Battle of Cape Ortegal
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the Trafalgar Campaign
, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy
and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar
. It took place on 4 November 1805 off Cape Ortegal, in north-west Spain
and saw Captain
Sir Richard Strachan
defeat and capture a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
. It is sometimes known as Strachan's Action.
Dumanoir had commanded the van of the line at Trafalgar, and had managed to escape the battle having suffered relatively little damage. He initially attempted to continue the fleet's mission and enter the Mediterranean, but fearful of encountering strong British forces, changed his mind and headed north to skirt round Spain and reach the French Atlantic ports. On his journey he encountered two British frigates but drove them off, but shortly afterwards came across a single British frigate and chased it. The frigate led Dumanoir within range of a British squadron under Strachan, who was patrolling the area in search of a different French squadron. Strachan immediately gave chase, while Dumanoir fled from the superior force he had been lured towards. Strachan's squadron took time to form up, but he was able to use the frigates attached to it to harass and slow the French, until his larger ships of the line could catch up.
There then followed several hours of fierce fighting, before Strachan was able to outmanoeuvre his opponent and double his line with frigates and ships of the line. The French ships were then overwhelmed and forced to surrender. All four ships were taken back to Britain as prizes and commissioned into the Navy. Strachan and his men were handsomely rewarded by a public who viewed the successful outcome as completing Nelson's victory at Trafalgar.
under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
, and sailed southwards. Pelley's initial intention was to carry out Villeneuve's original orders, and make for Toulon
. The day after the battle he changed his mind, remembering that a substantial British squadron under Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis
was patrolling the straits. With a storm gathering in strength off the Spanish coast, Pelley sailed westwards to clear Cape St Vincent, prior to heading north-west, and then swinging eastwards across the Bay of Biscay
, aiming to reach the French port at Rochefort
. His squadron represented a still-considerable force, having suffered only slight damage at Trafalgar. In escaping from Trafalgar Dumanoir's flagship, Formidable had jettisoned twelve 12-pounder guns from her quarterdeck
in order to lighten her load and effect her escape. Dumanoir doubled Cape St Vincent on 29 October and made for Île-d'Aix
, entering the Bay of Biscay on 2 November.
, raiding British shipping. One of the British ships sent out on patrol was the 36-gun HMS Phoenix
, under the command of Captain Thomas Baker
. Baker had orders to patrol west of the Scilly Isles, but in late October he received news from several neutral merchants that Allemand's squadron had been sighted in the Bay of Biscay. Baker immediately left his station and sailed southwards, reaching the latitude
of Cape Finisterre
on 2 November, just as Dumanoir was entering the bay. Baker sighted four ships steering north-north-west at 11 o'clock, and immediately gave chase. The ships, which Baker presumed to be part of the Rochefort squadron, but were actually Dumanoir's ships, bore up at noon and began to chase Phoenix, which fled south. In doing so Baker hoped to lure the French onto a British squadron under Captain Sir Richard Strachan
that he knew to be in the area.
Baker kept ahead of the pursuing French, and at 3 o'clock that afternoon he sighted four sails heading south. Dumanoir's forces also saw them, and stood to the east, while Baker, no longer pursued, kept the French sails under observation. Having ascertained the strength and disposition of the French ships, Baker resumed sailing to the south-east, firing guns and signalling to the four ships he had seen and supposed to be British. Dumanoir's forces had already had a run-in with the British, having been chased by two frigates, the 38-gun under Captain John Maitland
, and the 36-gun under Captain Adam Drummond. Boadicea and Dryad sighted Phoenix and the four sails to the south at 8.45 that evening, and made signals to them. Baker was suspicious of the new sails, standing between him and the French ships, and so did not stand towards them, instead continuing on to the sails in the south. By now it was clear on Boadicea and Dryad that a substantial force was gathering, as Phoenix closed with four ships of the line, and three other sails were also sighted in the vicinity. They eventually drew to within two miles of the weather-most ship, the 80-gun HMS Caesar
, but received no reply to their signals, and drew away at 10.30pm, where after they lost sight of both the French and British ships, and took no further part in the battle.
