Battle of San Domingo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of San Domingo |
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| Part of the Napoleonic Wars | |||||||
 Duckworth's Action off San Domingo, 6 February 1806, Nicholas Pocock |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom |
 France |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 John Duckworth |
 Corentin Leissègues |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 7 ships of the line 2 frigates 2 brigs |
5 ships of the line 2 frigates 1 corvette |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 338 killed and wounded | 1,500 killed and wounded 1,156 captured 2 ships of the line destroyed 3 ships of the line captured |
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The Battle of San Domingo was a big naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars. It happened on February 6, 1806. British and French warships fought off the coast of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean.
The French fleet was led by Vice-Admiral Corentin-Urbain Leissègues. All five of his main warships were either captured or destroyed. The Royal Navy, led by Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, didn't lose any ships. They had fewer than 100 sailors killed. The French, however, lost about 1,500 men. Only a few small French ships managed to get away.
This battle was the last major fight between French and British main fleets in the open ocean during the war.
Contents
Why the Battle Happened
In late 1805, the British Navy stopped blocking French ports. This was after the Battle of Trafalgar, where France lost many ships. The British thought France wouldn't attack again so soon. But they were wrong about the French fleet at Brest, a main French port. This fleet was still strong.
Emperor Napoleon saw his chance. He ordered two groups of ships to sail out. Their mission was to attack British trade ships in the Atlantic. They were told to cause a lot of damage without risking a big battle. The trip was planned to last over a year, using food taken from British merchant ships.
The French ships sailed on December 13, 1805. Two days later, they split up. One group went south, and the other, led by Vice-Admiral Leissègues, headed for the Caribbean. The British didn't find out until December 24. Their chasing fleets didn't sail until January 1806. By then, the French were far away.
However, one British group, led by Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, was still watching. They were near Cadiz, Spain. In November 1805, Duckworth heard about French ships attacking British convoys. He went to investigate, leaving only two small ships behind. He searched for the French but couldn't find them.
Duckworth's Journey
On his way back to Cadiz, Duckworth met a British ship, HMS Arethusa. This ship had been attacked by Leissègues' fleet earlier. Duckworth immediately changed course to find Leissègues. On December 25, he spotted an enemy group. He ordered his ships to chase them.
This chase lasted into December 26. Duckworth realized it wasn't the French ships he was looking for. It was another French group. The French admiral ordered his ships to run away. Duckworth called off the chase because his slower ships were too far behind. He worried his leading ships would be overwhelmed.
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Duckworth then sailed to Barbados to get supplies. He arrived on January 12, 1806. He moved his ships to Basseterre on January 19. There, two more British ships joined him. This made his fleet stronger.
Meanwhile, Leissègues was also sailing to the Caribbean. Bad storms had damaged some of his ships. He arrived at Santo Domingo on January 20. He dropped off over 1,000 soldiers to help the local army. He also started fixing his ships.
On February 1, a small British ship, HMS Kingfisher, brought news. Three French warships had been seen near Santo Domingo. Duckworth ordered his fleet to sail at once. On February 5, a British frigate, HMS Magicienne, joined him. This ship had a Danish schooner with it. The Danish crew had just left Santo Domingo. They gave Duckworth detailed information about the French ships. Duckworth now felt confident he had more ships and firepower than Leissègues.
The Battle Begins
At 6:00 AM on February 6, Duckworth's scout ships saw the French fleet. They saw two frigates, five main warships, and one large merchant ship. The French ships were anchored near Santo Domingo. Leissègues had ordered his fleet to sail, even though some ships weren't ready. Two French frigates were already sailing when the British arrived.
Leissègues and some of his officers were still in town. They had to rush to their ships in small boats. This delayed the French fleet. Some officers might not have even reached their ships before the fighting started. Duckworth saw the French were in a weak spot. He ordered his ships to speed up and attack.
Leissègues also saw the danger. He ordered his ships to raise anchor and sail west along the coast. The French ships formed a battle line. The British frigates stayed to the west, ready to help. Duckworth worried about other French forces to the west. So, he aimed his attack to cross in front of the French line. He told his ships to focus fire on the first three French ships.
At 8:00 AM, Duckworth's ships split into two groups. Duckworth led the western group with HMS Superb, HMS Northumberland, HMS Spencer, and HMS Agamemnon. The eastern group was led by Admiral Louis with HMS Canopus, HMS Donegal, and HMS Atlas.
Over the next two hours, the British slowly got closer to the French. The British groups started to spread out as faster ships pulled ahead. The Superb was the fastest. Its crew was very eager to fight, having missed the Battle of Trafalgar. The Superb fired its cannons at the French flagship, Impérial. Soon, Northumberland was fighting Alexandre and Impérial. Spencer then joined in, attacking Diomède.
The French flagship Impérial had 120 guns, while Northumberland had 74. But Northumberland fought very closely. Spencer quickly joined, firing at both Impérial and Diomède. For 15 minutes, the British kept closing in. Both fleets sailed west along the coast.
At 10:25 AM, the damaged Alexandre suddenly turned out of the line. It tried to pass between Spencer and Northumberland. Captain Robert Stopford on Spencer reacted fast. He turned his ship and fired at Alexandre's front. Then he pulled alongside Alexandre and fired from very close range. In the smoke, Superb and Northumberland accidentally fired at Spencer before realizing their mistake.
With Spencer and Alexandre busy, Impérial could fight both leading British ships. This threatened to overwhelm them. Admiral Cochrane moved Northumberland between Impérial and Superb. Northumberland took terrible damage, but it saved Duckworth's ship. Impérial's fire was so strong that some cannonballs went through Northumberland and hit Superb.
