Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean facts for kids

Guadeloupe, showing key locations. The battle on December 18, 1809, happened in a bay east of Sainte-Anne.

Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean was a French naval mission during the Napoleonic Wars in December 1809. Its goal was to deliver much-needed supplies to the French island of Guadeloupe. At this time, British forces had taken over most French colonies in the Caribbean. Guadeloupe was the last one left.

The island was in a tough spot. British ships had blocked all trade, causing food shortages and economic problems. The people of Guadeloupe were also worried about a British invasion. To help, the French government sent four ships to the West Indies. Commodore François Roquebert led this group. Two ships were supply vessels called flûtes, carrying food and soldiers. The other two were powerful frigates, meant to protect the supply ships from British attacks.

The French ships almost reached the Caribbean without being seen. But on December 13, a British frigate called HMS Junon spotted them. Junon's captain, John Shortland, didn't realize how many French ships there were until it was too late. Despite a brave fight, his ship was captured, and he was badly hurt.

Commodore Roquebert continued his mission. He got the supply ships, Loire and Seine, close to Guadeloupe. Then, he left them and sailed his frigates back to France. He did not wait to make sure the supply ships arrived safely.

On December 15, a small British ship, HMS Observateur, brought news of the French arrival. This ship had seen Junon being captured. The British commander, Captain Volant Vashon Ballard, quickly gathered his ships. They trapped the French supply ships in a protected bay called Anse à la Barque, on Guadeloupe's coast.

The British tried to capture the supply ships, but it was hard. Finally, the large 74-gun ship HMS Sceptre, led by Captain Samuel James Ballard, arrived. A strong attack began. Smaller British ships fought the shore defenses. Two frigates entered the bay and attacked the French flûtes. Both French ships surrendered within an hour. They were badly damaged, and a fire quickly spread, destroying both vessels. Many French sailors escaped to shore, while others were rescued by British ships. The British continued their blockade of Guadeloupe. The island was captured by a British invasion just one month later. Roquebert's remaining ships were seen by a British frigate on January 16 but managed to escape and return safely to France.

Why the Expedition Was Needed: The Background

During the Napoleonic Wars, the British Royal Navy became very strong at sea. They forced French ships into their harbors and set up blockades. These blockades stopped trade and communication for the French colonies, especially Martinique and Guadeloupe in the West Indies.

Life in these colonies became very hard. Their economies struggled, and there wasn't enough food. This made it difficult for them to defend against British attacks. In 1808, the islands sent urgent messages to France, asking for help. France tried to send food, soldiers, and trade ships. But these efforts mostly failed. Many French ships, including several frigates, were captured by the British.

The British knew about the problems in the French islands. They built a large force on Barbados to invade the colonies. Their first target was Martinique, which they captured in February 1809. Other nearby islands were also taken. A major French reinforcement group was trapped and defeated in April. France lost a large warship and two more frigates.

With these heavy losses, France took time to prepare its next move. Meanwhile, the British were busy helping Spain fight the French in Santo Domingo. By late 1809, the British commander, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, planned to invade Guadeloupe. He made the blockade around Guadeloupe's main port, Basse-Terre, even stronger. He also sent ships to patrol the waters near the island, ready to stop any French reinforcements.

The French had only sent small supply ships to Guadeloupe since their last big failure. But they were secretly preparing a major expedition in Nantes. Two French flûtes, Loire and Seine, were loaded with lots of food and over 200 soldiers each. Two frigates, Renommée (Roquebert's ship) and Clorinde, were sent to protect them. This group left France on November 15, 1809. They sailed quickly across the Atlantic, avoiding British warships. However, other small French ships sent around the same time were all captured before reaching Guadeloupe.

The Battle: HMS Junon Is Destroyed

Quick facts for kids Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean: Action of 13 December 1809
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
Date 13 December 1809 Location East of Antigua, 17°18′N 57°00′W / 17.300°N 57.000°W / 17.300; -57.000 Result French victory
Belligerents
French Empire	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Commodore François Roquebert	Captain John Shortland   †
Strength
frigates Renommée and Clorinde, flûtes Loire and Seine.	frigate HMS Junon and brig HMS Observateur
Casualties and losses
21 killed, 18 wounded	20 killed, 40 wounded, Junon destroyed.

One of the British ships sent by Cochrane was the frigate HMS Junon. Captain John Shortland commanded her. Junon had been a French ship captured by the British less than a year earlier. After quick repairs, she joined the Royal Navy. Cochrane ordered her to patrol east of Antigua, looking for ships trying to sneak past the British blockade.

On December 13, Shortland and the 16-gun brig HMS Observateur stopped an American merchant ship. While searching it, four sails appeared to the north. Shortland immediately chased them. By 4:00 PM, he realized they were four frigates. He fired warning shots, asking them to identify themselves. The strange ships raised Spanish flags. Shortland was not fully convinced. He used the special signal for Spanish ships, and the lead frigate gave the correct reply.