, the 74-gun Hero
, Courageux
, Namur
and , and the frigates the 36-gun Santa Margarita
and 32-gun Aeolus
. Strachan began the chase with only Caesar, Hero, Courageux and Aeolus, and chased the French, who were by now pressing on sail for the north west, until losing them in hazy weather at 1.30 in the morning. They then shortened sail to await the rest of the squadron, and were joined at daylight on 3 November by Santa Margarita. The chase began again in earnest, and at 7.30 am Cape Ortegal was sighted, 36 miles to the southeast. The French ships were again sighted at 9am, and at 11am the lead British ships sighted Namur and Phoenix astern, and hurrying to catch up. With them was another frigate, the 38-gun HMS Révolutionnaire
, under Captain Hon. Henry Hotham
, who had stumbled across the chase. The chase continued throughout the day and into the night, by which time the faster Santa Margarita and Phoenix were well ahead of the main British force. The Bellona had been unable to rejoin the squadron, and took no part in the battle.
By noon all four British frigates were in action, harassing Scipion on the portside, while Namur had nearly joined the ships of the line, who were firing on the rear-most French ships' starboard side. Dumanoir had ordered his ships to tack in succession in 11.30, and so bring his leading ship, Duguay-Trouin into the action to support his centre. The Duguay-Trouin made no move to obey the signal until 12.15, and the French line began to turn towards the British ships of the line, and to pass down alongside them. Dumanoir had planned to carry out this manoeuvre at 8 that morning, but had cancelled it before it could be carried out. The two lines passed alongside each other, with Dumanoir finding that Strachan had doubled his line, with frigates on one side and ships of the line on the other. His ships suffered heavy damage as the two British lines and the French one passed by on opposite tacks, with Dumanoir aiming to isolate Namur before she could join the British line. The damage his ships had sustained rendered them slow and unmanoeuvrable, and Strachan was able to order his ships to tack themselves, to keep them alongside the French, while adding Namur to his line. Under heavy fire from the frigates on the starboard side and the ships of the line on their port, the French ships were worn down and by 3.10 Scipion and Formidable had been forced to strike their colours. Seeing their fate Mont Blanc and Duguay-Trouin attempted to escape but were chased down by Hero and Caesar and battered into submission by 3.35.
served with the British for the next 144 years under the name . The British crews who had fought at Cape Ortegal were included in the large scale rewards made for the victory at Trafalgar. Captain Sir Richard Strachan was promoted to rear-admiral of the blue, while all first-lieutenants were advanced to commander. In addition Strachan was admitted to the Order of the Bath
and his captains received gold medals.
Dumanoir was less fortunate than his opponent. He and other French officers were quartered at Tiverton, where they were given considerable freedom, only required to be within the turnpike
gates by 8pm in summer and 4pm in winter. While there he wrote to The Times
to protest against unflattering comments made about his conduct at Trafalgar. He was released from captivity in 1809 and returned to France, where he faced not one but two courts of enquiry, one for his conduct at Trafalgar, and another for his defeat at Cape Ortegal. In the first he was accused of disobeying Villeneueve's instructions, not doing enough to support his admiral, and then fleeing the battle instead of fighting on. After the examination of various pieces of evidence, Dumanoir was acquitted of all charges. At the second court of enquiry Dumanoir was convicted of having failed to engage Strachan's squadron while it was still disorganised on the morning of 4 November, of having allowed the British frigates to harass his rear without trying to engage them, and for only turning to engage Strachan as his rear was being overwhelmed. The court concluded that he had been too indecisive. The verdict was passed to the Minister of Marine, Denis Decrès
, in January 1810 but Decrès hesitated to order a court-martial. Napoleon wanted Dumanoir to be made an example of, but Decrès attempted to shield Dumanoir, and when he finally convened a court-martial at Napoleon's insistence, its orders were vague and it eventually acquitted Dumanoir and the surviving captains.
Key
Trafalgar Campaign
The Trafalgar Campaign was a long and complicated series of fleet manoeuvres carried out by the combined French and Spanish fleets; and the opposing moves of the Royal Navy during much of 1805. These were the culmination of French plans to force a passage through the English Channel, and so achieve...
, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed several weeks earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. It took place on 4 November 1805 off Cape Ortegal, in north-west Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and saw Captain
Captain (Royal Navy)
Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
Sir Richard Strachan
Sir Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet
Sir Richard John Strachan, 6th Baronet GCB was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral.-Childhood:...
defeat and capture a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
Vice-Admiral Count Pierre-Etienne-René-Marie Dumanoir Le Pelley was a French Navy officer, best known for commanding the vanguard of the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...
. It is sometimes known as Strachan's Action.
