Raid on Batavia (1806)
Encyclopedia
The Raid on Batavia of 27 November 1806 was an attempt by a large British naval force to destroy the Dutch squadron based on Java
in the Dutch East Indies
that posed a threat to British shipping in the Straits of Malacca. The British admiral in command of the eastern Indian Ocean
, Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, led a force of four ships of the line, two frigates and brig
to the capital of Java at Batavia (later renamed Djakarta), in search of the squadron, which was reported to consist of a number of Dutch ships of the line and several smaller vessels. However the largest Dutch ships had already sailed eastwards towards Griessie over a month earlier, and Pellew only discovered the frigate Phoenix and a number of smaller warships in the bay, all of which were driven ashore by their crews rather than engage Pellew's force. The wrecks were subsequently burnt and Pellew, unaware of the whereabouts of the main Dutch squadron, returned to his base at Madras for the winter.
The raid was the third of series of actions intended to eliminate the threat posed to British trade routes by the Dutch squadron: at the Action of 26 July 1806
and the Action of 18 October 1806
, British frigates sent on reconnaissance missions to the region succeeded in attacking and capturing two Dutch frigates and a number of other vessels. The raid reduced the effectiveness of Batavia as a Dutch base, but the continued presence of the main Dutch squadron at Griessie concerned Pellew and he led a second operation the following year to complete his defeat of the Dutch. Three years later, with the French driven out of the western Indian Ocean, British forces in the region were strong enough to prepare an expeditionary force against the Dutch East Indies, which effectively ended the war in the east.
. Pellew's particular target was the island of Java
, where the principal Dutch squadron and their base at Batavia were located. The Dutch Kingdom of Holland
was a French client state under Emperor Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte
and Batavia had been used by Linois in his preparations for the Battle of Pulo Aura
, in which a valuable British convoy came under attack, and its position close to the Straits of Malacca threatened British trade with China
.
Pellew's departure for the East Indies was delayed by the Vellore Mutiny
in the spring, and instead he sent frigate
s to reconnoitre the situation of the Dutch forces in the region. In July, HMS Greyhound under Captain Edward Elphinstone cruised in the Molucca Islands and captured a Dutch convoy at the Action of 26 July 1806
off Celebes
. Three months later another frigate, HMS Caroline under Captain Peter Rainier, cruised successfully in the Java Sea
and managed to capture a Dutch frigate at the Action of 18 October 1806
from the entrance to Batavia harbour. Shortly before Rainier's engagement, the principal ships of the Dutch squadron, the two ships of the line Pluto and Revolutie, had sailed westwards towards the port of Griessie, Rear-Admiral Hartsink seeking to divide his forces in preparation for the coming British attack to prevent their complete destruction.
Pellew sailed from Madras in the early autumn of 1806, expecting the full Dutch squadron to be present and preparing accordingly with the ship of the line HMS Culloden
under Captain Christopher Cole
as his flagship, accompanied by HMS Powerful
under Captain Robert Plampin
, HMS Russell
under Captain Thomas Gordon Caulfield and HMS Belliqueux
under Captain George Byng
. The ships of the line were accompanied by the frigate HMS Terpsichore
under Captain Fleetwood Pellew
, Admiral Pellew's son, as well as the brig HMS Seaflower under Lieutenant William Fitzwilliam Owen
.
from the southwest when he encountered the British frigate HMS Sir Francis Drake, which he attached to his force. Three days later, the squadron passed the port of Bantam
and seized the Dutch East India Company
brig Maria Wilhelmina, continuing on to Batavia during the night. At the approaches to the port, the squadron separated, with the frigates and brig passing between Onrust Island and the shore while the ships of the line took a longer route through deeper water. Although Terpsichore was able to surprise and capture the corvette
William near Onrust Island, the main body of the squadron was spotted by Dutch lookouts from a distance, who initially mistook the approaching vessels for a French squadron. The Dutch officers, led by Captain Vander Sande on the frigate Phoenix, decided that resistance against such a large British squadron was useless: the only warships remaining in the harbour were the Phoenix and six small armed ships, none of which could contend with the approaching British force. In an effort to dissuade the British from pressing their attack, the Dutch captains all drove their vessels ashore, joined by the 22 merchant vessels that were anchored in the harbour.
