Order of battle in the Atlantic campaign of 1806

Atlantic campaign of 1806

The Atlantic campaign of 1806 was a complicated series of manoeuveres and counter-manoeuveres conducted by squadrons of the French Navy and the British Royal Navy across the Atlantic Ocean during the spring and summer of 1806, as part of the Napoleonic Wars...

was one of the most important and complex naval campaigns of the post-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 ....

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...

. Seeking to take advantage of the withdrawal of British forces from the Atlantic in the aftermath of the Battle of Trafalgar, Emperor Napoleon ordered two battle squadrons to sea from the fleet stationed at 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...

, during December 1805. Escaping deep into the Atlantic, these squadrons succeeded in disrupting British convoys, evading pursuit by British battle squadrons and reinforcing the French garrison at 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...

. The period of French success was brief: on 6 February 1806 one of the squadrons, under Vice-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 :...

, was intercepted by a British squadron at the Battle of San Domingo

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...

and destroyed, losing all five of its ships of the line.

The second French squadron, under Vice-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez, cruised in the South Atlantic and the Caribbean during the spring and summer of 1806, conducting several successful raids on British islands in the West Indies. His ability to affect British trade was hampered by the deployment of British squadrons against him and the disobedience of Captain Jérôme Bonaparte

Jérôme Bonaparte

Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte, French Prince, King of Westphalia, 1st Prince of Montfort was the youngest brother of Napoleon, who made him king of Westphalia...

, the Emperor's brother. On 18 August, an Atlantic hurricane dispersed his ships, causing severe damage and forcing them to take shelter in friendly or neutral harbours in the Americas. Waiting British ships destroyed one vessel, and several others were so badly damaged that they never sailed again, the four survivors limping back to France individually over the next two years. The various British squadrons deployed against him failed to catch Willaumez, but their presence had limited his ability to raid British trade routes.

The campaign included a number of subsidiary operations by both British and French ships, some taking advantage of the campaign to conduct smaller operations while the main enemy forces were distracted, others operating as diversions to the principal campaign to attack undefended areas or lure British ships away from the principal French squadrons. Among these operations was the return of the squadron under Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois from 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...

, which was captured at the Action of 13 March 1806

Action of 13 March 1806

The Action of 13 March 1806 was a naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought when a British and a French squadron met unexpectedly in the mid-Atlantic. Neither force was aware of the presence of the other prior to the encounter and were participating in separate campaigns...

; the raiding cruises of L'Hermite's expedition

L'Hermite's expedition

L'Hermite's expedition was a French naval operation launched in 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. The operation was intended as both a commerce raiding operation against the British trading posts of West Africa and as a diversion to the Trafalgar campaign...

and Lamellerie's expedition, which captured a number of merchant ships but each lost a 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"...

breaking through the blockade of the French coast; and the destruction of a convoy of seven French ships destined with supplies for the French West Indies at the Action of 25 September 1806

Action of 25 September 1806

The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of...

Admiral Leissègues' squadron

Both of the principal French squadrons departed Brest on 13 December, remaining together for the first two days before dividing in pursuit of separate British merchant convoys on 15 December. The squadron under Leissègues clashed with the convoy's escort, before breaking off and sailing south for the French Caribbean, where Leissègues was intending to land the 1,000 soldiers carried aboard as reinforcements for the garrison at Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo

, via 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...

. The voyage was long and difficult, Leissègues struggling through winter storms that divided his squadron and inflicted severe damage to his ships. Arriving at Santo Domingo on 20 January, Leissègues disembarked his troops and began extensive repairs to his ships in preparation for raiding cruises in the Caribbean.

On 6 February, Leissègues was surprised at anchor by a squadron 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...

, which had been taking on fresh supplies 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...

when news of Leissègues' arrival reached him. Joined by ships from the West Indian squadron, Duckworth's force was larger than Leissègues' and also had the advantage of the wind that prevented the unprepared French squadron from escaping. Sailing westwards along the coast in 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...

, Leissègues' flagship Impérial was the first to be attacked, eventually driving ashore along with the next in line, while three others surrendered at the Battle of San Domingo

Battle of San Domingo

. Leissègues himself escaped ashore; the only surviving ships of his squadron were the frigates, all of which eventually returned to France later in the spring.

Admiral Leissègues' squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
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....	120	Vice-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 :... Captain Julien-Gabriel Bigot	Driven ashore and destroyed at the Battle of San Domingo 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...
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...	80	Captain Pierre-Elie Garreau	Captured at the Battle of San Domingo 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...
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...	74	Commodore Louis-Marie Coudé	Captured at the Battle of San Domingo 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...
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....	74	Captain Jean-Baptiste Henry	Driven ashore and destroyed at the Battle of San Domingo 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... .
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:...	74	Captain Gaspard Laignel	Captured at the Battle of San Domingo 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...
Comète	40		Returned to France in 1806
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...	40		Returned to France in 1806
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...	20	Captain Raymond Cocault	Returned to France in 1806
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 184, Gardiner, The Victory of Seapower, p. 23

Admiral Willaumez's squadron

After separating from Leissègues on 15 December, Willaumez sailed south, capturing a number of vessels from a British troop convoy and sending the prizes, with the frigate Volontaire, to Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...

. Willaumez's intention was to raid the China Fleet, a large convoy of valuable East Indiamen

East Indiamen

An East Indiaman was a ship operating under charter or license to any of the East India Companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries...

that sailed from the Far East to Britain every year. However on 23 December he was pursued by Duckworth and driven far off course, so that by the time he reached the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

, where he planned to resupply his ships, it had already been captured by a British expeditionary force. Turning westwards, Willaumez raided shipping in the South Atlantic until April, when he anchored at Salvador

Salvador, Bahia

Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...

in neutral Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. By early May, Willaumez was at sea again, stopping at Cayenne

Cayenne

Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's motto is "Ferit Aurum Industria" which means "Work brings wealth"...

and then splitting his force to raid shipping in 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...

prior to reuniting at Fort-de-France

Fort-de-France

Fort-de-France is the capital of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique. It is also one of the major cities in the Caribbean. Exports include sugar, rum, tinned fruit, and cacao.-Geography:...

on Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

in June.

