Battle of Grand Port
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
Date August 20, 1810 Location Grand Port, Mauritius Result decisive French victory;
Combatants
France	Great Britain
Commanders
Guy-Victor Duperré Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin	Sir Samuel Pym
Strength
5 ships	4 ships
Casualties
some ships damaged	2 ships lost (HMS Sirius, HMS Magicienne) 2 captured (HMS Néréide, HMS Iphigenia

The naval Battle of Grand Port took place on 20 August 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars in the harbour of Grand Port. A British fleet consisting of 4 frigates sought to ambush a French fleet consisting of 3 frigates and 2 captured Indiamen. The British were commanded by Captain Samuel Pym and the French by commander of division (commodore) Guy-Victor Duperré. Image File history File links NavalBattleOfGrandPort. ... Combatants Allies: Austria[1] Portugal Prussia[1] Russia[2] Spain[3] Sweden United Kingdom[4] French Empire Holland Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Duchy of Warsaw Bavaria[5] Saxony[6] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack Gebhard von Blücher Duke of Brunswick Prince of Hohenlohe Mikhail Kutuzov... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Grand Port is a district encompassing much of south-eastern part of the island of Mauritius. ... Guy-Victor Duperré (February 20, 1775–November 2, 1846) was a French admiral. ... Baron Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin (October 13, 1768 in Honfleur, Calvados, France - April 23, 1839 in Paris) was a rear admiral of the French navy and later a Baron. ... Sir Samuel Pym (1778-1855) was a British admiral, brother of Sir William Pym In June 1788, Pym joined the Royal Navy as captains servant of the frigate Eurydice. ... August 20 is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Austria[1] Portugal Prussia[1] Russia[2] Spain[3] Sweden United Kingdom[4] French Empire Holland Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Duchy of Warsaw Bavaria[5] Saxony[6] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack Gebhard von Blücher Duke of Brunswick Prince of Hohenlohe Mikhail Kutuzov... A harbor (or harbour) or haven is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. ... Grand Port is a district encompassing much of south-eastern part of the island of Mauritius. ... For the bird, see Frigatebird. ... The East Indiaman Repulse (1820) in the East India Dock Basin. ... Sir Samuel Pym (1778-1855) was a British admiral, brother of Sir William Pym In June 1788, Pym joined the Royal Navy as captains servant of the frigate Eurydice. ... Guy-Victor Duperré (February 20, 1775–November 2, 1846) was a French admiral. ...

Context

Map of Île de France

During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain managed to seize all French possessions in the Indian ocean, except for the Île de France (now Mauritius). Réunion fell in July 1810. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x1206, 235 KB) This image is a work of a Central Intelligence Agency employee, taken or made during the course of an employees official duties. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1000x1206, 235 KB) This image is a work of a Central Intelligence Agency employee, taken or made during the course of an employees official duties. ... Combatants Allies: Austria[1] Portugal Prussia[1] Russia[2] Spain[3] Sweden United Kingdom[4] French Empire Holland Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of Naples Duchy of Warsaw Bavaria[5] Saxony[6] Commanders Archduke Charles Prince Schwarzenberg Karl Mack Gebhard von Blücher Duke of Brunswick Prince of Hohenlohe Mikhail Kutuzov...

In August 1810, British forces started to deploy East to Île de France. The Western side of the island was the best protected, with the squadron of Hamelin, composed of the frigates Vénus and Manche and the corvette Créole, anchored in Port Louis, well fortified harbours, and numerous troops garrisoned there. The British planned to attacked the weaker side of Grand Port (named "Port-Impérial" during the Empire). Baron Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin (October 13, 1768 in Honfleur, Calvados, France - April 23, 1839 in Paris) was a rear admiral of the French navy and later a Baron. ... The arms of Port Louis Port Louis banking district, and the main avenue leading to the Government House (seen in the background) Port Louis (pronounced locally as paw-louee) is the capital of Mauritius. ... Grand Port is a district encompassing much of south-eastern part of the island of Mauritius. ...

