French expedition to Ireland (1796)
Expédition d'Irlande | |||||||
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Part of the War of the First Coalition | |||||||
End of the Irish Invasion ; — or – the Destruction of the French Armada, James Gillray | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Great Britain Ireland |
United Irishmen | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Robert Kingsmill Sir Edward Pellew |
Morard de Galles | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
13 warships |
15,000–20,000 44 warships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Light, if any |
2,230 killed or drowned, 1,000 captured, 12 warships captured or wrecked | ||||||
The French expedition to Ireland, known in
The operation was launched during one of the stormiest winters of the 18th century, with the French fleet unprepared for such severe conditions. Patrolling British frigates observed the departure of the fleet and notified the British
The British were largely unable to interfere with the French fleet before, during or after the attempted invasion. A few ships operating from
Background
Following the
The
The applications from Tone intrigued the Directory, which understood that by attacking Ireland they would be striking at the least defensible part of the British Isles. Support for the British government was weakest there and the United Irishmen optimistically claimed to be able to raise an irregular army of as many as 250,000 waiting to join the French once they had landed,[9] with the additional attraction that a successful establishment of an Irish Republic would prove an ideological coup for the French Republic.[10] Finally and most significantly, a large expeditionary force in Ireland could provide an ideal springboard for an invasion of Britain, especially in combination with a plan then under development to land 2,000 uniformed criminals in Cornwall, who would distract the British Army during the invasion of Ireland and could potentially provide a beachhead for future operations.[8]
Preparation
With the end of the War in the Vendée and peace with Spain, substantial French forces were made available for the operation, to be led by General Hoche and scheduled for the end of October 1796. Hoche was a successful military commander, who had defeated the Vendée Royalists and been subsequently engaged in planning the Cornish invasion. A body of veteran soldiers and the entire French Atlantic Fleet were placed at his disposal, based in the major Atlantic seaport of Brest.[11] The number of soldiers earmarked for the invasion is uncertain; the French Directory suggested 25,000 men would be required, the Irish delegates insisting that 15,000 would be sufficient.[12] Estimates of the number of soldiers eventually embarked range between 13,500 and 20,000.[Note A]
By August the plan was already behind schedule: severe shortages of stores and wages slowed work at the Brest shipyards, while the troops set aside for the invasion of Cornwall proved unreliable, deserting in large numbers. A practice voyage of the Cornish invasion fleet ended in total failure, as the small ships intended for the operation proved unable to operate in open water. The plan was dropped and the reliable soldiers from the unit were merged into the Ireland expeditionary force and the rest returned to prison.[13] Reinforcements from the Mediterranean Fleet were also delayed: seven ships from the expedition under Contre-amiral Joseph de Richery had to shelter from the British blockade squadron in Rochefort, only arriving in Brest on 8 December, while a second squadron under Contre-amiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve did not arrive until after the expeditionary force had departed.[12]
Throughout late 1796, progress on the expedition faltered. Hoche publicly blamed the naval command and specifically Vice-amiral Villaret de Joyeuse for the delay, whom he accused of being more interested in the planning of a proposed invasion of India. In October, Villaret was replaced by Vice-amiral Morard de Galles and the India plans were cancelled, while Hoche was placed in direct command of discipline within the fleet.[13] By the second week of December the fleet was ready, consisting of 17 ships of the line, 13 frigates and 14 other vessels, including several large transports created by removing the cannons from old frigates to maximise cargo space.[14] Each ship of the line carried 600 soldiers, the frigates 250 and the transports approximately 400. Included were cavalry units, field artillery and substantial military stores with which to arm the thousands of anticipated Irish volunteers. Hoche was still dissatisfied, announcing to the Directory on 8 December that he would rather lead his men in any other operation than the planned attack on Ireland. He was supported by Morard de Galles, who admitted that his men were so inexperienced at sea that encounters with the enemy should be avoided wherever possible.[13]
