Battle of Toulon (1744) order of battle

The Battle of Toulon, also known as the Battle of Cape Sicié, took place between 21 and 22 February 1744 NS[a] near the French Mediterranean port of Toulon. Although France was not yet at war with Great Britain, ships from their Levant Fleet combined with a Spanish force, which had been trapped in Toulon for two years, to break the blockade imposed by the British Mediterranean Fleet.

The initial engagement on 21 February was largely indecisive and the British continued their pursuit until midday on 22nd before their commander, Admiral Thomas Mathews, called off the chase. With several of his ships in need of repair, he withdrew to Menorca, which meant the Royal Navy temporarily lost control of the waters around Italy and allowed the Spanish to take the offensive against Savoy.[1]

In his report, Mathews blamed his subordinate Richard Lestock for the failure and the issue was hotly debated in Parliament. At the subsequent court-martial, Mathews was held responsible and dismissed from the navy in June 1747, while Lestock's political connections meant he was cleared of all charges.[2] Another seven captains were removed from command for failing to engage the enemy and the investigation led to changes that required individual captains to be far more aggressive.

Order of battle

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Franco-Spanish fleet

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Franco-Spanish fleet[3]
Ship Rate Guns Commander Notes
Van
Borée Third-rate 64 Captain Marqueu
Toulouse Fourth-rate 60 Captain Dárton
Tigre Fourth-rate 50 Captain Saurin
Éole Third-rate 64 Captain D'Alver
Alcyon Fourth-rate 56 Captain Lancel
Duc D'Orléans Third-rate 68 Captain Dornés
Espoir Third-rate 74 Captain D'Hericourt (Ensign of Gavaret)
Centre
Trident Third-rate 64 Captain Caylus
Heureux Fourth-rate 60 Captain Gramier
Achiléon Fourth-rate 60 Captain Vaudevil
Solide Third-rate 64 Captain Chateauneuf
Diamant Fourth-rate 50 Captain Manak
Ferme Third-rate 70 Captain Gorgues
Terrible Third-rate 74 Vice-Admiral De Court
Captain Jonquiere
Sancti Espiritus Third-rate 68 Captain Poison
Sérieux Third-rate 64 Captain Cahyla
Rear
Oriente Fourth-rate 60 Captain Joaquín Villena
América Fourth-rate 60 Captain Aníbal Petrucci
Neptuno Fourth-rate 60 Captain Enrique Olivares 
Poder Fourth-rate 60 Captain Rodrigo de Urrutia  (POW) Captured by the British
Recaptured and scuttled by the French
Constante Third-rate 70 Captain Agustín Iturriaga  Badly damaged and taken under tow
Real Felipe First-rate 110 Admiral Jose Navarro
Captain Nicolas Geraldino 
Badly damaged and taken under tow
Hércules Third-rate 64 Captain Cosme Álvarez
Brillante Fourth-rate 60 Captain don Blas de la Barreda
Alcón Fourth-rate 60 Captain José Rentería
San Fernando Third-rate 64 Count of Vegaflorida
Soberbio Fourth-rate 50 Captain Juan Valdés
Santa Isabel Third-rate 80 Captain Ignacio Dautevil

4 frigates, 4 fire ships[4]

