Action of 20 October 1778

Action of the French ship 'Triton against the Jupiter and the Medea

Date	20 October 1778
Location	off Cape Fisterra, Galicia
Result	Indecisive

Belligerents

France

Great Britain

Commanders and leaders

Comte de Ligondès

Francis Reynolds

James Montagu

Strength

ship-of-the-line Triton

ship-of-the-line Jupiter
Frigate Medea

Casualties and losses

13 killed
20 wounded

4 killed
10 wounded

The Action of 20 October 1778 was a inconclusive engagement between French ship-of-the-line Triton and British ship-of-the-line Jupiter with a frigate Medea that took place off Cape Finisterre in the Bay of Biscay. Darkness separated the combatants before any decisive result was obtained.

The outbreak of the War of the American Independence had caused relations between France and Great Britain to deteriorate. After signing a formal treaty with the United States in February 1778, France broke diplomatic ties and declared war on Britain on 16 March 1778.

On October 20th, the French ship-of-the-line Triton under Captain Comte de Ligondès, cruising on the Bay of Biscay, fell in with the British ship-of-the-line Jupiter, under Captain Francis Reynolds, and the frigate Medea, under Captain James Montagu. At about 5 PM both sides were at close quarters; Jupiter ranged up on one side of the Triton, Medea on the other, about nightfall, and they cannonaded the Triton hotly. The French captain succeeded in turning the same broadside to both his assailants, putting Medea out of action with a thirty-six pound shot below the water line after the first half-hour of fight, but he was wounded in both arms soon afterward and had to hand over the command to Lieutenant de Roquart. Medea retreated from the action; Triton and Jupiter continued to exchange fire for more two hours, until a squall of wind and rain, and the impenetrable darkness of the night separated the combatants.

...
Wikipedia