Blockade of Saint-Domingue

Blockade of Saint-Domingue
Part of the Haitian Revolution & the Napoleonic Wars
Detail from the Fight of the Poursuivante against the British ship Hercules, 28 June 1803. Louis-Philippe Crépin, 1819, Musée national de la Marine
Date 18 June – 6 December 1803 Location Haiti Result Decisive Anglo-Haitian victory Capitulation of French forces Independence of Haiti
Belligerents
United Kingdom Saint-Domingue ex-slaves	French Consulate
Commanders and leaders
John Duckworth John Loring Jean-Jacques Dessalines	Vicomte de Rochambeau  Louis de Noailles † Latouche Tréville
Strength
2 Squadrons: 7 ships of the line, 7 frigates & brigs	2 ships of the line, 6 frigates, 35 ships & transports, 7,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
unknown but low	1 ship of the line, 4 frigates, 31 other ships captured, 6,000 captured, unknown sick 6 American & 2 Danish ships captured

Decisive Anglo-Haitian victory

2 Squadrons:

1 ship of the line,
4 frigates,
31 other ships captured,
6,000 captured,
unknown sick

The Blockade of Saint-Domingue was a naval campaign fought during the first months of the Napoleonic Wars, in which a series of British Royal Navy squadrons blockaded the French-held ports of Cap Français and Môle-Saint-Nicolas on the Northern coast of the French colony of Saint-Domingue, shortly to become Haiti following the conclusion of the Haitian Revolution on 1 January 1804. In the summer of 1803, when war broke out between the United Kingdom and the French Consulate, Saint-Domingue had been almost completely overrun by Haitian forces under the command of Jean-Jacques Dessalines. In the north of the country, the French forces were isolated in the two large ports of Cap Français and Môle-Saint-Nicolas and a few smaller settlements, all supplied by a French naval force based primarily at Cap Français.

At the outbreak of war on 18 May 1803, the Royal Navy immediately despatched a squadron under Sir John Duckworth from Jamaica to cruise in the region, seeking to eliminate communication between the French outposts and to capture or destroy the French warships based in the colony. On 28 June, the squadron encountered a French convoy from Les Cayes off Môle-Saint-Nicolas, capturing one ship although the other escaped. Two days later an independently sailing French frigate was chased down and captured in the same waters. On 24 July another British squadron intercepted the main French squadron from Cap Français, which was attempting to break past the blockade and reach France. The British, led by Commodore John Loring gave chase, but one French ship of the line and a frigate escaped. Another ship of the line was trapped against the coast and captured after coming under fire from Haitian shore batteries. The remainder of the squadron was forced to fight two more actions on their return to Europe, but did eventually reach the Spanish port of Corunna.

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Wikipedia