Order of battle at the Battle of San Domingo
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Battle of San Domingo
The Battle of San Domingo, in 1806, was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars. French and British squadrons of ships of the line met off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo in the Caribbean...
was the last fleet engagement of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, contested off the Southern coast of the Spanish Colony of Santo Domingo
Colony of Santo Domingo
The Captaincy General of Santo Domingo was the first Spanish colony in the New World, and later became the Dominican Republic. Originally known as "La Española", the colony was organized as the Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo in 1511. After years of struggles with the French, the Spanish remained...
, then under French occupation, on 6 February 1806. A British squadron of seven ships of the line under Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth
John Thomas Duckworth
Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...
surprised and destroyed a French squadron of five ships of the line led by Contre-Admiral Corentin Urbain Leissègues
Corentin Urbain Leissègues
Corentin Urbain de Leissegues was a French admiral of the Napoleonic wars, notably protagonist of the Battle of San Domingo.- Biography :...
as the French sailed westwards along the San Domingo coast. Using his superior numbers and speed, Duckworth struck at the head of the French line with his leading ships while the slower eastern division of his squadron intercepted and captured the French stragglers. The only French ships to escape were two frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s and a corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
– three ships of the line were captured and two destroyed, including Leissègues' flagship, the 120-gun Impérial
French ship Vengeur (1803)
The Vengeur was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané....
. French casualties were estimated as more than 1,500 men killed and wounded and the British suffered nearly 350 casualties in the engagement, which lasted for just over two hours.
Leissègues' squadron had escaped from Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
on 13 December 1805, taking advantage of a lapse in the British blockade. Sailing with another squadron under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez, Leissègues separated from Willaumez after two days and passed north of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, where his ships were damaged and scattered by winter storms. Sailing for Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
to reconstitute his squadron and make urgent repairs, Leissègues arrived on 20 January 1806. Duckworth had been tasked with watching the remnants of the French and Spanish fleets in Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
following 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 ....
in October 1805, but in November had gone hunting to the south in search of a French raiding squadron
Allemand'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...
and on his route back to his station had encountered a frigate that reported the escape of Leissègues and Willaumez. Sailing in pursuit, Duckworth encountered Willaumez on 25 December but refused battle and instead sailed for the West Indies to replenish his supplies before making the journey back to European waters. News reached him of the French arrival while anchored at Basseterre
Basseterre
Basseterre , estimated population 15,500 in 2000, is the capital of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island, and it is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands...
on 1 February and he immediately sailed to investigate, joined by part of the West Indies squadron under Rear-Admiral Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
.
British squadron
Duckworth's squadron was principally formed from his original Cádiz squadron, except for HMS PowerfulHMS Powerful (1783)
HMS Powerful was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 April 1783 at Blackwall Yard, London.In 1805 the ship arrived too late to take part in the Battle of Trafalgar but was then detached to reinforce the East India squadron. On 13th June 1806 she captured the French...
which had been sent to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
in December 1805, and with the addition of two ships from the West Indies squadron under Cochrane, HMS Northumberland
HMS Northumberland (1798)
HMS Northumberland was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at the yards of Barnard, Deptford and launched on 2 February 1798....
and HMS Atlas
HMS Atlas (1782)
HMS Atlas was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 February 1782. She was a built at Chatham Dockyard by Nicholas Phillips.In 1802 she was reduced to a 74-gun ship....
. Frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s and smaller craft joined the fleet as it sailed north through the Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
, but none were engaged during the battle itself except to act as tows for the more seriously damaged ships of the line. As he approached the French line, Duckworth separated his force into two divisions: a western force to windward under Duckworth himself and a slower eastern force led by Duckworth's second in command 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...