Destroying the French Rear
As the main fight raged, the rest of the ships tried to join. The British eastern group reached the fighting Alexandre and Spencer at 10:35 AM. As they passed, Canopus, Donegal, and Atlas all fired at Alexandre. This brought down its masts and crippled the ship. Canopus then headed towards the battle around Impérial. Donegal and Atlas turned to intercept Brave and Jupiter.
At 11:00 AM, Spencer followed Canopus. Alexandre's crew was busy putting out a fire. Alexandre was so badly damaged it couldn't escape or fight. It surrendered ten minutes later.
Captain Pulteney Malcolm on Donegal attacked Brave directly. He fired his cannons, then crossed Brave's back, causing huge damage. He then pulled alongside again and fired from close range. Brave was badly damaged and surrendered. Malcolm then sent men to take control of Brave. Donegal moved forward to fight Jupiter.
With Donegal fighting Jupiter, Captain Samuel Pym on Atlas left his short fight with Jupiter. He headed for the main battle around Impérial. Malcolm used his ship's speed to get ahead of Jupiter. He then rammed Jupiter's front, locking the ships together. This stopped the French ship from escaping. The French captain surrendered right away. Malcolm sent 100 men to take over Jupiter.
Leissègues Runs Ashore
Thick smoke made it hard to see which ships were which. Atlas fired at Impérial as it arrived. Then it fired at the French flagship's back. But its steering gear jammed. Diomède appeared out of the smoke and fired heavily at Atlas. Atlas then crashed into Canopus, tearing off its front mast. Turning back, Atlas fought Diomède at close range. The rest of the British ships focused their fire on Impérial. Only the damaged Northumberland drifted out of the fight.
With his main masts broken and no way to escape, Leissègues turned his ship towards the shore at 11:30 AM. He outran the fire from Northumberland. Duckworth didn't want to risk his ship in the shallow water. But Canopus kept chasing the French flagship. At 11:40 AM, Impérial ran aground on a coral reef, less than a mile from the beach.
Diomède, being attacked by Atlas and Spencer, also followed Impérial ashore. As they hit the reef, both French ships lost their remaining masts. Their hulls were badly damaged. The crews then gathered on deck to leave the ships. The British ships pulled back out of range of shore fire. During the battle, the French frigates and corvette had slipped away. They escaped to the west. The British frigates were too busy taking over captured ships to chase them.
Destroying Impérial and Diomède
As Duckworth gathered his ships, Northumberland's main mast fell, causing more damage. Northumberland was the most damaged, but all British ships had some damage. Superb had 60 cannonball holes. Atlas was out of control. Donegal lost a topmast.
Many sailors were hurt. Northumberland and Spencer had the most casualties. Agamemnon had the fewest. In total, 74 British sailors were killed and 264 wounded. Duckworth quickly made repairs. His ships stayed to watch the French ships on shore.
Impérial and Diomède were stuck on a coral reef. Their hulls were broken by the rocks. Using their boats and help from shore, the wounded and survivors were taken to the beach. This continued until February 8. Then, Duckworth sent boats from Acasta and Magicienne to the wrecks. They took the remaining French sailors as prisoners. Then they set both ships on fire. This was to make sure the French couldn't use them again. The French admiral had already ordered them to be burned after everyone was off.
The British took 150 prisoners from Diomède. But they found only six men left on Impérial. French casualties were very high. Over 500 men were killed or wounded on Impérial alone. More than 1,000 others were hurt on the rest of the fleet. Jupiter was not badly damaged. Brave was damaged but could still sail. Both ships surrendered early after their captains were killed or wounded. Alexandre was a wreck. Its British crew barely stopped it from sinking.
Duckworth was lucky to have skilled captains. Many had fought with Nelson. They worked together without needing many orders from Duckworth.
After the Battle
Duckworth stayed near Santo Domingo for several days. He waited until his ships and the captured French ships were ready to sail to Jamaica. He sent a messenger to Britain with the official news. Admiral Cochrane left the fleet and sailed to Barbados. This was in case other French forces appeared. The main fleet went to Jamaica for repairs.
Duckworth was welcomed in Jamaica. The captured French ships were fixed for the journey back to Britain. However, Brave sank near the Azores. Alexandre was too damaged and was broken up when it arrived. Only Jupiter, renamed HMS Maida, was used by the Royal Navy. The only French ships that escaped were the frigates Comète and Félicité, and the corvette Diligente. They all returned to France safely.
The victory was celebrated in Britain and across the British Empire. News of the French ships had caused panic among traders in the West Indies. Duckworth's win helped bring back confidence in ocean travel. Both the British Parliament and the House of Lords thanked the squadron. Admiral Louis was made a baronet. Cochrane was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath. Many officers were promoted.
However, Duckworth himself didn't get any special rewards. Admiral Lord Collingwood was angry. He felt Duckworth had left his post near Cadiz. He also didn't like that Duckworth failed to fight another French fleet. Collingwood's influence stopped Duckworth from getting more honors. Duckworth later commanded a fleet in another less successful operation.
In France, the government newspaper gave a false report of the battle. It claimed the British had nine ships and that two British ships were destroyed. The real French report, written by Leissègues, said something different. It stated that the smaller French warships had run away at the start of the battle. Leissègues stayed in Santo Domingo for a while. He later returned to Europe.
The Atlantic campaign continued. Another French fleet managed to avoid the British for a long time. But on March 13, 1806, the British defeated a different French fleet. Later, a hurricane scattered the remaining French ships. Only four of the 11 French ships that left Brest in December 1805 ever returned to France. The Battle of San Domingo was the last big open-water fleet battle of the Napoleonic Wars.
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