On 1 July, Willaumez sailed again, attacking shipping at Montserrat

Montserrat

Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...

, Nevis

Nevis

Nevis is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west of Antigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies...

and St. Kitts before sailing to Tortola

Tortola

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. Local tradition recounts that Christopher Columbus named it Tortola, meaning "land of the Turtle Dove". Columbus named the island Santa Ana...

in preparation for an attack on the Jamaica convoy. Before he could reach the convoy, Willaumez was intercepted off the Passage Islands

Spanish Virgin Islands

The Spanish Virgin Islands, formerly called the Passage Islands and also known as the Puerto Rican Virgin Islands, are part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, located east of the main island of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican tourist literature uses the name Spanish Virgin Islands, but most general...

by a squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane and driven northwards into the Bahamas. There he waited for the Jamaica convoy to pass, seizing any ship of any nationality that came within sight, in case they should reveal his position. After several weeks of waiting, Captain Bonaparte, the Emperor's brother and commander of the ship Vétéran, decided that he would no longer submit to Willaumez's command and sailed north during the night of 31 July, without orders or even notifying the admiral. Vétéran eventually returned to France on 26 August, after destroying six ships from a Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

convoy. Panicked by the unexplained disappearance of one of his ships and its illustrious captain, Willaumez struck north in search of the vessel and as a result missed the passage of the Jamaica convoy, also narrowly avoiding an encounter with the squadrons under Warren and Strachan. On 18 August a hurricane dispersed his ships, severely damaging them and scattering them along the Atlantic Seaboard of the Americas. One was destroyed by a British patrol, two others were too badly damaged to be repaired and were broken up, and three of his ships successfully made the journey back to France over the next two years.

Admiral Willaumez's squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Foudroyant	80	Vice-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Phillibert Willaumez Captain Antoine Henri	Badly damaged in an August hurricane, sheltered in Havana Havana Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous... . Returned to France in early 1807.
Cassard	74	Commodore Gilbert-Amable Faure	Separated in August hurricane, returned to Brest on 13 October.
Impétueux French ship Brutus (1798) The Brutus was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She served in the Caribbean under Willaumez during the Atlantic campaign of 1806.On 19 August 1806, she was dismasted in a tempest and drifted until 10 September...	74	Commodore Alain-Joseph Le Veyer-Belair	Badly damaged in an August hurricane, driven ashore and destroyed by British ships on 14 September 1806.
Patriote French ship Patriote (1785) The Patriote was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She was one of the French ships which had their hull doubled with copper....	74	Commodore Joseph-Hyacinthe-Isidore Khrom	Badly damaged in an August hurricane, sheltered in Annapolis. Returned to France in January 1808.
Éole French ship Éole (1789) The Éole was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Between 1791 and 1793, she was based in Saint-Domingue. She took part in the Glorious First of June, where she and Trajan dismasted HMS Bellerophon....	74	Captain Louis-Gilles Prévost de Lacroix	Badly damaged in an August hurricane, sheltered in Annapolis. Eventually broken up as beyond repair.
Vétéran French ship Vétéran (1803) The Vétéran was a development from the Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, one of two ships of a sub-class of which the other vessel was the Cassard...	74	Captain Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte, French Prince, King of Westphalia, 1st Prince of Montfort was the youngest brother of Napoleon, who made him king of Westphalia...	Separated without orders on 31 July, returning to France alone on 26 August.
Valeureuse French frigate Valeureuse Valeureuse was a 40-gun of the French Navy.She took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 in Willaumez's squadron. In August 1806, she was separated from the fleet by a storm, and took refuge on 31 in Delaware Bay, in such a bad state that she had to be sold.-References:* Dictionnaire de la flotte...	40		Badly damaged in an August hurricane, sheltered in Philadelphia. Eventually broken up as beyond repair.
Volontaire French frigate Volontaire (1796) The Volontaire was a 44-gun Virginie class frigate of the French Navy.She took part in the Atlantic campaign of 1806, and was captured by HMS Diadem in March 1806. She was brought into Royal Navy service as HMS Volontaire....	40	Captain Bretel	Detached in December 1805 to Tenerife Tenerife Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the... . Captured on 4 March 1806 at Cape Town Cape Town Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality... .
Also two corvettes, names unknown
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 185

Admiral Linois's squadron

One of the minor French squadrons that participated in the campaign was the force under Contre-Admiral Linois, who had sailed for the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

with a ship of the line and four frigates in March 1803 during the Peace of Amiens. After brief stops at Pondicherry and Île de France

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

, Linois sailed on a raiding cruise to the South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

only to be driven off by a British merchant convoy at the Battle of Pulo Aura

Battle of Pulo Aura

The Battle of Pulo Aura was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought on 14 February 1804, in which a large squadron of Honourable East India Company East Indiamen, powerful and well armed merchant ships, intimidated, drove off and chased a powerful French naval squadron...

. Despite subsequent minor success against merchant ships, including the Battle of Vizagapatam

Battle of Vizagapatam

The Battle of Vizagapatam was a minor naval engagement fought in the approaches to Vizagapatam harbour in the Coastal Andhra region of British India on the Bay of Bengal on 15 September 1804 during the Napoleonic Wars...

, Linois's failure to inflict significant damage to British trade in the Far East enraged Napoleon, and in late 1805, with supplies running low and his ships in need of repair, Linois began the return journey to Europe with just his flagship and a single frigate remaining.

