Battle of Tamatave facts for kids

The Battle of Tamatave (also known as the Battle of Madagascar or the Action of 20 May 1811) was a sea battle during the Napoleonic Wars. It happened off the coast of Tamatave in Madagascar. This battle was the last big fight in the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811. It stopped France from sending more soldiers and supplies to their island base of Mauritius.

Even though France didn't know it yet, British forces had already captured Mauritius in December 1810. This happened because the French defenders on Mauritius didn't have enough supplies or troops. The French ships, led by Commodore François Roquebert on the frigate Renommée, were carrying these much-needed supplies. They arrived near Mauritius on May 6, 1811. The next day, they found out the island was in British hands. They barely escaped a trap set by British ships waiting for them.

On May 20, a British group of ships, led by Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg, found the French ships near Tamatave. They attacked, but light winds made it hard for ships to move for most of the day. Early in the battle, when the winds were calm, the French ships were in a better position. Roquebert's ships caused a lot of damage to several British vessels. But then, the wind picked up, allowing Schomberg to push his attack harder.

As evening came, the French tried to get away. Commodore Roquebert bravely sacrificed his own ship, and his life, to let the frigates Clorinde and the damaged Néréide escape. Five days later, Schomberg's ships found Néréide again at Tamatave. They convinced the town's commander to give up without a fight. This battle was the final part of the Mauritius campaign. It showed that Britain controlled the seas east of the Cape of Good Hope for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars.

Why the Battle Happened

In August 1810, French ships at Isle de France (now Mauritius) won a big naval victory. They captured or destroyed four British Royal Navy ships at the Battle of Grand Port. This battle happened inside Grand Port, one of the harbors on Isle de France. The French ships had been pushed into this harbor by British ships led by Commodore Josias Rowley.

The British defeat made both sides realize how important it was to get more supplies and troops. Even though the French won, their naval bases on Isle de France didn't have enough supplies. They couldn't fix their damaged ships or send them on long trips to attack British trade routes.

The British reacted quickly. They sent ships from bases in Madras, the Cape of Good Hope, and Rodriguez. They also gathered a larger force at Rodriguez to invade Isle de France. This invasion aimed to stop the island from being a French raiding base.

The French also prepared more ships and supplies. But their closest naval bases were in France, thousands of miles away. The Royal 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 Isle de France had fallen when their reinforcement ships left Brest on February 2, 1811.

This French group included three strong ships: Renommée (Commodore François Roquebert), Clorinde (Captain Jacques Saint-Cricq), and Néréide (Captain Jean-François Lemaresquier). Each ship carried over 200 soldiers for the Isle de France base. They also had lots of food and military supplies. The French leaders knew Isle de France might be captured. So, they ordered the ships to go to Batavia on Java if that happened. From there, they could fight the British.

Journey to Mauritius (February to May 1811)

By 1811, the British Royal Navy was much stronger than the French navy worldwide. French ships leaving Brest had to sneak out at night or during storms. This made it hard for Roquebert's ships to leave the harbor. They only traveled about 600 miles in the first 18 days.

On February 24, the French ships captured a Portuguese merchant ship. They found newspapers from Lisbon that mentioned the British invasion of Isle de France, but not the result. On March 13, Roquebert's ships crossed the Equator. On April 18, they passed the Cape of Good Hope. They had good weather and strong winds for the last part of their journey. At 11:00 PM on May 6, 93 days after leaving Brest, the French ships arrived near Île de la Passe at the entrance to Grand Port.

The British had been busy since capturing Isle de France, which they renamed Mauritius. Captain Philip Beaver was in charge of the naval forces there. On January 5, a small French message ship was captured. From its messages, the British learned about Roquebert's ships and where they were going. They also learned about another French force being prepared.

Knowing French reinforcements were coming, Admiral Robert Stopford at the Cape of Good Hope sent Captain James Hillyar in HMS Phoebe to help Beaver. Beaver ordered Hillyar, along with HMS Galatea (Captain Woodley Losack) and HMS Racehorse (Captain James de Rippe), to get ready for Roquebert's arrival.

Beaver then started taking over French harbors in the western Indian Ocean. He sent the brig HMS Eclipse to attack Tamatave on Madagascar, which was captured on February 12. After the hurricane season ended in March, Beaver sailed to invade the Seychelles. He also collected money from Madras to help Mauritius's economy. While he was away, Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg in HMS Astraea took command of Mauritius.

