Battle of Vizagapatam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Vizagapatam |
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| Part of the Napoleonic Wars | |||||||
 Defence of the Centurion in Vizagapatam Road, Septr. 15th 1804, Thomas Sutherland |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 France |
 United Kingdom |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Charles Linois |
 James Lind |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1 ship of the line 2 frigates |
1 ship of the line 2 merchant ships |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 11 killed and wounded | 10 killed and wounded 1 merchant ship destroyed 1 merchant ship captured |
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The Battle of Vizagapatam was a small naval fight. It happened on September 15, 1804, near Vizagapatam in British India. This battle was part of the bigger Napoleonic Wars.
A French group of ships, led by Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois, attacked. His main ship was the Marengo. They targeted a British warship, HMS Centurion, and two merchant ships. These ships were anchored in the harbor.
Admiral Linois had been on a long journey, attacking ships in different parts of the ocean. Earlier in 1804, he had attacked a large group of British merchant ships at the Battle of Pulo Aura. He failed to capture them, which made Napoleon very unhappy.
After that, Linois continued to sail around the Indian Ocean. He captured several valuable merchant ships. He learned that British merchant ships were at Vizagapatam. He decided to attack them. He didn't know that the British had replaced a smaller ship with the stronger Centurion to protect the convoy.
When Linois arrived, one merchant ship panicked and crashed ashore. The other merchant ship did not help Centurion and was captured. But Centurion kept fighting alone. It was first helped by guns on the shore. Later, Centurion moved out of their range. The French flagship Marengo stayed far from the coast to avoid shallow waters. After four hours, Marengo left. The damaged Centurion tried to follow but couldn't. Linois's ships had to go back to Île de France for repairs. The Marengo needed six months of work.
Why the Battle Happened
During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain's economy relied on trade. Goods came from places like British India. The East India Company (HEIC) handled this trade. They used large, well-armed merchant ships called East Indiamen. These ships traveled in groups called convoys for safety. The Royal Navy provided warships to protect them.
The main British naval base in the Bay of Bengal was at Madras. But East Indiamen sailed from many ports. So, British ships were often spread out. They escorted smaller groups of ships to Madras or Calcutta. There, they would join bigger convoys for longer journeys.
At the start of the Napoleonic War, Rear-Admiral Peter Rainier led British forces in the Indian Ocean. The biggest threat was a French group of ships. This group was led by Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois. His main ship was the Marengo.
Rainier and Linois had met before. In June 1803, Linois was at Pondicherry, a French port in India. Rainier brought many ships to wait outside the harbor. Linois was worried that Rainier's stronger force would defeat him. So, Linois secretly sailed away at night. He eventually reached Île de France. There, he learned that the Napoleonic Wars had officially begun.
Linois then sailed to Batavia (in modern-day Indonesia). He got supplies there. On December 28, he left to search for a large convoy of HEIC merchant ships. These ships were coming from Canton (China). Usually, Royal Navy warships escorted this "China Fleet." But in 1804, the escort was late.
Linois found the convoy near Pulo Aura on February 14. The convoy's commander, Commodore Nathaniel Dance, was clever. He made some merchant ships look like warships. He hoped to trick Linois into thinking the convoy was well protected. Linois waited for over a day. He finally attacked on February 15. Dance fought back, and Linois surprisingly pulled away. Dance's merchant ships even chased Linois's squadron away! Linois's failure made some of his officers angry. Napoleon himself wrote a letter, saying Linois believed "that war can be made without running risks."
After this, Linois returned to Batavia and then to Île de France. He was criticized by the governor, General Charles Decaen. In June 1804, Linois left Île de France again. He had the Marengo and two smaller ships called frigates: the Atalante and the Sémillante. They sailed near Madagascar and then to the coast of Ceylon.
Linois had some success capturing individual merchant ships. He slowly moved north. His ships passed Madras far from the coast to avoid Rainier's squadron. They raided along the Coastal Andhra region. On September 14, Linois captured a ship near Masulipatam. From its crew, he learned about a small convoy at Vizagapatam. The convoy had two East Indiamen and was guarded by a 36-gun frigate, HMS Wilhelmina. Linois quickly sailed to Vizagapatam, expecting an easy win.
The Battle Begins
In Madras, Admiral Rainier was worried about Linois's attacks. He decided to make his convoy escorts stronger. He replaced the Wilhelmina with the 50-gun HMS Centurion. Centurion's usual captain, John Spratt Rainier, was sick. So, Captain James Lind took temporary command.