Junon got closer to the ships. At 5:30 PM, when she was very near the lead ship, the French flags suddenly went up. Roquebert ordered his ships to open fire. Roquebert had learned the Spanish signals from captured merchant ships. He had tricked Junon into getting close.

Renommée fired first, causing heavy damage to Junons sails and ropes. Junon could not move well because of the damage. Shortland fired back as best he could, trying to get closer to Renommée. As Junon fought Roquebert's ship, Clorinde attacked her from the other side. The two French flûtes also fired their guns from the front and back of Junon. French soldiers on the flûtes even fired their muskets, hitting many sailors on Junons deck.

Observateur was far behind Junon when the fighting started. She was not directly attacked. Captain Frederick Wetherall of Observateur fired at Clorinde from a distance. But he soon saw that he could not help Junon against so many French ships. So, he sailed west to find other British ships and warn them.

As Observateur escaped, Junon was hit from all sides. Roquebert's ship came so close that their ropes got tangled. This caused even more damage to Junon. Within ten minutes, most of Junon's top deck was empty. Captain Shortland was badly wounded and taken below. Lieutenant Samuel Bartlett Deecker took command. He stopped a boarding attempt by Clorinde. Deecker tried to pull Junon away from the two strong French frigates, but his ship would not respond.

Within minutes, Roquebert and Saint-Cricq were on either side of Junon again. They boarded the ship at the same time. Deecker had to surrender at 6:15 PM. The British had lost 20 men killed and 40 wounded, including Captain Shortland. The captured British sailors were spread among the French ships. Roquebert decided not to keep Junon. He set the frigate on fire and left it. The French also had losses: Renommée lost 15 killed and 3 wounded, and Clorinde lost 6 killed and 15 wounded. Loire, Seine, and Observateur had no losses.

British Operations Near Guadeloupe

Even though Junon was destroyed, Observateur had escaped. She immediately went to find the British blockade force near Guadeloupe. This was the only place the French ships could be going. Observateur arrived at Basse-Terre at 1:00 PM on December 15. Captain Wetherall sent a message to Captain Volant Vashon Ballard on HMS Blonde, telling him about Roquebert's squadron.

Ballard quickly gathered his ships: HMS Thetis, HMS Hazard, and HMS Cygnet. He placed them in the channel between Guadeloupe and the Îles des Saintes. The French ships would have to pass through this channel. Urgent messages were sent to all nearby British ships and bases. The next day, HMS Ringdove and HMS Scorpion joined Ballard's group. Ballard put Hazard and Ringdove to watch Basse-Terre. The rest of his ships patrolled south of the island.

On the same day Observateur arrived, HMS Castor had recaptured a merchant ship near La Désirade. This ship had been taken by Roquebert's squadron two weeks earlier. Castor's captain, William Roberts, also saw two other ships in the distance. He went to investigate and found the French supply ships. Darkness fell soon after, and Castor lost sight of them. Roberts sailed west as fast as he could to tell Ballard. He arrived at 4:00 AM on December 17.

After the fight with Junon and seeing Castor, Roquebert decided to leave the supply ships. He turned north with Clorinde and headed back to France. This meant Loire and Seine were sailing unprotected straight towards Ballard's British ships.

At dawn on December 17, Blonde saw the French flûtes nearing Basse-Terre. Ballard moved to block them from reaching the port. The French flûtes turned northwest along Guadeloupe's southern coast. At 10:00 AM, they entered a sheltered bay called Anse la Barque. They anchored there, protected by two batteries on either side of the bay. Lieutenants Normand-Kergré and Vincent placed their ships to aim the most cannons at the bay's entrance.

As Ballard's ships sailed slowly along the coast, other shore batteries fired at them. One shot hit Ringdove. Captain William Dowers of Ringdove sent a landing party ashore. They quickly attacked and captured the battery in 15 minutes. They destroyed the position and returned to their ship, rejoining Ballard. Ballard then tested the bay's entrance. He ordered the 12-gun schooner HMS Elizabeth to check the water depth. At 4:00 PM, Blonde attacked the batteries directly. They found the entrance was deep enough. Blonde and Elizabeth then pulled back. Operations stopped for the evening to wait for more British ships. During the night, the frigate HMS Freya joined Ballard's squadron.

