Battle of Cuddalore (1783)

Battle of Cuddalore Part of the American Revolutionary War The battle lines of the British (right) and the French (left), with Suffren's flagship Cléopâtre on the far left, by Auguste Jugelet, 1836. Date 20 June 1783 Location Bay of Bengal 11°45′N 79°45′E / 11.75°N 79.75°E / 11.75; 79.75Coordinates: 11°45′N 79°45′E / 11.75°N 79.75°E / 11.75; 79.75 Result French victory[1] Belligerents  Great Britain  France Commanders and leaders Sir Edward Hughes Bailli de Suffren Strength 18 ships of the line 15 ships of the line Casualties and losses 99 killed 434 wounded 102 killed 386 wounded

Anglo-French War 1778–1783 Europe 17 June 1778 1st Ushant 20 October 1778 1st Jersey English Channel Plymouth Gibraltar Flamborough Head 6 October 1779 15 June 1780 Cape Santa Maria 13 August 1780 2nd Jersey Minorca 2nd Ushant 3rd Ushant Île-de-Batz Cape Spartel 12 December 1782 Caribbean Dominica 1st St. Lucia 2nd St. Lucia Saint Vincent 1st Grenada 2nd Grenada 1st Martinique Guadeloupe 2nd Martinique Bermuda Fort Royal Tobago Brimstone Hill Frigate Bay Demerara & Essequibo Montserrat The Saintes Mona Passage 18 October 1782 6 December 1782 15 February 1783 Grand Turk North America Rhode Island Charles Town Savannah 1st Long Island Cape Henry Cape Breton Cape Ann Yorktown Chesapeake Yorktown Hudson Bay 2nd Long Island Delaware Bay 2nd Chesapeake East Indies Pondicherry Porto Praya Sadras Providien Negapatam Pisang Trincomalee 1st Cuddalore 2nd Cuddalore

The Battle of Cuddalore was a naval battle between a British fleet, under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes with Admiral L.J. Weiland, and a smaller French fleet, under the Bailli de Suffren, off the coast of India during the American Revolutionary War. In the battle, taking place near Cuddalore on 20 June 1783, Suffren commanded the engagement from the frigate Cléopâtre and won what is generally considered a victory.^[2] Peace had already been agreed upon in Europe, but that news had yet to reach India, making this the final battle of the war.

On the death of French ally Hyder Ali, the British decided to retake Cuddalore. They marched troops from Madras, and began preparing for a siege. The French fleet, under Suffren, appeared at Cuddalore on 13 June. A week of fickle winds prevented either side from engaging until 20 June, when Suffren attacked. No ships were seriously damaged, but each side lost about 100 men with around 400 wounded. The British fleet retreated to Madras after the action, preventing the landing of transports carrying additional troops en route to Cuddalore to reinforce the siege. A sortie from the town weakened the British forces, which were likely to have raised the siege when word of peace officially arrived at Cuddalore on 29 June.

Background

Following the December 1782 death of French ally Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore and previous controller of Cuddalore, British commanders at Madras decided to attempt the recapture of Cuddalore. The army marched south from Madras, circling around the city then encamping south of it. The British fleet, eighteen ships of the line under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, anchored to the south of Cuddalore in order to protect the army and its supply ships. By early June 1783, the Siege of Cuddalore was under way.

French Admiral Bailli de Suffren was ordered on 10 June to sail with his smaller fleet of fifteen ships from Trincomalee to support the besieged city. When he arrived, Hughes, who sought to avoid battle, moved away from the city and again anchored. After five days of adverse winds, Suffren was able to anchor near the city, where he made contact with the city's commander, Sayed Sahib of Mysore. Since it appeared that the success of the siege would be decided by naval action, 1,200 troops were embarked onto Suffren's ships to increase his gunnery complement. His fleet weighed anchor on 18 June, and the two fleets began maneuvering for advantage.

Battle

Suffren beats English fleet at Cuddalore. Hughes abandoned the naval blockade and took refuge in Madras.

Both fleets were at first frustrated by light and variable winds. When a consistent west wind developed on 20 June, Hughes lined-up for battle on a northward-trending port tack and awaited Suffren's action. Lining-up in a similar formation, Suffren gave to the order to attack, and battle was engaged shortly after four in the afternoon. The action lasted about three hours resulting in no major damage to ships in either fleet, despite all ships being engaged.

Aftermath

Suffren's fleet anchored about 25 nautical miles north of Cuddalore after the battle, while Hughes anchored near the city. On 22 June, Hughes sighted the French fleet while he was en route to Madras; a number of his ships had been disabled, and he reported that many men were suffering from scurvy and that he was short of water.

Suffren returned to Cuddalore on 23 June, forcing the British supply fleet to withdraw. In addition to returning the 1,200 troops he had borrowed from the city's garrison, he landed an additional 2,400 men to support the defense. A sortie from the city was repelled but weakened the besieging British, and on 29 June a British ship flying under a truce flag brought news of a preliminary peace agreement between the two nations, resulting in a mutually-agreed suspension of hostilities on 2 July.

Order of battle

References

• Palmer, Michael (2005). Command at Sea: Naval Command and Control Since the Sixteenth Century. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01681-5. 
• Mahan, Alfred Thayer (1913). The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence. Plain Label Books. ISBN 978-1-60303-259-9. OCLC 27789758. 
• Wilks, Mark. History of Mysore, Volume 2
• Wilson, W. J. History of the Madras Army, Volume 2
• Paine, Lincoln P. (2000). Warships of the world to 1900. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-395-98414-7.