Action of 15 November 1810 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Action of 15 November 1810 |
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| Part of the Napoleonic Wars | |||||||
 Map of Lower Normandy Location of the destruction of Elisa |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |
 French Empire |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Pulteney Malcolm | Bernard-Louis Rosseau Louis-Henri Fraycinet-Saulce |
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| Strength | |||||||
| Ships of the line HMS Donegal, HMS Revenge frigate HMS Diana, HMS Niobe | frigates Elisa and Amazone | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Two killed, nine wounded | 1 killed, Elisa later destroyed |
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The Action of 15 November 1810 was a small naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars. It happened when the British Royal Navy was trying to stop French ships from leaving their ports in the English Channel. This strategy, called a blockade, meant British ships stayed close to French ports to keep their navy trapped.
In late 1810, a British group of ships was watching the Baie de la Seine (a bay in France). This kept two French groups of ships stuck in the ports of Le Havre and Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. On November 12, two French frigates (a type of warship), Elisa and Amazone, tried to sneak out of Le Havre at night. Their goal was to reach Cherbourg and join up with other French ships.
Early on November 13, British frigates, HMS Diana and HMS Niobe, spotted the French ships and began to chase them.
The Chase and Battle
The French ships, Elisa and Amazone, managed to find safety near the heavily protected Iles Saint-Marcouf. The next morning, they sailed to an anchorage (a safe place to drop anchor) near Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. For two days, the British frigates watched them closely. Then, two larger British warships, called ships of the line, HMS Donegal and HMS Revenge, arrived to help. These ships had been blockading Cherbourg.
Attacking the French Ships
On November 15, the British ships attacked the French frigates. The French ships were protected by cannons on the shore at La Hougue and Tatihou. The British tried four times to get close to the French ships, but they faced heavy fire from the shore cannons and had to pull back.
That night, the British commander, Captain Pulteney Malcolm, sent small boats close to the shore. These boats carried new weapons called Congreve rockets. These rockets were fired at the French ships. Although none of the rockets hit their targets, they seemed to scare the French crews. By morning, both French frigates had cut their anchors and drifted onto the shore. Elisa was stuck hard on its side.
The French ships were later pulled back into the water. Captain Malcolm's ships continued to blockade the area. On November 27, Amazone managed to escape back to Le Havre.
The End of Elisa
The damaged Elisa stayed anchored until December 6. On that day, a British bomb vessel (a ship designed to fire bombs) attacked it. Elisa moved further into shallow water to avoid the attack, but it got stuck again, this time for good.
For the next two weeks, Elisa remained stuck and slowly became a wreck. On December 23, British boats from Diana, led by Lieutenant Thomas Rowe, went into the anchorage at night. They set the stranded Elisa on fire to make sure nothing useful could be taken from it. This destroyed the frigate completely.
After Elisa was destroyed, the British ships went back to their usual blockade duties near Cherbourg and Le Havre. The British continued to block French ports for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars.
See Also
