1801 naval battle of the French Revolutionary Wars
The First Battle of Algeciras was a naval battle fought on 6 July 1801 (17 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of the line and a smaller French Navy squadron at anchor in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras in the Strait of Gibraltar. The British outnumbered their opponents, but the French position was protected by Spanish gun batteries and the complicated shoals that obscured the entrance to Algeciras Bay. The French squadron, under Contre-Amiral Charles Linois, had stopped at Algeciras "en route" to the major Spanish naval base at Cadiz, where they were to form a combined French and Spanish fleet for operations against Britain and its allies in the French Revolutionary Wars. The British, under Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez, sought to eliminate the French squadron before it could reach Cadiz and form a force powerful enough to overwhelm Saumarez and launch attacks against British forces in the Mediterranean Sea.
Sailing directly from his blockade station off Cadiz, Saumarez's squadron consisted of six ships of the line, twice the number under Linois's command. Discovering the French at anchor in Algeciras on the morning of 6 July, Saumarez launched an immediate attack on the anchorage through the complicated shoals of Algeciras Bay. Although the initial attack caused severe damage to the French ships, light winds and shallow water led to the British ship HMS "Hannibal" grounding under heavy fire while the French vessels were driven on shore to prevent their capture. With his intentions frustrated, Saumarez ordered his squadron to withdraw, five of his ships limping out of the bay while the battered "Hannibal" remained trapped. Isolated and unable to manoeuvre, Captain Solomon Ferris on "Hannibal" endured the enemy fire for another half an hour before surrendering his ship.
Both sides had suffered severe damage and casualties, but both were also aware that the battle would inevitably be rejoined and so the aftermath of the British defeat was one of frenzied activity at Gibraltar, Algeciras and Cadiz. While the British and French squadrons conducted hasty repairs, the French and Spanish fleet at Cadiz was prepared for a rescue mission, a heavy squadron arriving at Algeciras on 12 July. As the Spanish squadron departed with Linois's ships, they were attacked again by Saumarez's squadron at the Second Battle of Algeciras and caught at night by faster and more manoeuvrable ships, which resulted in the British inflicting heavy losses on the Spanish rearguard but failing for a second time to destroy the French squadron.
Background.
On 1 August 1798, the French Mediterranean Fleet was almost completely destroyed at the Battle of the Nile in Aboukir Bay off Egypt. As a result, the British Royal Navy became dominant in the Mediterranean Sea and imposed blockades on French and Spanish ports in the region, including the important naval bases of Toulon and Cadiz. By 1801, the British were planning a large scale operation to invade and recapture Egypt from the French, and First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte made plans to restore the Mediterranean Fleet and reinforce the garrison before the invasion took place. To this end, a squadron was despatched to Egypt from the French Atlantic ports and an agreement was reached with the Spanish Navy to supply the French Navy with six ships of the line from their reserve at Cadiz. The squadron never reached Egypt, diverting to Toulon under British pressure and separating, the most seaworthy vessels making a vain attempt to Egypt later in the year while the remainder were left at Toulon.
In June 1801, a squadron of three ships of the line that had been detached from the Egyptian squadron departed Toulon for Cadiz under the command of Contre-Amiral Charles Linois. The squadron's orders instructed Linois to join with the French and Spanish fleet at Cadiz and take possession of the promised vessels. From there the combined fleet, bolstered by 1,500 French soldiers under General Pierre Devaux on Linois's ships, could launch major operations against British forces or those of their allies: attacks on Egypt and Lisbon were both suggested, although no firm plan had been drawn up for either. Able to leave Toulon without resistance in the absence of the British blockade squadron, Linois passed along the Spanish Mediterranean Coast without interception, passing the fortified British port of Gibraltar on 3 July. There Linois was informed by Captain Lord Cochrane, captured in his brig HMS "Speedy" on 4 July, that a powerful squadron of seven British ships of the line were stationed off Cadiz under Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez. On hearing this news, Linois postponed the plan to reach the Spanish naval base and instead anchored at Algeciras, a well-fortified coastal town in Algeciras Bay, within sight of Gibraltar.
At Gibraltar, the only ship in harbour was the small sloop-of-war HMS "Calpe" under Captain George Dundas, who on sighting the French squadron immediately sent word to Saumarez off Cadiz. The message arrived on 5 July, delivered by Lieutenant Richard Janvrin in a small boat. The admiral, a veteran of the Battle of the Nile, immediately gathered his ships and sailed eastwards to investigate. He had only six ships of the line as one, HMS "Superb" under Captain Richard Goodwin Keats, was on detached duty at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River with the brig HMS "Pasley". Saumarez sent messages in the frigate HMS "Thames" recalling Keats, who followed Saumarez towards Algeciras, and was in sight of the admiral's ship on the horizon at dawn on 6 July. However, after hearing an inaccurate report from an American merchant ship that Linois had already sailed from Algeciras, Keats reasoned that the French would have turned eastwards for Toulon and thus he would be too late to catch them. He therefore resolved to return to his station observing the Spanish at Cadiz, retaining "Pasley" and "Thames".
