Action of 12 April 1782

Battle of the Saintes

Battle of the Saintes
Part of the American War of Independence
The Battle of the Saintes, 12 April 1782: surrender of the Ville de Paris by Thomas Whitcombe, painted 1783, shows Hood's HMS Barfleur, centre, attacking the French flagship Ville de Paris, right.
Date 9 April 1782 – 12 April 1782 Location Off Dominica, West Indies Result Decisive British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Sir George Rodney	Comte de Grasse (P.O.W.)
Strength
36 ships of the line	33 ships of the line
Casualties and losses
243 dead, 816 wounded	4 ships of the line captured, 1 destroyed 2,000 dead or wounded, 5,000 captured

The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Battle of Dominica) took place over 4 days, 9 April 1782 – 12 April 1782, during the American War of Independence, and was a victory of a British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney over a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned invasion of Jamaica.

The battle is named after the Saintes (or Saints), a group of islands between Guadeloupe and Dominica in the West Indies. The French fleet defeated here by the Royal Navy was the same French fleet that had blockaded the British Army during the Siege of Yorktown. The battle is sometimes credited with pioneering the tactic of "breaking the line" this is however erroneous as Danish admiral Niels Juel did this in the Battle of Køge Bay more than a hundred years earlier.

Origins

On 7 April 1782, the Comte de Grasse set out from Martinique with 35 ships of the line, including 2 50-gun ships and a large convoy of more than 100 cargo ships, to meet with a Spanish fleet consisting of 12 ships of the line and 15,000 troops for the purpose of capturing the British island of Jamaica. He was pursued by Rodney with 36 ships of the line.

On 9 April 1782, De Grasse sent his convoy into Guadeloupe, escorted by his two fifty-gun ships (Fier and Experiment). There was an initial inconclusive clash during which the French got the better of the van division of the British fleet which had become separated from the centre and rear divisions. Two French ships of the line were damaged.

Battle

On 12 April, De Grasse bore up with his fleet to protect a dismasted ship (Zélé, 74-guns) that was being chased by four British ships as he made for Guadeloupe. Rodney recalled his chasing ships and made the signal for line of battle. As the French line passed down the British line, a sudden shift of wind let Rodney's flagship Formidable and several other ships, including the Duke and the Bedford, break through the French line, raking the ships as they did so. The resultant confusion in the French line and the severe damage to several of the French ships including De Grasse's flagship Ville de Paris, of 104 guns, led eventually to De Grasse’s surrender and the retreat of many of his ships in disorder. This action split the French battle line into two. A general chase ensued. In all, four French ships were captured and one, César, blew up after she was taken.

The British lost 243 killed and 816 wounded, and two captains out of 36 were killed. The French loss in killed and wounded has never been stated, but of captains alone, six were killed out of 30. It is estimated that the French loss may have been as much as 2,000. More than 5,000 French soldiers and sailors were captured. The large number shows what a considerable force the French were willing to put ashore with the invasion of Jamaica. Of the Ville de Paris' crew, over 400 had been killed and more than 700 were wounded. The César which blew up, killed over 400 French and 50 British sailors when her magazine exploded.

Aftermath

The battle frustrated French and Spanish hopes of capturing Jamaica from the British. Rodney was created a peer with £2,000 a year settled on the title in perpetuity for this victory. Hood was elevated to the peerage as well.

The battle has caused controversy ever since, for three reasons:

Order of Battle

Britain

France

References

• Black, Jeremy. Warfare in the Eighteenth Century. London. Cassell. 1999.
• Douglas, Major-General Sir Howard; Christopher J. Valin (2010-18-32). Naval Evolutions: A Memoir. Fireship Press. ISBN 1935585274.
• Crossman, Mark World military leaders: a biographical dictionary Facts on File Inc (2006) ISBN 978-0816047321
• Fullom, S.W., Life of General Sir Howard Douglas, Bart. (1865)
• Mahan, A.T., Major Operations of the Navies in the War of Independence (1913)
• Mahan, A.T., Types of Naval Officers, Drawn from the History of the British Navy (1901)
• Mundy, Major-General, The Life and Correspondence of the Late Admiral Lord Rodney (1830)
• Playfair, John. “On the Naval Tactics of the Late John Clerk, Esq. of Eldin.” The Works of John Playfair, Vol. III (1822)
• “Rodney’s Battle of 12 April 1782: A Statement of Some Important Facts, Supported by Authentic Documents, Relating to the Operation of Breaking the Enemy’s Line, as Practiced for the First Time in the Celebrated Battle of 12 April 1782.” Quarterly Review, vol. XLII, no. LXXXIII, January & March, 1830
• Trew, Peter, Rodney and the Breaking of the Line (2006)
• Valin, Christopher J. (2009). Fortune's Favorite: Sir Charles Douglas and the Breaking of the Line. Fireship Press. ISBN 1934757721.

See also

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