When Roquebert's ships appeared near Grand Port, Hillyar had his three ships ready. He made sure French flags were flying from Île de la Passe and other places. He hoped to trick the French into sailing into the shallow bay, just like the British had been defeated there the year before. The French ships and the shore exchanged signals. But Roquebert was careful. The signals from Île de la Passe were old, and he knew about the British invasion from the Lisbon newspapers.

Roquebert waited offshore and sent three boats to land during the night. They were told to find out what was happening on the island. One boat returned on May 7 with two local people. From them, Roquebert learned that the British had captured the island six months earlier. The other landing parties were caught by British troops. With Hillyar's trap discovered, Roquebert raised French flags and sailed east, away from Grand Port. Hillyar came out of the harbor to chase them.

Roquebert's Escape

At 4:00 AM on May 8, Roquebert realized his ships were too slow. They were loaded with supplies and couldn't outrun Hillyar's ships, which were about 6 miles behind and catching up. At 8:00 AM, he decided to turn and face the British ships head-on instead of being caught.

Hillyar knew his ships were weaker than Roquebert's. He held back, waiting for Schomberg in Astraea to arrive from Port Louis. Hillyar had sent an urgent message to Schomberg the night before. As the British ships fell back towards Île Ronde, off the northeastern coast of Mauritius, Roquebert chose not to follow them through the dangerous gap between Île Ronde and Île du Serpent. Instead, he sailed south, escaping before Hillyar and Schomberg could join up.

Even though Captain Losack and many crew members on Phoebe and Galatea wanted Hillyar to chase the French, the British commander refused. So, Roquebert got away. The British ships returned to Port Louis, arriving on May 12.

Roquebert's ships sailed west towards Bourbon. He first planned to raid the eastern coast of the island for food, as his own supplies were low. But heavy waves on the beaches stopped this plan. So, Roquebert continued east on half rations, reaching Tamatave in Madagascar on May 19. The British soldiers at Tamatave, about 100 men, were sick with malaria. They gave up the town without a fight. The French ships then gathered water and food there.

When Hillyar's ships arrived at Port Louis, Captain Schomberg took command. He led the ships out again on May 14, following 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 to 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 12:00 PM. He pulled away from the harbor in a battle line: Clorinde, then Renommée, then Néréide. The British ships, though planning to form a line with Astraea at the front, ended up in a loose formation because of the changing winds.

The Battle Begins

Action off Tamatave, 20 May 1811

The fighting started at 4:00 PM. Renommée tried to shoot at Astraea from far away. The British fired back, with Phoebe and Galatea joining in as they moved forward. But the long distances and slow speeds meant little 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 winds, Roquebert's ships started to get closer. They used the light breeze to position their broadsides (the side of the ship with cannons) near the back of the British ships. From this position, the French could fire a damaging raking fire (shooting along the length of the enemy ship). 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, even though they fired at it.

For the next two hours, Néréide moved closer to Phoebe. This trapped the British ship between two enemies, exposing it to heavy fire. Both groups of ships were stuck because there was no wind. Schomberg ordered Captain de Rippe to use boats to tow Racehorse closer to the main fight. But the brig was still over a mile away at 6:30 PM. Then, the breeze picked up, and Hillyar could move Phoebe closer to Néréide, fighting her at close range.

Renommée and Clorinde were still stuck by light winds. They couldn't help Néréide. In half an hour, Phoebe had killed Captain Lemaresquier and badly damaged Néréide. Néréide could no longer fire back. While Phoebe and Néréide fought, Renommée and Clorinde focused their fire on Galatea. They caused a lot of damage to Captain Losack's ship.

As the breeze got stronger at 7:00 PM, Renommée and Clorinde moved towards Phoebe. Losack fired at the French as they pulled away. Then, he steered his damaged ship west. He told Schomberg that his ship was too damaged to keep fighting. Losack's ship, with its ropes and masts broken and a distress signal flying, disappeared into the darkness at 8:30 PM. Phoebe fell back from the French attack and joined Schomberg.

With the wind getting stronger, Schomberg gathered his ships and moved towards Roquebert's group. The French ships were close together, trying to support Néréide. Its crew was trying to make quick repairs as the ships slowly moved northwest towards Madagascar. Schomberg followed the French lights in the dark.

At 9:50 PM, Clorinde lost a man overboard and stopped to rescue him. This forced Roquebert to turn back and protect his partner ship from being overwhelmed. Roquebert steered Renommée directly at Astraea. He opened fire at close range. But he was soon surrounded. Astraea was on one side, Racehorse on the other, and Phoebe was firing at her stern. 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 badly damaged. Racehorse couldn't launch a boat to take over Renommée because a mast had fallen on its deck. Astraea's boats were all damaged by cannon fire and leaked badly during the short row to the French ship.

