Action of 1854

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The Action of 1854 was a naval battle at Petropavlovsk in eastern Russia that took place in 1854, while the Crimean War was being fought thousands of miles away in the Ukraine.

The Allied forces far outnumbered the Russians, and the main Russian vessel, the 60-gun Pallas, was sent far up the River Amur out of harms way. The remaining forces led by Rear Admiral Yevfimy Putyatin took took refuge in the harbour of Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka peninsula, defended by its shore batteries. Aurora was anchored behind a sand spit topped by a shore battery.

An Allied force, commanded by Rear Admiral David Price (newly-promoted after serving as post captain for 39 years) arrived to bombard Petropavlosk on 30 August 1854. Almost immediately, Price went below decks and shot himself. The Allies withdrew, but returned to resume the bombardment on 31 August with Captain Nicolson of HMS Pique in temporary command.

Petropavlovsk was lightly defended, with just over 1,000 troops, including the crews of the vessels sheltering in its harbour. The Allied squadron re-entered Avalska Bay to storm the city. A Naval Brigade of around 700 British and French seamen and marines landed on 4 September, under Captains Burridge and de La Grandiere, but they we ambushed and retreated with 107 British and 101 French dead.

The Allies withdrew, but President and Virago captured the Russian Anadis, a small schooner, and the 10-gun transport Sitka on 7 September 1854. The Allies left Petropavlovsk to the Russians until 1855, when the Russians vessels abandoned Petropavlovsk, escaping under cover of snow.