Battle of Sadras | |||||||
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Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
Hindostan or India, from the best authorities, author unknown | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
France | Great Britain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Pierre Suffren | Edward Hughes | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
11 ships of the line | 9 ships of the line | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
30 killed 100 wounded | 32 killed 83 wounded |
The Battle of Sadras was the first of five largely indecisive naval battles fought between a British fleet (under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes) and a French fleet (under Admiral Pierre Suffren) off the east coast of India during the Anglo-French War. Fought on 17 February 1782 near present-day Kalpakkam, the battle was tactically indecisive, but the British fleet suffered the most damage. Under Suffren's protection, French troop transports were able to land at Porto Novo, present-day Parangipettai.
France had entered the American Revolutionary War in 1778, and Britain had declared war on the Dutch Republic in late 1780 after the Dutch refused to stop trading with the French and the Americans. The British had rapidly gained control over most French and Dutch outposts in India when news of these events reached India, spawning the Second Anglo-Mysore War in the process.
The French admiral Bailli de Suffren was dispatched for military assistance to French colonies in India, leading a fleet of five ships of the line, seven transports, and a corvette to escort transports from Brest in March 1781. Suffren was involved in a happenstance battle with a British fleet at Porto Praya in the Cape Verde Islands in April. In October, he left reinforcement troops at the Dutch-controlled Cape of Good Hope to assist with colonial defense. Suffren added some ships to his fleet and sailed on to the Île de France (present-day Mauritius), arriving at Port Louis in December.
After further additions at Port Louis, Suffren's fleet sailed for India under the command of the elderly Navy Brigadier General Thomas d'Estienne d'Orves, accompanying transports carrying nearly 3,000 men under the command of the Comte du Chemin. D'Orves died in February 1782, shortly before the fleet arrived off the Indian coast, and Suffren once again took command.
Suffren first sailed for Madras, hoping to surprise the British stronghold there. Encountering Hughes's fleet anchored in Madras on 15 February 1782, Suffren turned south. He intended to land troops at Porto Novo, march up the coast and recapture French and Dutch holdings on the way. Hughes raised anchor and sailed after Suffren.
Suffren was hampered with protecting his troop convoys from Hughes, whose goal he presumed was to prevent the troops from landing. Detaching one corvette to protect the convoy and detailing another to watch the British fleet, Suffren attempted to draw Hughes away. However, under cover of night Hughes managed to slip between Suffren's squadron and the convoys. The signal was raised on the morning of 17 February, and Suffren gave chase to force battle.
When the fleets closed for action around 15:30, some of Suffren's ships had not properly formed the line of battle. Only five of the French ships engaged at first. Of the remaining six, only two joined the action later, with the other four apparently violating Suffren's orders and hanging back. Suffren, leading in Héros, exchanged a broadside with Exeter before targeting Hughes's flagship Superb. The battle lasted for over three hours, with Exeter sustaining the most damage. She was nearly sunk, but two French ships were recalled (for reasons unknown) before they could inflict enough damage to cause her to sink. Superb also suffered significant damage. The battle came to end with the onset of night.
Suffren summoned his captains for council and chastised those who had chosen to stay out of the battle before following the troop convoy to Porto Novo. There the French army had landed, and Suffren met with the Mysorean ruler Hyder Ali to plan strategy. After making repairs, Suffren set off to find Hughes again. The French and Mysorean forces captured Cuddalore, just north of Porto Novo, on 4 April. Hughes sailed for Trincomalee, where he made repairs.
