Action of 14 December 1798

Date	14 December 1798
Location	off Gironde estuary
Result	French victory

Belligerents

French Republic

Great Britain

Commanders and leaders

Lieutenant de vaisseau Jean-Baptiste-Édmond Richer

Captain Henry Jenkins

Strength

24-gun Bayonnaise

32-gun HMS Ambuscade

Casualties and losses

30 killed, 35 wounded

10 killed, 36 wounded
1 frigate captured

The Action of 14 December 1798 was a naval skirmish between the 32-gun British frigate HMS Ambuscade and the French 24-gun corvette Bayonnaise. Bayonnaise was vastly outgunned and outmanoeuvered, but was able to board and capture Ambuscade.

On 14 December, as she sailed about 30 nm off Ré, Bayonnaise met the 32-gun frigate Ambuscade, cruising off Oléron under captain Henry Jenkins.

Ambuscade was waiting to meet with HMS Stag and blockade the Gironde estuary. Bayonnaise was a 24-gun corvette laden with a strong crew augmented by a 40-soldier detachment from the régiment d’Alsace, under Army captain Nicolas Aimé.

At dawn, Ambuscade detected Bayonnaise and assumed she was Stag; Bayonnaise also detected Ambuscade, and, correctly assuming that she was a superior British warship, turned around to flee. From this manoeuver, Ambuscade understood that the sail was French and gave chase. Around noon, Ambuscade had closed in to cannon range, and the fight began.

After one hour, the British had gained the upper hand, damaging the hull and rigging of the corvette. As Ambuscade came off the stern of Bayonnaise in an attempt to rake her, one of the British frigate's starboard 12-pounders burst. The explosion destroyed Ambuscade's boats, left 13 of her sailors dead and wounded, and confused the crew. Bayonnaise attempted to take advantage of the confusion to escape south, but Ambuscade gave chase again and caught up with the corvette around 3 PM.

As the frigate sailed on the port side of the corvette on a parallel course, overtaking her, Bayonnaise backed sail and turned hard to port, ramming Ambuscade. The bowsprit of Bayonnaise cut down Ambuscade 's mizzen, wounding part of the crew standing on the poop deck, and entangling the two ships.

Both ships fired a last broadside and closed their gunports. Bayonnaise lost numerous men, and her captain, Richer, had an arm shot off. Nevertheless, French grapeshot and musketry fire cleared the decks of Ambuscade. Most of the British officers were wounded and taken below deck, leaving only ailing lieutenant Joseph Briggs in command. Having grappled the corvette to the frigate, the French used Bayonnaise's bowsprit to bridge the gap between the ships and climb onto the taller Ambuscade.

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Wikipedia