By the early morning of 13 March 1806 he was in the Mid-Atlantic when his lookouts spotted sails in the distance. Turning his force around to investigate, Linois hoped to encounter a merchant convoy but instead discovered the large British second rate HMS London

HMS London (1766)

HMS London was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 24 May 1766 at Chatham Dockyard.London was originally launched as a 90-gun ship, as was standard for second rates at the time, but was later increased to 98-guns when she had eight 12 pounders installed on her...

looming out of the darkness ahead. Unable to escape, Linois fought until his ships were battered and he himself was badly wounded, but he eventually surrendered to the squadron under Admiral Warren that had followed London. Napoleon's fury at Linois was unabated and the French admiral remained a prisoner of war

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

for the next eight years.

Admiral Linois's squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Marengo French ship Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1795) The Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.In October 1796, under captain Racord, she was part of the Villeneuve's squadron that sailed from Toulon to Brest...	74	Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand, Comte de Linois was a French admiral during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte. He won a victory over the British at the Battle of Algeciras in 1801 and was reasonably successful in a campaign against British trade in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea in... Captain Joseph-Marie Vrignaud	Captured at the Action of 13 March 1806 Action of 13 March 1806 The Action of 13 March 1806 was a naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought when a British and a French squadron met unexpectedly in the mid-Atlantic. Neither force was aware of the presence of the other prior to the encounter and were participating in separate campaigns... .
Belle Poule	40	Captain Alain-Adélaïde-Marie Bruilhac	Captured at the Action of 13 March 1806 Action of 13 March 1806 The Action of 13 March 1806 was a naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought when a British and a French squadron met unexpectedly in the mid-Atlantic. Neither force was aware of the presence of the other prior to the encounter and were participating in separate campaigns... .
Source: James, Vol. 3, p. 176, Clowes, p. 58

Commodore L'Hermite's squadron

One of the principal French diversionary operations during 1806 was by a force that had been sent to sea in October 1805 as a diversion during the Trafalgar campaign

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...

, which by then was almost over. Sailing from Lorient

Lorient

Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...

to West Africa, L'Hermite was supposed to have been reinforced by a squadron under Jérôme Bonaparte and attack and capture British forts on the West African coast, thus forcing the detachment of British forces from the main campaign in pursuit. The events of the end of the Trafalgar campaign cancelled these plans, and the scheduled reinforcements were instead attached to Willaumez's squadron. Despite this setback, L'Hermite continued with elements of the original plan and attacked British merchant ships and slave ships off West Africa during the spring of 1806, inflicting some local damage but failing to capture a trading post or to effect the wider strategic situation. In June, L'Hermite sailed to Cayenne

Cayenne

for supplies and then returned to Europe the following month, encountering part of the British blockade 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...

on his return and losing the frigate Président.

Commodore L'Hermite's squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Régulus French ship Régulus (1805) The Régulus was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.From 25 May 1801, her armament was upgraded to sport between 80 and 86 guns....	74	Commodore Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermite Jean-Marthe-Adrien l'Hermite Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermitte was a French sea captain and rear admiral, notable for his involvement in the Glorious First of June and various other campaigns.- Early career :L'Hermitte was born to the family of a...	Returned to 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 5 October
Président French frigate Président The Président was a 40-gun frigate of the Gloire Class in the French Navy, built to a 1802 design by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. She served with the French Navy from her completion in 1804 until late 1806 when the Royal Navy captured her...	40	Captain Labrosse	Captured by a British squadron in 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... on 27 September 1806
Cybèle French frigate Cybèle (1790) The Cybèle was an Nymphe class 40-gun frigate of the French Navy.On 22 October 1794, soon after the outbreak of the war with England, and along with the 32-gun Prudente and the brig Coureur, she fought HMS Centurion and , who blockaded Ile de France. The French ships managed to drive away the...	40		Damaged in a hurricane on 20 August, forced to shelter in Hampton Roads Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States... . Returned to 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:... in 1807.
Surveillant French corvette Surveillant (1801) The Surveillant was a 16-gun brig of the French Navy, built in 1799, launched the next year, and put in service in 1801.She took part in L'Hermite's expedition before returning to France carrying despatches.She was demolished in 1811....	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...		Returned to France in January 1806
Favourite HMS Favourite (1794) HMS Favourite was a 16-gun Cormorant-class sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in 1794 at Rotherhithe. The French captured her in 1806 and renamed her Favorite. However, the British recaptured her in 1807 and renamed her HMS Goree...	18		Captured off West Africa on 6 January and attached to squadron. Remained in the Caribbean and was captured by HMS Jason HMS Jason (1804) HMS Jason was a 32-gun fifth rate Thames-class frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1804 at Woolwich, named for Jason of Greek Mythology.-Service:... on 27 January 1807.
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 264

Commodore La Meillerie's squadron

One of the French squadrons that operated in the Atlantic campaign of 1806 was the result of opportunity rather than strategy. After the Battle of Trafalgar, most of the French survivors had retreated to Cadiz

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....

, where they remained until Duckworth's blockade squadron abandoned the port in November 1805. Although Duckworth's ships were replaced by forces under Lord Collingwood, the replacements were inadequate and on 26 February 1806, while the blockade squadron, which had been pulled back in the hope of luring the French out of the port, had been blown off station, four frigates and a brig escaped. Chased by the British frigate HMS Hydra

HMS Hydra (1797)

HMS Hydra launched in 1797 was a fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, armed with a main battery of twenty-eight 18-pounder guns.She was built to the design of the captured French frigate Melpomene .-Service:...

, Commodore Louis La-Marre-la-Meillerie refused battle and abandoned the brig Furet to the British in his haste to escape.