Captain Suffren's squadron [4] | ||||||||||
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Ship | Rate | Guns | Navy | Commander | Casualties | Notes | ||||
Killed | Wounded | Total | ||||||||
Bizarre | Third rate | 64 | Captain Chevalier de la Landelle-Roscanvec | |||||||
Orient | Third rate | 74 | Captain Jean Baptiste Christy de La Pallière | |||||||
Sphinx | Third rate | 64 | Captain Charles Louis du Chilleau de La Roche | |||||||
Vengeur | Third rate | 64 | Captain Charles Gaspard Hyacinthe de Forbin La Barben | |||||||
Héros | Third rate | 74 | Chef d'Escadre Pierre André de Suffren Captain Félix d'Hesmivy de Moissac | |||||||
Hannibal | Fourth rate | 50 | Captain Justin Bonaventure Morard de Galles | |||||||
Annibal | Third rate | 74 | Captain Bernard Boudin de Tromelin | |||||||
Sévère | Third rate | 64 | Captain Chevalier de Villeneuve-Cillart | |||||||
Artésien | Third rate | 64 | Captain François-Joseph-Hippolyte Bidé de Maurville | |||||||
Ajax | Third rate | 64 | Captain René Joseph Bouvet de Précourt | |||||||
Brillant | Third rate | 64 | Captain Armand de Saint-Félix | |||||||
Flamand | Fourth rate | 50 | Captain Louis-Hyacinte de Cavelier de Cuverville | |||||||
British squadron | ||||||||||
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Ship | Rate | Guns | Navy | Commander | Casualties | Notes | ||||
Killed | Wounded | Total | ||||||||
HMS Eagle | Fourth rate | 64 | Captain Ambrose Reddall | |||||||
HMS Monmouth | Fourth rate | 64 | Captain James Alms | |||||||
HMS Worcester | Fourth rate | 64 | Captain George Talbot | |||||||
HMS Burford | Fourth rate | 64 | Captain Peter Rainier | |||||||
HMS Superb | Third rate | 74 | Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes Captain William Stevens | |||||||
HMS Hero | Third rate | 74 | Captain Charles Wood | |||||||
HMS Isis | Fourth rate | 50 | Captain Thomas Charles Lumley | |||||||
HMS Monarca | Third rate | 68 | Captain John Gell | |||||||
HMS Exeter | Fourth rate | 64 | Commodore Richard King Captain Henry Reynolds | |||||||
Annibal was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was designed by Jacques-Noël Sané, and was one of the earliest of his works. She was built at Brest in 1778.
The Battle of Cuddalore in 1783 was a naval battle between a British fleet, under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes with Admiral L.J. Weiland, and a smaller French fleet, under the Bailli de Suffren, off the coast of India that took place right before the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War. This war sparked the Second Mysore War in India. In the battle, taking place near Cuddalore on 20 June 1783, Suffren commanded the engagement from the frigate Cléopâtre and won what is generally considered a victory. Peace had already been agreed upon in Europe, but that news had yet to reach India, making this the final battle of the war.
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The Battle of Negapatam was the third in a series of battles fought between a British fleet, under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, and a French fleet, under the Bailli de Suffren, off the coast of India during the American Revolutionary War. The battle was fought on 6 July 1782. Though the battle was indecisive, Suffren was stopped in his goal by Hughes and withdrew to Cuddalore, while the British remained in control of Negapatam.
The Battle of Trincomalee was fought between a British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of Trincomalee, then Ceylon, on 3 September 1782. It was the fourth in a series of battles fought between the two fleets off the coast of the Indian subcontinent during the American Revolutionary War.
The Battle of Porto Praya was a naval battle that took place during the American Revolutionary War on 16 April 1781 between a British squadron under Commodore George Johnstone and a French squadron under the Bailli de Suffren.
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Vice-Admiral Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez, bailli de Suffren was a French naval officer and nobleman. Beginning his career during the War of the Austrian Succession, he briefly served in the Maltese Navy before fighting in the Seven Years' War, where Suffren was taken prisoner by the British at the Battle of Lagos. Promoted to captain in 1772, he served under Charles Henri Hector, Count of Estaing during the naval battles of the American Revolutionary War, taking part in the siege of Savannah in 1779.
Pierre Servan René Bouvet de Maisonneuve was a French naval officer. He served in several notable battles, notably the action of 17 June 1778, and the battles conducted by Suffren in the Indian Ocean. He was wounded at the Battle of Porto Praya. He was the father of Pierre François Étienne Bouvet de Maisonneuve.
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Jean Baptiste Christy de La Pallière was a French Navy officer. He notably he captained the 74-gun Orient at the Battle of Sadras on 17 February 1782, at the Battle of Providien on 12 April 1782, at the Battle of Negapatam on 6 July 1782, and at the Battle of Trincomalee from 25 August to 3 September 1782.