Determined to prevent the Dutch from refloating the grounded ships, Admiral Pellew ordered landing parties to assemble in the boats of his squadron alongside Terpsichore. From there, under distant covering fire from the British frigates, Fleetwood Pellew led the boats against Phoenix, coming under fire from the grounded vessels and gun batteries ashore. Passing through the bombardment from the shoreline, Pellew's men boarded Phoenix to find that the Dutch crew had just abandoned the vessel, scuttling the frigate as they departed. Although now useless as a ship, Phoenix' s guns were turned on the other beached vessels to cover the British boats as they spread out to board and burn them. This operation was followed by the destruction of 20 grounded merchant ships in the harbour, although two others were successfully refloated and captured. In a final act before withdrawing to the squadron offshore, Captain Pellew set fire to the wreck of Phoenix, burning the ship to the waterline. The entire operation was conducted under heavy fire from the shore, but British casualties were only one Royal Marine killed and three men wounded.
Without sufficient troops to attempt a landing at Batavia itself, Admiral Pellew withdrew from the harbour. Preparing his prizes for the return to Madras, he ordered all prisoners taken from the captured and burnt ships returned to shore under condition of parole
. The captured William was found to be in such a poor state of repair that it was not worth keeping the corvette and Admiral Pellew ordered the ship burnt, noting in his official report that Lieutenant Owen, who as senior lieutenant would otherwise have been placed in command, should be recompensed with another command as reward for his services in the engagement. With his preparations complete, Pellew then ordered his squadron to disperse, Culloden sailing to Malacca.
in November, a year after the success at Batavia. A lack of resources in the region and the threat posed by the French Indian Ocean island bases delayed larger scale British operations against the East Indies until 1810, when a series of invasions rapidly eliminated the remaining Dutch presence in the Pacific.
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
in the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
that posed a threat to British shipping in the Straits of Malacca. The British admiral in command of the eastern 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...
, Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, led a force of four ships of the line, two frigates and 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...
to the capital of Java at Batavia (later renamed Djakarta), in search of the squadron, which was reported to consist of a number of Dutch ships of the line and several smaller vessels. However the largest Dutch ships had already sailed eastwards towards Griessie over a month earlier, and Pellew only discovered the frigate Phoenix and a number of smaller warships in the bay, all of which were driven ashore by their crews rather than engage Pellew's force. The wrecks were subsequently burnt and Pellew, unaware of the whereabouts of the main Dutch squadron, returned to his base at Madras for the winter.
The raid was the third of series of actions intended to eliminate the threat posed to British trade routes by the Dutch squadron: at the Action of 26 July 1806
Action of 26 July 1806
The Action of 26 July 1806 was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars fought off the southern coast of the island of Celebes in the Dutch East Indies. During the battle, a small British squadron attacked and defeated a Dutch force defending a valuable convoy, which was also captured...
and the Action of 18 October 1806
Action of 18 October 1806
The Action of 18 October 1806 was a minor naval engagement during the Napoleonic Wars, fought between the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Caroline and a Dutch squadron at the entrance to Batavia harbour on Java in the Dutch East Indies...
, British frigates sent on reconnaissance missions to the region succeeded in attacking and capturing two Dutch frigates and a number of other vessels. The raid reduced the effectiveness of Batavia as a Dutch base, but the continued presence of the main Dutch squadron at Griessie concerned Pellew and he led a second operation the following year to complete his defeat of the Dutch. Three years later, with the French driven out of the western Indian Ocean, British forces in the region were strong enough to prepare an expeditionary force against the Dutch East Indies, which effectively ended the war in the east.
