Martin's cruise of 1794

Martin's cruise of 1794 was the only significant French naval operation of the year in the

Martin was able to escape the blockade in November and return to Toulon without further incident. The captured Alceste, formerly a French ship captured in 1793, was taken to Nice and returned to service with the French Navy. The frigate went on to play a crucial role at the action of 8 March 1795 and came under heavy fire at the Battle of the Hyères Islands trying to save a damaged French ship of the line. Alceste was eventually captured once more by the British in 1799.

A few months after the entry of

In Toulon, command of the French fleet had been granted to Contre-amiral Pierre Martin, who was assembling a 15-ship convoy to supply Corsica and raise the siege of Bastia. A squadron of his less damaged ships, comprising seven ships of the line and several frigates, was to escort the convoy. After Bastia fell to the British on 19 May, the original plans for the French relief convoy were abandoned, but Martin decided to offer a challenge to the British hegemony in the Ligurian Sea, and sailed with his squadron for a cruise in the region on 6 June.^[9]

It is reported that shortly after departure the French squadron sighted a 10-ship British squadron to south and formed a line of battle, but the British refused the engagement, sailed by at a distance of 9 nautical miles (17 km), turned, and disappeared the next day.^[10] There is no mention of this encounter in British histories.^[11] News of Martin's activity soon reached Hood, then at anchor with 13 ships of the line off Bastia, and he ordered Alceste, operating as part of his fleet under a Captain Ross, to sail from Bastia to the French coast to warn the British ships operating off Toulon.^[10]

Action of 8 June 1794
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Date 8 June 1794 Location Off Fréjus Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Sardinia
Commanders and leaders
Contre-amiral Pierre Martin	Captain Ross
Strength
Frigate Tonnant	Frigate Alceste

On 8 June 1794, as the French squadron passed eastwards along the coast, lookouts spotted an unidentified sail between the squadron and the shore; this ship was Alceste.

With Martin unable to influence operations on Corsica, Calvi fell to the British in August and Corsica became a self-governing part of the British Empire.^[11] Martin continued with repairs to the fleet, so that by March 1795 he was able to deploy 17 ships on a renewed operation in the Ligurian Sea.^[15] With this fleet was Alceste, which fought at the action of 8 March 1795 when the British ship of the line HMS Berwick, badly damaged in a storm, was chased down and captured by a division of Martin's fleet.^[16] Alceste led the attack and although badly damaged, the frigate was able to kill the British captain and delay Berwick until heavier support could arrive.^[15]

Later in the year Alceste was with the fleet which fought at the Battle of the Hyères Islands, the frigate attempting unsuccessfully to bring support to the crippled French ship Alcide while under heavy fire.^[17] Alceste continued to serve with the French Mediterranean Fleet until 1799, when the ship was part of a French squadron overrun and captured by a British fleet under Lord Keith during the Croisière de Bruix campaign.^[18]

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• Gardiner, Robert, ed. (2001) [1996]. Fleet Battle and Blockade. London: Caxton Editions.
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• Mostert, Noel (2007). The Line upon a Wind: The Greatest War Fought at Sea Under Sail 1793 – 1815. Vintage Books.
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• Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 2. Challamel ainé.