Action of 18 November 1809 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Action of 18 November 1809 |
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| Part of the Mauritius campaign of the Napoleonic Wars | |||||||
 Location of the action of 18 November 1809 |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |
.svg){kind=small} East India Company |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jacques Hamelin |
John Stewart |
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| Strength | |||||||
| Two frigates One brig |
Three East Indiamen | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 4 killed 2 wounded Three East Indiamen captured (one subsequently recovered) |
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The Action of 18 November 1809 was an important sea battle during the Napoleonic Wars. It happened in the Indian Ocean. A French group of ships, led by Commodore Jacques Hamelin, was sailing around. They were trying to capture British merchant ships. This was called commerce raiding.
On November 18, 1809, Hamelin's ships found three large British merchant ships. These ships were called East Indiamen. They were heading to British India. They were carrying soldiers for the East India Company (EIC) army.
The biggest British ship, Windham, tried to fight a French frigate called Manche. They battled for an hour. Then Manche moved away. The other two British ships did not help. They gave up easily to the stronger French ships. Windham tried to escape for five days. But it was also captured by Hamelin's main ship, Vénus.
The French ships then started taking their captured prizes back to their base. This base was on Île de France. A big storm hit them a month later. Several ships were badly damaged. The British prisoners on Vénus, including Captain Stewart, helped save the ship. They helped bring it safely to port.
After the storm, the ships were separated. Windham was recaptured by a British ship. The other French ships and two East Indiamen made it to Île de France. Captain Stewart and his crew were later set free. This was because they helped during the hurricane.
This battle was one of three times British convoys were lost in 1809. This made the British send many more warships to the Indian Ocean in 1810.
Contents
Why This Battle Happened
After a big battle called Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Britain's Royal Navy was very strong. French warships, especially frigates, sometimes escaped British blockades. These frigates were fast and powerful. They were perfect for attacking merchant ships.
Britain's economy relied on trade with its distant empire. It was hard for the Royal Navy to protect every ship. The East India Company's trade with British India was very valuable. To protect this trade, the EIC used East Indiamen. These were large merchant ships with guns. They could fight off pirates or small enemy ships. But they were not as strong as real warships. They could not beat a frigate in a fight.
In 1808, the French Navy sent four large frigates to the Indian Ocean. Their goal was to hurt British trade. They also wanted to force the Royal Navy to send more ships there. This would make the Royal Navy weaker in other places. Commodore Jacques Hamelin led this group of ships. He was very good at fighting frigates and raiding trade. The French ships got their supplies from two French islands. These were Île de France and Île Bonaparte (now Réunion).
Hamelin sent his frigates into the Bay of Bengal. They hunted for British merchant ships. In 1809, the French frigate Caroline was very successful. It captured two East Indiamen. The British forces in the area were led by Admiral Sir Albemarle Bertie. He sent a group of frigates to blockade the French islands. This group was led by Commodore Josias Rowley. Rowley's ships attacked a port on Île Bonaparte. They captured Caroline and its prizes.
Hamelin's Journey and Stewart's Ships
In July 1809, Hamelin left Île de France. He was on his frigate Vénus. With him were the frigate Manche and the small warship Créole. Both frigates had at least 40 cannons. Créole had 14 cannons. All three ships had many experienced sailors.
Hamelin sailed his ships towards the Bay of Bengal. On the way, Vénus captured a British ship. Hamelin then sailed east. He captured several small merchant ships near the Nicobar Islands. Then he turned south. On October 10, his ships attacked a trading port called Tappanooly on Sumatra. They captured the British people there and burned the town. Hamelin then turned north again.
Months earlier, three East Indiamen had left Britain. They were Windham, Charlton, and United Kingdom. Captain John Stewart was in charge of Windham and the whole group. They were going to Calcutta to pick up valuable goods. On this trip, they carried over 200 passengers. Most of these were soldiers for the East India Company's army.
Stewart's three ships were large merchant vessels. They each had 20 to 30 small cannons. But they were not warships. Their crews were not trained for military battles. Their guns were not as powerful as naval guns. Many of their crew were lascars, who were not always reliable in a fight. On November 11, they met a British warship. It warned them about French ships in the area. Captain Stewart began practicing Windham's gunnery.
