Davidcza at 14:25, 19 August 2025

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{{Short description|1810 battle of the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Action of 3 July 1810
| partof = the [[Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811]]
| image = The Windham East India Man with the Fleet sailing from St Helena, under convoy of His Majesty's ship Monmouth RMG PY8454 (cropped).jpg
| caption = ''[[Chilean ship Lautaro (1818)|Windham]]'' (centre) leading a convoy of British East Indiamen in 1808
| date = 3 July 1810
| place = Off the [[Comoro Islands]], [[Indian Ocean]]
| result = French victory
| combatant1 = [[First French Empire|France]]
| combatant2 = [[East India Company]]
| commander1 = [[Guy-Victor Duperré]]
| commander2 = [[Henry Meriton]]
| strength1 = 2 frigates <br /> 1 brig
| strength2 = 3 merchant ships
| casualties1 = 22 killed <br /> 38 wounded
| casualties2 = 20 killed <br /> 76 wounded <br /> 2 merchant ships captured
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811}}
}}

The '''action of 3 July 1810''' was a minor naval engagement of the [[Napoleonic Wars]], in which a French [[frigate]] squadron under [[Guy-Victor Duperré]] attacked and defeated a convoy of three British [[East Indiaman|East Indiamen]] near the [[Comoro Islands]]. Both sides suffered 20 or more sailors killed before two East Indiamen surrendered. These were ''Ceylon'' and the British flagship [[Chilean ship Lautaro (1818)|''Windham'']], which held off the French squadron long enough for the ship ''Astell'' to escape. It was the third successful French attack on an [[Indian Ocean]] convoy in just over a year, and the second time the French had captured ''Windham''. The French frigates were part of a squadron operating from the [[Isle de France (Mauritius)|Isle de France]] under Commodore [[Jacques Hamelin]].

Although a British frigate squadron under [[Josias Rowley]] was under orders to eliminate the French raiders, Rowley was distracted by the planned [[invasion of Isle Bonaparte]], which began the following week. Combined with limited British resources in the region, this allowed the French frigates significant freedom to attack British interests across the Ocean. The attack on Isle Bonaparte was however part of a wider British strategy to seize and capture French raiding bases, and the success of the operation severely limited future French operations as Hamelin's squadron was required for the defence of Isle de France. As a result, this was the last successful attack on a British merchant convoy in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars.

==Background==
Since the beginning of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in 1803, French [[privateers]] and naval [[frigates]] operating from the fortified island bases of [[Isle de France (Mauritius)|Isle de France]] and [[Réunion|Isle Bonaparte]] had attacked British shipping in the [[Indian Ocean]].<ref name="RG92">Gardiner, p. 92</ref> The huge distances involved, restrictions on supplies and the presence of [[Royal Navy]] warships and heavily armed [[East Indiamen]] had prevented these relatively weak French ships from attacking the convoys that transported millions of pounds worth of goods from [[British India]] and the Far East to the United Kingdom. When one French squadron under [[Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois|Admiral Linois]] had tried to seize a convoy in 1805, it had been driven off by the aggressive tactics of the merchant captains.<ref name="RLA185">Adkins, p. 185</ref>

In late 1808, the [[French Navy]] despatched five frigates to the Indian Ocean to rendezvous at Isle de France under the command of Commodore [[Jacques Hamelin]]. Although only four frigates eventually reached the French island, these were new vessels carrying 40 heavy guns each under orders to attack British shipping in the [[Bay of Bengal]], in particular the large East Indiamen of the [[Honourable East India Company]] (HEIC).<ref name="WJ192">James, p. 192</ref> The first frigate to do so was [[French frigate Caroline|''Caroline'']], which attacked a Europe-bound convoy in the [[action of 31 May 1809]]. Capturing two East Indiamen carrying over £500,000 worth of [[silk]], ''Caroline'' brought her prizes back to the fortified port of [[Saint Paul, Réunion|Saint Paul]] on Isle Bonaparte.<ref name="RW283">Woodman, p. 283</ref>