Background
In early 1806, Pellew was relieved by the news that a large French squadron under Rear-Admiral Charles Linois had sailed out of the Indian Ocean and into the Atlantic. The departure of Linois after three years of operations in eastern waters freed Pellew's small squadron based at Madras for operations against the Dutch East IndiesDutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. Pellew's particular target was the island of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, where the principal Dutch squadron and their base at Batavia were located. The Dutch Kingdom of Holland
Kingdom of Holland
The Kingdom of Holland 1806–1810 was set up by Napoleon Bonaparte as a puppet kingdom for his third brother, Louis Bonaparte, in order to better control the Netherlands. The name of the leading province, Holland, was now taken for the whole country...
was a French client state under Emperor Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte
Louis Bonaparte
Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince Français, Comte de Saint-Leu , King of Holland , was the fifth surviving child and the fourth surviving son of Carlo Buonaparte and Letizia Ramolino...
and Batavia had been used by Linois in his preparations for 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...
, in which a valuable British convoy came under attack, and its position close to the Straits of Malacca threatened British trade with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Pellew's departure for the East Indies was delayed by the Vellore Mutiny
Vellore Mutiny
The Vellore Mutiny on 10 July 1806 was the first instance of a large-scale and violent mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company, predating the Indian Rebellion of 1857 by half a century...
in the spring, and instead he sent 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 to reconnoitre the situation of the Dutch forces in the region. In July, HMS Greyhound under Captain Edward Elphinstone cruised in the Molucca Islands and captured a Dutch convoy at the Action of 26 July 1806
Action of 26 July 1806
The Action of 26 July 1806 was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars fought off the southern coast of the island of Celebes in the Dutch East Indies. During the battle, a small British squadron attacked and defeated a Dutch force defending a valuable convoy, which was also captured...
off Celebes
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
. Three months later another frigate, HMS Caroline under Captain Peter Rainier, cruised successfully in the Java Sea
Java Sea
The Java Sea is a large shallow sea on the Sunda Shelf. It was formed as sea levels rose at the end of the last ice age. The Java Sea lies between the Indonesian islands of Borneo to the north, Java to the south; Sumatra to the west, and Sulawesi to the east...
and managed to capture a Dutch frigate at the Action of 18 October 1806
Action of 18 October 1806
The Action of 18 October 1806 was a minor naval engagement during the Napoleonic Wars, fought between the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Caroline and a Dutch squadron at the entrance to Batavia harbour on Java in the Dutch East Indies...
from the entrance to Batavia harbour. Shortly before Rainier's engagement, the principal ships of the Dutch squadron, the two ships of the line Pluto and Revolutie, had sailed westwards towards the port of Griessie, Rear-Admiral Hartsink seeking to divide his forces in preparation for the coming British attack to prevent their complete destruction.
Pellew sailed from Madras in the early autumn of 1806, expecting the full Dutch squadron to be present and preparing accordingly with the ship of the line HMS Culloden
HMS Culloden (1783)
HMS Culloden was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 June 1783 at Rotherhithe. She took part in some of the most famous battles of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
under Captain Christopher Cole
Christopher Cole (Royal Navy officer)
Captain Sir Christopher Cole KCB was a prominent officer of the British Royal Navy who served in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
as his flagship, accompanied by 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...
under 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...
, HMS Russell
HMS Russell (1764)
HMS Russell was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 10 November 1764 at Deptford.In 1782, she was commanded by Captain James Saumarez at the Battle of the Saintes. In 1794 she was part of Admiral Howe's fleet at the Glorious First of June, and in the following year...
under Captain Thomas Gordon Caulfield and HMS Belliqueux
HMS Belliqueux (1780)
HMS Belliqueux was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 5 June 1780 at Blackwall Yard, London. She was named after the French ship captured in 1758....
under Captain George Byng
George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington
George Byng, 6th Viscount Torrington was a Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy. His son, the seventh Viscount, served as Governor of Ceylon between 1847 and 1850....
. The ships of the line were accompanied by the frigate HMS Terpsichore
HMS Terpsichore (1785)
HMS Terpsichore was a 32-gun Amazon-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was built during the last years of the American War of Independence, but did not see action until the French Revolutionary Wars...
under Captain Fleetwood Pellew
Fleetwood Pellew
Admiral Sir Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds Pellew CB KCH was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was the son of Captain Edward Pellew, who later became an admiral and first Viscount Exmouth...
