Battle of Lagos

Battle of Lagos
Part of the Seven Years' War
The British Royal Navy defeats the French Mediterranean Fleet at the Battle of Lagos by Richard Paton
Date 18–19 August 1759 Location Atlantic Ocean between Gibraltar and Lagos, Portugal 36°18′N 7°18′W / 36.3°N 7.3°W / 36.3; -7.3 Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Edward Boscawen	Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran
Strength
15 ships of the line 10 frigates 2 sloops 2 fireships	12 ships of the line 3 frigates
Casualties and losses
252 killed and wounded	1,000 killed and wounded 2 ships of the line destroyed 3 ships of the line captured

The naval Battle of Lagos took place between a British fleet commanded by Edward Boscawen and a French fleet under Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran over two days in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. They fought south west of the Gulf of Cádiz on 18 August and to the east of the small Portuguese port of Lagos, after which the battle is named, on 19 August.

La Clue was attempting to evade Boscawen and bring the French Mediterranean Fleet into the Atlantic, avoiding battle if possible; he was then under orders to sail for the West Indies. Boscawen was under orders to prevent a French breakout into the Atlantic, and to pursue and fight the French if they did. During the evening of 17 August the French fleet successfully passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, but was sighted by a British ship shortly after it entered the Atlantic. The British fleet was in nearby Gibraltar, undergoing a major refit. It left port amidst great confusion, most ships not having their refurbishments completed, with many delayed and sailing in a second squadron. Aware that he was pursued, La Clue altered his plan and changed course; half his ships failed to follow him in the dark, but the British did.

The British caught up with the French on 18 August and fierce fighting ensued, during which several ships were badly damaged and one French ship was captured. The British pursued the remaining ships through the moonlit night of 18–19 August, during which two French ships made their escape. On 19 August the remnants of the French fleet attempted to shelter in neutral Portuguese waters near Lagos. Boscawen then captured a further two French ships and destroying the other two.

The endemic ill feeling between France and Great Britain during the 18th century turned into open warfare in 1754 and 1755. In 1756 what became known as the Seven Years' War broke out across Europe, pitting France, Austria and Russia against Britain and Prussia. France supported Austria and Russia in a land campaign against Prussia, and launched what it saw as its main effort in a maritime and colonial offensive against Britain.^[1]

By the beginning of 1759 neither alliance had the advantage, in either the land or sea campaigns, and both were having serious problems financing the war. In 1759 more than 60 per cent of French revenue went to service its debt,

In May 1759

Earlier in the year, an aspect of the British strategy had played out in the West Indies. In February, 4,000 British soldiers landed on the French West Indian possession of Guadeloupe. This island's immense sugar production was supposed to exceed that of all the British Leeward Islands combined.^[18] After great difficulties in preparing them for sea, nine French ships of the line, under Maximin de Bompart, were despatched to relieve the island.^[16] They arrived the day after the French governor surrendered to the British on 1 May.^[19]

News of this disaster was passed back to Paris, where after deliberation it was decided to reinforce Bompart's force with the Mediterranean Fleet. Orders to sail reached its commander, Admiral

The approach of the Gibraltar, firing her guns to indicate that the enemy had been sighted, took the British by surprise.

Ships sailing at night usually displayed lanterns from their sterns and masts, so as to avoid collisions and to allow groups of ships to maintain contact. Wishing to be as inconspicuous as possible, the French ships probably did not follow this practice.^[24] The French ships had all been issued with sealed orders, which they were to open on passing the Strait of Gibraltar; these instructed them that the fleet was to rendezvous at Cádiz.^[16] Knowing they had been observed by the British, La Clue changed his plan. Instead of heading for Cádiz, where he feared he could be easily blockaded by the British, he decided to sail more westerly, to clear Cape St. Vincent and head into the North Atlantic. However, the French navy did not have an effective system of night signalling. So at about midnight La Clue had his flagship, Océan, light her stern lantern, turn to port (left, or westward) and reduce her speed. Normally, such actions would be accompanied by firing a cannon to draw attention. The naval historian Sam Willis suggests it is possible that La Clue – who had been ordered to avoid battle at all costs – knowing the entire fleet was relatively close and not wishing to advertise his manoeuvre to the British, omitted to do this.^[16][25]

Eight of the fifteen ships in the French fleet continued on to Cádiz.^[16] It is not clear if this was because they did not observe the flagship's change of course, because they did not understand its implications, or because they felt their freshly opened orders took precedence. At dawn on 18 August La Clue could see only six other ships. He ordered them to rally on the flagship and heave to and await the anticipated appearance of the rest of the fleet.^[26] At about 6:00 am a group of large ships came into view and La Clue remained stationary, believing them to be the missing component of his fleet.^[27][28] It was only when the topsails of the nine ships of the second British squadron, the stragglers under Brodrick, were sighted farther back that it was realised all these ships were British.^[29]

