Battle of Cuddalore (1783)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Cuddalore was a battle between a British
fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes
and a slightly smaller French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of India near Cuddalore
during the American Revolutionary War
, which in 1780 had sparked the Second Mysore War in India
. The battle took place on 20 June 1783, after peace had been signed in Europe but before the news had reached India. It was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War.
On the death of French ally Hyder Ali
, the British decided to retake Cuddalore
, and marched some troops from Madras, and began preparing for a siege
. The French fleet under Suffren appeared off the port on 13 June. A week of fickle winds prevented either side from engaging, but on 20 June Suffren attacked. No ships were seriously damaged, though casualties were high with both sides losing about 100 men dead and 400 wounded. The British fleet retreated to Madras after the action, preventing the landing of transports carrying additional troops to reinforce the siege. A sortie
from the town weakened the British forces, which were likely to have raised the siege if word had not arrived on 29 June that a preliminary peace had been agreed between France and Britain.
, the ruler of Mysore
, in December 1782, British commanders at Madras decided to attempt the recapture of Cuddalore
, which Hyder Ali had captured in April of that year. The army marched south from Madras, and, circling around the city, encamped to its south. The British fleet, the 18 ships of the line
under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes
, anchored advantageously to the south Cuddalore in order to protect the army and its supply ships. By early June 1783 the siege
was under way.
French Admiral the Bailli de Suffren was ordered on 10 June to sail with his inferior fleet of 15 ships from Trincomalee
in support of the besieged city. When he arrived on 13 June, Hughes, seeking 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.
north of Cuddalore after the battle, while Hughes anchored near the city. On 22 June he sighted the French fleet there while he was en route back 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 July 2.
, 74,
Gibraltar, 80,
Cumberland
, 74,
Defence
, 74,
Hero
, 74,
, 74,
, 70,
, 70,
Africa
, 64,
, 64,
Exeter
, 64,
, 64,
, 64,
Monmouth
, 64,
Sceptre
, 64,
, 64,
Bristol
, 50,
Isis
, 50.
, 74,
Annibal
, 74,
Argonaute, 74,
Fendant, 74,
Illustre
, 74,
Artésien
, 64,
Ajax, 64,
Brillant, 64,
Hardi, 64,
Sévère, 64,
Sphinx, 64,
Vengeur
, 64,
Saint Michel, 60,
Flamand, 50,
Annibal
, 50.
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes
Edward Hughes (admiral)
Sir Edward Hughes RN was an admiral of the British Royal Navy.Hughes joined the Royal Navy in 1735, and four years later, was present at the capture of Portobelo, Panama. In 1740, he was promoted to lieutenant and served in the Cartagena expedition of 1741, and at the indecisive Battle of Toulon...
and a slightly smaller French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the coast of India near Cuddalore
Cuddalore
Cuddalore is a fast growing industrial city and headquarter of Cuddalore district in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. Located south of Pondicherry on the coast of Bay of Bengal, Cuddalore has a large number of industries which employ a great deal of the city's population.Cuddalore is known...
during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, which in 1780 had sparked the Second Mysore War in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The battle took place on 20 June 1783, after peace had been signed in Europe but before the news had reached India. It was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War.
On the death of French ally Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
, the British decided to retake Cuddalore
Cuddalore
Cuddalore is a fast growing industrial city and headquarter of Cuddalore district in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. Located south of Pondicherry on the coast of Bay of Bengal, Cuddalore has a large number of industries which employ a great deal of the city's population.Cuddalore is known...
, and marched some troops from Madras, and began preparing for a siege
Siege of Cuddalore
The Siege of Cuddalore was a siege attempt by British troops against a combined French and Mysorean garrison in the fortress of Cuddalore late in the War of American Independence and the Second Anglo-Mysore War...
. The French fleet under Suffren appeared off the port on 13 June. A week of fickle winds prevented either side from engaging, but on 20 June Suffren attacked. No ships were seriously damaged, though casualties were high with both sides losing about 100 men dead and 400 wounded. The British fleet retreated to Madras after the action, preventing the landing of transports carrying additional troops to reinforce the siege. A sortie
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
from the town weakened the British forces, which were likely to have raised the siege if word had not arrived on 29 June that a preliminary peace had been agreed between France and Britain.
Background
Following the death of French ally Hyder AliHyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
, the ruler of Mysore
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...
, in December 1782, British commanders at Madras decided to attempt the recapture of Cuddalore
Cuddalore
Cuddalore is a fast growing industrial city and headquarter of Cuddalore district in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. Located south of Pondicherry on the coast of Bay of Bengal, Cuddalore has a large number of industries which employ a great deal of the city's population.Cuddalore is known...
, which Hyder Ali had captured in April of that year. The army marched south from Madras, and, circling around the city, encamped to its south. The British fleet, the 18 ships of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes
Edward Hughes (admiral)
Sir Edward Hughes RN was an admiral of the British Royal Navy.Hughes joined the Royal Navy in 1735, and four years later, was present at the capture of Portobelo, Panama. In 1740, he was promoted to lieutenant and served in the Cartagena expedition of 1741, and at the indecisive Battle of Toulon...
