Action of 9 September 1796 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Action of 9 September 1796
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Map of East Indies. Site of battle marked in red
Date 8–9 September 1796 Location Off Sumatra, near Banda Aceh 5°33′N 95°51′E / 5.55°N 95.85°E / 5.55; 95.85 Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
France	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Pierre César Charles de Sercey	Richard Lucas
Strength
6 frigates	2 ships of the line
Casualties and losses
42 killed 104 wounded	24 killed 84 wounded

The Action of 9 September 1796 was a small naval battle. It happened between French and British ships. The fight took place off the coast of Sumatra during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French ships were six frigates, which are fast warships. They were trying to attack British trade routes. The British force had two much larger ships called ships of the line. These were sent to stop the French.

The battle was not a clear win for either side. Both fleets suffered damage. The British ships went for repairs. The French squadron also needed repairs and changed their plans.

Why the Battle Happened

At the start of 1796, France had very few ships left in the Indian Ocean. Great Britain felt very strong in the area. They had split their naval forces. One large group was in Southern Africa. A smaller group was in the Dutch East Indies, near Malacca. Important trading ports like Calcutta and Madras were not well protected.

In March 1796, France sent more ships. A squadron of four frigates and two smaller ships left France. This group was led by Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey. Some ships were lost or had to return. But Sercey's main force, including a new frigate called Vertu, made it to the Indian Ocean.

Sercey's main goal was to disrupt British trade. He also had orders to deal with issues on Île de France (now Mauritius). After sorting things out there, Sercey took six frigates and a privateer (a privately owned warship) east. They headed towards the Bay of Bengal.

Sercey did not know how spread out the British ships were. He sent a scout ship, Alerte, ahead. On August 14, Alerte attacked a ship. This ship turned out to be the British frigate HMS Carysfort. The British captured Alerte. They found documents showing Sercey's plans and strength. The captain of Carysfort could not warn other British ships. So, he sent false information to Sercey. This made Sercey think there was a strong British fleet at Madras. This trick made Sercey leave the area.

After raiding along the coast, Sercey sailed east again. On September 1, he attacked Banda Aceh. He captured several merchant ships. On September 7, he captured another ship, Favourite, off Sumatra. He was on his way to attack the British port of Penang.

The next morning, two large ships appeared. These were the British 74-gun ships of the line HMS Arrogant and HMS Victorious. They were commanded by Captain Richard Lucas and Captain William Clark. These ships had been sent to protect British trade with China. When news of Sercey reached Penang, Lucas and Clark decided to search for the French.

The Battle Begins

Captain Lucas first saw the French ships at 6:00 AM on September 8. They were about 24 nautical miles (44 km) east of Sumatra. By 10:00 AM, Sercey realized these new ships were likely enemies. He arranged his frigates into a line of battle. This means they sailed in a line to face the enemy.

Lucas and Clark talked at 2:00 PM. Clark thought the French ships were also large ships of the line. But Lucas correctly identified them as six frigates. They decided to chase the French. At 2:30 PM, the French ship Forte confirmed the approaching ships were British ships of the line. Sercey turned away. He did not want to risk his ships against such powerful opponents.

Sercey's squadron tried to find safety near the coast. Lucas's ships chased them closely. By 9:30 PM, the British were only 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) behind the French.

Fighting at Sea

On the morning of September 9, the wind almost stopped. The French frigates were sailing slowly east along Sumatra's coast. The British ships were still close behind. Sercey knew a battle was coming. At 6:00 AM, he ordered his ships to turn. This allowed them to get the weather gage. This means they were upwind of the British, giving them an advantage.

At 7:25 AM, Lucas on Arrogant opened fire on the lead French ship, Vertu. The British ship fired two broadsides (all guns on one side firing at once). Vertu then returned fire. Arrogant was then fired upon by the whole French line. This included Seine, Forte, and Cybèle. The more distant Régénérée and Prudente also joined in. Both Arrogant and Vertu were damaged during this exchange. Arrogant became hard to steer as the wind dropped.

Victorious was also hit. Captain Clark was wounded at 8:00 AM. At 8:30 AM, the last French ship, Prudente, moved out of range of Arrogant. This left Arrogant isolated. Lieutenant William Waller took command of Victorious. He ordered his ship to attack the French at 8:40 AM. Victorious was soon surrounded by French ships. Two frigates were on one side and four on the other. All were firing into the British ship from about 900 yards (820 m).

By 10:15 AM, the wind suddenly returned. Victorious was badly damaged. Waller used the wind to turn towards Arrogant. This exposed his ship's back (stern) to the French. The French ships repeatedly fired along the length of Victorious (called raking fire). The winds remained tricky. Victorious took more damage for the next half-hour. The French ships stayed out of the British ship's firing range.

Vertu had been damaged early in the battle. Its captain, Jean-Matthieu-Adrien Lhermitte, could not continue fighting. His ship slowly fell out of the line. Captain Pierre Julien Tréhouart on Cybèle turned away. He used sweeps (large oars) to reach Vertu and tow it away. With Vertu safe and Arrogant slowly coming back into range, Sercey ordered his squadron to turn north at 10:55 AM. The last shots were fired from Victorious at 11:15 AM.

Ships in the Battle

In this table, "Guns" means all the cannons on the ship. "Broadside weight" is the total weight of all cannonballs fired at once from one side of the ship.

Ship	Commander	Navy	Guns	Broadside weight	Crew	Casualties
						Killed	Wounded	Total
HMS Arrogant	Captain Richard Lucas		74	838 lb (380 kg)	584	7	27	34
HMS Victorious	Captain William Clark		74	838 lb (380 kg)	493	17	57	74
Vertu	Captain Jean-Matthieu-Adrien Lhermitte		40	1,700 lb (770 kg)	1400	9	15	24
Seine	Captain Latour   †		38			18	44	62
Forte	Captain Hubert Le Loup de Beaulieu		44			6	17	23
Cybèle	Captain Pierre Julien Tréhouart		40			4	13	17
Régénérée	Captain Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez		40			0	0	0
Prudente	Captain Charles René Magon de Médine		32			3	9	12
Source: Clowes, p. 503. Clowes combines figures for broadside weight, crews and casualties. Crew and casualty details from James, pp. 353–354.

What Happened Next

Both sides had many casualties (killed and wounded). Arrogant lost 7 killed and 27 wounded. Victorious was hit harder, with 17 killed and 57 wounded, including Captain Clark. Neither British ship could continue fighting. Arrogant had damaged cannons and torn sails. Victorious was also badly damaged.

All the French ships were damaged. Régénérée reported no losses. Vertu had 24 casualties. Seine was hit heavily and lost 62 dead and wounded, including its captain. The other French ships had fewer losses.

Lucas and Clark stayed off Sumatra to make basic repairs. Then, Arrogant towed Victorious to Penang and then to Madras for full repairs. They arrived on October 6.

Sercey gave up his plan to attack Penang. He sailed north to King's Island. His ships underwent major repairs there. In October, the squadron sailed east to the Ceylon coast. Then they turned west towards Batavia. Sercey hoped to find better supplies there. The squadron stayed in Batavia through the winter. This meant the British regained control of the Indian Ocean trade routes.

Historians describe this battle as "inconclusive." This means neither side won a clear victory. Both sides avoided risking too much damage. Sercey's main goal was to raid trade, not fight big warships. The battle stopped him from attacking British merchant ships for a while. Lucas wanted to block Sercey's path. He knew his ships were powerful but outnumbered. If the winds had been better, Lucas might have captured some French frigates. However, if Sercey had tried to board the British ships, his larger crews might have won.

See Also

• French Revolutionary Wars
• Naval warfare