Dumanoir had commanded the van of the line at Trafalgar, and had managed to escape the battle having suffered relatively little damage. He initially attempted to continue the fleet's mission and enter the Mediterranean, but fearful of encountering strong British forces, changed his mind and headed north to skirt round Spain and reach the French Atlantic ports. On his journey he encountered two British frigates but drove them off, but shortly afterwards came across a single British frigate and chased it. The frigate led Dumanoir within range of a British squadron under Strachan, who was patrolling the area in search of a different French squadron. Strachan immediately gave chase, while Dumanoir fled from the superior force he had been lured towards. Strachan's squadron took time to form up, but he was able to use the frigates attached to it to harass and slow the French, until his larger ships of the line could catch up.
There then followed several hours of fierce fighting, before Strachan was able to outmanoeuvre his opponent and double his line with frigates and ships of the line. The French ships were then overwhelmed and forced to surrender. All four ships were taken back to Britain as prizes and commissioned into the Navy. Strachan and his men were handsomely rewarded by a public who viewed the successful outcome as completing Nelson's victory at Trafalgar.
Dumanoir escapes
Four French ships of the line stationed towards the head of the combined fleet's line escaped the Battle of TrafalgarBattle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley
Vice-Admiral Count Pierre-Etienne-René-Marie Dumanoir Le Pelley was a French Navy officer, best known for commanding the vanguard of the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...
, and sailed southwards. Pelley's initial intention was to carry out Villeneuve's original orders, and make for Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. The day after the battle he changed his mind, remembering that a substantial British squadron under Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis
Thomas Louis
Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis, 1st Baronet was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served in three wars and saw numerous actions, notably as one of Horatio Nelson's "Band of Brothers" in the Mediterranean in 1798 who commanded ships at the Battle of the Nile...
was patrolling the straits. With a storm gathering in strength off the Spanish coast, Pelley sailed westwards to clear Cape St Vincent, prior to heading north-west, and then swinging eastwards across the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
, aiming to reach the French port at Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
. His squadron represented a still-considerable force, having suffered only slight damage at Trafalgar. In escaping from Trafalgar Dumanoir's flagship, Formidable had jettisoned twelve 12-pounder guns from her quarterdeck
Quarterdeck
The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...
in order to lighten her load and effect her escape. Dumanoir doubled Cape St Vincent on 29 October and made for Île-d'Aix
Île-d'Aix
Île-d'Aix is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department off the west coast of France. It occupies the territory of small island of Île d'Aix in the Atlantic. It is a popular place for tourist day-trips during the summer months.-Location:...
, entering the Bay of Biscay on 2 November.
Baker sights the French
There were a number of British ships and squadrons already in the bay, and on the look out for French ships. Zacharie Allemand, commander of the Rochefort squadron, had sailed from the port in July 1805, and was currently cruising in the AtlanticAllemand's expedition of 1805
Allemand's expedition of 1805, often referred to as the Escadre invisible in French sources, was an important French naval expedition during the Napoleonic Wars, which formed a major diversion to the ongoing Trafalgar campaign in the Atlantic Ocean...
, raiding British shipping. One of the British ships sent out on patrol was the 36-gun HMS Phoenix
HMS Phoenix (1783)
HMS Phoenix was a 36-gun Perseverance-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The shipbuilder George Parsons built her at Bursledon and launched her on 15 July 1783. She served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was instrumental in the events leading up to the battle of Trafalgar...
, under the command of Captain Thomas Baker
Thomas Baker (Royal Navy officer)
Sir Thomas Baker KCB, KWN was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
. Baker had orders to patrol west of the Scilly Isles, but in late October he received news from several neutral merchants that Allemand's squadron had been sighted in the Bay of Biscay. Baker immediately left his station and sailed southwards, reaching the latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
of Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
on 2 November, just as Dumanoir was entering the bay. Baker sighted four ships steering north-north-west at 11 o'clock, and immediately gave chase. The ships, which Baker presumed to be part of the Rochefort squadron, but were actually Dumanoir's ships, bore up at noon and began to chase Phoenix, which fled south. In doing so Baker hoped to lure the French onto a British squadron under Captain Sir Richard Strachan
Sir Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet
Sir Richard John Strachan, 6th Baronet GCB was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral.-Childhood:...
that he knew to be in the area.
Baker kept ahead of the pursuing French, and at 3 o'clock that afternoon he sighted four sails heading south. Dumanoir's forces also saw them, and stood to the east, while Baker, no longer pursued, kept the French sails under observation. Having ascertained the strength and disposition of the French ships, Baker resumed sailing to the south-east, firing guns and signalling to the four ships he had seen and supposed to be British. Dumanoir's forces had already had a run-in with the British, having been chased by two frigates, the 38-gun under Captain John Maitland
John Maitland (Royal Navy officer)
John Maitland was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Rear-Admiral.-Family and early life:...