Departure
Despite the misgivings of the expedition's commanders, the fleet left Brest as scheduled on 15 December 1796, one day ahead of a message from the Directory calling off the entire operation.[15] De Galles knew that the British would be watching Brest harbour: their frigates were a constant presence as part of the Inshore Squadron of the blockade. In an effort to disguise his force's intentions, he first anchored in Camaret Bay and issued orders for his ships to pass through the Raz de Sein.[16] The Raz was a dangerous narrow channel littered with rocks and sandbanks and subject to heavy surf during bad weather, but would also obscure the size, strength and direction of the French fleet from the British squadron offshore, which French scouts claimed consisted of 30 ships.[11]
Despite the French reports, the principal British blockade squadron was absent from the approaches to Brest during the night of 15 December. Most of the fleet had retired to one of the British Channel Ports to avoid the winter storms, while the remaining squadron under Rear-Admiral
Morard de Galles had spent most of 16 December preparing for passage through the
When dawn broke on 17 December, most of the French fleet was scattered across the approaches to Brest. The largest intact group was that under Vice-admiral
Voyage to Ireland
By 19 December, Bouvet had gathered 33 ships together and set a course for Mizen Head in southern Ireland, the designated rendezvous point where he was instructed by his sealed orders to wait five days for further instructions from France. One of the ships still missing was the Fraternité. Despite the disappearance of its commanders the French fleet continued to Bantry Bay, sailing through both high winds and thick fog, which delayed its arrival until 21 December.[24] While Bouvet sailed for Ireland, Fraternité crossed the Western Approaches in search of the fleet, accompanied by Nestor, Romaine and Cocarde.[24] Unwittingly passing Bouvet's fleet in the fog, de Galles separated from his small squadron near the rendezvous on 21 December, only to discover a British frigate immediately ahead. Retreating from the threat, Fraternité was chased far into the Atlantic before she could escape the unidentified pursuer. On the return journey de Galle found the winds against him, and it took eight days to regain Mizen Head.[25]
Phoebe did not find Colpoys until 19 December, deep in the
In the absence of Morard de Galles and Hoche, Bouvet and his army counterpart, General
Collapse of the expedition
For four more days Bouvet's ships were battered by the high winds, none able to approach the shore without severe risk of being destroyed on the rocky coast. Losing their anchors as the cables snapped, many ships were forced to run before the wind and scatter into the Western Approaches.[30] Others were destroyed: an American ship named Ellis, passing close to Crookhaven on 29 December, encountered a vessel wallowing in the waves, dismasted and with the deck strewn with bodies. The American captain, Harvey, reported that he approached the ship but was unable to assist her due to the storm and as he watched, the ship was driven ashore and destroyed. This was the 44-gun frigate Impatiente, of which only seven men survived from her complement of 550 crew and passengers.[31] Harvey also recounted coming across the Révolution and frigate Scévola. Captain Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley was in the process of removing the crew and passengers from Scévola before she foundered, the heavy weather having reduced the 40-gun razee frigate to a sinking condition.[32] Ellis was not the only ship to discover Révolution; the long-delayed Fraternité encountered the ships and observed the destruction of the Scévola, which was burnt once she had been abandoned.[25]
Bouvet had been driven offshore in his flagship Immortalité during the storm, and when the wind fell during 29 December he decided to abandon the operation. Signalling to the ships within view, he ordered his remaining squadron to sail southeast towards Brest. Some ships failed to receive the message and continued to the second rendezvous off the River Shannon, but they were few and scattered and in the continuing storms no landing was possible. With provisions running low, these ships also turned and sailed for Brest, as the weather worsened once more.[28] As their expeditionary force sailed home, Morard de Galles and Hoche arrived in Bantry Bay on 30 December, discovering that the fleet had gone. With their own provisions almost exhausted, Fraternité and Révolution were forced to return to France as well. The British response to the attempted invasion continued to be inadequate, Colpoys arriving at Spithead on 31 December with only six of his ships still in formation.[26] Only a handful of ships based at Cork under Rear-Admiral Robert Kingsmill, principally HMS Polyphemus under Captain George Lumsdaine and a frigate squadron, interfered with the French fleet: Polyphemus seized the transport Justine on 30 December and HMS Jason captured the transport Suffren shortly afterwards, although she was later recaptured by the French frigate Tartu.[33]