The seven French ships sailed at the speed of their slowest member, the Souverain. Boscawen ordered his ships to maintain formation, to avoid his fastest ships reaching and engaging the French squadron individually and being defeated in detail. The British ships proved to be faster, and were slightly favoured by variable winds, allowing them to gradually overhaul the French by the afternoon of 18 August. Boscawen repeatedly signalled to his ships to "Make more speed".^[28][30] Several of the British ships were hampered by their newly warped sails splitting, or their newly fitted spars breaking loose, as they were overstrained by crews eager to catch the French.^[31] At 1:00 pm the French ships hoisted their battle ensigns and opened fire at long range. Ships of the line had most of their guns mounted in their sides, to allow them to fire broadsides, but had a small number of lighter guns mounted in their sterns, able to fire to their rears. It was not possible to effectively fire ahead of such ships. The French were thus able to fire at the British as they grew closer, while the British were unable to offer much reply. The French attempted to disable the British ships' sails and rigging, but with little effect.^[32][33]

At 2:30 pm the British

Meanwhile, Boscawen had pressed on in his 90-gun flagship, determined to engage the largest ship in the French fleet, La Clue's flagship, the 80-gun Océan.[34] Namur passed three French ships, receiving a broadside from each; Boscawen ordered that there be no return fire, instead having his crew lie down, to minimise casualties. By 4:00 pm Namur was close enough to Océan to open fire and a short, sharp fight developed.^[34][36] Océan had nearly 200 men killed or wounded, with La Clue among the latter; while Namur had one of her three masts shot away, together with the topsail yards of both remaining masts. With Namur unable to manoeuvre, Océan, also badly damaged, fled. Boscawen transferred his flag to Newark.^[28][37]

As the sun set, the six surviving French ships continued to flee to the north west, with those British ships not slowed by battle damage close behind them. There was sufficient moonlight to allow the British ships to keep in touch, although the two fastest French ships,

Off Lagos

As Boscawen approached in Newark, the Portuguese opened fire and he

hove to outside of cannon range and selected several ships to attack the French "without any regard to the laws of neutrality."^[41] The British America attacked Océan, firing a broadside from short range and demanding her surrender. The French, who had been in the process of abandoning ship, struck their colours.^{[41][note 1]} The British were unable to tow Océan off as she had been run ashore with some force in order to prevent this. So they evacuated those left of the crew and set fire to her; several hours later, around midnight, the fire reached her magazine and she exploded.^[43]

Three ships from Brodrick's rear squadron were sent in after the Redoutable. HMS Prince fired repeatedly into her and then boarded her. She was also firmly beached and so, like Océan, she was torched, and also exploded several hours later.[41] Having observed Océan and Redoutable set alight and seeing HMS Jersey sailing towards them the crew of Modeste fled or surrendered and she was towed out, little damaged, to the British fleet; Jersey was fired on by the Portuguese forts during this operation. The last French ship, Téméraire, was attacked by Warspite at 2:45 pm, but her crew refused to surrender. Warspite manoeuvred so as to be able to fire into Téméraire's stern, where the French could do little to fire back, and after an hour Téméraire also struck her colours and was towed out.^[35][44]

Aftermath

The French had 500 men killed, wounded or captured; against 56 British fatalities and 196 wounded.^[44] La Clue, seriously wounded, was carried ashore before the British arrived and survived;^[45] five years later he was promoted to lieutenant-general.^[46] The battle had no effect on the French plans to invade Britain.^[47] The two French ships which escaped from the battle eventually reached Rochefort.^[48] The five French ships in Cadiz were blockaded by Boscawen's second-in-command, Admiral Brodrick.^[46] They were instructed to head for French Atlantic ports if they were able to break this blockade, with a view to reinforcing the fleet in Brest. But by the time they evaded Brodrick during a winter storm in January 1760, the French Atlantic Fleet had been destroyed at the Battle of Quiberon Bay, and they returned to Toulon instead.^[47]

Hearing the news of the victory, the notoriously nervous British prime minister, the

general chase order.^[50] Three years later, the Spanish and French governments used this breach of neutrality as one of their pretexts for declaring war on and invading Portugal.^[51] Boscawen, his captains and their crews were fêted in Britain. After completing their interrupted refits, several of Boscawen's victorious ships were transferred to Admiral Edward Hawke's fleet off Brest,^[52] and five were with Hawke when he destroyed the Brest fleet in Quiberon Bay in November.^[53][54]

The historian

annus mirabilis (Latin for "year of wonders").^[57]

The three captured French ships went on to serve in the British navy as HMS Centaur,[58] Modeste^[59] and Temeraire.^{[note 2]} Serving on board Océan as a junior officer was Pierre André de Suffren, who was later to gain fame as an admiral leading a French fleet in the Indian Ocean.^[60][61] A young slave named Olaudah Equiano, who would later become a prominent abolitionist in England, participated in the engagement on the British side. He included an account of the battle in his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.^[62]

Order of battle

Britain

Ships of the line:^{[note 3][35]}
Namur 90 (flag)
Prince 90
Newark 80
Warspite 74
Culloden 74
Conqueror 70
Swiftsure 70
Edgar 64
St Albans 64
Intrepid 60
America 60
Princess Louisa 60
Jersey 60
Guernsey 50
Portland 50

