https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Action_of_11_April_1783Action of 11 April 1783 - Revision history2026-10-26T12:43:42ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Action_of_11_April_1783&diff=484506&oldid=prevJudithBehan6: new2025-09-12T14:47:05Z<p>new</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Naval battle between British and French ships}}<br />
{{Infobox military conflict<br />
| conflict = Action of 11 April 1783<br />
| coordinates =<br />
| image =<br />
| image_size =<br />
| caption =<br />
| date = 11 April 1783<br />
| place = [[Bay of Bengal]], [[Indian Ocean]]<br />
| result = British victory<br />
| combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}<br />
| combatant1 = {{flagcountry|Kingdom of France}}<br />
| commander2 = {{flagdeco|Kingdom of Great Britain|blue}} [[Samuel Graves]]<br />
| commander1 = {{flagdeco|Kingdom of France|naval}} [[Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse|Villaret de Joyeuse]] {{surrendered}}<br />
| strength2 = 64 gun ship of the line<br />
| strength1 = 30 gun Corvette<br />
| casualties2 = 24 wounded<br />
| casualties1 = 1 Corvette captured<br>34 wounded<br>160 sailors and Marines captured.<br />
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Anglo-French War (1778–83)}}<br />
}}<br />
The '''action of 11 April 1783''' was a naval engagement which took place during the [[American Revolutionary War]] in the East Indies campaign. The [[French corvette Naïade (1780)|French corvette ''Naïade'']] was spotted by the 64-gun [[HMS Sceptre (1781)|HMS ''Sceptre'']]. In a five hour long fight ''Sceptre'' captured ''Naïade'' off [[Trincomalee]] on the night of 14 April 1783.<ref name=london12509 >{{London Gazette|issue=12509|page=1|date=10 January 1784}}</ref><br />
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==Background==<br />
On 11 April, ''Captaine de Brûlot'' [[Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse|Villaret de Joyeuse]] was given command of ''Naïade''. Admiral [[Pierre André de Suffren]] sent her to [[Madras]] to warn the French blockading squadron, composed of the [[74-gun]] [[French ship Fendant (1776)|''Fendant'']], the 64-gun [[French ship Saint Michel (1741)|''Saint-Michel'']] and the frigates [[French frigate Cléopâtre (1781)|''Cléopâtre'']] and [[HMS Coventry (1757)|''Coventry'']], of the imminent arrival of a superior British force.<ref>{{cite book|title=Biographie maritime ou notices historiques sur la vie et les campagnes des marins célèbres français et étrangers|last=Hennequin|first=Joseph François Gabriel|author-link=Joseph François Gabriel Hennequin|year=1835|publisher=Regnault éditeur|location=Paris|page=214 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YbdCAAAAYAAJ|language=French|volume=2}}</ref><br />
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==Action==<br />
Three days after her departure, on 11 April 1783, ''Naïade'' spotted the 64-gun HMS ''Sceptre'', under Captain [[Samuel Graves]]. In the light of a full moon and with the wind too light to escape and trying without success to elude his much stronger opponent, Villaret was forced into battle.<ref name=london12509 /> At 22:00 the cannonade began and after two hours of resistance as ''Sceptre'' closed in on ''Naïade'', Graves invited Villaret to surrender but the latter flatly refused.{{sfn|Cavaliero|1994|p=215}}<br />
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The fight resumed, but soon ''Naïade'' began suffering heavy damage. After two hours of resistance the French corvette had lost two topmasts, her wheel shot away, seven guns dismounted and her rigging was disabled. Villaret seeing that further resistance was futile [[Striking the colors|struck his colours]]. The ''Sceptre'' had only the mizenmast damaged; casualties were light on both sides, 24 on the Sceptre and 34 on the ''Naïade''. Having admired the fight and the resistance, Graves reportedly returned Villaret de Joyeuses' sword to him.{{sfn|Cavaliero|1994|p=215}}<br />
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==Aftermath==<br />
The ''Naïade'' was found to be armed with eighteen to twenty 8-pounder guns and ten [[swivel gun]]s, and had a crew of 160 men, the latter of which became prisoners of war including Villaret. Despite the loss of ''Naïade'', the British squadron was unable to locate the French ships,<ref name=london12509 /> ''Sceptre'' would next take part in the [[Battle of Cuddalore (1783)|Battle of Cuddalore]] against Suffren's fleet two months later. The British armed ''Naïade'' with twenty-two 12-pounder guns, and two 18-pounder and six 12-pounder [[carronade]], but never commissioned her.{{sfn|Demerliac|1996|p=73}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
==Bibliography==<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Cavaliero |first1=Roderick |title=Admiral Satan Life and Campaigns of Suffren |date=1994 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=9781850436867}}<br />
* {{cite book |last1=Demerliac |first1=Alain |title=La Marine de Louis XVI Nomenclature des navires français, de 1774 à 1792 |date=1996 |publisher=FeniXX réédition numérique |isbn=9782307464198 |language=fr}}<br />
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[[Category:1783 in India]]<br />
[[Category:Conflicts in 1783]]<br />
[[Category:Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving France]]<br />
[[Category:Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain]]<br />
[[Category:Naval battles of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783)]]<br />
[[Category:Naval battles of the East Indies Campaign]]</div>JudithBehan6