Sailing to Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

and then Cayenne

Cayenne

, La Meillerie's operations had little effect and by 18 May he was already on the return journey to France, hoping to anchor in the 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...

port of 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:...

. On 27 July, the frigates were spotted by HMS Mars, a ship of the line of the British blockade squadron, and chased with the frigate Rhin rapidly falling behind. Declining to support the straggler, La Meillerie ran on towards France while Mars took possession of Rhin, and the surviving ships found safe ports along the Biscay coast.

Commodore La Meillerie's squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Hortense French frigate Hortense (1803) The Hortense was a 40-gun Hortense Class frigate of the French Navy.In January 1805, she was sent to observe British movements off Toulon, along with Incorruptible. On 4 February, they attacked a convoy, destroying 7 ships...	40	Commodore Louis La-Marre-la-Meillerie	Returned to Bordeaux Bordeaux Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture... on 28 July
Rhin French frigate Rhin (1802) Rhin was a 44-gun Virginie-class frigate of the French Navy launched in 1802. She was present at two major battles while in French service. Then the Royal Navy captured her in 1806. Thereafter Rhin served until 1815 capturing numerous vessels. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars she was laid up...	40	Captain Michel-Jean-André Chesneau	Captured on 28 July by HMS Mars HMS Mars (1794) HMS Mars was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 October 1794 at Deptford Dockyard.-Career:In the early part of the French Revolutionary Wars she was assigned to the Channel Fleet. In 1797 under Captain Alexander Hood she was prominent in the Spithead mutiny...
Hermione French frigate Hermione (1804) The Hermione was a 40-gun Hortense Class frigate of the French Navy.Ordered by the Italian Republic as a gift to France under the name République Italienne, she was renamed to Hermione on 26 December 1803, to be launched in December 1804....	40	Captain Jean-Michel Mahé	Returned to Bordeaux Bordeaux Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture... on 28 July
Thémis	36	Commodore Nicolas Jugan	Returned to 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:... on 28 July
Furet French brig Furet (1801) Furet was an Abeille class 16-gun brig of the French Navy.She took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, after which she found herself bloackaded in Cadiz.She took part in Lamellerie's expedition, and was captured by HMS Hydra on 27 February 1806....	18	Lieutenant Pierre-Antoine-Toussaint Demai	Captured on 28 February by HMS Hydra HMS Hydra (1797) HMS Hydra launched in 1797 was a fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, armed with a main battery of twenty-eight 18-pounder guns.She was built to the design of the captured French frigate Melpomene .-Service:...
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 253, Clowes, p. 387

Commodore Soleil's squadron

The final French operation in the Atlantic during the campaign was an attempt to send seven frigates and corvettes to the French West Indies in September, laden with supplies to help maintain the strength and morale of the garrisons. With Willaumez believed to be still at sea, September 1806 seemed a good time to send a squadron into the Atlantic, but in fact the force was spotted within hours of leaving Rochefort by the British blockade force under Commodore Sir Samuel Hood. Hood's force gave chase and the large ships of the line soon caught up the frigates in heavy weather. Sending four of his ships off in different directions, Soleil attempted to give them cover with his three largest vessels, but after a hard-fought battle in which Hood lost an arm, four of the French frigates were captured.

Commodore Soleil's Squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
Gloire French frigate Gloire (1803) Gloire was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy.She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805. On 18 July, she captured and burnt a Prussian cutter to maintain the secrecy of the movements of the fleet, in spite of the neutrality of Prussia at the time...	40	Commodore Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil Éléonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil was a French Navy officer and captain.- Biography :Born to the family of a surgeon, Soleil started sailing on a merchantman in 1783. In 1785, he served in the French Royal Navy on a fluyt, before returning to merchant shipping.In August 1789, Soleil joined up as a...	Captured at Action of 25 September 1806 Action of 25 September 1806 The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of...
Minerve	40	Captain Joseph Collet	Captured at Action of 25 September 1806 Action of 25 September 1806 The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of...
Armide French frigate Armide (1804) Armide was a 40-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class, and launched in 1804 at Rochefort. She served briefly in the French navy before the British captured her in 1806. She went on to serve in the British Navy until 1815 when she was broken up.-French service:She took part in...	40	Captain Jean-Jacques-Jude Langlois	Captured at Action of 25 September 1806 Action of 25 September 1806 The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of...
Infatigable French frigate Infatigable (1800) Infatigable was a 40-gun Valeureuse class frigate of the French Navy. She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805.In the Action of 25 September 1806, she and Gloire, Minerve and Armide were captured by a four-ship squadron under Samuel Hood.She was taken into Royal Navy service as HMS...	40	Captain Joseph-Maurice Girardias	Captured at Action of 25 September 1806 Action of 25 September 1806 The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of...
Thétis French frigate Thétis (1788) Thétis was a 40-gun Nymphe-class frigate frigate of the French Navy.From 1790, she served in various diplomatic missions in the Indian Ocean, before returning for a refit in Brest in 1793. From 1795, she was shuttled from France to Guadeloupe...	36	Captain Jacques Pinsum
Lynx	16
Sylphe French corvette Sylphe (1804) Sylphe was ar Abeille class 16-gun brig of the French Navy.She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under commander Langlois, capturing the merchantman Brothers...	16
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 262, Clowes, p. 390, Woodman, p. 226,

Admiral Warren's squadron

The squadron under Admiral Warren prepared at Spithead

Spithead

Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

in December 1805 included one second rate, one 80-gun ship 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...

and five 74-gun ships of line, but no frigates or smaller vessels to operate as scouts. Prevented from sailing during December by high winds, Warren remained off St Helens

St Helens, Isle of Wight

St. Helens is a village and civil parish located on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight. The village is based around village greens. This is claimed to be the largest in England but some say the Village Green is the second largest. The greens are often used for cricket matches during the summer...

on the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

until the middle of January, when the winds lifted and he set a course for Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

. There he was to search for information of the French squadrons and, if no information was forthcoming, to sail for Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

and augment the squadrons in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

. For the next two months, Warren remained in the central eastern Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

, aware that Willaumez was cruising to the south and that Leissègues had been destroyed off San Domingo. During February his force was joined by the independently sailing frigate HMS Amazon.

