Battle of Hudson's Bay

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The Sinking of the Pélican, after a 1722 print by Claude-Charles Bacqueville de La Potherie.

Date	September 5, 1697
Location	Hudson's Bay, near York Factory, present-day Manitoba, Canada
Result	French victory

Combatants

France

England

Commanders

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville

John Fletcher

Strength

1 frigate
(44 guns)

3 frigates
(124 guns)

Casualties

1 ship lost

1 ship sunk
1 ship captured

King William's War
Schenectady – Port Royal – Quebec – La Prairie – Hudson's Bay

The Battle of Hudson's Bay (also known as the Battle of York Factory or "The Battle of the 'Bay") was a naval battle fought during the War of the Grand Alliance (known in the North American colonies as "King William's War"). The battle took place on September 5, 1697, when a French warship commanded by Captain Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville defeated an English squadron commanded by Captain John Fletcher. As a result of this battle, the French took York Factory, a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company.

[edit] Background

D'Iberville's flagship, the Pelican (44-guns), was part of a larger French squadron dispatched to contest English control of Hudson's Bay. Before the battle, the Pelican became separated from the rest of the French squadron in heavy fog, but D'Iberville elected to forge ahead. This set the stage for a little-known but spectacular single-ship action against heavy odds.

As the Pelican sailed south into clearer weather, she approached the trading post of York Factory, and a group of soldiers went ashore to scout out the fort. Captain D'Iberville remained on board the Pelican. While the shore party was scouting the fort, D'Iberville saw the sails and masts of approaching ships. Thinking the rest of his squadron had arrived, he set off to meet them. In short order, D'Iberville realized that the ships were not French, but were, instead, an English squadron comprising the warship Hampshire (56 guns) and two armed merchantmen, the Dering (36 guns) and the Hudson's Bay (32 guns).

D'Iberville, his shore party out of reach, elected to give battle. The battle began as a running fight, but after two and a half hours, D'Iberville closed with the English and a brutal broadside-to-broadside engagement took place between the Pelican and the Hampshire. The English seemed to be gaining the upper hand with blood running from the scuppers of the Pelican into the water. Captain Fletcher demanded that D'Iberville surrender, but D'Iberville refused. Fletcher is reported to have raised a glass of wine to toast D'Iberville's bravery when the next broadside from the Pelican detonated the Hampshire's powder magazine. The Hampshire exploded and sank.

The Hudson's Bay and the Dering seem to have played only a limited supporting role in the final stage of the engagement. The Hudson's Bay was damaged and struck its colors to Pelican after the Hampshire blew up. Dering broke off the engagement and fled, but the Pelican was too badly damaged to pursue.

The Pelican was also fatally damaged in the battle. Holed below the waterline, the Pelican had to be abandoned, but the arrival of the remainder of the French squadron shortly thereafter led to the surrender of York Factory on September 13, 1697, and the continuation of D'Iberville's remarkable career.