Action of 13 January 1797 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Action of 13 January 1797 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French Revolutionary Wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain |
 France |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Edward Pellew Robert Reynolds (POW) |
 Jean de Lacrosse |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 2 frigates | 1 ship of the line | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 37 killed and wounded 6 drowned 250 captured 1 frigate wrecked |
253 killed and wounded 400-900 drowned 1 ship of the line wrecked |
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The Battle of Droits de l'Homme was a small but fierce naval fight. It happened between a large French warship and two smaller British frigates. This battle took place off the coast of Brittany, France, in January 1797. It was part of the French Revolutionary Wars.
During the battle, the two British frigates were very clever. They outsmarted the much bigger French ship. They forced it onto the rocky shore during a terrible storm. This led to a huge loss of life on the French ship. Between 400 and 1,000 of the 1,300 people on board died. One of the British frigates also crashed onto a sandbank. Six sailors drowned when their ship was lost.
The French ship, named Droits de l'Homme, had 74 guns. It was returning from a failed attempt to invade Ireland. The French plan was to land soldiers in Ireland. They hoped to help Irish rebels fight against British rule. But bad weather and poor planning stopped the invasion. The French fleet had to go back to France without landing anyone.
Two British frigates, HMS Indefatigable and HMS Amazon, were on patrol. They were looking for returning French ships. On January 13, they spotted the Droits de l'Homme. The battle lasted over 15 hours in a rising storm. The waves were so high that the French ship could not open its lower gunports. This meant it could only fire half its guns. The British ships, being smaller and faster, caused a lot of damage. The French ship lost control in the strong winds. It crashed onto a sandbar and was destroyed.
Why Did This Battle Happen?
This battle was part of a bigger plan. In December 1796, France tried to invade Ireland. They wanted to help the United Irishmen, a secret group. The goal was to start a big uprising in Ireland. France hoped this would force Britain to make peace.
France's Invasion Plan
France sent a huge fleet from Brest. It had 17 large warships and 27 smaller ships. They carried 18,000 soldiers, cannons, and supplies. Vice-Admiral Justin Bonaventure Morard de Galles and General Lazare Hoche led the invasion.
The French fleet tried to leave Brest secretly at night. The British navy usually blocked the port. But a severe winter storm had forced the British ships further out to sea. Only a few British frigates were close to Brest. These were led by Sir Edward Pellew on HMS Indefatigable.
Pellew was a famous British officer. He had already captured several French frigates. He also saved 500 lives from a shipwreck. His ship, Indefatigable, was very powerful. It was originally a larger warship, but was made smaller and faster. This made it strong enough to fight big French frigates.
When Pellew saw the French fleet leaving, he sent warnings. He then sailed Indefatigable right into the French fleet. He fired rockets and flashed lights. This confused the French officers. One French ship, the Séduisant, crashed into a rock and sank. Over 680 men died. This confusion delayed the French fleet. After observing the enemy, Pellew took his ships to Falmouth for repairs.
The Failed Invasion of Ireland
The French army tried many times to land in Ireland. But bad weather kept stopping them. The ships carrying the main commanders got separated. The fleet waited for the storm to calm down. But it never did. On December 29, the invasion was called off. The scattered French ships were ordered back to Brest. During this failed mission, 11 more French ships were lost. Thousands of soldiers and sailors died.
By January 13, most of the surviving French ships had returned home. But one ship, the Droits de l'Homme, was still at sea. It was commanded by Commodore Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse. It had over 1,300 people on board, including 700-800 soldiers. Lacrosse had tried to land at the mouth of the River Shannon. But the weather was too bad. He decided to return to France.
The Chase Begins
Pellew, on Indefatigable, was also heading back to Brest. He was with Captain Robert Carthew Reynolds on Amazon. Their ships were fully ready for battle. At 1:00 PM on January 13, they were near Ushant island. They saw a ship through the fog. It was much larger than their frigates. It was the Droits de l'Homme.
Lacrosse saw the British ships too. He faced a tough choice. His ship was bigger, but he thought he saw more British ships nearby. He was wrong; there were no other British ships. He was also worried about the worsening storm and the rocky coast. His ship was already damaged and full of soldiers. He didn't want to risk them in a fight.
So, Lacrosse tried to escape. He turned southeast, hoping to outrun the British ships. But Pellew steered to cut off the French ship from the coast. As the chase continued, the weather got even worse. A blizzard and strong winds made it hard to steer and aim. At 4:15 PM, two of Droits de l'Homme's masts broke. This slowed the French ship down a lot. Pellew, who now knew it was a French warship, closed in.
The Battle in the Storm
Pellew knew his frigates were much smaller. But he guessed that the waves were too rough for the French ship to open its lower gunports. He was right! The Droits de l'Homme's gunports were too low. Water would flood in if they opened them. This meant the French ship could only use its upper deck guns. This cut its firepower in half. Even so, the French ship was still bigger and had more men. But its broken masts made it roll badly in the waves. This made it very hard to steer and aim.
At 5:30 PM, Indefatigable attacked. Pellew sailed behind the Droits de l'Homme and fired at its stern. Lacrosse turned to fight back. He fired his upper deck guns and his soldiers shot muskets. Pellew tried to get in front of the French ship to fire at its bow. Lacrosse tried to ram Indefatigable. Neither plan worked well.
