Action of 12 December 1782

Action of 12 December 1782
Part of the Anglo-French War

HMS Mediator engaging French and American vessels, 12 December 1782 L’Aimable Eugénie on the right captained by Nicolas Baudin is seen fleeing from the action.
Date12 December 1782
LocationOff Ferrol, Spain
Result British victory
Belligerents
 Great Britain  France
 United States
Commanders and leaders
Kingdom of Great Britain James Luttrell Kingdom of France Nicolas Baudin
Strength
1 Roebuck-class fifth rate 1 ship of the line (en flûte)
1 frigate
1 armed transport
2 American privateers
Casualties and losses
7 casualties 1 ship of the line captured
1 privateer captured
9 killed
16 wounded
340 captured

The Action of 12 December 1782 was a naval engagement fought off the coast of Spain near Ferrol, in which the British 40-gun fifth rate HMS Mediator successfully attacked a convoy of five armed ships. Mediator succeeded in capturing one American privateer, the Alexander, and then captured the French ex-ship of the line La Ménagère. The convoy was part of Pierre Beaumarchais's supply chain to the American colonists.

Background

The Frenchman Pierre Beaumarchais founded a commercial enterprise, Roderigue Hortalez and Co., supported by France and Spain. The French and Spanish supplied the American rebels with weapons, munitions, clothes, and provisions that would never be paid for. Beaumarchais contracted for the transport of the supplies in convoys. Even so, the Royal Navy captured many of the transport vessels.

Baumarchais assembled one convoy in December 1782. He met his captains in Bordeaux and then supervised the loading of his vessels. The plan was to sail for Port-au-Prince, Saint Domingue and then on to America to supply the American colonists.[1]

The convoy consisted of five ships.

On 9 December 1782 the convoy sailed from the mouth of the Gironde for the West Indies and from there America.[7] On 12 December, at 7:00am, HMS Mediator, under the command of James Luttrell, was sailing off Ferrol when she sighted the convoy.[8]

Action

At 8:00am the convoy formed in line of battle. Notwithstanding this formidable array, Captain Luttrell continued bearing down and at 10:00am Ménagère initiated the action. Luttrell saw that the shot came from the upper deck only and rightly concluded that the French vessel had no lower-deck guns. Mediator bore up in order to bring the rear ship to action.[9]

At 10:30 Mediator opened fire on Dauphin Royal when that ship and the Alexander bore up out of the line.[10] Aimable Eugénie, Ménagère and the American brig then wore and endeavored to protect the two rear ships.

Captain James Luttrell who commanded HMS Mediator

Mediator fought her way through the Franco-American line. At 11a.m. Luttrell was able to cut off Alexander and compelled her to strike. He then took possession of the Alexander while the rest of the French and American vessels were trying to escape before the wind.[9] Once Luttrell had succeeded in removing the prisoners and placing a prize-master and crew on board Alexander, he pursued the retreating ships.[11]

At 3:00pm the Aimable Eugénie hauled off the wind in full sail. Mediator then followed Ménagère. At 5p.m. he got within gunshot of Ménagère and started a running fight. At 9:00pm Mediator, having got up with the Ménagère, was on the point of firing a full broadside. Before she could do so Ménagère struck. At this point the action ended.

Because the enemy fired high in an attempt to damage Mediator's rigging, she sustained no casualties. Ménagere had four men killed and seven or eight wounded. Alexandre had six killed and eight or nine wounded.[9]

Dauphin Royal and the American brig were seen next morning severely damaged but only five miles from Ferrol. However Luttrell judged it prudent to make sail for England with his two prizes. He had 340 prisoners on board and only 100 men to guard them while being close to Spain.[9][12]

Aftermath

Mediator sustained only seven casualties in her crew but was cut up in the riggings in masts which had been the target of the French and American ships.[13] Alexander had six men killed and nine wounded; La Ménagère had a passenger returning to Saint-Domingue and three seamen killed, and several men wounded.[14]

Despite being well-treated, Captain Gregory organized a party of the prisoners in an attempt to gain possession of Mediator. He was subdued but then unsuccessfully attempted to set fire to the ship.[15] After this Luttrell had Gregory and the American prisoners placed in irons. Although the French officers played no part in the attempt, the British also guarded them more closely. Michael Seymour, who was later to be a rear admiral, served as a midshipman in HMS Mediator.

Aimable Eugénie reached Saint-Domingue in March 1783, where she was wrecked on the coastal reef at Porto Plata.[4]

Luttrell and his crew received the last of the prize money for Alexandre and Ménagere in October 1788.[16]

The action was the final clash of arms in which American forces were engaged before the Treaty of Paris concluded the war.

References

Citations
  1. ↑ L’Aimable Eugénie
  2. ↑ Demerliac (1996), p.210, #2132.
  3. ↑ L’Aimable Eugénie
  4. 1 2 Demerliac (1996), p.210, #2133.
  5. ↑ Demerliac (1996), p.210, #2131.
  6. ↑ Demerliac (1996). p.192, #1910.
  7. ↑ La Ménagère Beaumarchais Contract
  8. ↑ Allen, p.351.
  9. 1 2 3 4 The London Gazette: no. 12399. pp. 1–2. 21 December 1782.
  10. ↑ Allen, p.351.
  11. ↑ Seymour, p.536.
  12. ↑ Allen, p.352.
  13. ↑ Seymour, p.536.
  14. ↑ Allen, p.351.
  15. ↑ Lt. Stephen Gregory
  16. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 13024. pp. 440–441. 9 September 1788.
Bibliography
External links

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