, and the 36-gun under Captain Adam Drummond. Boadicea and Dryad sighted Phoenix and the four sails to the south at 8.45 that evening, and made signals to them. Baker was suspicious of the new sails, standing between him and the French ships, and so did not stand towards them, instead continuing on to the sails in the south. By now it was clear on Boadicea and Dryad that a substantial force was gathering, as Phoenix closed with four ships of the line, and three other sails were also sighted in the vicinity. They eventually drew to within two miles of the weather-most ship, the 80-gun HMS Caesar
HMS Caesar (1793)
HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:...
, but received no reply to their signals, and drew away at 10.30pm, where after they lost sight of both the French and British ships, and took no further part in the battle.
Strachan gives chase
By 11pm Baker had finally reached the ships, and passing under the stern of Caesar received confirmation that the ships were Strachan's squadron, as he had initially surmised. Baker informed Strachan that he had sighted a part of the Rochefort squadron to leeward, and Strachan immediately determined to seek an engagement. Strachan's squadron was however badly scattered by this stage, and after setting sail to intercept the French, sent Baker to round up the remaining ships and order them on to support him. Strachan's squadron consisted at this time of the 80-gun CaesarHMS Caesar (1793)
HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:...
, the 74-gun Hero
HMS Hero (1803)
HMS Hero was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 August 1803 at Blackwall Yard.She took part in Admiral Robert Calder's action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805....
, Courageux
HMS Courageux (1800)
HMS Courageux was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 March 1800 at Deptford. She was designed by Sir John Henslow as one of the large class 74s, and was the only ship built to her draught...
, Namur
HMS Namur (1756)
HMS Namur was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 3 March 1756....
and , and the frigates the 36-gun Santa Margarita
HMS Santa Margarita (1779)
HMS Santa Margarita was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had been built for service with the Spanish Navy, but was captured after five years in service, eventually spending nearly 60 years with the British.-Spanish career:...
and 32-gun Aeolus
HMS Aeolus (1801)
HMS Aeolus was a 32-gun Amphion-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1801 and served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812....
. Strachan began the chase with only Caesar, Hero, Courageux and Aeolus, and chased the French, who were by now pressing on sail for the north west, until losing them in hazy weather at 1.30 in the morning. They then shortened sail to await the rest of the squadron, and were joined at daylight on 3 November by Santa Margarita. The chase began again in earnest, and at 7.30 am Cape Ortegal was sighted, 36 miles to the southeast. The French ships were again sighted at 9am, and at 11am the lead British ships sighted Namur and Phoenix astern, and hurrying to catch up. With them was another frigate, the 38-gun HMS Révolutionnaire
HMS Révolutionnaire (1794)
The Révolutionnaire , was a 40-gun Seine-class frigate of the French Navy, launched in May 1794. The British captured her in October 1794 and she went on to serve with the Royal Navy until she was broken up in 1822...
, under Captain Hon. Henry Hotham
Henry Hotham
Vice Admiral Sir Henry Hotham KCB was a Royal Navy hero who saw a great deal of service during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
, who had stumbled across the chase. The chase continued throughout the day and into the night, by which time the faster Santa Margarita and Phoenix were well ahead of the main British force. The Bellona had been unable to rejoin the squadron, and took no part in the battle.
Action
The battle began at 5.45 on the morning of 4 November, when Santa Margarita closed on the stern of the rear-most French ship, Scipion, and opened fire, being joined by Phoenix at 9.30. At this stage the French were sailing roughly in line abreast, with Phoenix and Santa Margarita snapping at Scipions heels. Strachan was about six miles behind the French with Caesar, Hero and Courageux, accompanied by Aeolus, while Namur and Révolutionnaire were some way astern of them. The British continued to overhaul the French, while Scipion exchanged fire with the harassing frigates from her stern-chasers. At 11.45 with an action now unavoidable Dumanoir ordered his ships to form line ahead on the starboard tack, as Strachan likewise lined his ships up and approached from windward on the French ships' starboard side.By noon all four British frigates were in action, harassing Scipion on the portside, while Namur had nearly joined the ships of the line, who were firing on the rear-most French ships' starboard side. Dumanoir had ordered his ships to tack in succession in 11.30, and so bring his leading ship, Duguay-Trouin into the action to support his centre. The Duguay-Trouin made no move to obey the signal until 12.15, and the French line began to turn towards the British ships of the line, and to pass down alongside them. Dumanoir had planned to carry out this manoeuvre at 8 that morning, but had cancelled it before it could be carried out. The two lines passed alongside each other, with Dumanoir finding that Strachan had doubled his line, with frigates on one side and ships of the line on the other. His ships suffered heavy damage as the two British lines and the French one passed by on opposite tacks, with Dumanoir aiming to isolate Namur before she could join the British line. The damage his ships had sustained rendered them slow and unmanoeuvrable, and Strachan was able to order his ships to tack themselves, to keep them alongside the French, while adding Namur to his line. Under heavy fire from the frigates on the starboard side and the ships of the line on their port, the French ships were worn down and by 3.10 Scipion and Formidable had been forced to strike their colours. Seeing their fate Mont Blanc and Duguay-Trouin attempted to escape but were chased down by Hero and Caesar and battered into submission by 3.35.