The harbour of Grand Port lies at the end of a lagoon, protected from the Ocean by a coral bareer, which can be crossed only through a narrow channel. The channel was defended by coastal batteries on the small island île de la Passe. This mid bay barrier in Narrabeen, a suburb of Sydney (Australia), has blocked what used to be a bay to form a lagoon. ...

Battle

The stranded Sirius still fighting

In the night of the 13 and 14 August, the British frigate Nereide managed to slip in the channel between the île de la Passe and Grand Port, and land marines South of the island. The fort fell at the hands of the British, and the 60 men which defended it were taken prisoners. The Nereide stayed anchored in Mahébourg bay. British parties were sent ashore, convincing plantors to join the English cause, and capturing the fortifications of the pointe du Diable. The squadron commanded by Hamelin was alerted and set sail to retrieve the île de la Passe. Image File history File links GrandPort2. ... Image File history File links GrandPort2. ... The Sirius Class (1795) was established following the taking of the San Fiorenzo from the Spanish in 1794, upon whose lines this frigate was based. ...

On the 20 August, before the Hamelin squadron arrived, a French squadron commanded by Duperré, returning from a patrol, and unaware of the developpements. The Duperré squadron was composed of the frigates Bellone, Minerve and Victor (ex-Revenant); they also ferried two captured East Indiamen, the Ceylan and Windham. Since the English were flying French colours on the fortifications of the île de la Passe, Duperré entred the channel unprepared; the Minerve crossed under the fire of the British, followed by the rest of the squadron. The Windham was recaptured by the British, and the Duperré squadron was trapped in the lagoon between the Île de la Passe and the Nereide. In the night, Duperré had the buoys marking the reefs moved in the hope to confound the British.

On the 22 August, the British Sirius reinforced Nereide, followed the next day by Magicienne and Iphigenie. As such, the British squadron was 174-gun strong, against the 144 guns of the French, so Pym decided to attack. Because of the shallow waters, manoeuvers were impossible, so he two squadrons were anchored while exchanging artillery fire from the night of the 23. Round shots cut some of the anchors, and ships started to drift and run aground. Sirius and Minerve were beached away from the battle; the crew of Minerve joined Bellone. The French vessels concentrated all their gunfire against Néréide and then towards Magicienne. The battle continued without interruption all night and on the 24th August the French boarded the defenceless Néréide. Magicienne was evacuated and scuttled by fire in the evening of the 24. The next day, Sirius was scuttled by her crew. Iphigenia attempted to flee, but was intercepted by the Hamelin squadron and captured. The Sirius Class (1795) was established following the taking of the San Fiorenzo from the Spanish in 1794, upon whose lines this frigate was based. ...

On the 28 August, the British marines stranded on the île de la Passe surrendered. Pym was captured.

Order of battle

Britain (Captain Samuel Pym)

Sirius (Samuel Pym)
Iphigenia ^[1]
Néréide (Willhougby)
Magicienne
HMS Staunch (brig)
The Sirius Class (1795) was established following the taking of the San Fiorenzo from the Spanish in 1794, upon whose lines this frigate was based. ...

France (Guy-Victor Duperré)

Minerve (Bouvet)
Bellone (Commodore Guy-Victor Duperré)
Victor (ex-Revenant)
Ceylon (ex-British Indiaman)
Windham (ex-British Indiaman)
Commodore is a military rank used in some navies for officers whose position exceeds that of a Captain, but is less than that of a Flag Officer. ...

Trivia

• A fictionalised account of this battle is dramatised in Patrick O'Brian's The Mauritius Command.
• The place of the battle is now a spectacular archeological sight [1]

Patrick OBrian (December 12, 1914 – January 2, 2000; original name Richard Patrick Russ) was a novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centered on the friendship of Captain Jack Aubrey and an Irish–Catalan... Mauritius Command (1977) (published in the United States as The Mauritius Command) is a novel by Patrick OBrian, the fourth in the Aubrey–Maturin series. ...

Notes and references

1. ^ The Wreck of the 5th Rate British Frigate H.M.S Sirius (1797) in Mauritius by Yann Von Arnim

External links

• [2]
• The Mauritius Campaign