Order of battle at the Battle of the Hyères Islands

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The Order of battle at the Battle of the Hyères Islands recounts the British Royal Navy and French Navy fleets which participated in a campaign off the Îles d'Hyères during the French Revolutionary Wars. The Battle of the Hyères Islands was an engagement fought for control of the Ligurian Sea, the waters off the Southern French and Northwestern Italian coasts, where British and French forces had clashed since the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793. The battle was an uneven contest, the French, led by Vice-admiral Pierre Martin unwilling to face the larger British fleet under Admiral William Hotham, but losing one ship of the line to British fire as they attempted to escape.

The British had been dominant in the Mediterranean since the destruction of half of the French Mediterranean Fleet at the conclusion of the Siege of Toulon in December 1793.[1] As the French strove to repair and rebuilt their shattered fleet, the British turned to securing the island of Corsica, through an invasion in 1794.[2] The only French naval operation of the year, a cruise by Martin in June, was forced to shelter in the anchorage at Gourjean Bay to avoid destruction.[3] In March 1795 the French had enough serviceable ships to take to sea once more, sailing in the Gulf of Genoa and capturing the damaged HMS Berwick at the action of 8 March 1795.[4] A few days later Hotham's fleet caught the French and Martin lost two ships at the ensuing Battle of Genoa.[5] During the spring both fleets gained reinforcements from the Atlantic, and in June Martin sailed once more.[6]

Hotham was not initially concerned by French movements, but on 7 July a squadron under Captain Horatio Nelson was chased by the French and Nelson led Martin directly to Hotham's anchorage at San Fiorenzo.[7] Hotham delayed departure but eventually gave chase, pursuing Martin's smaller fleet across the Ligurian Sea. On 13 July off the Îles d'Hyères, the leading British ships caught the trailing French ships and a short battle followed during which the French ship of the line Alcide was isolated, captured and subsequently destroyed by fire.[8] Martin retreated to Fréjus while Hotham, his flagship trailing 8 nautical miles (15 km) behind the action, ordered his ships to pull back.[9] This decision was criticised by his officers at the time and by subsequent historians,[10] and his failure to inflict a decisive defeat on the French at this engagement is often cited as crucial in the forced evacuation of the Mediterranean by all British forces the following year.[11]

Hotham's fleet[edit]

Note that as carronades were not traditionally taken into consideration when calculating a ship's rate,[12] these ships may have been carrying more guns than indicated below.

  • British Royal Navy
  • Navy of the Kingdom of Naples
  •   Ships in this colour were destroyed or captured during the campaign
Admiral William Hotham's fleet
Ship Rate Guns Fleet Commander Casualties Notes
Killed Wounded Total
HMS Britannia First rate 100 Admiral William Hotham
Captain John Holloway 		0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Victory First rate 100 Rear-Admiral Robert Mann
Captain John Knight 		5 15 20 Heavy engaged. Damage to rigging and sails.
HMS Princess Royal Second rate 98 Vice-Admiral Samuel Goodall
Captain John Child Purvis 		0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS St George Second rate 98 Vice-Admiral Sir Hyde Parker
Captain Thomas Foley 		0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Windsor Castle Second rate 98 Rear-Admiral Robert Linzee
Captain John Gore 		0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Blenheim Second rate 98 Captain John Bazely 2 2 4 Lightly engaged.
HMS Gibraltar Third rate 80 Captain John Pakenham 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Captain Third rate 74 Captain Samuel Reeve 1 0 1 Lightly engaged.
HMS Fortitude Third rate 74 Captain William Young 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Bombay Castle Third rate 74 Captain Charles Chamberlayne 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Saturn Third rate 74 Captain James Douglas 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Cumberland Third rate 74 Captain Bartholomew Rowley 0 0 0 Heavily engaged. Damage to rigging and sails.
HMS Terrible Third rate 74 Captain George Campbell 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Defence Third rate 74 Captain Thomas Wells 1 6 7 Lightly engaged.
HMS Egmont Third rate 74 Captain John Sutton 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Culloden Third rate 74 Captain Thomas Troubridge 2 5 7 Heavily engaged. Damage to rigging and sails.
HMS Bedford Third rate 74 Captain Davidge Gould 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Courageux Third rate 74 Captain Benjamin Hallowell 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Audacious Third rate 74 Captain William Shield 0 0 0 Not engaged.
Guiscardo Third rate 74 0 0 0 Not engaged.
Samnito Third rate 74 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Agamemnon Third rate 64 Captain Horatio Nelson 0 0 0 Lightly engaged.
HMS Diadem Third rate 64 Captain Charles Tyler 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Meleager Fifth rate 32 Captain George Cockburn 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Cyclops Fifth rate 28 Captain William Hotham 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Ariadne Sixth rate 24 Captain Robert Plampin 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Comet Brig 14 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Eclair Brig 20 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Fleche Brig 14 Commander Thomas Boys 0 0 0 Not engaged.
HMS Resolution Cutter 14 Lieutenant Edward H. Columbine 0 0 0 Not engaged.
Total casualties: 11 killed, 27 wounded
Sources: James, pp. 267–271.