On 13 March 1806, Warren's squadron sighted and pursued two sails to the northeast, which were eventually recognised as the squadron under Admiral Linois, returning to France from an extended cruise in the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

. In the ensuing Action of 13 March 1806

Action of 13 March 1806

, London and Amazon were able to defeat and capture the French ships Marengo and Belle Poule, the resulting damage and prizes prompting Warren to return to Britain. During the return journey his squadron was struck by a spring storm and several ships suffered damage and were separated, eventually rejoining Warren's main force and returning to Spithead. In Britain, Warren's ships underwent repairs and London and Repulse were detached, replaced by HMS Fame under Captain Richard Bennett. In late June Warren's squadron sailed again, under orders to intercept Willaumez off the Bahamas. Arriving in the Caribbean on 12 July, Warren narrowly missed intercepting Willaumez's squadron, which had sailed to the north in search of Vétéran.

Admiral Warren's first squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS London HMS London (1766) HMS London was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 24 May 1766 at Chatham Dockyard.London was originally launched as a 90-gun ship, as was standard for second rates at the time, but was later increased to 98-guns when she had eight 12 pounders installed on her...	98	Captain Sir Harry Burrard Neale	Engaged at the Action of 13 March 1806 Action of 13 March 1806 The Action of 13 March 1806 was a naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought when a British and a French squadron met unexpectedly in the mid-Atlantic. Neither force was aware of the presence of the other prior to the encounter and were participating in separate campaigns...
HMS Foudroyant HMS Foudroyant (1798) HMS Foudroyant was an 80-gun third rate of the Royal Navy. She was built at Plymouth Dockyard and launched on 31 March 1798.Goodwin gives the launch date for Foudroyant as 31 March, 25 May, and 31 August. The text highlights this discrepancy and attributes the August date to Lyon's Sailing Navy...	80	Rear-Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren John Borlase Warren Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet , was an English admiral, politician and diplomat. Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren of Stapleford and Little Marlow... Captain John Chambers White
HMS Ramillies HMS Ramillies (1785) HMS Ramillies was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 July 1785 at Rotherhithe.In 1801, she was part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve squadron at the Battle of Copenhagen, and so did not take an active part in the battle.In August 1812, Sir Thomas Masterman...	74	Captain Francis Pickmore Francis Pickmore Francis Pickmore naval officer and colonial governor born in Chester, Cheshire, England and died St. John's, Newfoundland....	Badly damaged in the storm of 23 April 1806
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....	74	Captain 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...
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....	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....
HMS Repulse HMS Repulse (1803) HMS Repulse was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 22 July 1803 at Deptford.In 1805, Repulse took part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre. In 1807 the ship served in the Mediterranean squadron under Vice-Admiral John Thomas Duckworth during the Dardanelles Operation...	74	Captain Arthur Kaye Legge Arthur Kaye Legge Admiral Sir Arthur Kaye Legge KCB was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served in three wars and commanded ships in several campaigns. Known as a brave officer and an effective commander, Legge was given several very important postings in the latter part of his career as a rear-admiral,...
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...	74	Captain James Bissett
HMS Amazon HMS Amazon (1799) HMS Amazon was a 38-gun Amazon-class fifth rate of the Royal Navy. This frigate served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under several notable naval commanders and played a key role in the Battle of Copenhagen under Captain Edward Riou, when Riou commanded the frigate squadron...	38	Captain William Parker	Joined the squadron during February. Engaged at the Action of 13 March 1806 Action of 13 March 1806 The Action of 13 March 1806 was a naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fought when a British and a French squadron met unexpectedly in the mid-Atlantic. Neither force was aware of the presence of the other prior to the encounter and were participating in separate campaigns... .
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 185

Admiral Warren's second squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS Foudroyant HMS Foudroyant (1798) HMS Foudroyant was an 80-gun third rate of the Royal Navy. She was built at Plymouth Dockyard and launched on 31 March 1798.Goodwin gives the launch date for Foudroyant as 31 March, 25 May, and 31 August. The text highlights this discrepancy and attributes the August date to Lyon's Sailing Navy...	80	Rear-Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren John Borlase Warren Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet , was an English admiral, politician and diplomat. Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren of Stapleford and Little Marlow... Captain John Chambers White
HMS Ramillies HMS Ramillies (1785) HMS Ramillies was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 July 1785 at Rotherhithe.In 1801, she was part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve squadron at the Battle of Copenhagen, and so did not take an active part in the battle.In August 1812, Sir Thomas Masterman...	74	Captain Francis Pickmore Francis Pickmore Francis Pickmore naval officer and colonial governor born in Chester, Cheshire, England and died St. John's, Newfoundland....
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....	74	Captain 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...
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....	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....
HMS Fame HMS Fame (1805) HMS Fame was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard. She was constructed on the same building slip as was , her keel having been ordered to be laid down on it immediately after the other ship's launch on 26 March 1800...	74	Captain Richard Bennett
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...	74	Captain James Bissett
HMS Amazon HMS Amazon (1799) HMS Amazon was a 38-gun Amazon-class fifth rate of the Royal Navy. This frigate served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under several notable naval commanders and played a key role in the Battle of Copenhagen under Captain Edward Riou, when Riou commanded the frigate squadron...	38	Captain William Parker
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 185

