Battle of Diamond Rock

The Franco-Spanish combined fleet under Captain Cosmao attacking Diamond Rock, by Auguste Mayer

Date	31 May – 2 June 1805
Location	Diamond Rock, off Martinique, West Indies
Result	Franco-Spanish victory

Belligerents

British Empire

French Empire

Spanish Empire

Commanders and leaders

James Wilkes Maurice

Julien Cosmao

Strength

107 men
3 × 24-pdrs
2 × 18-pdrs

Two ships of the line
One frigate
One corvette
One schooner
11 gunboats
c. 400 soldiers

Casualties and losses

2 killed
1 wounded
105 prisoners

c. 50 killed and wounded
5 gunboats sunk

Coordinates: 14°26′35″N 61°2′20″W / 14.44306°N 61.03889°W / 14.44306; -61.03889

French Empire

The Battle of Diamond Rock took place between 31 May and 2 June 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars. It was an attempt by Franco-Spanish force despatched under Captain Julien Cosmao to retake Diamond Rock, at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, from the British forces that had occupied it over a year before.

The French in Martinique had been unable to oust the defenders from the strategically important rock, and the British garrison was able to control access to Fort-de-France Bay, firing on ships attempting to enter it with guns they had placed on the cliffs. The arrival of a large combined Franco-Spanish fleet in May changed the strategic situation. The French commander, Pierre de Villeneuve, had vague orders to attack British possessions in the Caribbean, but instead waited at Martinique for clearer instructions. He was finally persuaded to authorise an assault on the British position, and a Franco-Spanish flotilla was despatched to storm the rock. Already short of water, the defenders held on in the summit for several days, while the French, who had neglected to bring scaling ladders, could make little headway.

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Wikipedia