The End of the Supply Ships: Loire and Seine Destroyed

Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean: Action of 18 December 1809
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
Date 18 December 1809 Location Anse la Barque, Guadeloupe 16°14′25″N 61°19′25″W / 16.24028°N 61.32361°W / 16.24028; -61.32361 Result British victory
Belligerents
French Empire	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Lieutenant Joseph-Normand Kergré and Lieutenant Bernard Vincent	Captain Samuel James Ballard
Strength
Flûtes Loire and Seine with support from batteries on shore	frigates HMS Thetis and HMS Blonde with support from HMS Sceptre, HMS Freija, HMS Ringdove, HMS Hazard, HMS Cygnet and HMS Elizabeth
Casualties and losses
Unknown, Loire and Seine destroyed	At least 9 killed, 22 wounded

At 8:30 AM on December 18, a small boat left Anse la Barque. It carried a message offering the British a temporary truce. At the same time, the British ship of the line HMS Sceptre arrived from Martinique. Captain Samuel James Ballard was in command. He immediately took charge of all the British ships gathered at the bay's entrance. Ballard refused the French offer and ordered an immediate attack on the anchored supply ships.

His plan was simple: Blonde and Thetis would enter the harbor and attack the flûtes directly. Sceptre and Freija would fire at the shore batteries. This would stop the batteries from shooting at the smaller British ships coming behind. These smaller ships would be towing boats full of sailors and Royal Marines. These troops would storm the French ships and gun positions once the larger warships were fighting them.

Light winds made the plan difficult at first. But by 2:25 PM, Blonde and Thetis were close enough to the gun batteries. Fifteen minutes later, they began firing at the flûtes, though still from a distance. Blonde became stuck in the calm winds. She had to fire at one of the forts instead. The fort's fire caused some damage but did not seriously threaten the ship. Thetis had better luck. Captain Miller was able to get close to one of the French ships. By 3:35 PM, Thetis had destroyed her opponent's masts, and the French ship surrendered.

Thetis then moved to attack the second French ship. But she also became stuck in the calm winds and had to fire at the forts. As Sceptre led the rest of the British ships into the bay, fire was seen spreading through the surrendered French ship. Facing too many British ships, the second French flûte also surrendered at 4:20 PM.

By 5:10 PM, Thetis and Blonde began to leave the bay as the fire grew on the first French frigate. The rest of the British ships, despite heavy cannon fire from a fort, successfully landed their troops. They stormed and captured the French defenses. There were many casualties among the British landing parties. Hugh Cameron, captain of Hazard, was killed by grapeshot. At 5:20 PM, the fire reached the gunpowder storage of the burning flûte. The explosion sent burning wreckage flying across the bay. The British ships were mostly safe. But a large piece of flaming wood hit the second French flûte, setting its mainmast on fire and destroying it too. With the mission complete, the British ships picked up their landing parties. The troops had destroyed the forts around the bay. The British ships then returned to open water.

In total, the British lost 8 killed and 16 wounded on Blonde, and 6 wounded on Thetis. The number of casualties from the landing parties is not known. French losses are also uncertain. However, most of the crews of Loire and Seine were able to reach the shore safely. Among those who made it to land were some prisoners from Junon, including the badly wounded Captain Shortland. He was carried across the island in a wagon. His condition worsened quickly, and he died on January 21, 1810, without waking up. He was buried at Basse-Terre with full military honors. Years later, this battle was one of the actions recognized by a special medal, the Naval General Service Medal, given to British participants still alive in 1847.

What Happened Next: The Aftermath

Roquebert's remaining frigates, Renommée and Clorinde, turned north after leaving the supply ships. They saw the British squadron in the distance. In their hurry to escape, they ran aground on a sandbar near Antigua. They threw their guns and supplies overboard to make the ships lighter. This allowed them to get back into open water.

They then sailed back to Europe. They avoided all British ships until January 16, 1810. They met the frigate HMS Virginie about 200 miles west of Portugal. Virginie's captain, Edward Brace, followed the French frigates for two days. But he could not get close enough to attack. Roquebert did not try to use his stronger force against the British frigate. Eventually, Roquebert outran Virginie. On January 23, he reached Brest safely.

Within a year, Roquebert and Saint-Cricq were sent on another mission. They sailed with the frigate Néréide to Île de France in December 1810. But the French did not know that a British force had already captured the island. Roquebert's squadron was ambushed in May 1811 near Tamatave in Madagascar. Néréide and Renomée were both captured, and Roquebert was killed. Clorinde escaped by leaving the other ships during the battle. She fled north and eventually reached France.

In the West Indies, the failure of the main supply effort made the defenders of Guadeloupe even more discouraged. Other smaller supply ships sent at the same time were also captured. These included the brig Béarnais on December 14 and Papillion on December 19. In January 1810, the British blockade became even tighter. Scorpion captured the brig Oreste from inside Basse-Terre harbor. Freija seized several small coastal vessels.

By January 27, Cochrane's preparations for the invasion of Guadeloupe were complete. About 7,000 soldiers landed under Lieutenant-General George Beckwith. Most of the French soldiers on the island deserted. By February 6, all resistance ended. The French governor, General Manuel Ernouf, surrendered. Over the rest of the month, the few remaining French and Dutch colonies were taken without a fight. The entire Caribbean was then under British or Spanish control, except for the independent state of Haiti.