Battle of Saldanha Bay (1796) | |||||||
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Part of War of the First Coalition | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Great Britain | Batavian Republic | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Vice-Admiral George Elphinstone | Rear-Admiral Engelbertus Lucas | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
13 ships | 9 ships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
none | none |
The designation Battle of Saldanha Bay refers to the surrender without a fight of a squadron of the navy of the Batavian Republic under the command of Rear-Admiral Engelbertus Lucas (1747-June 21, 1797)[1] to a Royal Navy squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral George Elphinstone at Saldanha Bay on August 17, 1796.
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After the surrender of the Dutch Republic to the invading French in January, 1795, and the subsequent proclamation of the Batavian Republic, which changed sides in the War of the First Coalition, and concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with France in the war against Great Britain, the government of the latter country procured the Kew Letters of the former Stadtholder, William V, Prince of Orange, which helped it to conquer the Cape Colony (September 16, 1795). The next year the Batavian Republic decided to make an attempt to reconquer the Cape. To that end an expedition of 9 ships with 2,000 sailors and soldiers was launched under the command of (temporary) Rear-Admiral Lucas (whose only recommendation was that he had made a voyage as a navy captain to the East-Indies in 1786, and was considered a loyal adherent of the regime) in January, 1796. This expedition arrived at Saldanha Bay on August 6, 1796[2].
British forces at the Cape under Admiral Elphinstone and General James Henry Craig had been forewarned that Dutch and French naval expeditions were underway. When rumors of the presence of the Dutch squadron reached the Cape, a cavalry reconnaissance was made and confirmation obtained the same day. Craig marched with 2500 men and 11 guns to Saldanha, where he arrived on August 14. Meanwhile, Elphinstone made repeated attempts to reach Saldanha Bay by sea, but gale-force winds made this impossible till August 16. He then trapped the Dutch fleet with a superior force (13 ships versus 9, of superior rating).[3].
Meanwhile, Lucas had been taking in water, repairing his sails, and putting the many sick and disabled seamen of his fleet ashore. He had been warned by locals that were sympathetic to the Dutch, of the arrival of Craig, but decided to complete his replenishment. When he was confronted with a demand for surrender by Elphinstone (who offered honorable terms and pointed out his superiority, which made resistance problematic), he immediately agreed verbally[4]. During his later court-martial he offered the excuse that his crews had been mutinous during the voyage;[5] many sailors were adherents of the old regime, and hostile to the Batavian Republic. He therefore calculated that he would not have been able to count on those crews. Indeed, after the surrender, several of the crews actively mutinied, and had to be subdued by the British.
Lucas then tried to obtain better terms for the capitulation, but in the exchange of letters that followed (included in Elphinstone's dispatches of August 19) Elphinstone would only agree to leaving the Dutch officers in possession of their side-arms[6].
Many of the soldiers and sailors aboard the Dutch fleet (who were mostly of German nationality) enlisted in the British army and navy, and were immediately dispatched to the East Indies. The Dutch officers were sent back to the Batavian Republic on parole.
The news of the surrender caused an uproar in the Netherlands. There was a great popular demand for a court-martial of Lucas and his officers. Lucas himself asked for such a court-martial, to enable him to defend his actions. This court-martial (a Hoge Zeekrijgsraad) was convened by a decree of the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic on April 11, 1797. However, by then Lucas was already severely ill. He died on June 21, 1797[7]. This made the court-martial itself moot, but the advocaat-fiscaal[8] Jacobus Spoors nevertheless diligently conducted a thorough investigation of the affair. His report of December 19, 1797, exonerated Lucas and his officers[9]. This lenient treatment may have contributed to the attitude of the officers who later became involved in the similar Vlieter Incident.
On 7 March 1797, the cabinet made Elphinstone an Irish peer, Baron Kieth of Stonehaven-Marischal.
Source Otridge, p. 90
Ship | Guns | Commander | Complement | Notes | Disposition |
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Dordrecht | 66 | Lucas | 370 | Ship of the Line | HMS Dordrecht |
Revolutie | 66 | Rhynbende | 400 | Ship of the Line | HMS Prince Frederick |
Admiraal Tromp | 54 | Valkenburg | 280 | Ship of the Line | HMS Van Tromp |
Castor | 44 | Clarisse | 240 | frigate | HMS Saldanha |
Braave | 40 | Zoetmans | 234 | Frigate | HMS Braave |
Bellona | 28 | Valk | 130 | Frigate | HMS Vindictive |
Sireene | 20 | De Cerf | 130 | Sloop | HMS Daphne |
Havik | 18 | Bezemer | 76 | Sloop | HMS Havik |
Maria | - | - | 112 | Storeship |