Aftermath
Strachan's triumph completed the rout of the French that Nelson had begun at Trafalgar. With the four ships taken at Cape Ortegal only five ships remained of the French portion of the combined fleet, and they were bottled up at Cadiz. All four captured ships were taken back to Britain and commissioned into the Royal Navy, with their crew transferred to prison camps. One of the ships, the former Duguay-TroinHMS Implacable (1805)
HMS Implacable was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy. She was originally the French Navy's Téméraire-class ship of the line Duguay-Trouin, launched in 1800....
served with the British for the next 144 years under the name . The British crews who had fought at Cape Ortegal were included in the large scale rewards made for the victory at Trafalgar. Captain Sir Richard Strachan was promoted to rear-admiral of the blue, while all first-lieutenants were advanced to commander. In addition Strachan was admitted to the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
and his captains received gold medals.
Dumanoir was less fortunate than his opponent. He and other French officers were quartered at Tiverton, where they were given considerable freedom, only required to be within the turnpike
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
gates by 8pm in summer and 4pm in winter. While there he wrote to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
to protest against unflattering comments made about his conduct at Trafalgar. He was released from captivity in 1809 and returned to France, where he faced not one but two courts of enquiry, one for his conduct at Trafalgar, and another for his defeat at Cape Ortegal. In the first he was accused of disobeying Villeneueve's instructions, not doing enough to support his admiral, and then fleeing the battle instead of fighting on. After the examination of various pieces of evidence, Dumanoir was acquitted of all charges. At the second court of enquiry Dumanoir was convicted of having failed to engage Strachan's squadron while it was still disorganised on the morning of 4 November, of having allowed the British frigates to harass his rear without trying to engage them, and for only turning to engage Strachan as his rear was being overwhelmed. The court concluded that he had been too indecisive. The verdict was passed to the Minister of Marine, Denis Decrès
Denis Decrès
Denis Decrès, , was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire.-Early career:...
, in January 1810 but Decrès hesitated to order a court-martial. Napoleon wanted Dumanoir to be made an example of, but Decrès attempted to shield Dumanoir, and when he finally convened a court-martial at Napoleon's insistence, its orders were vague and it eventually acquitted Dumanoir and the surviving captains.