Admiral Strachan's squadron

Admiral Strachan's squadron was ordered to prepare for sea during December at Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, but like Warren's force, Strachan was trapped by strong winds in Cawsand Bay

Cawsand Bay

Cawsand Bay is a bay on the south-east coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom.The bay takes its name from the village of Cawsand at , to the north-east of the Rame Peninsula...

and could not sail until mid-January. Strachan's orders were to sail for Saint Helena

Saint Helena

Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...

and search for signs of the French squadrons. If their whereabouts could not be discovered, Strachan was to join the squadron under Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham

Home Riggs Popham

Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham KCB was a British Royal Naval Commander who saw service during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...

detailed to invade the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

. During February and March Strachan searched in vain, eventually receiving the news that Willaumez had anchored in neutral Salvador

Salvador, Bahia

in Brazil

Brazil

during April. Steering northwest in the hope of intercepting the French squadron, Strachan was hampered by the presence of HMS St George, which proved too slow for a flying squadron. Returning to Plymouth, Strachan detached St George and Centaur, which had been made the flagship of the 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:...

blockade squadron and was given HMS Belleisle, HMS Audacious and HMS Montagu as replacements, as well as two frigates.

Departing Plymouth on 19 May, Strachan sailed for the Caribbean, passing Madeira and the Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

before anchoring at Carlisle Bay, Barbados

Carlisle Bay, Barbados

Carlisle Bay is a small natural harbor located in the southwest region of Barbados. The island nation's capital, Bridgetown, is situated on this bay, which has been turned into a marine park. Carlisle Bay's marine park is a popular spot on the island for scuba diving...

on 8 August. Five days later Strachan sail northwards in pursuit of Willaumez and on 18 August was caught in the same hurricane that dispersed Willaumez's squadron slightly to the north. During August and September, Strachan's scattered ships gathered off the rendezvous point at Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...

in the hope of intercepting any French vessels seeking shelter in American ports. On 14 September, Belleisle, Bellona and Melampus sighted the limping French ship Impétueux off Cape Henry

Cape Henry

Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia north of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay.Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Charles...

and drove her ashore, burning the wreck in violation of American neutrality.

Admiral Strachan's first squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS St George HMS St George (1785) HMS St George was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 October 1785 at Portsmouth. In 1793 she captured one of the richest prizes ever. She then participated in the Naval Battle of Hyères Islands in 1795 and took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801...	98	Captain Thomas Bertie Thomas Bertie Sir Thomas Bertie RSO , born Thomas Hoar, was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....	Detached in May at Plymouth
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:...	80	Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan Captain Charles Richardson
HMS Centaur HMS Centaur (1797) HMS Centaur was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 March 1797 at Woolwich. She served as Sir Samuel Hood's flagship in the Leeward Islands and the Channel. During her 22-year career Centaur saw action in the Mediterranean, the Channel, the West Indies, and the Baltic, fighting...	74	Captain Sir Samuel Hood	Detached in May at Plymouth
HMS Terrible HMS Terrible (1785) HMS Terrible was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 March 1785 at Rotherhithe.She became a receiving ship in 1823, and was broken up in 1836....	74	Captain Lord Henry Paulet
HMS Triumph HMS Triumph (1764) HMS Triumph was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 March 1764 at Woolwich.In 1797, she took part in the Battle of Camperdown, and in 1805 Triumph was part of Admiral Calder's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre....	74	Captain Henry Inman Henry Inman (Royal Navy officer) Captain Henry Inman was a British Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, serving in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
HMS Bellona HMS Bellona (1760) HMS Bellona was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir Thomas Slade, she was a prototype for the iconic 74-gun ships of the latter part of the 18th century...	74	Captain John Erskine Douglas
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 207

Admiral Strachan's second squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
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:...	80	Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Strachan Captain Charles Richardson
HMS Belleisle HMS Belleisle (1795) Lion was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the French Navy, which later served in the Royal Navy. She was built at Rochefort. She was later renamed Marat and then Formidable, with the changing fortunes of the French Revolution....	74	Captain William Hargood William Hargood Admiral Sir William Hargood KCB GCH RN was a British naval officer who served with distinction through the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, during which he gained an unfortunate reputation for bad luck, which seemed to reverse following his...	Participated in the destruction of Impétueux on 14 September
HMS Terrible HMS Terrible (1785) HMS Terrible was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 March 1785 at Rotherhithe.She became a receiving ship in 1823, and was broken up in 1836....	74	Captain Lord Henry Paulet
HMS Triumph HMS Triumph (1764) HMS Triumph was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 March 1764 at Woolwich.In 1797, she took part in the Battle of Camperdown, and in 1805 Triumph was part of Admiral Calder's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre....	74	Captain Sir Thomas Hardy
HMS Bellona HMS Bellona (1760) HMS Bellona was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir Thomas Slade, she was a prototype for the iconic 74-gun ships of the latter part of the 18th century...	74	Captain John Erskine Douglas	Participated in the destruction of Impétueux on 14 September
HMS Audacious HMS Audacious (1785) HMS Audacious was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 July 1785 at Rotherhithe. She was the first ship to bear the name....	74	Captain Thomas Gosselyn
HMS Montagu HMS Montagu (1779) HMS Montagu, sometimes spelled Montague, was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 August 1779 at Chatham Dockyard....	74	Captain Robert Otway Robert Otway Admiral Sir Robert Waller Otway, 1st Baronet, GCB was a senior Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who served extensively as a sea captain during the Napoleonic War and later supported the Brazilian cause during the Brazilian War of Independence...
HMS Melampus HMS Melampus (1785) HMS Melampus was a Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate that served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. She captured numerous prizes before she was sold in 1815.-Design and construction:...	36	Captain Stephen Poyntz	Participated in the destruction of Impétueux on 14 September
HMS Decade	36	Captain John Stuart
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 210, Clowes, p. 196

Admiral Duckworth's squadron

The third principal British squadron deployed during the campaign was never intended to take part in it. Admiral Duckworth had been ordered to lead the blockade

Blockade

A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...

of Cadiz

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....

in November 1805, following the destruction of the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar

Battle of Trafalgar

on 21 October. Finding the blockade of the survivors at Cadiz dull, Duckworth sailed south in search of Allemand's expedition

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...