Martin's fleet[edit]

Note that the number of guns refers to the official complement, traditionally taken into consideration when calculating a ship's rate,[12] and that these ships may have been carrying more guns than indicated below, although obusiers were not carried on French ships in this battle.[13] Officers killed in action are marked with a  † symbol.

  •   Ships in this colour were destroyed during the campaign
Vice-amiral Martin's fleet
Ship Rate Guns Fleet Commander Casualties Notes
Killed Wounded Total
Sans Culotte First rate 120 Vice-amiral Pierre Martin
Captain Lapalisse
Représentant Joseph Niou 		None Not engaged.
Tonnant Third rate 80 Contre-amiral Jean-Louis Delmotte [fr]
Captain Julien Cosmao-Kerjulien 		None Not engaged.
Victoire Third rate 80 Captain Daniel Savary None Not engaged.
Généreux Third rate 74 Captain Louis Unknown Heavily engaged.
Heureux Third rate 74 Captain Charles Lacaille None Not engaged.
Barra Third rate 74 Captain André Maureau None Not engaged.
Guerrier Third rate 74 Captain Louis Infernet None Sent back to Toulon before the action.
Mercure Third rate 74 Captain Catteford None Sent back to Toulon before the action.
Alcide * Third rate 74 Captain Leblond Saint-Hylaire  † c. 300 killed Heavily engaged, badly damaged and captured. Caught fire after the action with heavy loss of life.
Timoléon Third rate 74 Captain Charbonnier None Not engaged.
Duquesne Third rate 74 Captain Zacharie Allemand None Not engaged.
Peuple Souverain Third rate 74 Captain Lindet-Lalonde None Not engaged.
Berwick Third rate 74 Captain Dumanoir le Pelley Unknown Heavily engaged.
Jemmapes Third rate 74 Contre-amiral Jean François Renaudin
Captain Laffon 		None Not engaged.
Tyrannicide Third rate 74 Captain Alain Joseph Dordelin Unknown Heavily engaged.
Jupiter Third rate 74 Captain Joseph de Richery None Not engaged.
Révolution Third rate 74 Captain Fay None Not engaged.
Aquilon Third rate 74 Captain Laterre Unknown Heavily engaged.
Républicain Third rate 74 Captain Honoré Ganteaume None Not engaged.
Junon Frigate 32 Lieutenant Amand Leduc None Not engaged.
Friponne Frigate 36 Lieutenant Villeneuve None Not engaged.
Alceste Frigate 32 Lieutenant Jean Joseph Hubert None Not engaged.
Sérieuse Frigate 32 Lieutenant Saunier[14] None Not engaged.
Justice Frigate 40 Captain Jacques Dalbarade None Not engaged.
Embuscade Frigate 40 Lieutenant Maxime Émeriau None Not engaged.
Félicité Frigate 32 Lieutenant Lecour None Not engaged.
Brune Corvette 20 Ensign Louis Gabriel Deniéport[15] None Not engaged.
Badine Brig 20 Lieutenant Testu[16] None Not engaged.
Alerte Brig 10 Le Mèle None Not engaged.
Hazard Brig 18 Dumay None Not engaged.
Scout Brig 18 Dumeny None Not engaged.
Total casualties: c. 300 killed
Sources: Troude, pp. 432–436.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gardiner, p. 105.
  2. ^ Ireland, p. 145.
  3. ^ Troude, p. 368.
  4. ^ Clowes, p. 267.
  5. ^ Bennett, p. 89.
  6. ^ James, p. 266.
  7. ^ Clowes, p. 274.
  8. ^ James, p. 271.
  9. ^ Mostert, p. 163.
  10. ^ Bradford, p. 118.
  11. ^ Mostert, p. 164.
  12. ^ a b James, p. 32.
  13. ^ James, p. 262.
  14. ^ Fonds Marine, p. 137.
  15. ^ Roche, p. 88.
  16. ^ Fonds Marine, p. 132.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Bennett, Geoffrey (2002) [1972]. Nelson the Commander. London: Penguin. ISBN 0-141391-29-4.
  • Bradford, Ernle (1999) [1977]. Nelson: The Essential Hero. Ware: Wordsworth Military Library. ISBN 1-84022-202-6.
  • Clowes, William Laird (1997) [1900]. The Royal Navy, A History from the Earliest Times to 1900, Volume III. London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-012-4.
  • Gardiner, Robert, ed. (2001) [1996]. Fleet Battle and Blockade. London: Caxton Editions. ISBN 1-84067-363-X.
  • Ireland, Bernard (2005). The Fall of Toulon: The Last Opportunity the Defeat the French Revolution. Cassell. ISBN 0-3043-6726-5.
  • James, William (2002) [1827]. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 1, 1793–1796. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-905-0.
  • Mostert, Noel (2007). The Line upon a Wind: The Greatest War Fought at Sea Under Sail 1793 – 1815. Vintage Books. ISBN 9-78071-260-9272.
  • Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)
  • Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867). Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 2. Challamel ainé. pp. 424–431.
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