Retreat
The first French ships to return to Brest arrived on 1 January, including Bouvet's flagship Immortalité accompanied by Indomptable,
On 7 January, the British frigates HMS Unicorn under Captain Sir Thomas Williams, HMS Doris under Captain Charles Jones and HMS Druid under Captain Richard King, captured the transport Ville de Lorient, Druid escorting the prize back to Cork. The following day Unicorn and Doris encountered some of the force that had attempted to land at the Shannon. Outnumbered, the frigates retreated westwards and encountered the battered Révolution and Fraternité, which withdrew before them.[25] This prevented Morard de Galles and Hoche from belatedly joining their squadron and took them away from the route back to France. When Unicorn and Doris reappeared the following morning, they were operating as scouts for Bridport's fleet, which had finally left port at the start of the new year and had encountered the frigates during the night. Escaping pursuit in a fog, Révolution and Fraternité sailed directly for France and arrived at Rochefort on 13 January.[34]
The majority of the remaining French ships had reached Brest on 11 January, including Constitution, Trajan, Pluton, Wattignies and Pégase, the latter towing the dismasted Résolue. On 13 January most of the remainder returned, including Nestor, Tourville, Éole and Cassard with their attendant frigates, while the frigate Bravoure arrived at Lorient alone.[34] Losses had continued as the French neared Brest, the disarmed Suffren recaptured by HMS Daedalus off Ushant and burnt on 8 January, while Atalante was outrun and captured by HMS Phoebe on 10 January. On 12 January, the storeship Allègre was captured by the brig HMS Spitfire.[33]
Droits de l'Homme
By 13 January, all of the French fleet had been accounted for except the small brig Mutine, which was blown all the way to
At 13:00, two ships emerged from the gloom to the east and Lacrosse turned away rather than risk his passengers in a pointless engagement. The ships persisted and were soon revealed to be the frigates Indefatigable under Captain Sir Edward Pellew, and Amazon under Captain Robert Carthew Reynolds, which had taken on supplies at Falmouth and then returned to their station off Brest.[39] As Droits de l'Homme steered southwest, the winds increased once more and the sea became choppy, preventing Lacrosse from opening the gunports on his lower deck without severe risk of flooding and snapping his topmasts, which reduced his ship's stability.[40] Realising his opponent's difficulties, Pellew closed with the larger ship and began a heavy fire. At 18:45, Amazon came within range and the frigates combined to repeatedly rake the French ship. The combat continued throughout the night, punctuated by short breaks in which the more mobile British ships repaired their battle damage out of range of Lacrosse's guns.[41]
At 04:20 on 14 January, lookouts on all three ships sighted waves breaking immediately eastwards. Desperate to escape the heavy surf, Indefatigable turned north and Amazon turned south, while the battered Droits de l'Homme was unable to make any manoeuvre and drove straight onto a sandbar near the town of
Aftermath
The French attempt to invade Ireland had ended in total failure. With the exception of a handful of prisoners of war, not one French soldier had successfully landed in Ireland, despite some ships remaining off the coast for almost two weeks. Twelve ships had been lost and over two thousand soldiers and sailors drowned.
In Britain, the Royal Navy's response to the French campaign was heavily criticised; both fleets assigned to intercept the invasion fleet had failed, the only losses inflicted on the French coming from the small Cork squadron or Pellew's independent frigates.
In Ireland, the failure of the French expeditionary force was the source of great frustration: Wolfe Tone, who was aboard Indomptable throughout the voyage, reported that he felt that he could have touched either side of the bay with both hands.
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Pakenham, p. 27
- ^ Brooks, p. 605
- ^ a b c Woodman, p. 83
- required.)
