Battle of Cap-Français facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Cap-Français
Part of the Seven Years' War
Date 21 October 1757 Location Off Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Arthur Forrest	Comte de Kersaint
Strength
Three ships of the line	Four ships of the line Three frigates
Casualties and losses
23 killed 89 wounded	500–600 killed and wounded

The Battle of Cap-Français was a naval fight during the Seven Years' War. It happened between French and British ships. The battle took place outside the harbour of Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue (which is now Cap-Haïtien, Haiti). The date was 21 October 1757.

A British group of three warships, led by Commodore Arthur Forrest, was sent to look for a French merchant convoy. This convoy was heading to France. However, they found that the French convoy's escort, led by Guy François de Coetnempren, comte de Kersaint, had many more ships. Even though the French had more ships, the British attacked them. The British ships fought bravely against a much larger force. They caused a lot of damage to the French. But the British ships also got badly damaged. After several hours, the French ships pulled away and went back to port. The British ships also had to go back to port for repairs. The French convoy then left the next month.

Even though no side won clearly, the British officers became popular heroes. They were praised for being so daring and fighting against such big odds. A young nephew of one of the officers, Horatio Nelson, later became a famous naval leader. Nelson thought the date of this battle was a good sign. Forty-eight years later, on the same day, he fought a French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Getting Ready for Battle

The British ships were a small group of three powerful warships called ships of the line. They were led by Commodore Arthur Forrest. These ships had been sent from Jamaica by Rear-Admiral Thomas Cotes. Their mission was to stop a French convoy that was sailing home.

The British group included two 60-gun ships: HMS Augusta, which was Forrest's main ship, and HMS Dreadnought, led by Captain Maurice Suckling. The third ship was the 64-gun HMS Edinburgh, led by Captain William Langdon. They arrived near Cap-Français on the morning of 21 October. They expected to find the French convoy there.

The French convoy's escort, led by Guy François de Coetnempren, comte de Kersaint, had recently gotten more ships. When the British arrived, the French force had four ships of the line and three large frigates (smaller, faster warships). Since he had more ships, Kersaint quickly sailed out to sea when the British appeared. He wanted to catch the smaller British force. Kersaint was on his main ship, the 70-gun Intrépide. With him were the 70-gun Sceptre, the 64-gun Opiniatre, the 50-gun Greenwich, and three frigates: the 44-gun Outarde and the 32-gun Sauvage and Licorne.

The Fight Begins

Commodore Forrest saw that the French escort was much bigger than he thought. He also saw that they were moving to attack his ships. So, Forrest called his captains together for a quick meeting on his ship, Augusta.

On the ship's deck, Forrest said, "Well, gentlemen, you see that they have come out to engage us." Captain Suckling quickly replied, "I think it would be a pity to disappoint them." Captain Langdon agreed. Forrest then ended the talk by saying, "Very well, go onboard your ships again." The meeting lasted only about half a minute.

The British ships then lined up one after another. Even though the French had many more ships, the British sailed straight towards them. Captain Suckling's Dreadnought was at the front. Forrest's Augusta was in the middle. Langdon's Edinburgh was at the back.

The fighting started at 3:20 PM and lasted for two and a half hours. Then, Kersaint signaled one of his frigates to pull his damaged main ship, Intrépide, out of the battle line. When this happened, the French line became messy. Intrépide, Superbe, and Greenwich crashed into each other. The British ships Augusta and Edinburgh fired many cannons at them until they could get untangled.

The other French ships slowly left the fight and moved away. The British ships were too damaged to follow them. The British had 23 sailors killed and 89 wounded. Their ships' masts and ropes were badly cut up. Dreadnought had lost her main and mizzen topmasts (parts of the tall poles that hold the sails). Since they couldn't chase the French, the British ships went back to Jamaica to get fixed.

Kersaint, who was hurt in the battle, went back to Cap-Français for repairs. He then sailed to France with the convoy in November. The French had many more casualties, with about 500 to 600 sailors killed and wounded. The Opiniatre had lost its masts, and Greenwich was leaking badly. On the British ships, the Augusta had 9 killed and 29 wounded. The Dreadnought had 9 killed and 30 wounded. The Edinburgh had 5 killed and 30 wounded.

What Happened Next

The battle didn't have a clear winner. Kersaint was able to take his convoy to France safely after his ships were fixed. However, the British captains were highly praised for their bravery. They had dared to attack a much stronger force and fought well.

A naval historian named John Knox Laughton wrote that "the credit of the action rested with Forrest and his companions, who had not hesitated to attack a very superior force, and had fought it without disadvantage."

Kersaint faced more trouble when he got close to the French coast. He got caught in a storm. This storm caused his ships Opiniatre, Greenwich, and Outarde to run aground and be destroyed. The loss of the Greenwich on 1 January 1758 was interesting. It had been a British ship before. A French group of ships had captured it on 18 March 1757, while it was sailing near Saint-Domingue.

The memory of this battle and the idea of British bravery lasted through the 1700s. Maurice Suckling's nephew, Horatio Nelson, knew about his uncle's brave actions. Forty-eight years later, on the morning of 21 October 1805, Nelson was heard to say that "the 21st of October was the happiest day in the year among his family." He didn't say why. But Nelson had a strong feeling that this day would be lucky for him. He had told Captain Hardy and Doctor Scott several times, "The 21st of October will be our day." Indeed, 21 October was the date of Nelson's great victory, and his death, at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Ships in the Battle

Here are the ships that fought in the Battle of Cap-Français:

Britain

France