The British commander at the [[Cape of Good Hope]], [[Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet|Albemarle Bertie]], had also been planning an operation in the Indian Ocean during 1809 and assembled a squadron under Commodore [[Josias Rowley]] with orders to blockade the French islands, probe their defences and capture them if practical.<ref name="RG92"/> Rowley found that his small squadron was unable to engage the French frigates and that the nearest British military base, [[Madras]] in British India, was much too far away to be practical for staging [[amphibious operations]]. To remedy the latter problem, Rowley seized the small French island of [[Rodrigues (island)|Rodriguez]] with a force of British and Indian soldiers and garrisoned it as a supply base for his ships and as a military reserve to use in landings on the French islands. The first such operation was the [[Raid on Saint Paul]] in September 1809, in which the town of Saint Paul was captured, ''Caroline'' and her prizes seized; Isle Bourbon's commander [[Nicolas Des Bruslys]] was driven to suicide.<ref name="WJ197">James, p. 197</ref>

==Continued raiding==
[[File:Guy-Victor Duperré - Court (cropped 1) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|1832 portrait of Duperré by [[Joseph-Désiré Court]]]]

Despite the British attack on Saint Paul, French frigates continued to operate in the Indian Ocean, Hamelin personally leading a cruise in the Bay of Bengal during the autumn. His ships seized a number of small merchantmen and in the [[action of 18 November 1809]] he personally defeated and captured three large East Indiamen in convoy.<ref name="WJ201">James, p. 201</ref> Before his squadron and their prizes returned to Isle de France in late December, they had also captured the British brig [[HMS Victor (1808)|HMS ''Victor'']] and the large Portuguese frigate [[Portuguese frigate Minerva|''Minerva'']]. During the winter few ships were at sea, as the risk of being caught in a seasonal [[hurricane]] was considered too severe to operate between December and March.<ref name="RG94">Gardiner, p. 94</ref> Rowley correspondingly withdrew most of his forces to the Cape of Good Hope, leaving a handful of smaller ships to watch the French islands. Hamelin too kept his forces in harbour at Isle de France, replenishing his ships and recruiting sailors from the large pool of unemployed men in [[Port Louis|Port Napoleon]].<ref name="WJ262"/>

On 14 March, before Rowley could return to his blockade, Hamelin ordered a squadron to sea. This force consisted of the large frigate [[French frigate Bellone (1808)|''Bellone'']], the captured ''Minerva'' now renamed [[French frigate Minerve (1809)|''Minerve'']] and the captured brig ''Victor''. The force was led by [[Guy-Victor Duperré]] on ''Bellone'', with [[Pierre François Étienne Bouvet de Maisonneuve|Pierre Bouvet]] in ''Minerve'' as his second in command.<ref name="RW284">Woodman, p. 284</ref> Avoiding the remaining frigates of the British blockade, Duperré's ships escaped unnoticed and began cruising in the Bay of Bengal, capturing a few small vessels but making no serious impression on British trade in the region. By 1 June, Duperré had moved to the Western Indian Ocean, sailing off [[Madagascar]] in the hope of sighting British ships from [[Cape Town]]. Due to the extended period at sea, his ships were in a poor state of repair and much of the following month was spent conducting repairs at isolated beaches.<ref name="WJ262">James, p. 262</ref>

==Battle==
At 06:00 on 3 July, Duperré's squadron was cruising off the small island of [[Mayotta]] when sails were sighted {{convert|36|nmi|km}} to the north east. Giving chase immediately, Duprée discovered that his quarry was a convoy of three British East Indiamen, ''Ceylon'', [[Chilean ship Lautaro (1818)|''Windham'']], under Captain Stewart,<ref name=troude88 /> and ''Astell'', commanded by Henry Meriton in ''Ceylon''.<ref name="WJ263">James, p. 263.</ref> Meriton was an experienced captain who had twice successfully defended convoys from French raiders: firstly at the [[action of 4 August 1800]], when his ship ''Exeter'' had forced the surrender of the [[French frigate Médée (1778)|''Médée'']], and then at the [[Battle of Pulo Aura]] in 1804.<ref name="RW149">Woodman, p. 149.</ref> The convoy had departed from [[Cape Town]] on 13 June with five ships, but two had to turn back after {{ship||Euphrates|1803 EIC ship|2}} struck a rock and began to take in water. The others continued towards Madras via the [[Mozambique Channel]].<ref name="ST281">Taylor, p. 281</ref> One of the East Indiamen, ''Windham'', her captain John Stewart and many of her crew had been engaged and captured by Hamelin on 22 November 1809 in the Bay of Bengal and recaptured a month later by [[HMS Magicienne (1781)|HMS ''Magicienne'']] off Isle de France.<ref name="RW284"/> While Duperré's three ships mounted 108 guns and carried trained naval crews, the British ships had approximately 75 [[cannon]] between them and only a handful of their sailors were trained to military standards. Primarily crewed by [[lascar]] seamen, who had proven unreliable in the previous convoy actions, the merchant ships' advantages lay in their large size and the 250 soldiers of the [[24th Regiment of Foot]] that were aboard the ships. These troops were on passage to India and would be able to provide [[musket]] fire and repel boarders should the French attempt to board.<ref name="EPB462">Brenton, p. 462</ref>

