Battle of Tamatave facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Tamatave
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
Battle of Tamatave, Unknown engraving
Date 20 May 1811 Location Off Tamatave, Madagascar 18°09′00″S 49°30′00″E / 18.15000°S 49.50000°E / -18.15000; 49.50000 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	France
Commanders and leaders
Charles Schomberg	François Roquebert  †
Strength
3 frigates 1 brig-sloop	3 frigates
Casualties and losses
111 killed and wounded	157 killed and wounded 1 frigate captured

The Battle of Tamatave was a sea fight between British and French ships. It happened off Tamatave in Madagascar on May 20, 1811. This battle was part of the bigger Napoleonic Wars.

It was the very last fight of the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811. This campaign was about who would control the island of Mauritius. The battle ended the French navy's last try to send help to their soldiers on Mauritius.

Even though the French didn't know it, the British had already captured Mauritius in December 1810. This happened before the French ships, led by Commodore François Roquebert, even left France. His ships were full of supplies and soldiers.

On May 6, 1811, Roquebert's ships reached Mauritius. They found out the island was now British. They barely escaped a trap set by British ships. On May 20, the British, led by Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg, found the French ships near Tamatave and attacked.

The battle was tricky because the wind was very light. This made it hard for the ships to move. At first, the French ships were in a better spot. They caused a lot of damage to the British ships. But then the wind picked up, and the British were able to fight back harder.

As evening came, the French tried to get away. Commodore Roquebert bravely sacrificed his own ship to help two other French ships escape. He died in the battle. Five days later, the British found one of the escaped French ships, Néréide, at Tamatave. The town's leader gave up without a fight. This battle confirmed that Britain controlled the seas east of Africa for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars.

Why This Battle Happened

In August 1810, the French navy won a big victory near Mauritius. They captured or destroyed four British ships. This battle was called the Battle of Grand Port. It made both the British and French realize how important it was to send more ships and supplies to the area.

The French ships on Mauritius didn't have enough supplies. They couldn't fix their damaged ships or go on long trips to attack British trade. The British reacted quickly. They sent more ships from different places to replace their losses. They also prepared a large force to invade Mauritius. Their goal was to remove the French threat from the island for good.

The French also tried to send help. But their main naval bases were far away in France. The British navy controlled most of the oceans. News from the Indian Ocean also took a long time to reach France. So, France didn't know that Mauritius had fallen when their reinforcement ships left Brest on February 2, 1811.

This French group had three strong ships: Renommée (led by Commodore François Roquebert), Clorinde, and Néréide. Each ship carried over 200 soldiers. They also had lots of food and military supplies for the island. The French leaders knew Mauritius might be captured. So, they ordered the ships to go to Batavia (in modern-day Indonesia) if Mauritius was in British hands. From there, they could attack the British.

The Journey to Mauritius

By 1811, the British navy was much stronger than the French navy around the world. French ships had to sneak out of their harbors at night or during storms to avoid being attacked. This also meant they had to sail against the wind to leave. Because of this, Roquebert's ships traveled very slowly at first.

On February 24, they captured a Portuguese merchant ship. On it, they found newspapers from Lisbon that mentioned the British invasion of Mauritius. However, the papers didn't say who won. On May 6, after 93 days at sea, the French ships arrived near Grand Port in Mauritius.

The British had been busy since taking Mauritius. They had learned about Roquebert's ships from a captured French message. They also knew about another French group coming. Admiral Robert Stopford sent Captain James Hillyar in HMS Phoebe to help the British on Mauritius.

Captain Hillyar, with HMS Galatea and HMS Racehorse, got ready for Roquebert's arrival. The British had also captured Tamatave in Madagascar in February. Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg in HMS Astraea was now in charge of the British ships at Mauritius.

When Roquebert's ships appeared, Hillyar had his three ships ready in the harbor. He flew French flags from the shore. He hoped to trick the French into sailing into the shallow bay, just like the British had been trapped there before. The French ships and the shore exchanged signals. But Roquebert was careful. The signals from the shore seemed old. He also remembered the Lisbon newspapers that talked about the British invasion.

Roquebert waited offshore. He sent three boats to land during the night to find out what was happening. One boat returned with two local people. From them, Roquebert learned that the British had captured the island six months earlier. The other French landing parties were captured by British soldiers. With his trap discovered, Roquebert raised French flags and sailed east, away from Grand Port. Hillyar came out of the harbor to chase him.

The Chase and Escape

On May 8, Roquebert realized his ships were too slow. They were carrying too much weight. Hillyar's British ships were catching up fast. Roquebert decided to turn and face the British ships. Hillyar knew his ships were not as strong as Roquebert's. So, he held back, waiting for Captain Schomberg in Astraea to arrive.

