Battle of Martinique (1780)
| Battle of Martinique | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of The Auguste Louis de Rossel de Cercy (1736–1804) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain |
 France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Sir George Rodney |
Comte de Guichen | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
20 ships of the line | 23 ships of the line | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
120 killed 354 wounded |
222 killed 537 wounded | ||||||
The Battle of Martinique, also known as the Combat de la Dominique, took place on 17 April 1780 during the American Revolutionary War in the West Indies between the British Royal Navy and the French Navy.
Origins
In March 1780, the French chief commander for the West Indies and North America,
Battle
The fleets began manoeuvring for the advantage of the
Unfortunately for the British, Robert Carkett (the commander of the lead ship HMS Stirling Castle) either misunderstood the signal or had forgotten the earlier one, and moved ahead to engage de Guichen's van; he was followed by the rest of Rodney's fleet, and the two lines ended up engaging ship to ship.[4]
Thanks to the orderly fashion in which de Guichen's subordinate squadron-commanders dealt with the crisis, especially the third-in-command
During the battle, both Rodney's
Aftermath
Alfred Thayer Mahan wrote, "Rodney always considered this action of April 17th, 1780, to have been the great opportunity of his life; and his wrath was bitter against those by whose misconduct he conceived it had been frustrated."[4]
David Hannay, the author of the biography on the Comte de Guichen in the 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, stated that Guichen had shown himself very skillful in handling a fleet throughout the campaign, and although there was no marked success, he had at least prevented the British admiral from doing any harm to the French islands in the Antilles.[5]
On 15 May, both fleets encountered each other again, and again on 19 May. Both encounters were indecisive, with the French returning to
Order of battle
British fleet
French fleet
Citations
- ^ Jaques p.639
- ^ Sweetman p.146
- ^ Botta p.57
- ^ a b c d e Mahan, A.T. (1969). The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence. New York: Greenwood Press. pp. 115, 128–150.
- ^ a b c Hannay 1911, p. 686.
- ^ Trew (2006), pp. 185–186.
- ^ Troude (1867), p. 71.
- ^ Contenson (1934), p. 167.
- ^ Rouxel, Jean-Christophe. "Joseph Léon de La MARTHONIE". Parcours de vie dans la Royale. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ Contenson (1934), p. 235.
- ^ Taillemite (1982), p. 51.
- ^ Contenson (1934), p. 135.
- ^ Contenson (1934), p. 243.
References
- OCLC 681269298.
- OCLC 7842336.
- Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: F-O (in French). Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. OCLC 643153887.
- OCLC 763372623.
- Palmer, Michael (2005). Command at sea: naval command and control since the sixteenth century. Harvard: Harvard University Press. OCLC 909489801.
- Sweetman, Jack (1997). The great admirals: command at sea, 1587-1945. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. OCLC 831209070.
- OCLC 239744936.
- Trew, Peter (2006). Rodney and the Breaking of the Line. Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Military. ISBN 184415143-3.
- OCLC 836362484.
- Naval History Division (2013). Naval Documents of the American Revolution: American Theater: Apr. 1, 1778–May 31, 1778; European Theater: Apr. 1, 1778–May 31, 1778 (PDF). Vol. 12. United States.)
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Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Hannay, David (1911). "Guichen, Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, Comte de". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 686–687.