- ^ David A. Wilson, United Irishmen, United States: immigrant radicals in the early republic, Cornell University Press, 1998. (Ch 7–8, in particular pp. 171–176)
- ^ Come, p. 177
- ^ Regan, p. 87
- ^ a b Come, p. 181
- ^ a b Henderson, p. 20
- ^ a b Regan, p. 88
- ^ a b c James, p. 5
- ^ a b James, p. 3
- ^ a b c Come, p. 184
- ^ Clowes, p. 298
- ^ a b Come, p. 185.
- ^ a b Henderson, p. 21
- required.)
- ^ Clowes, p. 299
- ^ Woodman, p. 84
- ^ a b Clowes, p. 300
- ^ Grocott, p. 40
- ^ James, p. 6
- ^ Woodman, p. 85
- ^ a b c James, p. 7
- ^ a b c James, p. 9
- ^ a b c James, p. 21
- ^ Grocott, p. 44
- ^ a b c Henderson, p. 22
- ^ a b c Lloyd, p. 17
- ^ a b c James, p. 8
- ^ Grocott, p. 42
- ^ Grocott, p. 43
- ^ a b c d Clowes, p. 304
- ^ a b c James, p. 10
- ^ a b Grocott, p. 45
- ^ Breen and Forsythe, p.42
- ^ a b "No. 13969". The London Gazette. 7 January 1797. p. 22.
- ^ Woodman, p. 86
- ^ a b James, p. 11
- ^ Gardiner, p. 159
- ^ Woodman, p. 88
- ^ James, p. 18
- ^ James, p. 16
- ^ James, p. 19
- ^ Pipon in Tracy, p. 170
- ^ Chandler, p. 199
- ^ Come, p. 186
- ^ James, p. 22
- ^ James, p. 23
- ^ Clowes, p. 305
- ^ Pakenham, p. 18
- ^ Ireland, p. 147
- ^ Smith, p. 141
- ^ Gardiner, p. 114
- ^ Brooks, p. 626
- ^ Pakenham, p. 23
- ^ Clowes, p. 297
Bibliography
- Breen, Colin; Forsythe, Wes (2007). "The French Shipwreck La Surveillante, Lost in Bantry Bay, Ireland, in 1797". Historical Archaeology. 41 (3). Society for Historical Archaeology: 41–42. S2CID 162814509.
- Brooks, Richard (2005). Cassell's Battlefields of Britain & Ireland. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. OCLC 60793995.
- OCLC 43582494.
- OCLC 59659759.
- Come, Donald R. (Winter 1952). "French Threat to British Shores, 1793–1798". Military Affairs. 16 (4): 174–88. JSTOR 1982368.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (2001) [1996]. Fleet Battle and Blockade. Caxton Editions. OCLC 50264868.
- Grocott, Terence (2002) [1997]. Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Era. Caxton Editions. OCLC 50101032.
- Henderson CBE, James (1994) [1970]. The Frigates: An Account of the Lighter Warships of the Napoleonic Wars 1793–1815. Leo Cooper. OCLC 32584549.
- Ireland, Bernard (2000). Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail: War at Sea, 1756–1815. London: Harper Collins. OCLC 44652866.
- OCLC 255340498.
- Lloyd, Christopher (1963). St Vincent & Camperdown. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd.
- OCLC 59362609.
- OCLC 49892294.
- Smith, Digby (1998). The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. OCLC 37616149.
- Tracy, Nicholas, ed. (1998). "Narrative of the dreadful Shipwreck of Les Droits de L'Homme, a French ship, of 74 guns, driven on shore on the 14th February 1797, after a severe Action with the Indefatigable and Amazon Frigates, under the Command of Sir Edward Pellew and Captain Reynolds. By Elias Pipon, Lieutenant. 63rd Regiment.". The Naval Chronicle, Volume 1, 1793–1798. Chatham Publishing. OCLC 248862507.
- OCLC 59550064.
External links
- Media related to Expédition d'Irlande at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Battle of Arcole |
French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns French expedition to Ireland (1796) |
Succeeded by Action of 13 January 1797 |