As the British ships pulled back, Roquebert chose not to follow them through a dangerous passage. Instead, he sailed south. He escaped before Hillyar and Schomberg could join forces. The British ships returned to Port Louis on May 12.

Roquebert's ships sailed west towards Bourbon. They wanted to find food supplies, as they were running low. But bad weather stopped them from landing. So, Roquebert continued east on half-rations. He reached Tamatave in Madagascar on May 19. The British soldiers there were sick with malaria and gave up the town without a fight. The French ships then got water and food.

When Hillyar's ships reached Port Louis, Captain Schomberg took command. He led the British ships out again on May 14, chasing the French east. Schomberg headed straight for Tamatave, the only place to resupply between Bourbon and the Cape of Good Hope. He quickly caught up with the French.

At dawn on May 20, the French ships were in sight of the harbor. During the day, both commanders were frustrated by light winds and calm periods. The ships could barely move. Roquebert finished resupplying his ships at noon. He then moved his ships out of the harbor in a battle line. The British ships, however, were spread out because of the changing winds.

The Battle Begins

Action off Tamatave, 20 May 1811

The fighting started at 4:00 PM. The French ship Renommée tried to hit Astraea from far away. The British ships fired back. Phoebe and Galatea joined the attack as they moved forward. But because of the long distance and slow speeds, not much damage was done.

The British ships slowly drifted out of range of the French. Schomberg tried hard to turn back towards them, but couldn't. With the British ships stuck in calm waters, Roquebert's ships started to get closer. They used the light breeze to position themselves to fire at the back of the British ships. From this position, the French could fire very damaging shots. Clorinde focused on Phoebe, and Renommée on Galatea. The last French ship, Néréide, couldn't move well in the light winds. It stayed too far away from Astraea and Racehorse.

For the next two hours, Néréide moved closer to Phoebe. This put the British ship between two French opponents. Phoebe took a lot of damage. Both groups of ships were stuck because there was no wind. Schomberg ordered Racehorse to be towed closer, but it was still far away.

At 6:30 PM, the breeze picked up. Hillyar was able to move Phoebe closer to Néréide and attack her directly. Renommée and Clorinde were still stuck and couldn't help. In half an hour, Phoebe killed Captain Lemaresquier of Néréide. Néréide was so badly damaged that it couldn't fire back.

While Phoebe and Néréide fought, Renommée and Clorinde focused their fire on Galatea. They badly damaged Captain Losack's ship. At 7:00 PM, as the wind got stronger, Renommée and Clorinde moved towards Phoebe. Losack fired at the French ships as they moved away. He then steered his damaged ship west. He told Schomberg that his ship was too damaged to keep fighting. Galatea disappeared into the darkness around 8:30 PM. Phoebe fell back from the French attack and joined Schomberg.

With the wind getting stronger, Schomberg organized his ships. He moved towards Roquebert's group. The French ships were close together, trying to help Néréide. Her crew was trying to make quick repairs. The French ships were slowly moving northwest towards Madagascar. Schomberg followed the French lights in the dark.

At 9:50 PM, Clorinde stopped to rescue a man who fell overboard. Roquebert had to fall back to protect his ship. He steered Renommée directly at Astraea. He opened fire from close range. But he was soon surrounded. Astraea was on one side, Racehorse on the other, and Phoebe was firing at her back. In a fierce 25-minute fight, Roquebert was killed. The French flagship was badly damaged. It surrendered after a shot from Racehorse set its main sail on fire. The British ships were also damaged. Racehorse couldn't launch a boat to take over Renommée because of a broken mast. Astraea's boats were also damaged and leaked.

Surrender at Tamatave

During the final fight for Renommée, Clorinde stayed out of range of the British. Captain Saint-Cricq refused to help his commander. When Renommée surrendered, he sailed north as fast as he could. He left both Roquebert and Néréide behind. The British ships Astraea and Phoebe chased Clorinde until 2:00 AM on May 21. But their damage stopped them from catching the French ship. Clorinde eventually disappeared into the darkness.

During the night, Schomberg gathered Phoebe, Racehorse, and Astraea. They rejoined Renommée at dawn on May 21. A small group of British sailors was enough to control the French ship. The next morning, Schomberg moved most of the French crew off the ship and replaced them with British sailors. Galatea was still in sight at dawn. But Captain Losack wasn't sure who the approaching ships were. He decided to sail directly to Port Louis instead of risking another fight.

While fixing his ships, especially the damaged Phoebe, and moving prisoners from Renommée, Schomberg sent Racehorse to Tamatave. He wanted to know what was happening at the port. Racehorse returned on May 24. Captain de Rippe told Schomberg that Néréide was in the harbor. He also said the town was held by French soldiers.