Surrender at Tamatave

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

During the night, Schomberg gathered Phoebe, Racehorse, and Astraea. He rejoined Renommée at dawn on May 21. A small group of seven British sailors was enough to control the French ship. Schomberg later removed most of the French crew and replaced them with British sailors the next morning. Galatea was still in sight at dawn, but Captain Losack wasn't sure if the approaching ships were friendly. So, he decided to sail directly to Port Louis instead of risking a fight with a stronger enemy.

While repairing 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. Captain de Rippe returned on May 24. He told Schomberg that Néréide was in the harbor and the town was held by French soldiers.

Schomberg's ships sailed directly to Tamatave, but a strong wind delayed them. They didn't arrive until the afternoon of May 25. Schomberg knew that no one in his group knew the coral reefs around the bay's entrance very well. This meant he was not in a good position to attack the French if they decided to fight. So, Schomberg sent Racehorse into the harbor under a flag of truce.

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

What Happened Next

Clorinde was almost undamaged in the battle and easily outran all 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 to get fresh water and coconuts. Then, he started the journey 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 raiding British and American merchant ships in the Atlantic. On September 24, Clorinde met the British ships blocking Brest. It was chased by the 80-gun ship of the line HMS Tonnant (Captain Sir John Gore). Tonnant got close enough to fire at Clorinde. But Gore couldn't catch the fast French ship. He had to pull back to open waters after being fired on by shore batteries. By 5:00 PM, Clorinde was safely in Brest harbor.

Saint-Cricq was heavily criticized for not helping Roquebert and for ignoring his orders to sail to Batavia. In March 1812, he faced a court martial (a military trial) to examine his actions. He was found to have failed in his duty. He was dismissed from the service, removed from the legion of Honour, and sentenced to three years in prison. It is said that Napoleon even suggested Saint-Cricq should have been shot for leaving his commanding officer.

There were also complaints among the British ships. Schomberg praised Astraea and Phoebe in his report but left out Racehorse and Galatea. Captain Losack was especially upset. Schomberg had suggested that Galatea's distress signal was an overreaction, even though his ship had more casualties than all the other British ships combined. Losack later asked for a court martial to clear his name of any suggestion of cowardice. But the Admiralty refused, saying they were happy with his actions. Historian William James said that most people in the Navy agreed with Losack and that Schomberg had been too harsh.

Because of the changing winds on May 20, some ships fought more than others. So, the number of injured and killed people was different for each ship. According to French records, Renommée had 93 killed and wounded. This included Commodore Roquebert, who died, and the first lieutenant and troop commander, who were badly hurt. However, British records say Renommée had 145 casualties. French records also show that Néréide suffered greatly, losing 25 killed (including Captain Lemaresquier) and 32 wounded. British records again differ, stating she had 130 casualties.

Clorinde, which had badly damaged Galatea when the British ship was stuck, but failed to help Renommée, lost only one person killed and six wounded. British losses were less severe but still important. Galatea lost 16 killed and 46 wounded. Phoebe had seven killed and 24 wounded. Astraea had two killed and 16 wounded. Racehorse, even though its masts and ropes were badly damaged, reported no casualties.

The captured French ships were bought by the Royal Navy and put back into service. Renommée became HMS Java, and Néréide became HMS Madagascar. Almost 40 years later, this battle was one of the actions recognized by a special medal, the Naval General Service Medal. It was given to all British participants still alive in 1847 who applied for it.

This battle was the last time France tried to operate in the Indian Ocean during the Napoleonic Wars. With their bases now controlled by Britain, sending ships to the region would need a huge amount of ships and supplies. At that time, France couldn't even protect the entrances to its main harbors, as Clorinde's close call with Tonnant showed. The battle also ended the threat to British merchant ships, especially the large East Indiamen, from attacks in the Indian Ocean. It also meant the Royal Navy didn't need a large presence there anymore. Except for a few small Dutch ports in the East Indies, the world east of the Cape of Good Hope was now either controlled by Britain or by neutral countries and Britain's allies.

Ships in the Battle

Captain Schomberg's squadron
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 Casualties for British: 25 killed, 86 wounded, 111 total

Commodore Roquebert's squadron
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 on French casualties were quite different. British reports said 145 casualties on Renommée and 130 on Néréide.
Total Casualties for French: 156 killed or wounded
Sources: James, pp. 20–21, Clowes, p. 486

Key

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