Battle of Cuddalore (1783)

For other battles with this name, see Battle of Cuddalore.

Battle of Cuddalore
Part of the American Revolutionary War
The Battle of Cuddalore, Auguste Jugelet
Date 20 June 1783 Location Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean 11.75°N 79.75°E / 11.75; 79.75 Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
Pierre Suffren	Edward Hughes
Strength
15 ships of the line	18 ships of the line
Casualties and losses
478 killed and wounded	533 killed and wounded

Template:Campaignbox Anglo-French War (1778–83)

The Battle of Cuddalore was a naval battle between a British fleet, under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes with Admiral L.J. Weiland, and a smaller French fleet, under the Bailli de Suffren, off the coast of India during the American Revolutionary War. This war sparked the Second Mysore War in India. In the battle, taking place near Cuddalore on 20 June 1783, Suffren commanded the engagement from the frigate Cléopâtre and won what is generally considered a victory. Peace had already been agreed upon in Europe, but that news had yet to reach India, making this the final battle of the war.

On the death of French ally Hyder Ali, the British decided to retake Cuddalore. They marched troops from Madras, and began preparing for a siege. The French fleet, under Suffren, appeared at Cuddalore on 13 June. A week of fickle winds prevented either side from engaging until 20 June, when Suffren attacked. No ships were seriously damaged, but each side lost about 100 men with around 400 wounded. The British fleet retreated to Madras after the action, preventing the landing of transports carrying additional troops en route to Cuddalore to reinforce the siege. A sortie from the town weakened the British forces, and word of peace officially arrived at Cuddalore on 29 June.

Background

Following the December 1782 death of French ally Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore and previous controller of Cuddalore, British commanders at Madras decided to attempt the recapture of Cuddalore. The army marched south from Madras, circling around the city then encamping south of it. The British fleet, eighteen ships of the line under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, anchored to the south of Cuddalore in order to protect the army and its supply ships. By early June 1783, the Siege of Cuddalore was under way.

French Admiral Suffren was ordered on 10 June to sail with his smaller fleet of fifteen ships from Trincomalee to support the besieged city. When he arrived, Hughes, who sought to avoid battle, moved away from the city and again anchored. After five days of adverse winds, Suffren was able to anchor near the city, where he made contact with the city's commander, Sayed Sahib of Mysore. Since it appeared that the success of the siege would be decided by naval action, 1,200 troops were embarked onto Suffren's ships to increase his gunnery complement. His fleet weighed anchor on 18 June, and the two fleets began maneuvering for advantage.

Battle

An engraving of Suffren.

Both fleets were at first frustrated by light and variable winds. When a consistent west wind developed on 20 June, Hughes lined-up for battle on a northward-trending port tack and awaited Suffren's action. Lining-up in a similar formation, Suffren gave to the order to attack, and battle was engaged shortly after four in the afternoon. The action lasted about three hours resulting in no major damage to ships in either fleet, despite all ships being engaged.

Aftermath

Suffren's fleet anchored about 25 nautical miles north of Cuddalore after the battle, while Hughes anchored near the city. On 22 June, Hughes sighted the French fleet while he was en route to Madras; a number of his ships had been disabled, and he reported that many men were suffering from scurvy and that he was short of water.

Suffren returned to Cuddalore on 23 June, forcing the British supply fleet to withdraw. In addition to returning the 1,200 troops he had borrowed from the city's garrison, he landed an additional 2,400 men to support the defense. A sortie from the city was repelled but weakened the besieging British, and on 29 June a British ship flying under a truce flag brought news of a preliminary peace agreement between the two nations, resulting in a mutually-agreed suspension of hostilities on 2 July.

Order of battle

French van squadron
Ship	Rate	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
Sphinx	64-gun	64		Captain du Chilleau
Brillant	64-gun	64		Lieutenant de Kersauson
Fendant	74-gun	74		Captain Thomassin de Peynier (Captain of the fleet) Captain Armand de Saint-Félix (Flag captain) Template:WIA
Flamand	54-gun	54		Lieutenant de Perier de Salvert  †
Ajax	64-gun	64		Captain Dupas de la Mancelière  †
Fine	frigate	32
Casualties:

