Action of 30 September 1780

Action of 30 September 1780 Part of the American War of Independence The Pearl taking L'Esperance - 30 Sep 1780 Date 30 September 1780 Location off the Bermudas Result British victory Belligerents  Great Britain  France Commanders and leaders George Montagu unknown Strength 1 Frigate HMS Pearl 1 frigate L'Esperance Casualties and losses 6 killed, 10 wounded 20 killed, 24 wounded 156 captured, 1 frigate captured

American Revolutionary War: Caribbean theater 1st Nassau Barbados Dominica 1st St. Lucia 2nd St. Lucia Saint Vincent 1st Grenada 2nd Grenada Río Hondo Cayo Cocina San Fernando 12 December 1779 1st Martinique Guadeloupe 2nd Martinique Bermuda Fort San Juan Dutch West Indies 1st Demerara & Essequibo Sint Eustatius Fort Royal Tobago Brimstone Hill Frigate Bay 2nd Demerara & Essequibo Montserrat Roatán The Saintes Mona Passage Black River 2nd Nassau 18 October 1782 6 December 1782 15 February 1783 17 February 1783 Turks and Caicos 3rd Nassau

The Action of 30 September 1780 was a minor naval engagement off the Bermudas, where HMS Pearl captured the L'Espérance, a French built frigate privateer of 32 guns.^[1]

HMS Pearl under the command of George Montagu was sent out to North America, and on 30 September 1780, soon encountered a frigate off the Bermudas. As Pearl closed Montagu cleared for action and engaged close for and maintained a running fight for two hours and more when the frigate struck.^[2][3]

The prize turned out to be the French frigate L'Espérance of about 850 tons of thirty two guns consisting of twelve and six pounders, nearly 200 men and with a valuable cargo heading from Cape Francois to Bordeaux. L'Espérance lost 20 killed and 24 wounded as well as the crew & marines captured, while Pearl's loses were six killed and ten wounded. The captured French frigate was put into Royal Naval service and renamed HMS Clinton.^[4]

References

Bibliography

• Allen, Joseph (1852). Battles of the British Navy, Volume 1. Bohn's illustrated library. ASIN B009ZMMQ56. 
• Clowes, William Laird (2003). The Royal Navy: v. 4: A History - From the Earliest Times to 1900. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1861760128.