. During the engagement the divisions became separated and as a result Duckworth's division fought the strongest French forces at the head of the line. Louis was initially engaged with the French rear, but later assisted his commander against the huge Impérial during the final stages of the battle. British casualties were recorded in detail in Duckworth's despatches, based on the returns of each ship, although they were not evenly distributed: HMS Agamemnon
HMS Agamemnon (1781)
HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts...
arrived late in the battle and suffered minimal losses, while Northumberland was heavily engaged with the French flagship and suffered correspondingly severe casualties.
| Vice-Admiral Duckworth's squadron | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duckworth's division | ||||||||||
| Ship | Rate Rating system of the Royal Navy The rating system of the Royal Navy and its predecessors was used by the British Royal Navy between the beginning of the 17th century and the middle of the 19th century to categorise sailing warships, initially classing them according to their assigned complement of men, and later according to the... |
Guns | Commander | Casualties | Notes | |||||
| Killed | Wounded | Total | ||||||||
| HMS Superb HMS Superb (1798) HMS Superb was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, and the fourth vessel to bear the name. She was launched on 19 March 1798 from Northfleet, and was eventually broken up in 1826. Superb is mostly associated with Richard Goodwin Keats who commanded her as captain from 1801 until... |
Third rate | 74 | Vice-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth John Thomas Duckworth Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his... Captain Richard Goodwin Keats Richard Goodwin Keats Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland from 1813 to 1816. In 1821 he was made Governor of... |
Lightly damaged | ||||||
| HMS Northumberland HMS Northumberland (1798) HMS Northumberland was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at the yards of Barnard, Deptford and launched on 2 February 1798.... |
Third rate | 74 | Rear-Admiral Alexander Cochrane Alexander Cochrane Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:... Captain John Morrison |
Mainmast collapsed and hull, rigging and remaining masts badly damaged | ||||||
| HMS Spencer HMS Spencer (1800) HMS Spencer was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 10 May 1800 at Bucklers Hard. Her designer was the French émigré shipwright Jean-Louis Barrallier.-Battle of Algeciras Bay:... |
Third rate | 74 | Captain Robert Stopford | Severe damage to hull, but masts and rigging largely intact | ||||||
| HMS Agamemnon HMS Agamemnon (1781) HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts... |
Third rate | 64 | Captain Sir Edward Berry Edward Berry Rear Admiral Sir Edward Berry, 1st Baronet, KCB was an officer in Britain's Royal Navy primarily known for his role as flag captain of Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson's ship HMS Vanguard at the Battle of the Nile, prior to his knighthood in 1798... |
|||||||
| Louis' division | ||||||||||
| HMS Canopus HMS Canopus (1798) HMS Canopus was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. She had previously served with the French Navy as the Tonnant-class Franklin, but was captured after less than a year in service by the British fleet under Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile in 1798... |
Third rate | 80 | 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... Captain Francis Austen Francis Austen Sir Francis William Austen, GCB was a British officer who spent most of his long life on active duty in the Royal Navy, rising to the position of Admiral of the Fleet.-Background:... |
Lightly damaged | ||||||
| HMS Donegal HMS Donegal (1798) The Barra was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was renamed Pégase in 1795, and Hoche in 1797. She was captured by the British on 12 October 1798 and recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Donegal.... |
Third rate | 74 | Captain Pulteney Malcolm Pulteney Malcolm Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm GCB GCMG was a British naval officer. He was born at Douglan, near Langholm, Scotland, on 20 February 1768, the third son of George Malcolm of Burnfoot, Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, and his wife Margaret, the sister of Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley... |
Foreyard shot away, otherwise lightly damaged | ||||||
| HMS Atlas HMS Atlas (1782) HMS Atlas was a 98-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 February 1782. She was a built at Chatham Dockyard by Nicholas Phillips.In 1802 she was reduced to a 74-gun ship.... |
Third rate | 74 | Captain Samuel Pym Samuel Pym Sir Samuel Pym KCB was a British admiral, brother of Sir William Pym.In June 1788, Pym joined the Royal Navy as captain's servant of the frigate Eurydice... |
Bowspirit lost in collision with Canopus and tiller Tiller A tiller or till is a lever attached to a rudder post or rudder stock of a boat that provides leverage for the helmsman to turn the rudder... damaged by shot. Otherwise lightly damaged |