Frigates:^[35]

Ambuscade 40
Rainbow 40
Shannon 36
Active 36
Thetis 32
Lyme 24
Gibraltar 24
Glasgow 24
Sheerness 24
Tartar's Prize 24

Sloops:^[35]

Favourite 16
Gramont 16

Fireships^[63]

Aetna 8
Salamander 8

France

Ships which participated in the battle:^[64]

Ships of the line:

Centaure 74 – captured 18 August

Océan 80 (flag) – run aground and burnt 19 August
Redoutable [fr] 74 – run aground and burnt 19 August
Téméraire 74 – captured 19 August

Modeste

64 – captured 19 August

Souverain 74 – escaped

Guerrier

74 – escaped

Ships which became separated at night and sailed to Cadiz:^[65]

Ships of the line:

Triton 64
Lion [fr] 64
Fantasque 64
Fier 50
Oriflamme 50

Frigates:
Minerve 26
Chimère 26
Gracieuse 26

Notes, citations and sources

Notes

1. ^ A ship's "colours", a national flag or battle ensign, are hauled down from her mast, or "struck", to indicate that the ship has surrendered.^[42]
2. ^ The HMS Temeraire which featured in the painting The Fighting Temeraire by J. M. W. Turner was a different, later ship with the same name.^[44]
3. ^ The number after each ship indicates number of guns it was rated to carry.

Citations

1. ^ Szabo 2007, pp. 17–18.
2. ^ McLynn 2008, p. 65.
3. ^ Chaline 2011, p. 17.
4. ^ Jenkins 1973, p. 148.
5. ^ Anderson 2001, pp. 211–212.
6. ^ Middleton 1988.
7. ^ Chaline 2011, p. 18.
8. ^ le Moing 2003, p. 9.
9. ^ le Moing 2003, p. 11.
10. ^ McLynn 2008, p. 232.
11. ^ McLynn 2008, p. 236.
12. ^ McLynn 2008, pp. 232–233.
13. ^ Tracey 2010, p. 24.
14. ^ ^{a b} McLynn 2008, p. 248.
15. ^ ^{a b c d} Willis 2009, p. 747.
16. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Tracey 2010, p. 116.
17. ^ ^{a b} Willis 2009, p. 749.
18. ^ ^{a b c} Rodger 2004, p. 277.
19. ^ Anderson 2001, pp. 314–315.
20. ^ ^{a b} McLynn 2008, p. 249.
21. ^ ^{a b} Willis 2009, p. 750.
22. ^ Willis 2009, p. 751.
23. ^ Willis 2009, pp. 751–753.
24. ^ Willis 2009, pp. 748–749, 754.
25. ^ Willis 2009, pp. 753–754.
26. ^ Willis 2009, p. 754.
27. ^ Jenkins 1973, p. 131.
28. ^ ^{a b c d e} Tracey 2010, p. 117.
29. ^ Willis 2009, pp. 754–755.
30. ^ Willis 2009, p. 755.
31. ^ Willis 2009, p. 753.
32. ^ Willis 2009, pp. 756–757.
33. ^ Tracey 2010, p. 56.
34. ^ ^{a b c d e} McLynn 2008, p. 251.
35. ^ ^{a b c d e} Troude 1867, p. 373.
36. ^ ^{a b c d e} Willis 2009, p. 757.
37. ^ McLynn 2008, pp. 251–252.
38. ^ ^{a b} Willis 2009, p. 760.
39. ^ Tracey 2010, p. 118.
40. ^ Monaque 2017, pp. 86–87.
41. ^ ^{a b c} Willis 2009, p. 761.
42. ^ Wilhelm 1881, p. 148.
43. ^ McLynn 2008, p. 252.
44. ^ ^{a b c} Willis 2009, p. 762.
45. ^ Rodger 2004, p. 278.
46. ^ ^{a b} McLynn 2008, p. 253.
47. ^ ^{a b} Tracey 2010, p. 135.
48. ^ Dull 2009, p. 83.
49. ^ Longmate 1993, p. 178.
50. ^ Kemp 1976, p. 400.
51. ^ Francis 1985, pp. 136–137.
52. ^ Willis 2009, p. 763.
53. ^ Tracey 2010, p. 128.
54. ^ Troude 1867, pp. 373, 385.
55. ^ Kinkel 2013, p. 1451.
56. ^ Blainey 1988, p. 191–192.
57. ^ Monod 2009, p. 167.
58. ^ Winfield 2007, p. 70.
59. ^ Winfield 2007, p. 96.
60. ^ Monaque 2017, pp. 86, 88.
61. ^ Mahan 1890, p. 416.
62. ^ Willis 2009, p. 756.
63. ^ Clowes 1898, p. 212.
64. ^ Troude 1867, pp. 372–373.
65. ^ McLynn 2008, p. 250.

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Battle of Lagos.

• Works related to Chapter IV at Wikisource of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, which contains an account of the battle as witnessed by the author aboard HMS Namur