The Action of 11 September 1778 was a minor naval engagement which took place off the French port of Brest during the American War of Independence, between the French frigate Junon and the Royal Navy frigate HMS Fox. During the engagement that followed, Junon outgunned Fox forcing her to strike.[2]
| Action of 11 September 1778 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
 French frigate Junon against the English frigate Fox in September 1778 by Auguste-Louis de Rossel de Cercy | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain |
 France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Thomas Windsor  |
 Vicomte de Beaumont | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 frigate 28 gun | 1 frigate 32 gun | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1 frigate captured 14 killed 32 wounded 154 captured[1] | Unknown | ||||||
Events
edit- Background
HMS Fox, a twenty eight gun frigate had been under the command of Captain Thomas Windsor, and was sailing off Brest keeping an eye on the French fleet which was then believed to be at sea in the vicinity of Cape Finisterre.[3]
On 11 September 1778, a lookout on Fox sighted two vessels - the latter being the newly commissioned Junon; a 32-gun frigate under the command of Captain Antoine-François de Beaumont, the Vicomte de Beaumont Haunt with a crew of some three hundred and thirty men. Fox gave chase, but the weather made visibility poor and obscured Junon's approach. When Fox finally sighted Junon, Fox prepared to engage.[4]
- Action
The two vessels manoeuvred against each other until finally exchanged broadsides at some distance.[5] Junon then tried to obtain a raking position over the Fox, and when this move was thwarted, she attempted to come down from to windward on her opponent's quarter. Junons' heavier firepower at short range soon began to tell.[1]
Junon, unusually for a French vessel, fired at Fox's hull rather than her rigging, with the result that Junon's heavier guns were able to inflict heavy casualties on Fox, and shoot away her three masts.[6] The Fox soon became a dismasted wreck and was unable to manoeuvre. After this the Fox had to withstand the Junons' cannon for three and a half hours. With most of his cannons out of action, Windsor also became seriously wounded by a musket ball in the right arm and had suffered four other minor injuries. He had no choice but to strike her flag.[2]
- Aftermath
The Fox had lost 14 men killed and 32 wounded.[2] The French towed Fox into Brest where she was repaired. In January 1779 Windsor was allowed to return to England on parole following the intervention in Paris of William Keppel, who desired both men to appear as witnesses at the court-martial of his brother, Augustus Keppel, conversant with the fall-out from the Battle of Ushant.[7]
The Fox in French service did not last long, for on 22 March 1779 she was driven aground off Brittany with no hope of salvage.[6]
Notable participants
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Clowes 1897, p. 20.
- ^ a b c Hepper (1994), p. 53.
- ^ Clowes, William Laird (1897). The Royal Navy A History from the Earliest Times to the Present · Volume 4. S. Low, Marston and Company, limited. p. 20.
- ^ Troude, O (1867). Batailles navales de la France Volume 2 By. Challamel ainé. pp. 26–27.
- ^ Blatchford, John (1865). The Narrative of John Blatchford, Detailing His Sufferings in the Revolutionary War, While a Prisoner with the British As Related by Himself. Priv. Print. pp. 52–53.
- ^ a b Troude 1867, p. 27.
- ^ Lecky, Halton Stirling (1914). The King's Ships Together with the Important Historical Episodes Connected with the Successive Ships of the Same Name from Remote Times, and a List of Names and Services of Some Ancient War Vessels · Volume 3. H. Muirhead. p. 123.
- Bibliography
- Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650–1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN 9780948864308.