Lind sailed from Madras to Vizagapatam earlier in September. He was with the East Indiamen Barnaby and Princess Charlotte. They anchored in the harbor to load cargo. At 6:00 AM on September 15, Linois's ships appeared. They were about 12 miles away.
One of the French frigates showed a St George's Cross flag. This was a British flag. But Lieutenant James Robert Phillips, who was in charge of Centurion while Lind was ashore, was suspicious. He knew a French group of ships was in the area. He positioned Centurion so its side (with all its guns) faced the approaching ships. At 9:45 AM, the French ships came close enough. Phillips fired a warning shot. He wanted to be sure who they were.
The French flagship and frigates exchanged signals. These signals were not British. Phillips knew for sure he was facing a strong enemy. Centurion sent urgent signals to the merchant ships, warning them. The crew of Barnaby panicked. They cut their anchor ropes, and the ship drifted ashore and was wrecked.
Captain John Logan on Princess Charlotte stayed calm. He remained anchored. But he ignored Phillips's requests for help from his ship's guns. Linois's ships spread out. The Atalante came very close to Centurion. The Sémillante was right behind it. The Marengo stayed farther away. Linois did not want to risk his main ship in shallow waters. The area around Vizagapatam had sandbars. If Marengo hit one, it could be destroyed.
When the French frigates were about 200 yards away, Phillips fired at Atalante. The Sémillante tried to get to the other side of Centurion to attack from both sides. The French frigates also faced long-range fire from a three-gun battery on shore. This battery was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Campbell. Campbell sent 50 sepoys (Indian soldiers) in small boats to help Princess Charlotte. But Princess Charlotte's 24 guns remained silent.
Fighting Continues
By 10:00 AM, all three French ships were firing at Centurion. A heavy exchange of cannon fire began. Within 15 minutes, both Centurion and Marengo had their flags shot down. At 10:45 AM, the Marengo turned away towards open water. The frigates followed. Its ropes and sails were a mess.
Centurion was damaged and couldn't move quickly. It slowly moved closer to shore to find shelter among the shallow areas. Captain Lind returned to his ship by boat. He called out to Princess Charlotte, which still had not fought. He told Captain Logan to cut his anchor ropes and go ashore to avoid capture. Logan refused. At 11:15 AM, he surrendered without a fight. The whole French squadron moved back towards the harbor.
Marengo again stayed beyond the sandbars. The boats of sepoys, who were still going to Princess Charlotte, turned around. They rowed back to shore to avoid being captured. The Sémillante took control of the merchant ship. Meanwhile, Marengo and Atalante attacked Centurion. Centurion had moved out of range of the shore batteries.
Even though Centurion had 50 guns, many were carronades. These were short-range cannons. They were useless against the long-range guns of Marengo. Centurion was badly damaged. By 1:15 PM, it had holes in its hull. Its ropes and masts were wrecked. Its anchor rope was shot through, causing it to slowly drift away from shore, out of control.
Linois saw that his opponent was disabled. He decided not to continue the attack. He ordered his ships, with their captured prize, to sail away. Lind slowly got his ship under control. He even managed to raise some sails to chase, but the French were too far ahead. After some final shots, Centurion anchored. Its crew began repairing the damage. Linois stayed in sight for the rest of the day but did not attack again. He disappeared at dusk.
After the Battle
The British lost the Barnaby (wrecked) and the Princess Charlotte (captured). But their human losses were small. Centurion had one man killed and nine wounded. The ship itself was very badly damaged. There were no recorded injuries among the soldiers on shore.
The French had slightly more losses. Marengo had two men killed and one officer wounded. Atalante had three killed and five wounded. Sémillante, which was not heavily involved, had no casualties. The French ships were badly damaged. Linois had to stop his operations. He slowly sailed back to Île de France, arriving in November. The Marengo needed six months of repairs there.
Both sides said they won the battle. The French claimed victory because they captured Princess Charlotte. The British claimed victory because Centurion survived against many more French ships. Linois explained his withdrawal in a letter. He said risking serious damage to his ships would have stopped his raiding.
However, Napoleon was angry that Centurion survived. He wrote that "France cared for honour, not for a few pieces of wood." British historians also criticized Linois. They said Centurion was at his mercy, and he failed to destroy it. Historian William Laird Clowes called Linois's actions "half-hearted and timid."