, leaving just two frigates to watch the Spanish port. Allemand escaped Duckworth, but on 23 December he was informed of the depredations by Willaumez's squadron and sailed to intercept him. On 25 December he discovered Willaumez but was unable to catch him eventually abandoning the chase and retiring to St. Kitts in the West Indies to take on fresh supplies. There he was joined by several ships of the Leeward Islands

Leeward Islands

squadron under Admiral Cochrane and also learned of the arrival of Leissègues at Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo

. Sailing to intercept the French squadron, Duckworth successfully encountered them on 6 February 1806 and in the ensuing Battle of San Domingo

Battle of San Domingo

, captured or destroyed all five of the ships of the line, carrying his prizes to Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

. Duckworth then returned to Britain, leaving Cochrane with a number of vessels to patrol the Eastern Caribbean in anticipation of the arrival of Willaumez.

Admiral Duckworth's squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
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...	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:...	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo 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...
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...	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...	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo 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...
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:...	74	Captain Robert Stopford	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo 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...
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....	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...	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo 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...
HMS Powerful HMS 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...	74	Captain Robert Plampin Robert Plampin Vice-Admiral Robert Plampin was a British Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, serving in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, but best known for his time as commander of the British colony of Saint Helena...	Detached 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... on 2 February 1806
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...	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...	Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo 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...
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...	40	Captain Richard Dalling Dunn
HMS Amethyst HMS Amethyst (1799) HMS Amethyst was a Royal Navy 36-gun Penelope-class fifth-rate frigate, launched in 1799 at Deptford. Amethyst served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, capturing several prizes. She also participated in two boat actions and two ship actions that won her crew clasps to the...	40	Captain James William Spranger	Detached to Britain on 26 December 1805
Admiral Cochrane's reinforcements
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....	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	Joined 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 21 January 1806. Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo 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... .
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....	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...	Joined 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 21 January 1806. Engaged at the Battle of San Domingo 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... .
HMS Magicienne	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:...	Joined off 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... on 5 February 1806
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...	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...	Joined 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 1806
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...	14	Lieutenant James Higginson	Joined off Saint Thomas Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of... on 3 February 1806
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 187

Admiral Cochrane's squadron

Following the Battle of San Domingo, Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, newly knighted, gathered a small squadron in anticipation of the arrival of the second French force under Willaumez. Based at Carlisle Bay, Barbados

Carlisle Bay, Barbados

, Cochrane's forces patrolled the Leeward Islands for the French force during the spring, eventually locating Willaumez's ships at Fort-de-France

Fort-de-France

on Martinique

Martinique

on 14 June 1806. An attempt to blockade the port ended in failure as several ships were damaged in high winds, but when Willaumez sailed on 1 July, Cochrane had planned ahead, and brought his squadron to Tortola

Tortola

, blocking the passage through which Willaumez would have to sail to attack the valuable Jamaica convoy, then gathering off Saint Thomas

Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...

. With his squadron, Cochrane successfully drove off Willaumez on 4 July without a fight, and the French admiral retired to the Bahama Banks

Bahama Banks

The Bahama Banks are the submerged carbonate platforms that make up much of the Bahama Archipelago. The term is usually applied in referring to either the Great Bahama Bank around Andros Island, or the Little Bahama Bank of Grand Bahama Island and Great Abaco, which are the largest of the...

to await the convoy's passage northwards. Cochrane spent the next month preparing the convoy for its voyage, which it began during August while Willaumez was out of position to the north.

Admiral Cochrane's squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
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....	74	Rear-Admiral Sir 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 Spear
HMS Elephant HMS Elephant (1786) HMS Elephant was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by George Parsons in Bursledon, Hampshire, and launched on 24 August 1786....	74	Captain George Dundas
HMS Canada HMS Canada (1765) HMS Canada was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 September 1765 at Woolwich Dockyard.On 2 May 1781, Canada engaged and captured the Spanish ship Santa Leocadia, of 34 guns....	74	Captain John Harvey John Harvey (Royal Navy admiral) Admiral Sir John Harvey, KCB was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who held numerous commands and served in several actions during his long and distinguished career...
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...	64	Captain Jonas Rose
HMS Ethalion HMS Ethalion (1802) HMS Ethalion was a Royal Navy 36-gun frigate, launched in 1802 at Woolwich Dockyard.-Service:Ethalion entered service in 1807 under Captain Charles Stuart, operating in the North Sea. In May 1804 she captured the 16-gun Dutch brig Union off Bergen...	36	Captain Charles Stuart
HMS Seine French frigate Embuscade (1790) -French service:In 1792, she escorted convoys to and from Martinique, and ferried Edmond-Charles Genêt to the USA. On 31 July 1793, she encountered and fought Boston at the Action of 31 July 1793....	36	Captain David Atkins
HMS Galatea	32	Captain Murray Maxwell Murray Maxwell Captain Sir Murray Maxwell, CB, FRS was a British Royal Navy officer who served with distinction in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, particularly during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
HMS Circe HMS Circe (1804) HMS Circe was a Royal Navy 32-gun fifth-rate Thames-class frigate, built by Master Shipwright Joseph Tucker at Plymouth Dockyard, and launched in 1804. She served in the Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars, and participated in an action and a campaign for which in 1847 in the Admiralty authorized...	32	Captain Hugh Pigott
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 204

Rochefort blockade squadrons

Although other British forces were deployed during the year, most were engaged on other operations incidental to the main Atlantic campaign, such as the expeditionary force to the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

under Commodore Home Riggs Popham

Home Riggs Popham

Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham KCB was a British Royal Naval Commander who saw service during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...