Confident that his squadron outclassed his opponent, Duperré ordered his ships to chase the East Indiamen, who, at Stewart's suggestion, attempted to close with the shore where the wind and waves would not be as strong and they could better resist the French attack.<ref name="ST282">Taylor, p. 282</ref> By 09:30 however the ''Astell'' was forced to reduce sail or risk snapping her topmasts. This slowed the British convoy, ''Windham'' and ''Ceylon'' slowing too to protect ''Astell''.<ref name="WJ263"/> Realising that he could not outrun Duperré, Meriton turned his ships about to engage the French frigates. At 11:30, ''Bellone'' closed the gap between the squadron and convoy to {{convert|4|nmi|km}} and Meriton ordered his ships to form a [[battle line]] to meet the French attack.<ref name="WLC456">Clowes, p. 456</ref>

The French attacked at 14:15, ''Minerve'' approaching the British line and opening fire on the central ship ''Ceylon''. In the intervening time, the British battleline had become disorganised, with ''Astell'' too far to the rear to properly support the other ships. With the British line wavering, ''Minerve'' and ''Victor'' closed with the convoy and began to exchange fire with the three merchant ships in a general action, during which Robert Hay, captain of ''Astell'' was seriously wounded.<ref name="WJ263"/> At 16:00, Bouvet in ''Minerve'' pulled ahead of the struggling convoy and turned as if to ram and board ''Windham''. Hoping to use the soldiers aboard to drive off the French ship, Captain Stewart turned to meet her. The damage done to ''Windham'' was however so severe that she was unable to make the turn correctly and ''Minerve'' passed just ahead of her, [[raking fire|raking]] ''Windham'' and causing severe damage, the soldiers on ''Windham'' responding with musket fire.<ref name="ST282"/>

As ''Minerve'' turned back towards the British convoy with the intention of cutting off the rearmost ships, ''Astell'' passed her more damaged companions to become the first ship in line. This left ''Windham'', now at the rear, to face ''Minerve'' alone. Fortunately for Stewart, ''Minerve'' lost two topmasts as she turned to face his ship and had to pull away from the British to effect repairs.<ref name="WJ264">James, p. 264</ref> An hour and a half later, at 18:30, ''Bellone'' joined the action, attacking ''Windham'' directly. ''Victor'' supported ''Bellone'' and accompanied the flagship as she moved ahead to attack ''Ceylon'' and ''Astell''. By 19:00, with ''Ceylon'' damaged so severely that she could no longer effectively sail or fight, third officer Tristam Fleming hauled the ship out of the battle line and ordered his crew to cease firing: Meriton and his second officer Thomas Oldham had both been seriously wounded by [[grape shot]].<ref name="EPB462"/>

With ''Ceylon'' no longer engaged, Duperré pulled ahead to engage ''Astell'' but found that Stewart had brought his battered ''Windham'' between the French frigate and the third East Indiaman. In the growing darkness, Stewart attempted to hail ''Astell'' to propose boarding ''Bellone'' together, but the remaining officers either ignored or did not hear the suggestion as ''Astell'' extinguished all her lights and made all sail to escape the action, receiving a final broadside from ''Bellone'' as she pulled away.<ref name="WLC457">Clowes, p. 457</ref> Alone, Stewart continued to engage the French ships to enable ''Astell'' to make her escape.<ref name="ST283">Taylor, p. 283</ref> At 19:20 the repaired ''Minerve'' returned and took possession of ''Ceylon'', and at 19:45 Stewart surrendered for the second time in less than a year: his ship badly damaged and casualties mounting among his crew and passengers.<ref name="WJ264"/>{{refn|Troude states that ''Astell'' had struck soon after ''Windham'', around 19:25, but that she took opportunity of the growing darkness to escape before the French took possession.<ref>Troude, ''op. cit.'', p.88.</ref>|group=Note}}