As Saumarez sailed eastwards towards Algeciras against the wind, the already strong defences at Algeciras were augmented to meet him: Linois drew his ships up in a line of battle across the harbour, with the flagship "Formidable" at the northern edge, followed by "Desaix" and with "Indomptable" to the south, the ships each apart. The frigate "Muiron" was stationed in shallower water to the south of "Indomptable". The French position was strengthened by the presence of 11 large Spanish gunboats at the northern extremity of the harbour, which was also overlooked by fortifications at the "Bateria de San Iago" and the "Torre de Almirante". The southern approach to the harbour was covered by three gunboats and batteries at Fort Santa Garcia and "Torre de la Vila Vega" on the shore and the fortified island of Isla Verda, which mounted seven heavy cannon, lay between "Indomptable" and "Muiron". Further support was offered by more distant forts that could land shells in the anchorage and most importantly by the geography of the bay, which was scattered with complicated shoals and rocks that made navigation difficult for unfamiliar sailors.
Battle.
Saumarez's attack.
Delayed during 5 July by contrary winds, Saumarez's squadron did not reach Algeciras until 07:00 on 6 July, the British admiral deciding to immediately descend on the French squadron and issuing orders for his ships to launch their small boats "in readiness to act when required". Thousands of spectators lined both the Spanish and Gibraltan shoreline in anticipation of the battle to come. Orders had been given for HMS "Venerable" under Captain Samuel Hood to lead the attack as the officer with most experience in these waters, and his vessel was the first to enter the bay around Cabrita Point. Once in the bay however, the wind dropped and Hood was left becalmed. As a result, the first shots of the engagement were fired from a battery on Cabrita Point at HMS "Pompee" under Captain Charles Stirling, which entered the bay at 07:50, followed closely by HMS "Audacious" under Captain Shuldham Peard. On sighting the British squadron, Linois gave orders for the French ships to warp into the shallower waters along the shoreline, and many sailors and soldiers aboard were despatched to assist the Spanish gun batteries around the bay. The French ships joined the fire as "Pompee" and "Audacious" came within range, first "Muiron" and then the ships of the line attacking the approaching British vessels.
Saumarez and remainder of the British squadron were behind the leading ships but Stirling pressed ahead with the attack, passing close to the Isla Verda at 08:30 and engaging each of the French ships in turn until anchoring next to "Formidable" at 08:45 and opening fire from close range. "Venerable" and "Audacious" suffered from light winds further out in the bay and it was not until 08:50 that they were able to enter the action, "Venerable" firing on "Desaix" and "Formidable" and "Audacious" on "Indomptable" although, contrary to Saumarez's orders, both were anchored at long range. The French and Spanish responded with a heavy cannonade against the anchored ships, the engagement lasting half an hour until "Formidable" temporarily ceased firing and began to slowly warp further inshore. Suddenly, "Pompee" was caught by a fresh current, which swung the ship so that its bow was facing "Formidable"'s broadside, although at some distance, allowing the French to rake the British ship which could only respond with a handful of the forward cannon. Assistance was provided by Dundas in "Calpe", who took his small vessel inshore to engage the Spanish batteries firing on the British squadron, and also attacked the frigate "Muiron" at close range. "Muiron" was undermanned, but still powerful enough to drive off the smaller "Calpe".
At 09:15 the straggling rear of the British squadron began to arrive, led by the flagship HMS "Caesar", which anchored ahead of "Audacious" and inshore of "Venerable" before opening fire on "Desaix". At 09:20, HMS "Hannibal" under Captain Solomon Ferris joined the action, anchoring ahead of "Caesar". This left only HMS "Spencer" under Captain Henry Darby unengaged: "Spencer" had been left becalmed to the south of Isla Verda and came under heavy fire from the batteries and towers, some of which were firing hot shot designed to start fires in the ship's timbers. Captain Jahleel Brenton on "Caesar" suggested to Saumarez that if he negotiated with the Spanish they might permit him to seize the French ships in exchange for a cessation of the action, but Saumarez dismissed the idea as premature. At 10:12, with "Formidable" pulling into shallower waters away from the attacking British ships, Saumarez sent orders to Captain Ferris on "Hannibal" instructing him to manoeuvre his ship closer inshore to attack "Formidable" more effectively: specifically he was told to "go and rake the French admiral". Ferris began by sailing slowly northwards, using the light winds to pull ahead of the combat before tacking back towards "Formidable". The manoeuvre was initially successful, but at 11:00, as he passed the "Torre de Almirante", "Hannibal" grounded. From this position, Ferris was able to direct part of his broadside onto "Formidable" and the rest against the Spanish shore defences, but his ship was left very vulnerable to fire from the shore.
"Hannibal" was now isolated at the northern end of the British line, under heavy fire from "Formidable" as well as the Spanish shore batteries and gunboats and unable to manoeuvre or effectively respond. Ferris attempted to notify Saumarez of his ship's precarious position, but his signal halyards had been torn away by shot and it was sometime before assistance could be organised. The rest of the squadron was ordered to provide ship's boats to attempt to tow "Hannibal" off the shoal but the attempt failed, "Caesar"'s pinnace sinking in the process after being struck by a cannonball. Ultimately, "Hannibal" was left stranded as the last of the seabreeze disappeared, preventing any of the other British ships from coming to Ferris' assistance. There was, however, a light land breeze from the northwest that initially favoured the outnumbered and battered French squadron, Linois immediately ordering his ships to sever their anchor cables and use the breeze to manoeuvre slowly into stronger defensive positions closer inshore. His flagship "Formidable" successfully completed the manoeuvre, but neither "Indomptable" nor "Desaix" could be brought back under control in time, and both grounded, "Desaix" directly in front of Algeciras and "Indomptable" northeast of Isla Verda with her bow facing out to sea.
Saumarez responded by cutting his