Action of 31 March 1800 facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Action of 31 March 1800 |
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| Part of the Mediterranean campaign during the War of the Second Coalition |
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 Capture of the Guillaume Tell 31 March 1800, Nicholas Pocock |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain |
 France |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Manley Dixon |
Denis Decrès  |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 2 ships of the line 1 frigate 2 brigs 1 bomb vessel |
1 ship of the line | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 128 killed and wounded | 200 killed and wounded 1 ship of the line captured |
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The Action of 31 March 1800 was an important sea battle. It happened during the French Revolutionary Wars. A British Royal Navy group of ships fought a large French warship. The battle took place near Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.
By March 1800, Valletta, the capital city of Malta, had been under attack for 18 months. Food supplies were running very low for the French soldiers inside the city. A French convoy bringing supplies was stopped and defeated in February. To get help from France and reduce the number of hungry soldiers, the French naval commander, Contre-amiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, gave an order. He told Contre-amiral Denis Decrès to sail away with the big warship Guillaume Tell. This ship had arrived in Malta before the siege began in 1798. Over 900 men, many sick or wounded, were on board. The plan was for the ship to sail to Toulon in France under the cover of darkness on March 30.
The British Navy had been blocking Malta since the siege started. Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson was supposed to be in charge. But he was not there at the time. So, Captain Manley Dixon of HMS Lion and Nelson's flag captain Sir Edward Berry were leading the blockade. They learned about Decrès' departure from the frigate HMS Penelope. They immediately began to chase the French ship.
The large French ship was first attacked only by Penelope. This smaller ship sailed around Guillaume Tell's back. It caused a lot of damage and slowed the French ship down. This gave Berry's other ships time to join the fight. Even though he was greatly outnumbered, Decrès kept fighting for over three hours. He fought off two British ships. But he could not resist the combined attacks of Berry's squadron. Both sides had many casualties and severe damage. The brave fight of the French ship was praised in both countries.
Why the Battle Happened
In May 1798, a French fleet led by General Napoleon Bonaparte sailed across the Mediterranean Sea. They were heading for Egypt. On June 9, they stopped at Malta. Bonaparte landed soldiers and took control of the island. He left a large French army in Valletta under General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois. The rest of the fleet continued to Alexandria.
After landing in Egypt, Bonaparte marched his army inland. The French fleet stayed in Aboukir Bay to support the troops. But on August 1, a British fleet led by Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson surprised them. The British almost completely destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of the Nile. Only two large warships and two smaller frigates escaped from the 17 French ships. One of the surviving warships, Généreux, sailed to Corfu. The other, Guillaume Tell, reached Malta with the two frigates.
When Guillaume Tell arrived in Malta in September 1798, the island was already in chaos. The French had made unpopular changes, especially to the Roman Catholic Church. The Maltese people rebelled. They forced the French soldiers to retreat into the fortress of Valletta on September 2. By October, British and Portuguese troops had joined the Maltese fighters. A group of naval ships also watched Valletta harbor. They wanted to stop any French attempts to send supplies or more soldiers.
Small amounts of supplies reached Valletta from France in early 1799. But by the start of 1800, no ships had arrived for over seven months. The soldiers in the city were almost starving. To try and resupply the city, the French sent a convoy from Toulon in February 1800. But British ships under Nelson stopped them near Malta on February 17. In the battle that followed, the French flagship Généreux was captured. The French commander, Contre-amiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée, was killed.
Without Perrée's supplies, the French soldiers in Valletta continued to face severe food shortages. By March, General Vaubois and Contre-amiral Villeneuve decided to send an urgent message to France asking for help. They chose the 80-gun Guillaume Tell for this mission. Captain Saulnier was in command of the ship. The ship was chosen because it was large enough to carry over 900 men. Many of these men were sick or wounded soldiers. Contre-amiral Denis Decrès was given overall command of the ship. Vaubois and Villeneuve set the departure date for March 30. While the French prepared, the British continued their blockade. Captain Manley Dixon on HMS Lion was now in charge of the British ships.
The Battle Unfolds
At 11:00 PM on March 30, with a strong wind, Guillaume Tell sailed out of Valletta. Decrès hoped to use the darkness to sneak past the British ships. Captain Dixon had placed his ships around the island. The frigate HMS Penelope, commanded by Captain Henry Blackwood, was watching Valletta closely. At 11:55 PM, Blackwood's lookouts spotted Guillaume Tell. The captain immediately began to chase it. He ordered the smaller ship HMS Minorca to tell Dixon about the French ship. Dixon's ships were just visible in the distance. Blackwood also tried to signal his discovery to his commanding officer.
Blackwood quickly caught up to the large French warship. By 12:30 AM, Penelope was close enough to fire. It sailed behind Guillaume Tell and began a steady attack. Decrès could only fire back with his stern-chasers. These were small cannons at the back of his ship. Decrès knew that if he stopped to fight Penelope, the rest of Berry's ships would soon arrive. He kept sailing northeast, hoping his heavy warship could outrun the fast frigate. But Penelope was too quick. Blackwood skillfully sailed his ship. He managed to repeatedly pass behind Decrès' ship. He fired many powerful broadsides (all cannons on one side) into the French ship.