British fleet

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British fleet[5] [4]
Ship Rate Guns Commander Notes
Van
HMS Nassau Third-rate 70 Captain James Lloyd
HMS Chichester Third-rate 80 Captain William Dilkes Dilkes court-martialled and dismissed, later restored
HMS Boyne Third-rate 80 Captain Rowland Frogmore Frogmore died before being court-martialled [6]
HMS Barfleur Second-rate 90 Rear-Admiral William Rowley (Red)
Captain Meyrick de L'Angle
Damaged; 25 killed, 20 wounded [7]
HMS Ranelagh Third-rate 80 Captain Henry Osborn
HMS Berwick Third-rate 70 Captain Edward Hawke 17 members of the Prize crew taken prisoner when the French recaptured the Poder [8]
HMS Stirling Castle Third-rate 70 Captain Thomas Cooper
HMS Bedford Third-rate 70 Captain Hon. George Townshend
HMS Feversham Fifth-rate 40 Captain John Watkins
HMS Winchelsea Sixth-rate 20 Captain William Marsh
Centre
HMS Dragon Fourth-rate 60 Captain Charles Watson
HMS Royal Oak Third-rate 70 Captain Edmund Williams Williams court-martialled and dismissed
HMS Princess Third-rate 70 Captain Robert Pett Damaged; 8 killed, 20 wounded [9]
HMS Somerset Third-rate 80 Captain George Slater
HMS Norfolk Third-rate 80 Captain Hon. John Forbes Damaged; 12 killed, 25 wounded [9]
HMS Marlborough Second-rate 90 Captain James Cornewall  Badly damaged; 53 killed, 138 wounded [9]
HMS Dorsetshire Third-rate 80 Captain George Burrish Burrish court-martialled and dismissed
HMS Essex Third-rate 70 Captain Richard Norris Norris court-martialled and dismissed
HMS Rupert Third-rate 60 Captain John Ambrose Ambrose court-martialled and suspended for a year
HMS Namur (Flagship) Second-rate 90 Admiral Thomas Mathews (Blue)
Captain John Russell 
Damaged; 8 killed, 20 wounded [6]
HMS Dursley Galley Sixth-rate 20 Captain Giles Vanbrugh
HMS Anne Galley[10] Fire ship 8 Commander James Mackie  Blew up, 25 killed [9]
HMS Sutherland Hospital ship 18 Lieutenant Lord Colville
Rear
HMS Salisbury Fourth-rate 50 Captain Peter Osborne
HMS Romney Fourth-rate 50 Captain Henry Godsalve
HMS Dunkirk Third-rate 60 Captain Charles Wager Purvis
HMS Swiftsure Third-rate 70 Captain George Berkeley
HMS Cambridge Third-rate 80 Captain Charles Drummond
HMS Neptune Second-rate 90 Vice-Admiral Richard Lestock (White)
Captain George Stepney
HMS Torbay Third-rate 80 Captain John Gascoigne
HMS Russell Third-rate 80 Captain Robert Long
HMS Buckingham Third-rate 70 Captain John Towry
HMS Elizabeth Third-rate 70 Captain Joshua Lingen
HMS Kingston Third-rate 60 Captain John Lovatt
HMS Oxford Fourth-rate 50 Captain Harry Powlett
HMS Warwick Third-rate 60 Captain Temple West
HMS Mercury Fire ship 8 Commander Moses Peadle

Footnotes

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  1. ^ The dates of the battle were 21 to 22 February 1744 (New Style (NS)) according to the Gregorian calendar then used by France and Spain. The British still used the Julian calendar, which gave dates of 10–11 February 1744 (OS)

References

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  1. ^ Dull 2009, p. 52.
  2. ^ Baugh 2004.
  3. ^ Allen 1842, p. 323.
  4. ^ a b Schomberg 1802, p. 36.
  5. ^ Allen 1842, p. 150.
  6. ^ a b Allen 1842, p. 327.
  7. ^ Allen 1842, p. 331.
  8. ^ Allen 1842, p. 330.
  9. ^ a b c d Allen 1842, p. 329.
  10. ^ Ships of the Royal Navy:The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy J. Colledge, Ben Warlow p.17

Sources

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  • Allen, Joseph (1842). "Admirals Mathews and Lestock". United Service Magazine.
  • Baugh, Daniel (2004). "Mathews, Thomas (1676–1751)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18332. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  • Dull, Jonathan R (2009). The Age of the Ship of the Line: The British and French Navies, 1650–1815 (Studies in War, Society, and the Military). University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803219304.
  • Schomberg, Isaac (1802). Naval Chronology; or, an Historical Summary of Naval and Maritime Events from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace 1802 (2015 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1139878494.