||||||
| Minor warships | ||||||||||
| HMS Acasta HMS Acasta (1797) HMS Acasta was a 40-gun Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate. She saw service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as well as the War of 1812. Although she never took part in any notable single-ship actions nor saw action in a major battle though she was at the Battle of San Domingo, she... |
Fifth rate | 40 | Captain Richard Dalling Dunn | Not engaged in the battle | ||||||
| HMS Magicienne | Fifth rate | 32 | Captain Adam Mackenzie Adam Mackenzie Adam Mackenzie was an officer of the Royal Navy. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 13 March 1790, to Commander on 22 June 1796, and to Captain on 2 September 1799. He died on 13 November 1823.-HMS Pylades:... |
Not engaged in the battle | ||||||
| HMS Kingfisher HMS Kingfisher (1804) HMS Kingfisher was a Royal Navy 18-gun Merlin-class ship sloop, built by John King and launched in 1804 at Dover. She served during the Napoleonic Wars, first in the Caribbean and then in the Mediterranean before being broken up in 11816.-Caribbean:Kingfisher was commissioned under Commander... |
Brig Brig A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries... |
16 | Commander Nathaniel Day Cochrane Nathaniel Day Cochrane Nathaniel Day Cochrane was a British naval officer. He was the son of Hon. John Cochrane, third son of Thomas Cochrane, 8th Earl of Dundonald... |
Not engaged, sent to Britain with despatches after the battle | ||||||
| HMS Epervier HMS Epervier (1803) HMS Epervier was a French 16-gun Alcyon-class brig. HMS Egyptienne captured her in the Atlantic Ocean on 27 July 1803; she was taken into Royal Navy service under her existing name. Before being broken up in 1811 she captured several prizes and was present at the Battle of San Domingo... |
Brig Brig A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries... |
14 | Lieutenant James Higginson | Not engaged in the battle | ||||||
| Total casualties: 74 killed, 264 wounded, 338 total | ||||||||||
| Source: James, pp. 196–197, | ||||||||||
French squadron
Contre-Admiral Leissègues' squadron was unchanged from the force that left Brest on 13 December. All ships however, especially JupiterFrench ship Viala (1795)
The Viala was a 74-gun of the French Navy launched in 1795. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1806 and sold in 1814.-French service:...
and Diomède
French ship Union (1799)
The Union was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was renamed Diomède in 1803. She was wrecked and burnt at the Battle of San Domingo....
, had been badly damaged by storms off the Azores in late December and repairs were incomplete by the time of Duckworth's attack, most the fleet still undergoing caulking
Caulking
Caulking is one of several different processes to seal joints or seams in various structures and certain types of piping. The oldest form of caulking is used to make the seams in wooden boats or ships watertight, by driving fibrous materials into the wedge-shaped seams between planks...
at Santo Domingo. Recognising that if he was caught at anchor he would be destroyed, Leissègues sent orders from his offices in Santo Domingo for the fleet to sail, joining them later by small boat. Trapped against the land with the wind from the west, Leissègues had no option but to form a line of battle
Line of battle
In naval warfare, the line of battle is a tactic in which the ships of the fleet form a line end to end. A primitive form had been used by the Portuguese under Vasco Da Gama in 1502 near Malabar against a Muslim fleet.,Maarten Tromp used it in the Action of 18 September 1639 while its first use in...
and wait to meet the British squadron. Although his ships fought hard, they were unable to mutually support one another and were rapidly overwhelmed: three surrendered, while Diomède and Impérial were driven ashore and wrecked to prevent their capture. The only ships to escape were the two frigates and a corvette that and slipped between the French line and the land early in the battle and made sail to the west, eventually reaching France.
French casualties are hard to calculate, as the best available source is the vague totals submitted by Duckworth in his account to the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
. He estimates, apparently based on reports by the senior remaining French officers on Alexandre
French ship Indivisible (1799)
Indivisible was a Tonnant class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Originally named the Indivisible in 1793, she was commissioned in Toulon on 23 September 1800. On 5 February 1803, she was renamed Alexandre, and recommissioned in Brest under captain Leveyer.In December, under captain...
, Jupiter and Brave
French ship Cassard (1795)
Cassard was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was renamed Dix-août in 1798 and subsequently Brave in 1803.On the 27 March 1801, as she sailed with the fleet of Toulon, she collided with the Formidable and had to return to harbour.She was captured by the HMS Donegal on 6 February...