Order of battle
| Captain Strachan's squadron | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Rate | Guns | Navy | Commander | Casualties | Notes | ||||
| Killed | Wounded | Total | ||||||||
| HMS Caesar HMS Caesar (1793) HMS Caesar, also Cæsar, was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 November 1793 at Plymouth. She was designed by Sir Edward Hunt, and was the only ship built to her draught.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:... |
Third rate | 80 |  |
Captain Sir Richard Strachan Sir Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet Sir Richard John Strachan, 6th Baronet GCB was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral.-Childhood:... |
4 | 25 | 29 | |||
| HMS Hero HMS Hero (1803) HMS Hero was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 August 1803 at Blackwall Yard.She took part in Admiral Robert Calder's action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805.... |
Third rate | 74 | |
Captain Hon. Alan Hyde Gardner Alan Hyde Gardner, 2nd Baron Gardner Alan Hyde Gardner, KCB, 2nd Baron Gardner was the son of Admiral Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner, and followed his father into the Royal Navy. In 1796 he was captain of the frigate , and in 1805 of the 74 gun - in the latter he was present at the action off Ferrol in 1805 and led the vanguard... |
10 | 51 | 61 | |||
| HMS Courageux HMS Courageux (1800) HMS Courageux was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 March 1800 at Deptford. She was designed by Sir John Henslow as one of the large class 74s, and was the only ship built to her draught... |
Third rate | 74 | |
Captain Richard Lee Richard Lee (Royal Navy officer) Admiral Sir Richard Lee KCB KTS was a prominent officer of the British Royal Navy who served in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars... |
1 | 13 | 14 | |||
| HMS Namur HMS Namur (1756) HMS Namur was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Chatham Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 3 March 1756.... |
Third rate | 74 | |
Captain Lawrence Halsted Lawrence Halsted Sir Lawrence William Halsted GCB was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.... |
4 | 8 | 12 | |||
| HMS Santa Margarita HMS Santa Margarita (1779) HMS Santa Margarita was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had been built for service with the Spanish Navy, but was captured after five years in service, eventually spending nearly 60 years with the British.-Spanish career:... |
Fifth rate | 36 | |
Captain Wilson Rathbone | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| HMS Aeolus HMS Aeolus (1801) HMS Aeolus was a 32-gun Amphion-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1801 and served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812.... |
Fifth rate | 32 | |
Captain Lord William Fitzroy | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||
| HMS Phoenix HMS Phoenix (1783) HMS Phoenix was a 36-gun Perseverance-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The shipbuilder George Parsons built her at Bursledon and launched her on 15 July 1783. She served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was instrumental in the events leading up to the battle of Trafalgar... |
Fifth rate | 36 | |
Captain Thomas Baker Thomas Baker (Royal Navy officer) Sir Thomas Baker KCB, KWN was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars... |
2 | 4 | 6 | |||
| HMS Révolutionnaire HMS Révolutionnaire (1794) The Révolutionnaire , was a 40-gun Seine-class frigate of the French Navy, launched in May 1794. The British captured her in October 1794 and she went on to serve with the Royal Navy until she was broken up in 1822... |
Fifth rate | 38 | |
Captain Hon. Henry Hotham Henry Hotham Vice Admiral Sir Henry Hotham KCB was a Royal Navy hero who saw a great deal of service during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:... |
2 | 6 | 8 | |||
| Casualties: 24 Killed, 111 Wounded, 135 Total | ||||||||||
| Rear-Admiral Dumanoir le Pelley's Squadron | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Rate | Guns | Navy | Commander | Casualties | Notes | ||||
| Killed | Wounded | Total | ||||||||
| Third rate | 80 |  |
Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley Vice-Admiral Count Pierre-Etienne-René-Marie Dumanoir Le Pelley was a French Navy officer, best known for commanding the vanguard of the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :... |
- | - | c. 200 | Captured, commissioned as HMS Brave | |||
| Scipion | Third rate | 74 | |
Captain Charles Berrenger Charles Berrenger Captain Charles Berrenger was a French Navy officer.- Biography :Berrenger started sailing in 1775, alternating between merchantmen, ships of the French Royal Navy and privateers... |
- | - | c. 200 | Captured, commissioned as HMS Scipion | ||
| Duguay-Trouin HMS Implacable (1805) HMS Implacable was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy. She was originally the French Navy's Téméraire-class ship of the line Duguay-Trouin, launched in 1800.... |
Third rate | 74 | |
Captain Claude Touffet Claude Touffet Captain Claude Touffet was a French Navy officer.- Biography :... |
- | - | c. 150 | Captured, commissioned as HMS Implacable HMS Implacable (1805) HMS Implacable was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy. She was originally the French Navy's Téméraire-class ship of the line Duguay-Trouin, launched in 1800.... |
||
| Mont Blanc French ship Mont-Blanc (1791) Mont-Blanc was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the French Navy.She was built at Rochefort as Pyrrhus in 1791. She was renamed Mont-Blanc in 1793 before being renamed Trente-et-un Mai in 1794. Under that name she fought at the Battle of the First of June in June 1794 under Honoré Joseph... |
Third rate | 74 | |
Captain Guillaume-Jean-Noël de Lavillegris Guillaume-Jean-Noël de Lavillegris Guillaume-Jean-Noël de Lavillegris was a French Navy officer.- Biography :Lavillegris was born to a captain of the East India Company. He started sailing with the Company in 1767 and rose to captain... |
- | - | c. 180 | Captured, commissioned as HMS Mont Blanc | ||
| Casualties: 730 killed and wounded | ||||||||||
| Sources: Adkin, p. 535; Fremont-Barnes, p. 86 | ||||||||||
Key
- † Officer killed during the action or subsequently died of wounds received.