This battle took place on 3 July1810 in the Mozambique Channel, when 3 800-ton British East Indiamen on their way to the East encountered 2 French frigates and a corvette. Henry Meriton, in Ceylon, realised they weren't going to escape and the British ships eventually formed into a line with Windham leading, Ceylon close behind, then a gap to Astell. Victor and Minerve approached from the starboard quarter, coming alongside Windham and Ceylon and attacking. After several hours of fighting, Windham, Minerve and Ceylon were damaged in the rigging and Ceylonsurrendered. Windham kept fighting for a while in the hope that Astell could escape, before surrendering also. July 3 - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean between the island of Madagascar and southeast Africa. ...