, that those three ships suffered 760 casualties in total. These accounts were subsequently called into question by historian William James
William James (naval historian)
William M. James was a British lawyer turned naval historian who wrote important naval histories of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815.-Career:...
, who considered them too high. James also criticised the assumed totals for Impérial and Diomède, which are even less certain but reportedly totalled 500 and 250 respectively. In addition to those killed and wounded, the entire surviving crews of Alexandre, Jupiter and Brave were taken prisoner, as were 150 men from Diomède and six from Impérial seized by British boarding parties on 8 February.
| Contre-Admiral Leissègues' squadron | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Rate Rating system of the Royal Navy The rating system of the Royal Navy and its predecessors was used by the British Royal Navy between the beginning of the 17th century and the middle of the 19th century to categorise sailing warships, initially classing them according to their assigned complement of men, and later according to the... |
Guns | Commander | Casualties | Notes |
| Alexandre French ship Indivisible (1799) Indivisible was a Tonnant class 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Originally named the Indivisible in 1793, she was commissioned in Toulon on 23 September 1800. On 5 February 1803, she was renamed Alexandre, and recommissioned in Brest under captain Leveyer.In December, under captain... |
Third rate | 80 | Captain Pierre-Elie Garreau | ~300 | Captured in a dismasted and sinking state with surviving crew. Repaired, but unfit for continued service and later broken up |
| Impérial French ship Vengeur (1803) The Vengeur was a first-rate 118-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, of the Océan type, designed by Jacques-Noël Sané.... |
First rate | 120 | Vice-Admiral Corentin Urbain Leissegues Corentin Urbain Leissègues Corentin Urbain de Leissegues was a French admiral of the Napoleonic wars, notably protagonist of the Battle of San Domingo.- Biography :... Captain Julien-Gabriel Bigot |
~500 | Driven ashore and wrecked, subsequently burnt by a British boarding party on 8 February. Six men taken prisoner |
| Diomède French ship Union (1799) The Union was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was renamed Diomède in 1803. She was wrecked and burnt at the Battle of San Domingo.... |
Third rate | 74 | Captain Jean-Baptiste Henry | ~250 | Driven ashore and wrecked, subsequently burnt by a British boarding party on 8 February. 150 men taken prisoner |
| Jupiter French ship Viala (1795) The Viala was a 74-gun of the French Navy launched in 1795. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1806 and sold in 1814.-French service:... |
Third rate | 74 | Captain Gaspard Laignel | ~200 | Captured with surviving crew. Later commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Maida |
| Brave French ship Cassard (1795) Cassard was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was renamed Dix-août in 1798 and subsequently Brave in 1803.On the 27 March 1801, as she sailed with the fleet of Toulon, she collided with the Formidable and had to return to harbour.She was captured by the HMS Donegal on 6 February... |
Third rate | 74 | Commodore Louis-Marie Coudé | ~260 | Captured with surviving crew. Foundered during journey back to Europe |
| Minor warships | |||||
| Comète French frigate Comète (1796) The Comète was a Romaine class frigate of the French Navy.She took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 and in the Battle of San Domingo.From June 1808, she was used as a mast machine in Bayonne, and was eventually broken up in 1810.-References:... |
Fifth rate | 40 | 0 | Not engaged in the battle, returned to France | |
| Félicité French frigate Félicité (1785) The Félicité was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Captured by the British Navy and sold to the State of Haiti, she entered Haitian service as Améthyste.-French service:In 1792, she traveled to the Caribbean Sea... |
Fifth rate | 40 | 0 | Not engaged in the battle, returned to France | |
| Diligente French corvette Diligente (1801) The Diligente was a 20-gun corvette of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Built at Brest on private plans by Pierre Ozanne, she was particularly fast. The French Navy adopted the design and copied the plans as late as 1848. Originally armed with 6-pounder guns, she was later rearmed with... |
Corvette Corvette A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role... |
20 | Captain Raymond Cocault | 0 | Not engaged in the battle, returned to France |
| Total casualties: 1,510 | |||||
| Source: James, pp. 196–197, | |||||