Schomberg's ships sailed directly to Tamatave. But a strong storm delayed them. They didn't arrive until the afternoon of May 25. Schomberg knew no one in his group knew the coral reefs around the bay well. This meant it would be hard to attack the French if they fought back. So, Schomberg sent Racehorse into the harbor with a flag of peace.

Captain de Rippe told the French commander, Lieutenant François Ponée, to surrender. He falsely said that "Renommée and Clorinde have struck after a brave defence." Ponée refused. Instead, he offered to surrender the ship, the town, and a 12-gun battery. In return, the French crew and soldiers would be sent back to France without conditions. Schomberg agreed to Ponée's offer. Tamatave and Néréide surrendered without any more fighting.

What Happened Next

Clorinde was almost undamaged in the battle. It easily outran all the British ships. With no safe harbor in the Indian Ocean, Captain Saint-Cricq first sailed to the Seychelles. He hid among the islands until June 7. On June 26, Clorinde landed at Diego Garcia. They got fresh water and coconuts. Then, Saint-Cricq started the trip back to France. This went against his orders to go to Batavia if Mauritius was captured.

On August 1, Clorinde passed the Cape of Good Hope. Saint-Cricq got more supplies by attacking British and American merchant ships in the Atlantic. On September 24, Clorinde met the British ships blocking the port of Brest. The 80-gun ship HMS Tonnant chased it. Tonnant got close enough to fire at Clorinde. But it couldn't catch the fast French ship. Tonnant had to pull back after being fired on by shore batteries. By 5:00 PM, Clorinde was safely in Brest harbor.

Captain Saint-Cricq was heavily criticized for not helping Roquebert. He was also criticized for ignoring his orders to sail to Batavia. In March 1812, he had a court martial. He was found guilty of not doing his duty. He was kicked out of the navy, removed from the Legion of Honour, and sent to prison for three years. It's said that Napoleon even suggested Saint-Cricq should have been shot for leaving his commander.

There were also complaints among the British ships. Schomberg praised Astraea and Phoebe in his report. But he didn't mention Racehorse and Galatea. Captain Losack was especially upset. Schomberg had suggested that Galatea's distress signal was an overreaction. This was despite Galatea having more injured sailors than all the other British ships combined. Losack asked for a court martial to clear his name. But the British Admiralty refused. They said they were happy with his actions.

Because of the changing winds on May 20, some ships fought more than others. So, the number of injured and killed sailors was different for each ship. The French said that Renommée had 93 killed and wounded. This included Commodore Roquebert, who died. The British said the number was 145. The French also said Néréide was badly hit, with 25 dead and 32 wounded. The British said Néréide had 130 casualties.

Clorinde had caused a lot of damage to Galatea when the British ship was stuck. But Clorinde didn't help Renommée against Schomberg. It only lost one man killed and six wounded. British losses were less severe. Galatea lost 16 killed and 46 wounded. Phoebe had seven dead and 24 wounded. Astraea had two dead and 16 wounded. Racehorse had no casualties, even though its masts and rigging were badly damaged.

The captured French ships were bought by the British navy. Renommée became HMS Java. Néréide became HMS Madagascar. This battle was the last time the French tried to operate in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars. Their bases were now in British hands. This battle also ended the threat to British merchant ships in the Indian Ocean.

Ships in the Battle

Captain Schomberg's British Ships
Ship	Type	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
HMS Astraea	Fifth rate	36		Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg	2	16	18
HMS Racehorse	Sixth rate	20		Captain James de Rippe	0	0	0
HMS Phoebe	Fifth rate	36		Captain James Hillyar	7	24	31
HMS Galatea	Fifth rate	36		Captain Woodley Losack	16	46	62
Total British Casualties: 25 killed, 86 wounded, 111 total

Commodore Roquebert's French Ships
Ship	Type	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
Clorinde	Fifth rate	40		Captain Jacques Saint-Cricq	1	6	7	Escaped. Reached Brest on September 24.
Renommée	Fifth rate	40		Commodore François Roquebert   †	–	–	93	Captured on May 20. Joined the Royal Navy as HMS Java.
Néréide	Fifth rate	40		Captain Jean-François Lemaresquier   †	24	32	56	Captured at Tamatave on May 25. Joined the Royal Navy as HMS Madagascar.
Note: British and French reports of French casualties were different. British reports said 145 casualties on Renommée and 130 on Néréide.
Total French Casualties: 156 killed or wounded
Sources: James, pp. 20–21, Clowes, p. 486

Key

• A † symbol means the officer was killed or later died from wounds received.
• The ships are listed in the order they lined up for battle.
• = British Royal Navy, = French Navy.