. In addition, a number of blockade squadrons were deployed to the major ports of the French Atlantic coast. These forces contained the French warships still at anchor in the ports and restricted the return of French warships from service at sea during the campaign. These forces included a Channel squadron under Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis

Thomas Louis

, whose ships intercepted and captured a frigate of Commodore Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermite

Jean-Marthe-Adrien l'Hermite

Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermitte was a French sea captain and rear admiral, notable for his involvement in the Glorious First of June and various other campaigns.- Early career :L'Hermitte was born to the family of a...

's squadron on 27 September, and blockade forces off Cadiz

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....

under the distant command of Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood and Brest

Brest, France

under Admiral William Cornwallis

William Cornwallis

Admiral the Honourable Sir William Cornwallis GCB was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, governor-general of India...

. Cornwallis in particular was particularly effective: under his watch, only one French ship of the line successfully entered or departed Brest harbour during the year.

There was one blockade force that played a particular role in the campaign, the force deployed to the waters off 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:...

, initially under the command of Commodore 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...

. Under Keats, the French squadron under Louis La-Marre-la-Meillerie was intercepted on 17 July, HMS Mars capturing a frigate and chasing the others into port. In August, Keats was replaced by Commodore Sir Samuel Hood, who was to achieve one of the more notable victories of the year at the Action of 25 September 1806

Action of 25 September 1806

, when a French convoy of seven ships sailing to the West Indies was intercepted and defeated. Although Hood's force captured four large modern frigates, the French fought hard and Hood himself was seriously wounded by musket fire, losing an arm.

Commodore Keats' squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
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...	74	Commodore 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...
HMS Mars HMS Mars (1794) HMS Mars was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 October 1794 at Deptford Dockyard.-Career:In the early part of the French Revolutionary Wars she was assigned to the Channel Fleet. In 1797 under Captain Alexander Hood she was prominent in the Spithead mutiny...	74	Captain Robert Dudley Oliver Robert Dudley Oliver Admiral Robert Dudley Oliver was a senior officer of the British Royal Navy during the early nineteenth century, who served in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars with distinction, seeing action several times during his career, particularly with...	Captured frigate Rhin on 17 July
HMS 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	Captain Henry Digby Henry Digby (Royal Navy officer) Admiral of the Blue Sir Henry Digby GCB was a senior British naval officer, who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars in the Royal Navy...
Keats' squadron also included two other ships of the line.
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 253

Commodore Hood's squadron
Ship	Guns	Commander	Notes
HMS Monarch HMS Monarch (1765) HMS Monarch was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 20 July 1765 at Deptford Dockyard.Monarch had a very active career, fighting in her first battle in 1778 at the First Battle of Ushant and her second under Admiral Rodney at Cape St. Vincent in 1780...	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...	Engaged at the Action of 25 September 1806 Action of 25 September 1806 The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of...
HMS Centaur HMS Centaur (1797) HMS Centaur was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 14 March 1797 at Woolwich. She served as Sir Samuel Hood's flagship in the Leeward Islands and the Channel. During her 22-year career Centaur saw action in the Mediterranean, the Channel, the West Indies, and the Baltic, fighting...	74	Commodore Sir Samuel Hood	Engaged at the Action of 25 September 1806 Action of 25 September 1806 The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of...
HMS Mars HMS Mars (1794) HMS Mars was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 October 1794 at Deptford Dockyard.-Career:In the early part of the French Revolutionary Wars she was assigned to the Channel Fleet. In 1797 under Captain Alexander Hood she was prominent in the Spithead mutiny...	74	Captain William Lukin William Lukin Vice-Admiral William Lukin, later William Lukin Windham was a Royal Navy officer who rose to the rank of Vice Admiral and served with great distinction through the Napoleonic Wars. Eventually he inherited the house and estates of William Windham.-Early life:William Lukin was born in the village of...	Engaged at the Action of 25 September 1806 Action of 25 September 1806 The Action of 25 September 1806 was a naval battle fought during the Napoleonic Wars off the French Biscay port of Rochefort. A French convoy of five frigates and two corvettes, sailing to the French West Indies with supplies and reinforcements, was intercepted by a British squadron of six ships of...
HMS Windsor Castle HMS Windsor Castle (1790) HMS Windsor Castle was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 May 1790 at Deptford Dockyard.-Dardanelles:Windsor Castle was part of Robert Calder's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805...	98	Captain Charles Boyles
HMS Achille HMS Achille (1798) HMS Achille was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by Cleverley Bros., a private shipyard at Gravesend, and launched on 16 April 1798. Her design was based on the lines of the captured French ship...	74	Captain Richard King Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet Vice Admiral Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet KCB was an officer in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, who fought with distinction at the battle of Trafalgar despite being amongst the youngest captains present.King was the son of Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet, a...
HMS Revenge HMS Revenge (1805) HMS Revenge was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 13 April 1805. She was designed by Sir John Henslow as one of the large class 74s, and was the only ship built to her draught...	74	Captain Sir John Gore John Gore (Royal Navy officer) Admiral Sir John Gore, KCB was a British naval commander of the 18th and 19th centuries...
HMS Atalante HMS Atalante (1797) HMS Atalante was an 16-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was formerly the French Atalante, captured in 1797. She served with the British during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and was wrecked in 1807....	16	Commander John Ore Masefield
Source: James, Vol. 4, p. 262

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