir Harry Burrard-Neale and the flagship HMS Foudroyant under Captain John Chambers White were sailing together some distance from the rest of the British force, in company with the frigate HMS Amazon under Captain William Parker.[14] At 03:00, sails were spotted to the north-east by lookouts on London. Hastening in pursuit with the wind from the south-west, Captain Neale signalled the location of the strange ships to Warren with blue lights, the admiral following with Amazon and the rest of the squadron trailing behind. To the north-east, Linois had also sighted sails in the distance and turned Marengo south-west in pursuit, anticipating a third encounter with a valuable merchant convoy.[15] Captain Alain-Adélaïde-Marie Bruilhac of Belle Poule insisted that the sails were from British warships, but Linois over-ruled him, arguing that any warships would be part of the convoy's escort and could be avoided in the night.[16] It was not until 05:30, when London appeared from the gloom just ahead of Marengo that Linois realised his mistake. He attempted to escape, but his ships had been at sea for an extended period and were sluggish compared to the 98-gun London, which rapidly came alongside the French ship of the line and opened a heavy fire.[17]

Linois returned London's fire as best he could, but by 06:00 he realised that he was outmatched and swung away, issuing orders for Captain Bruilhac in Belle Poule to escape as best he could. The frigate however, which had been firing at London during the battle, continued engaging the larger ship to give Linois support as he attempted to pull away. At 06:15, Bruilhac sighted Amazon bearing down and also withdrew, pulling ahead of Neale's ship which continued to fire into Marengo.

tricolour was lowered at nearly 11:00, both Linois and Captain Joseph-Marie Vrignaud had been taken below with serious wounds.[10]

Almost simultaneously with the surrender of Marengo, Captain Bruilhac surrendered Belle Poule, the damage inflicted by Amazon and the presence of Warren's squadron persuading him that further resistance was hopeless.[20] French losses in the engagement were severe, Marengo suffering extensive damage to her hull and rigging and losing 63 men killed and 83 wounded from a crew of 740. The latter included both Linois and his son with serious wounds and Captain Vrignaud, who had to have his right arm amputated. Losses on Belle Poule included six killed and 24 wounded from her complement of 330.[10] British losses were comparatively light, London suffering ten dead and 22 wounded and Amazon four killed and five wounded. London was the only British ship damaged, mainly in her rigging, which was hastily repaired in the aftermath of the battle.[20]

Aftermath

On 23 April, a heavy storm swept the Eastern Atlantic, striking Warren's squadron and their prizes. Marengo was seriously damaged, losing all three masts and taking on a large quantity of water that had to be pumped overboard by the understrength crew working in shifts. Five men were drowned.

jury masts could be raised and the scattered ships could rejoin the squadron for its journey back to Britain, arriving at Spithead.[17] Willaumez eventually returned to the North Atlantic in the early summer, passing through the Caribbean before being dispersed in a hurricane, his ships scattered across the Western Atlantic. Most eventually reached France, but the campaign had been another disaster for the French Navy, with less than half of the ships sent out returning to Brest. The loss of Marengo and Belle Poule formed a footnote to the campaign, but the defeat of Linois was widely celebrated in Britain, where both ships were commissioned into the Royal Navy under their French names. Linois was praised for his defence of his ship in the face of overwhelming British force, and historian William James, writing in 1827, considered that had Linois faced London alone he might have had the advantage.[22] Four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants from London and Amazon still living in 1847.[23]

The engagement was not quite the end for Linois' squadron: the last survivor, the frigate

Mexico in March 1805. This plan was foiled by an encounter with the British frigate HMS Phaeton in the Philippines, and Captain Léonard-Bernard Motard returned to the Indian Ocean, operating for the next three years against British shipping from Île de France.[24] Eventually the old frigate was assessed as worn out and sold from service in 1808, operating as a privateer for a year before she was captured in 1809.[25] Napoleon refused to exchange Linois for a British prisoner, and the Emperor's fury at the admiral's failures in the Indian Ocean prevented any subsequent appointments.[21] In 1814, after Napoleon's abdication, the new French regime made Linois governor of Martinique, but when the Hundred Days began, Linois declared for Napoleon and the British invaded and captured his island.[26]
His career over, Linois retired. He died some 34 years later, in 1848.

Notes

  1. ^ James, Vol. 3, p. 248
  2. ^ Woodman, p. 194
  3. ^ Clowes, p. 338
  4. ^ James, Vol. 3, p. 377
  5. ^ James, Vol. 3, p. 279
  6. ^ Clowes, p. 350
  7. ^ The Campaign of Trafalgar, Gardiner, p. 29
  8. ^ Rodger, p. 547
  9. ^ James, Vol. 4, p. 222
  10. ^ a b c James, Vol. 4, p. 223
  11. ^ James, Vol. 4, p. 185
  12. ^ a b The Victory of Seapower, Gardiner, p. 17
  13. ^ James, Vol. 4, p. 186
  14. ^ Woodman, p. 215
  15. ^ Clowes, p. 373
  16. ^ Adkins, p. 190
  17. ^ a b The Victory of Seapower, Gardiner, p. 29
  18. ^ a b Woodman, p. 216
  19. ^ Adkins, p. 191
  20. ^ a b Clowes, p. 374
  21. ^ a b Adkins, p. 192
  22. ^ James, Vol. 4, p. 224
  23. ^ "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. pp. 236–245.
  24. ^ James, Vol. 4, p. 153
  25. ^ Clowes, p. 413
  26. ^ Marley, p. 376

References

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