French centre squadron
Ship	Rate	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
Petit Annibal	50-gun	50		Captain Jean André de Pas de Beaulieu
Argonaute	74-gun	74		Captain de Clavières
Héros	74-gun	74		Major de Moissac
Illustre	74-gun	74		Captain Bruyères de Chalabre
Saint Michel	60-gun	60		Captain de Beaumont-Lemaître
Cléopâtre	frigate	32		Captain Suffren
Casualties:

French rear squadron
Ship	Rate	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
Vengeur	64-gun	64		Captain de Cuverville
Sévère	64-gun	64		Lieutenant de Maurville de Langle
Annibal	74-gun	74		Captain d'Aymar
Hardi	64-gun	64		Captain Cramezel de Kerhué
Artésien	64-gun	64		Captain de Vignes d'Arrac
Consolante	frigate	40		Lieutenant de Costebelle
Coventry	frigate	28
Casualties:

British van squadron
Ship	Rate	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
HMS Defence	Third rate	74	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain Thomas Newnham	7	38	45
HMS Isis	Fourth rate	50	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain Christopher Halliday	3	30	33
HMS Gibraltar	Third rate	80	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Commodore Bikerton Captain Thomas Hickes (flag captain)	6	40	46
HMS Inflexible	Fourth rate	64	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain John Whitmore Chetwynd	3	30	33
HMS Exeter	Fourth rate	64	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain John Samuel Smith	4	9	13
HMS Active	Frigate	32	Ensign of the British Royal Navy
Casualties:

British centre squadron
Ship	Rate	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
HMS Worcester	Fourth rate	64	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain Charles Hughes	8	32	40
HMS Africa	Fourth rate	64	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain Robert McDougall	5	25	30
HMS Sultan	Third rate	74	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain Andrew Mitchell	4	20	24
HMS Superb	Third rate	74	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Admiral Edward Hughes Captain Newcome (flag captain)	12	41	53
HMS Monarca	Third rate	74	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain John Gell	6	14	20
HMS Burford	Fourth rate	64	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain Peter Rainier	10	20	30
HMS Sceptre	Fourth rate	64	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain Samuel Graves	17	47	64
HMS Medea	Frigate	28	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain Erasmus Gower
Casualties:

British rear squadron
Ship	Rate	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
HMS Magnanime	Fourth rate	64	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain Thomas Mackenzie	1	16	17
HMS Eagle	Fourth rate	64	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain William Clark	4	8	12
HMS Hero	Third rate	74	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Commodore Richard King Captain Theophilius Jones, flag captain	5	21	26
HMS Bristol	Fourth rate	50	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain James Burney	0	10	10
HMS Monmouth	Fourth rate	64	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Captain James Alms	2	19	21
HMS Cumberland	Third rate	74	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	William Allen	2	11	13
Casualties:

British light ship attached
Ship	Rate	Guns	Navy	Commander	Casualties			Notes
					Killed	Wounded	Total
San Carlos	armed storeship	22	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	George Murray, William White
Harriott	armed storeship	22	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Thomas Stephenson
Chaser	sloop	18	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Edward Buller
HMS Juno	Fifth rate	32	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	James Montagu
HMS Medea	Fifth rate	28	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Erasmus Gower
HMS Seahorse	Fifth rate	24	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	John Drew
Pondicherry	troop ship	18	Ensign of the British Royal Navy	Thomas Saunders Grove
Casualties:

Notes, citations, and references

Notes

Citations

References

• Cunat, Charles (1852). Histoire du Bailli de Suffren. Rennes: A. Marteville et Lefas. p. 447.
• Lacour-Gayet, G. (1910). La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XV. Paris: Honoré Champion.
• Levot, Prosper (1866). Les gloires maritimes de la France: notices biographiques sur les plus célèbres marins (in français). Bertrand.
• Palmer, Michael (2005). Command at Sea: Naval Command and Control Since the Sixteenth Century. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01681-5.
• Mahan, Alfred Thayer (1913). The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence. Plain Label Books. ISBN 978-1-60303-259-9. OCLC 27789758.
• Roche, Jean-Michel (2005). Dictionnaire des bâtiments de la flotte de guerre française de Colbert à nos jours. Vol. 1. Group Retozel-Maury Millau. ISBN 978-2-9525917-0-6. OCLC 165892922. (1671-1870)
• Wilks, Mark. History of Mysore. Vol. 2.
• Wilson, W. J. History of the Madras Army. Vol. 2.
• Paine, Lincoln P. (2000). Warships of the world to 1900. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 978-0-395-98414-7.