The Battle Begins
At 6:00 AM on November 18, 1809, Hamelin saw Stewart's ships. He started chasing them. The French frigates were much better than the East Indiamen. They were faster, stronger, and had more powerful guns. They also had better-trained crews. However, a group of British ships could still be a tough target. They could damage the French ships. The French were thousands of miles from their home port.
The French ships got a bit mixed up during the chase. Manche fell behind Vénus and Créole. Captain Stewart saw this. He decided to attack Manche with all three of his ships. He hoped to damage it enough to make it leave. Then Vénus might not want to attack alone. Stewart signaled his plan to the other captains. He turned Windham towards Manche. Hamelin saw the danger to his scattered ships. He signaled for his ships to come together. But Windham would reach Manche first.
By 8:00 AM, it was clear Stewart's plan was failing. Charlton and United Kingdom did not join his attack. Their captains held back. Stewart now faced a stronger enemy alone. But he was too close to run away. Manche's commander, Captain Dornal de Guy, started firing at 9:30 AM. He hit Windham many times as it got closer. Stewart knew his gunners were not very good. He waited until his ship was very close. When Windham finally fired, the shots missed the French ship. The faster Manche then got very close to Windham. The two ships fired at each other for over an hour. The other two British ships did not help. They fired a few shots from far away, but they did nothing.
Hamelin told Manche to leave Windham. He wanted Manche to rejoin the other French ships. Dornal de Guy pulled his ship away at 12:00 PM. Stewart used this break to make quick repairs. Hamelin sent Manche and Créole after the slow Charlton and United Kingdom. His own ship, Vénus, went after Windham. Stewart decided the battle was hopeless. He agreed with his officers to try to escape alone.
Manche and Créole quickly caught Charlton and United Kingdom. Their captains did not try to escape. They gave up after only a small fight. However, Vénus struggled to catch Windham. Stewart threw everything he could overboard to make his ship lighter and faster. The two ships got separated from the others. The chase continued for five days. At 10:30 AM on November 22, Hamelin finally caught the British ship. Windham surrendered.
Journey Back to Base
Another French frigate, Bellone, had been sailing alone. It had also captured ships. It captured a British warship on November 2. It also captured a Portuguese frigate on November 22. Then it sailed back to Île de France. Hamelin and Dornal de Guy met up with their captured ships on December 6. They also decided to return to Île de France. The cyclone season was coming. This was a very dangerous time to be at sea. Many ships had been lost in storms before.
On December 19, the first winter storm hit the French ships. In the big waves and strong winds, Windham and then Vénus got separated. Manche kept the other ships together. The French crew on Windham managed to control their ship. They continued alone towards Île de France. But Vénus was hit by an even bigger hurricane on December 27. It lost its top masts. The French crew panicked. They refused to help with the sails or close the hatches. A lot of water poured into the ship. It almost sank.
In desperation, Hamelin asked Captain Stewart for help. He asked Stewart's men to save the ship. But he wanted Stewart to promise his men would not try to escape. Stewart refused to promise this. But he agreed to help repair the damage and bring the ship to safety. Hamelin agreed after securing the weapons. Stewart and his men cut away the broken masts. They pumped water out of the ship. They repaired it so it could continue its journey.
On December 31, the damaged Vénus arrived at a port called Rivière Noire. Stewart and his men were marched to Port Louis. They saw Manche, Créole, Charlton, and United Kingdom arrive on January 1, 1810. Stewart and his men were later released for their help. They were allowed to sail to the Cape of Good Hope. There, they found Windham. It had not reached Île de France. Its French crew had kept control after the storm. But a new British frigate, HMS Magicienne, had spotted and captured it. This happened on December 29, very close to Île de France. Bellone and its captured ships arrived at Port Louis on January 2. They had slipped past the British blockade.
What Happened Next
Very few people were hurt in the battle. The British lost four killed and two wounded. The French had no casualties. This battle showed how easily French frigates could attack and capture important trade ships. They did this without much opposition. The battle on November 18 was the second time in 1809 that a British East India convoy was destroyed. Another would be lost in 1810. These losses were very serious. They led to a huge increase in British naval forces in late 1810.
Despite the French success, Vénus could not operate alone like this again. Hamelin was needed to fight the strong British frigate groups that returned in 1810. These British ships were preparing for planned invasions of the French islands. Hamelin could not stop these attacks. He was eventually captured in a battle on September 18, 1810. This was a fight with Commodore Rowley on his ship HMS Boadicea.
See Also
