Battle of Grand Port

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Part of the Napoleonic Wars

Date	August 20, 1810
Location	Grand Port, Mauritius
Result	French victory;

Belligerents

France

Great Britain

Commanders

Guy-Victor Duperré
Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin

Sir Samuel Pym

Strength

5 ships

4 ships

Casualties and losses

some ships damaged

2 ships lost (HMS Sirius, HMS Magicienne) 2 captured (HMS Néréide, HMS Iphigenia

The naval Battle of Grand Port took place on 20 August 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars in the harbour of Grand Port. A British fleet consisting of 4 frigates sought to ambush a French fleet consisting of 3 frigates and 2 captured Indiamen. The British were commanded by Captain Samuel Pym and the French by commander of division (commodore) Guy-Victor Duperré.

1 Context
2 Battle
3 Order of battle
- 3.1 Britain (Samuel Pym)
- 3.2 France (Guy-Victor Duperré)
4 Trivia
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Context

Map of Île de France

During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain managed to seize all French possessions in the Indian ocean, except for the Île de France (now Mauritius). Réunion fell in July 1810.

In August 1810, British forces started to deploy East to Île de France. The Western side of the island was the best protected, with the squadron of Hamelin, composed of the frigates Vénus and Manche and the corvette Créole, anchored in Port Louis, well fortified harbours, and numerous troops garrisoned there. The British planned to attack the weaker side of Grand Port (named "Port-Impérial" during the Empire).

The harbour of Grand Port lies at the end of a lagoon, protected from the Ocean by a coral bareer, which can be crossed only through a narrow channel. The channel was defended by coastal batteries on the small island Île de la Passe.

[edit] Battle

The stranded Sirius still fighting

In the night of the 13 and 14 August, the British frigate Nereide managed to slip in the channel between the île de la Passe and Grand Port, and land marines South of the island. The fort fell at the hands of the British, and the 60 men which defended it were taken prisoners. The Nereide stayed anchored in Mahébourg bay. British parties were sent ashore, convincing plantors to join the English cause, and capturing the fortifications of the pointe du Diable. The squadron commanded by Hamelin was alerted and set sail to retrieve the île de la Passe.

On the 20 August, before the Hamelin squadron arrived, a French squadron commanded by Duperré, returned from a patrol, unaware of the developments. The Duperré squadron was composed of the frigates Bellone, Minerve and Victor (ex-Revenant); they also ferried two captured East Indiamen, the Ceylan and Windham. Since the English were flying French colours on the fortifications of the île de la Passe, Duperré entered the channel unprepared; the Minerve crossed under the fire of the British, followed by the rest of the squadron. The Windham was recaptured by the British, and the Duperré squadron was trapped in the lagoon between the Île de la Passe and the Nereide. In the night, Duperré had the buoys marking the reefs moved in the hope of confounding the British.

The harbour of Grand Port in 2007

On the 22 August, the British Sirius reinforced Nereide, followed the next day by Magicienne and Iphigenie. As such, the British squadron was 174-gun strong, against the 144 guns of the French, so Pym decided to attack. Because of the shallow waters, manoeuvres were impossible, so the two squadrons were anchored while exchanging artillery fire from the night of the 23rd. Round shots cut some of the anchors, and ships started to drift and run aground. Sirius and Minerve were beached away from the battle; the crew of Minerve joined Bellone. The French vessels concentrated all their gunfire against Néréide and then towards Magicienne. The battle continued without interruption all night and on the 24th August the French boarded the defenceless Néréide. Magicienne was evacuated and scuttled by fire in the evening of the 24th. The next day, Sirius was scuttled by her crew. Iphigenia attempted to flee, but was intercepted by the Hamelin squadron and captured.

On the 28 August, the British marines stranded on the île de la Passe surrendered. Pym was captured.

On the 30 December 1899, the monument was erected at the harbour of Grand Port in the memory of English and French sailors who were killed during the engagement 20 - 29 August 1810.

[edit] Order of battle

[edit] Britain (Samuel Pym)

Sirius (Samuel Pym)
Iphigenia ^[1]
Néréide (Nesbit Willoughby)
Magicienne
HMS Staunch (brig)

[edit] France (Guy-Victor Duperré)

Minerve (Bouvet)
Bellone (Commodore Guy-Victor Duperré)
Victor (ex-Revenant)
Ceylon (ex-British Indiaman)
Windham (ex-British Indiaman)

[edit] Trivia

A fictionalised account of this battle is dramatised in Patrick O'Brian's The Mauritius Command.
The place of the battle is now a spectacular archeological sight [1]