, Admiral Pellew's son, as well as the brig HMS Seaflower under Lieutenant William Fitzwilliam Owen
William Fitzwilliam Owen
Vice Admiral William Fitzwilliam Owen , was a British naval officer and explorer. He is best known for his exploration of the west and east African coasts, discovery of the Seaflower Channel off the coast of Sumatra and for surveying the Canadian Great Lakes...
.
Pellew's attack
By 23 November, Pellew's squadron was approaching the Sunda StraitSunda Strait
The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean...
from the southwest when he encountered the British frigate HMS Sir Francis Drake, which he attached to his force. Three days later, the squadron passed the port of Bantam
Bantam (city)
Bantam in Banten province near the western end of Java was a strategically important site and formerly a major trading city, with a secure harbor on the Sunda Strait through which all ocean-going traffic passed, at the mouth of Banten River that provided a navigable passage for light craft into...
and seized the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
brig Maria Wilhelmina, continuing on to Batavia during the night. At the approaches to the port, the squadron separated, with the frigates and brig passing between Onrust Island and the shore while the ships of the line took a longer route through deeper water. Although Terpsichore was able to surprise and capture the 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...
William near Onrust Island, the main body of the squadron was spotted by Dutch lookouts from a distance, who initially mistook the approaching vessels for a French squadron. The Dutch officers, led by Captain Vander Sande on the frigate Phoenix, decided that resistance against such a large British squadron was useless: the only warships remaining in the harbour were the Phoenix and six small armed ships, none of which could contend with the approaching British force. In an effort to dissuade the British from pressing their attack, the Dutch captains all drove their vessels ashore, joined by the 22 merchant vessels that were anchored in the harbour.
Determined to prevent the Dutch from refloating the grounded ships, Admiral Pellew ordered landing parties to assemble in the boats of his squadron alongside Terpsichore. From there, under distant covering fire from the British frigates, Fleetwood Pellew led the boats against Phoenix, coming under fire from the grounded vessels and gun batteries ashore. Passing through the bombardment from the shoreline, Pellew's men boarded Phoenix to find that the Dutch crew had just abandoned the vessel, scuttling the frigate as they departed. Although now useless as a ship, Phoenix
Without sufficient troops to attempt a landing at Batavia itself, Admiral Pellew withdrew from the harbour. Preparing his prizes for the return to Madras, he ordered all prisoners taken from the captured and burnt ships returned to shore under condition of parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
. The captured William was found to be in such a poor state of repair that it was not worth keeping the corvette and Admiral Pellew ordered the ship burnt, noting in his official report that Lieutenant Owen, who as senior lieutenant would otherwise have been placed in command, should be recompensed with another command as reward for his services in the engagement. With his preparations complete, Pellew then ordered his squadron to disperse, Culloden sailing to Malacca.
Aftermath
The British raid on Batavia had destroyed 28 vessels. In addition to Phoenix, William and the merchant ships, Pellew's squadron had burnt the 18-gun brigs Aventurier and Patriot, the 14-gun Zee-Ploeg, the 10-gun Arnistein, the 8-gun Johanna Suzanna and the 6-gun Snelheid. Just three ships were captured: two merchant vessels and Maria Wilhelmina. The elimination of the smaller vessels of the Dutch squadron was an important victory for Pellew, leaving only the larger ships of the line at large. These ships were old and in poor condition, limiting the threat they posed to British trade routes. Nevertheless, Pellew returned to the Java Sea in 1807 in search of the warships, destroying them at the Raid on GriessieRaid on Griessie
The Raid on Griessie was a British attack on the Dutch port of Griessie on Java in the Dutch East Indies in December 1807 during the Napoleonic Wars...
in November, a year after the success at Batavia. A lack of resources in the region and the threat posed by the French Indian Ocean island bases delayed larger scale British operations against the East Indies until 1810, when a series of invasions rapidly eliminated the remaining Dutch presence in the Pacific.