The two ships kept moving around each other, firing when they could. At 6:45 PM, Amazon arrived. Captain Reynolds sailed very close to the French ship. He also fired at its stern. Lacrosse tried to keep both British ships on one side of his ship. He wanted to avoid being caught in a crossfire. The battle went on until 7:30 PM. Then, both British frigates pulled away to make quick repairs.
By 8:30 PM, the British ships were back. They weaved in front of Droits de l'Homme's bow, firing repeatedly. Lacrosse tried to ram them many times, but failed. His cannon fire was not effective because his ship was rolling so much.
By 10:30 PM, Droits de l'Homme was in serious trouble. Many of its crew and soldiers were hurt. Its mizzenmast (a mast at the back) was shot down. Pellew and Reynolds kept firing at the French ship's stern. The French ship ran out of cannonballs. They had to use shells meant for the army. These were even less effective in the storm. The British frigates stayed out of the French ship's firing range. They made repairs and secured their own loose guns. The battle continued all night. Then, at 4:20 AM, land was spotted just two miles away.
The Shipwrecks
Pellew immediately turned his ship towards the open sea. He signaled Reynolds to do the same. Both British ships were damaged, but they managed to turn away from the land. Amazon turned north, and Indefatigable turned south. At first, they thought the land was Ushant island. This would give them plenty of room to move.
But at 6:30 AM, as the sky got lighter, they realized they were in Audierne Bay. This bay had many hidden rocks and sandbanks. Amazon had less room to turn. By 5:00 AM, it hit a sandbank. The ship stayed upright, but it was stuck. After hours of trying to free it, Captain Reynolds ordered his crew to leave the ship. Six men disobeyed and tried to reach shore in a small boat. Their boat flipped, and they all drowned. The rest of the crew, including the wounded, were safely brought ashore by 9:00 AM. They became prisoners of war.
The Loss of Droits de l'Homme
Droits de l'Homme was much more damaged. It was also closer to shore. As Lacrosse's crew tried to turn south, the ship's front mast and bowsprit broke. The ship was almost impossible to control. Lacrosse ordered the anchors dropped. But most of their anchors were already lost or damaged. The last anchor failed to hold the ship. At 7:00 AM, Droits de l'Homme hit a sandbank near Plozévet. This broke off its last mast and made the ship tip onto its side.
As daylight came, many local people gathered on the beach. Droits de l'Homme lay on its side, with huge waves crashing over it. Many of the men on board were soldiers, not sailors. They didn't know what to do in a shipwreck. Waves swept many men into the water. Attempts to launch boats failed. The small boats were broken by the waves. Rafts were built, but many were swamped. Only a few men on one raft reached the beach.
People tried to swim to shore with ropes, but they drowned or were pushed back. No help could come from the shore. Night fell, and most of the crew were still on board. During the night, waves broke the ship's stern. On January 15, a small boat with nine British prisoners (captured earlier by Droits de l'Homme) managed to reach shore. This made others try to launch rafts. But none of these small rafts survived the waves.
By January 16, the seas were still rough. Hunger and panic spread. A large raft with wounded men, two women, and six children was launched. Over 120 unwounded men jumped onto it. The raft was too heavy. A large wave hit it and flipped it over. Everyone on board drowned. By evening, the remaining survivors were weak from hunger and cold. Some drank seawater or urine to survive.
On January 17, the storm finally calmed down. A small French naval ship, the Arrogante, arrived. It couldn't get too close, but sent boats to rescue survivors. Another small ship, the Aiguille, joined later. Many survivors were too weak to reach the boats. Only 150 men were rescued that day. The next morning, only 140 survivors were left. General Humbert and Commodore Lacrosse were the last to leave the ship. The survivors were taken to Brest, given food, clothes, and medical care. The British prisoners were released and sent home.
What Happened Next?
It's hard to know exactly how many French people died. Out of 1,300 people on Droits de l'Homme, 103 died in the battle. Just over 300 were saved from the wreck. This means about 900 men died. However, some French sources say up to 500 more were rescued. This would mean about 400 deaths. A stone monument in Plozévet says 600 died.
Amazon lost three men in the battle and six in the shipwreck. Fifteen were wounded. Indefatigable had no deaths and only 18 wounded. The French had more losses because their ship was so hard to aim in the storm.
Captain Reynolds and his officers were later exchanged for French prisoners. A court-martial (a military trial) cleared them of any blame for losing their ship. Reynolds was given command of another large frigate. The senior officers on both British frigates were promoted. The crews also received prize money.
Pellew stayed in command of Indefatigable and captured more French merchant ships. He was promoted many times and became a famous admiral. Reynolds died later in the war. Lacrosse and Humbert were not blamed for losing their ship. Lacrosse was promoted to admiral. Humbert led another attempt to invade Ireland, which also failed.
In Britain, this battle was highly praised. People called it an amazing feat of skill and bravery. It was remembered as a unique naval achievement. Decades later, British sailors who fought in this battle received a special medal.
Images for kids
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Menhir commemorating the wreck of Droits de l'Homme (shown in the picture as damaged by storm with the topmost portion having broken off)
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See Also