, anchored advantageously to the south Cuddalore in order to protect the army and its supply ships. By early June 1783 the siege
Siege of Cuddalore
The Siege of Cuddalore was a siege attempt by British troops against a combined French and Mysorean garrison in the fortress of Cuddalore late in the War of American Independence and the Second Anglo-Mysore War...
was under way.
French Admiral the Bailli de Suffren was ordered on 10 June to sail with his inferior fleet of 15 ships from Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
in support of the besieged city. When he arrived on 13 June, Hughes, seeking 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
Both fleets were at first frustrated by light and changeable winds. When a consistent west wind appeared 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 4 pm. The action lasted until about 7 pm, and there was no major damage done to ships in either fleet, even though all ships were engaged.Aftermath
Suffren's fleet anchored about 25 milesNautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
north of Cuddalore after the battle, while Hughes anchored near the city. On 22 June he sighted the French fleet there while he was en route back to Madras. A number of his ships had been disabled, and he reported that many men were suffering from scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
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
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
from the city was repelled
Siege of Cuddalore
The Siege of Cuddalore was a siege attempt by British troops against a combined French and Mysorean garrison in the fortress of Cuddalore late in the War of American Independence and the Second Anglo-Mysore War...
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 July 2.
Britain
SuperbHMS Superb (1760)
HMS Superb was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 27 October 1760 at Deptford Dockyard.She was wrecked in 1783....
, 74,
Gibraltar, 80,
Cumberland
HMS Cumberland (1774)
HMS Cumberland was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 29 March 1774 at Deptford Dockyard.She participated in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780, and in the Battle of Cuddalore in 1783....
, 74,
Defence
HMS Defence (1763)
HMS Defence was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 March 1763 at Plymouth Dockyard. She was one of the most famous ships of the period, taking part in several of the most important naval battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars...
, 74,
Hero
HMS Hero (1759)
HMS Hero was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, designed by Sir Thomas Slade and launched on 28 March 1759 from Plymouth Dockyard. She was the only ship built to her draught....
, 74,
, 74,
, 70,
, 70,
Africa
HMS Africa (1781)
HMS Africa was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched by Barnard at Deptford on 11 April 1781.-American War of Independence:...
, 64,
, 64,
Exeter
HMS Exeter (1763)
HMS Exeter was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 July 1763 at Chatham Dockyard.In 1782, Exeter was involved in the battles of Sadras, Providien, Negapatam and Trincomalee, and the Battle of Cuddalore in 1783....
, 64,
, 64,
, 64,
Monmouth
HMS Monmouth (1772)
HMS Monmouth was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 April 1772 at Plymouth.In 1783, Monmouth took fought in the Battle of Cuddalore.She became a prison ship in 1796, and was broken up in 1818....
, 64,
Sceptre
HMS Sceptre (1781)
HMS Sceptre was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 8 June 1781 at Rotherhithe. Shortly after completion she was sent out to the Indian Ocean to join Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes's squadron. She arrived in time for the Battle of Trincomalee in 1782...
, 64,
, 64,
Bristol
HMS Bristol (1775)
HMS Bristol was a fourth-rate ship with 50 guns, launched in 1775. During the American War of Independence, she was Sir Peter Parker's flagship during the attack on Sullivan's Island on June 28, 1776 and was heavily damaged during the battle. Later in the war, she was stationed off Jamaica, and...
, 50,
Isis
HMS Isis (1774)
HMS Isis was a 50-gun Portland-class fourth-rate of the Royal Navy. She saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
, 50.
France
HérosFrench ship Héros (1778)
The Héros was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, known mostly for being the flagship of Pierre André de Suffren de Saint Tropez during the American war of independence....
, 74,
Annibal
French ship Annibal
Six ships of the French navy have born the name Annibal in honour of Hannibal:* Annibal , an unbuilt ship of the line * Annibal , a 74 gun ship of the line, lead ship of Annibal class ship of the line...
, 74,
Argonaute, 74,
Fendant, 74,
Illustre
French ship Illustre (1781)
The Illustre was a 74-gun Magnanime class ship of the line of the French Navy.She took part in the campaigns of Suffren before staying in Brest between 1788 and 1791. She was razeed into a 44-gun frigate in 1793....
, 74,
Artésien
French ship Artésien
The Artésien was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.She was built in 1765 as a part of a series of 12 ships of the line began by Choiseul to compensate for the losses endured by the French Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War...
, 64,
Ajax, 64,
Brillant, 64,
Hardi, 64,
Sévère, 64,
Sphinx, 64,
Vengeur
French ship Vengeur (1765)
The Vengeur was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She saw action with Bailli de Suffren during the American War of Independence....
, 64,
Saint Michel, 60,
Flamand, 50,
Annibal
HMS Hannibal (1779)
HMS Hannibal was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Adams of Bucklers Hard and launched on 26 December 1779. She was subsequently captured by the French ship Héros off Sumatra, on 21 January 1782....
, 50.