==Aftermath==
[[File:Grand Port mg6973.jpg|thumb|''Ceylon'' (far right) at the [[Battle of Grand Port]]]]

''Astell'' was the only British ship to escape, disappearing in the darkness and later reaching a safe port from which despatches were sent to [[London]] recounting the action. On the basis of these accounts, the crew and officers of ''Astell'' were rewarded with £2,000 from the company directors to be shared among them.<ref name="WJ266">James, p. 266</ref> Casualties in the British convoy had been heavy, ''Windham'' losing six killed and 18 wounded, ''Ceylon'' six killed and 21 wounded (including Meriton and Oldham) and ''Astell'' eight killed and 37 wounded (including Hay). In all, 20 British sailors and soldiers were killed and 76 wounded during the engagement. French losses were 22 killed and 38 wounded: four killed and six wounded on ''Bellone'', 17 killed and 29 wounded on ''Minerve'' and one killed and three wounded on ''Victor''.<ref name="WJ265">James, p. 265</ref> The prizes were very severely damaged and Duperré took his squadron to an isolated beach on [[Anjouan]] until 17 July to effect repairs, before returning to Isle de France. Command of ''Ceylon'', renamed ''Ceylan''<ref>Troude, ''op. cit.'', p. 90</ref> was awarded to Lieutenant [[Vincent Moulac]], of ''Minerve'', and that of ''Windham'', to ensign d'Arod.<ref name=troude88>Troude, ''op.cit.'', p.88</ref>

Duperré did not meet any British ships on his journey back to the French island, as most of the British blockade squadron were busy in the aftermath of the [[invasion of Isle Bonaparte]], conducted during July by Commodore Rowley. With the British distracted by this amphibious operation, it was simple for Duperré to reach [[Grand Port]] on the south east coast of Isle de France in spite of the small blockade squadron under Captain [[Samuel Pym]].<ref name="RW287">Woodman, p. 287</ref> This narrow and well-protected anchorage was considered to be the best place to refit the battered French squadron, but in August it came under attack by a British squadron in the [[Battle of Grand Port]]. This action was a disaster for the British as their ships became grounded in the unfamiliar shoals of the harbour and four frigates were lost under fire from shore batteries and Duperré's squadron.<ref name="RG95">Gardiner, p. 95</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

==Citations==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book
| last = Adkins
| first = Roy & Lesley
| year = 2006
| title = The War for All the Oceans
| publisher = Abacus
| isbn = 0-349-11916-3
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Brenton
| first = Edward Pelham
| year = 1825
| title = The Naval History of Great Britain
| publisher = C. Rice
| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_AqQNAAAAQAAJ
| quote = edward pelham brenton.
}}
* {{cite book| last =Clowes
| first =William Laird
| author-link =William Laird Clowes
| year =1997|orig-year=1900
| title =The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume V
| publisher =Chatham Publishing
| isbn =1-86176-014-0}}
* {{cite book
| last = Gardiner
| first = Robert
| year = 2001|orig-year=1998
| title = The Victory of Seapower
| publisher = Caxton Editions
| isbn = 1-84067-359-1
}}
* {{cite book
| last = James
| first = William
| author-link = William James (naval historian)
| year = 2002|orig-year=1827
| title = The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 5, 1808–1811
| publisher = Conway Maritime Press
| isbn =0-85177-909-3}}
* {{cite book
| last = Taylor
| first = Stephen
| year = 2008
| title = Storm & Conquest: The Battle for the Indian Ocean, 1809
| publisher = Faber & Faber
| isbn=978-0-571-22467-8
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Woodman
| first = Richard
| author-link = Richard Woodman
| year = 2001
| title = The Sea Warriors
| publisher = Constable Publishers
| isbn =1-84119-183-3}}
* {{cite book
| title = Batailles navales de la France
| last = Troude
| first = Onésime-Joachim
| author-link = Onésime-Joachim Troude
| year = 1867
| publisher = Challamel ainé
| pages = 160–162
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=zfFrDVTkcpsC
| volume = 4
}}
{{coord missing|Indian Ocean}}

[[Category:Naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1810]]
[[Category:Naval battles involving the British East India Company]]
[[Category:July 1810]]

Action of 3 July 1810 - Revision history

Davidcza at 14:25, 19 August 2025