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The
action of 18 October 1782
was a minor naval engagement of the
American Revolutionary War
, in which the French
74-gun
ship of the line
Scipion
, accompanied by the 40-gun
frigate
Sibylle
, was chased by two
Royal Navy
ships of the line, the 98-gun
HMS
London
and the 74-gun
Torbay
. Outmanoeuvring her larger opponents,
Scipion
obtained a favourable position that allowed her to
rake
London
, causing severe damage and allowing her to continue running from the superior British force.
Scipion
went to anchor in
Samana Bay
but while doing so hit a rock and sank, while
Sibylle
succeeded in escaping the area.
Action
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On 17 October 1782, during the
American Revolutionary War
, a British squadron consisting of the 98-gun
ship of the line
HMS
London
, 74-gun ship of the line
HMS
Torbay
, and 14-gun
sloop
HMS
Badger
was sailing off the coast of
San Domingo
when they spotted two strange sails.
[Note 1]
The squadron chased the ships to the north-west and discovered them to be the French 74-gun ship of the line
Scipion
and her consort the 40-gun
frigate
Sibylle
. At 2:24 p.m.
London
, Captain
James Kempthorne
, had succeeded in coming within range of
Scipion
, Captain
Nicolas Henri de Grimouard
, and the two ships of the line began a running fight mostly with the use of their
chase guns
and the occasional
broadside
from
London
.
Sibylle
went to the assistance of her compatriot and attacked
London
'
s
bow
as she concentrated on
Scipion
, inflicting much damage.
London
continued to close on
Scipion
until finally at 8:30 p.m. they began to trade broadsides alongside each other.
The bombardment continued until 8:50 p.m. when the two ships of the line crashed together, with
Scipion
'
s
cathead
coming alongside
London
'
s
starboard
gangway
.
The close proximity of the vessels allowed muskets and other small arms to come into effect, with each side firing into the groups of men operating their opponent's upper deck guns and causing much carnage. Soon however
Scipion
managed to get clear of her opponent by backing away from her, and sailed
astern
of her, where she
raked
London
.
The fire of
Scipion
, going from stern to bow of the British ship, destroyed much of her rigging and masts, leaving her disabled. While
Scipion
had been manoeuvring around
London
,
Torbay
, Captain John Gidoin, had finally managed to come into action and began firing into
Scipion
'
s
larboard
side, but the now-disabled
London
crashed into her as she went about her work, leaving both British ships tangled together.
At 10:20 p.m.
Scipion
stopped firing and
Sibylle
escaped from the action. Concluding that the French ship of the line had surrendered,
London
attempted to come up and take possession of her, but was unable to do so because of the state of her rigging. Kempthorne charged Gidoin with sailing towards
Scipion
, but while this was happening the French ship caught a gust of wind and began to sail away.
After re-organising themselves the British ships began their chase once again. They did so through the night of 17?18 October, but despite exchanging some shots the French succeeded in lengthening the distance between them and their pursuers, so that by the morning of 18 October
Torbay
, the lead ship, was a mile and a half behind
Scipion
. By 3:30 p.m.
Torbay
had succeeded in gaining ground on
Scipion
and Gidoin began to fire into her, at which point
Scipion
sailed into
Samana Bay
, in what is now the
Dominican Republic
, and attempted to anchor there. Having credibly escaped an enemy force of over double her strength, she then struck a rock and sank in the bay.
Scipion
was a total loss but her crew escaped almost intact from the action.
Aftermath
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Louis XVI
made Grimouard, who had been wounded in the action, a
count
for his actions in fighting off and then successfully escaping the superior British squadron, and commissioned a painting of the action from
Auguste-Louis de Rossel de Cercy
.
Kempthorne was put in front of a court of enquiry because of his inability to take
Scipion
in open action, but he was honourably acquitted of all charges.
Combatant summary
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In this table, "Guns" refers to all
cannon
carried by the ship, including the maindeck guns which were taken into consideration when calculating its
rate
, as well as any
carronades
carried aboard. Broadside weight records the combined weight of shot which could be fired in a single simultaneous discharge of an entire
broadside
.
Notes
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]
- ^
Badger
was not involved in any of the action itself.
- ^
Allen reports 46 wounded.
Citations
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References
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