Action of 24 October 1798 facts for kids
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Quick facts for kids Action of 24 October 1798 |
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| Part of the French Revolutionary Wars | |||||||
 Capture of the Furie & Waakzaamheid, Oct. 23rd 1798 Thomas Whitcombe |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain |
 Batavian Republic |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Richard King |
Meindert van Neirop |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1 frigate | 1 frigate 1 corvette |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 wounded | 8 killed 14 wounded 1 frigate captured 1 corvette captured |
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The Action of 24 October 1798 was a small but important sea battle during the French Revolutionary Wars. These wars were a big conflict between France and many other European countries. This particular fight happened between a British warship and two ships from the Batavian Republic, which was basically the Netherlands controlled by France at the time.
The Dutch ships were caught in the North Sea just hours after leaving port. They were about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Texel, an island in the Netherlands. The British ship, called HMS Sirius, stopped them. The Dutch ships were carrying lots of military supplies and French soldiers. These were meant to help French and Irish forces fighting in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
Even though the rebellion in Ireland had been defeated a month earlier, the news hadn't reached Europe yet. So, the Dutch force was still trying to help. A larger French group had already been defeated earlier in October at the Battle of Tory Island. The Dutch ships faced a similar fate. Both were defeated one after the other by the bigger and better-armed British ship.
Captain Richard King on Sirius found the Dutch ships early on October 24. They were about 2 miles (3.2 km) apart, so they couldn't help each other easily. King first went after the smaller ship, Waakzaamheid. He was faster and made her surrender in about an hour without a fight. Then, he turned his attention to the larger ship, Furie. King quickly caught up and started firing heavily. Furie couldn't fight back effectively. In just half an hour, she also surrendered. Both Dutch ships were taken to Britain, fixed up, and used by the British Royal Navy. This battle was the last time European countries tried to land soldiers in Ireland during the rebellion.
Contents
What Happened?
After the French Revolution in 1789, a group called the Society of United Irishmen formed in Ireland. They wanted Ireland to be free from British rule. When Britain went to war with France in 1793, this group became illegal. Many of its leaders had to leave Ireland. These leaders kept asking for armed help against the British.
Why Was This Battle Important?
In 1796, they convinced the French government to launch a big invasion of Ireland. This invasion, called the Expédition d'Irlande, was a disaster. Thousands of French soldiers drowned, and not one successfully landed. Later, in October 1797, the French-controlled government of the Batavian Republic (the Netherlands) tried to invade Ireland too. But their fleet was stopped and defeated by Admiral Adam Duncan at the Battle of Camperdown.
The Plan to Help Ireland
In May 1798, some leaders of the United Irishmen were arrested. This started the Irish Rebellion of 1798, a big uprising across Ireland. The British were surprised, but they quickly sent in regular British Army troops. These troops soon defeated the Irish armies. The last bit of resistance ended in September when a small French force surrendered at the Battle of Ballinamuck.
The French government was also surprised by the uprising. They weren't ready, so the forces they sent were too small. News of this defeat hadn't reached Europe by October. That's when a second French invasion force set out. The British Royal Navy watched them closely as soon as they left Brest. This French group was defeated on October 12, 1798, at the Battle of Tory Island. Less than a third of the French ships made it back to France.
The Ships and Their Mission
The Dutch had also agreed to send help to the United Irishmen during the rebellion. But like the French, they weren't ready for the sudden uprising. Their ships weren't prepared until October 24. Two Dutch ships were ordered to take on troops and supplies. These were the 36-gun frigate Furie and the 24-gun corvette Waakzaamheid. A frigate is a medium-sized warship, and a corvette is a smaller, faster warship. Captain Bartholomeus Pletz commanded Furie, and Captain Meindert van Neirop commanded Waakzaamheid. Van Neirop was in charge of the whole mission.
Even though both ships were small and not very well-armed, they each carried French soldiers for Ireland. Furie had 165 soldiers, and Waakzaamheid had 122. Plus, the ships carried over 6,000 guns and lots of other military supplies. These were meant to arm the Irish fighters they expected to meet.
The Battle Begins
The Dutch ships left on the night of October 23/24. They sailed quickly and by 8:00 AM, they were 30 miles (48 km) northwest of the Texel, heading west towards the English Channel. But the British frigate HMS Sirius was nearby. Sirius was a new ship, rated as having 38 guns but actually carrying 44. She was commanded by Captain Richard King. King had been part of the campaign against the French invasion attempt two years earlier.
Sirius was stationed off the Texel to watch for Dutch ships. She was supposed to stop any ships of her size or smaller. The Dutch group had two ships, but the British ship was much bigger and faster. Also, the Dutch ships were more than 2 miles (3.2 km) apart. This meant they were too far away to help each other against Sirius.
Catching the First Ship
King decided to go after the smaller and slower Waakzaamheid first. She was upwind from Furie, meaning she would have to sail against the wind to reach Pletz's ship. King quickly got close to the corvette, avoiding the larger Furie for now. At 9:00 AM, Sirius came alongside Waakzaamheid and fired a warning shot. Captain van Neirop immediately surrendered. Furie hadn't tried to help, and fighting the much larger Sirius would have been useless.
King sent some of his crew to take over Waakzaamheid. He moved most of the Dutch prisoners onto Sirius. Once the first ship was secure, King immediately went after Furie. Furie was trying to escape to the west and had almost disappeared over the horizon.
The Chase and Second Surrender
The chase continued for the rest of the day. Furie couldn't get away from the faster British ship. Sirius steadily gained on her during the afternoon. By 5:00 PM, Sirius was close enough to fire at the Dutch frigate.
King's guns fired heavily, but Pletz fought back. He fired his own cannons and kept trying to escape. The fight went on for half an hour. The distance between the ships changed as Pletz tried to move out of King's range. The British crew were better at firing their guns than the Dutch. The French soldiers on board Furie also fired their muskets, but these had little effect on Sirius. The ships were too far apart for muskets to be useful.
As a result, Furie suffered more damage and had more casualties. Sirius was barely hit. Only one shot hit her bowsprit (the pole sticking out from the front of the ship), and only one British sailor was wounded. Around 5:30 PM, Pletz surrendered. He had lost eight men killed and 14 wounded, and his ship was badly damaged. King moved the prisoners and put a prize crew on Furie. Then, he returned to his base at the Nore (a naval anchorage in England) with his two captured ships.
What Happened After?
The capture of these Dutch ships was the last time a European country tried to land troops in Ireland during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars that followed. Both Furie and Waakzaamheid were bought by the British Royal Navy. Furie went back to her old name, Wilhelmina. Waakzaamheid kept her name. The corvette was re-rated, and the number of guns on board was reduced to 20. This was because her structure wasn't strong enough to carry 24 guns.
Richard King stayed in command of Sirius until 1802. Later, he commanded a larger warship called a ship of the line (a very big warship), HMS Achille. He even took part in the famous Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Images for kids
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Capture of the Furie & Waakzaamheid, Oct. 23rd 1798 by Thomas Whitcombe