Blackwood's attack was very successful. By dawn on March 31, Guillaume Tell had lost its main and mizen topmasts. It also lost its main yard (a long beam holding a sail). This greatly reduced the French ship's speed. The French ship had also suffered many casualties. But Penelope had only one man killed and three wounded. It was almost undamaged.
British reinforcements were now arriving. The 64-gun HMS Lion under Captain Dixon had received the warning at 1:00 AM. He immediately sailed in pursuit. He sent the brig Minorca to Captain Sir Edward Berry on HMS Foudroyant. Berry's ship was some distance away. By 5:00 AM, Dixon was close enough to join the fight. He sailed between Penelope and Guillaume Tell. He fired a powerful broadside into the French ship's left side. Lion then sailed ahead of the now slow Guillaume Tell. Dixon positioned his ship across the French ship's front. This allowed him to fire along its length. Penelope did the same at the back. During these moves, Dixon's ship briefly got tangled with Guillaume Tell's ropes. Two attempts by the French to board the British ship were stopped as the ships untangled.
For half an hour, Lion kept firing into the larger Guillaume Tell. But Dixon could not keep his ship completely out of range of the French cannons. By 5:30 AM, Lion had taken damage. It fell back behind the French ship. But it stayed close enough to keep firing alongside Penelope. At 6:00 AM, Guillaume Tell was attacked for the third time. Berry himself caught up with the fighting ships in Foudroyant. He pulled his ship alongside the right side of the French warship. Berry called out to Decrès, demanding he surrender. He also fired a powerful broadside. Decrès fired back with his own guns. Foudroyant was sailing with all its sails up. So, it suffered severe damage to its rigging in the first exchange. The extra speed from its sails forced Foudroyant to move ahead of the French ship. After getting back alongside Guillaume Tell, Berry started firing again. This quickly tore away much of the remaining French rigging. This allowed Lion and Penelope to rejoin the battle. Foudroyant dropped back to make urgent repairs.
By 6:30 AM, the badly outnumbered French ship had lost both its main and mizen masts. Foudroyant returned to the battle. By 8:00 AM, it helped to bring down the French ship's foremast. At 8:20 AM, Decrès had no way to sail his ship. Wreckage blocked most of his cannons. He surrendered to prevent any more useless loss of life. His ship was in danger. Without masts and with strong winds, it rolled so much that the lower deck gun ports had to be closed. This was to stop the ship from sinking.
More than 200 French sailors were killed or wounded out of a crew of over 900. Both Decrès and Captain Saulnier were badly wounded. British losses were fewer. Eight were killed and 64 wounded on Foudroyant, including Berry. Eight were killed and 38 wounded on Lion. One was killed and three wounded on Penelope. Damage was not equal. Foudroyant suffered the most. Its hull and all masts were damaged. The mizzenmast was so badly hit that it fell at about 12:00 PM, wounding five more men. Lion was also badly hit, but not as severely as Foudroyant. Penelope had only light damage to its masts and rigging. The battle had started near Malta. It ended about 21 nautical miles (39 km) southwest of Cape Passaro in Sicily.
After the Battle
Both Foudroyant and Lion were too damaged to effectively tow the dismasted French ship. So, Penelope was left to bring the shattered Guillaume Tell into Syracuse on Sicily. Eventually, the ship was repaired enough to travel to Britain. There, it was added to the Royal Navy. It was renamed HMS Malta. Malta was one of the most powerful warships in the British fleet. It served for many years. It took part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805) in 1805.
The British officers were praised for capturing Guillaume Tell. It was the last French warship to escape the Battle of the Nile. Nelson, who missed this battle, wrote to Berry. He said, "Your conduct and character in the late glorious occasion stamps your fame beyond the reach of envy."
Historian James gave most of the credit for the victory to Blackwood and Dixon. Their ships were much smaller than Guillaume Tell. But they successfully attacked to delay the French ship. He also highly praised Decrès for his actions in the battle. He said, "A more heroic defence than that of the Guillaume-Tell is not to be found among the records of naval actions." First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte agreed. When Decrès was later exchanged (released as a prisoner), he received special honors. He was given the position of maritime prefect (a high naval official) of the port of Lorient.
On board Guillaume Tell, the British found proof of how bad the food shortages were in Valletta. "The only thing found in La Guillaume Tell was the leg of a mule. It was hung for safety and for the admiral's special use." News of Guillaume Tell's capture was immediately sent to General Vaubois by the British. They also demanded that he surrender the island. The French general refused, even though food supplies were very low. He said, "This place is in too good a situation, and I am too conscious of the service of my country and my honour, to listen to your proposals." Despite Vaubois' defiance, the soldiers were quickly starving. The French commander resisted until September 4. But he was eventually forced to surrender Valletta and all its military equipment to the British.
Images for kids
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Capture of the Guillaume Tell 31 March 1800, Nicholas Pocock
See Also
- Siege of Malta (1798-1800)
- Battle of the Malta Convoy (1800)
