Action of 28 June 1803 | |||||||
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Part of the Blockade of Saint-Domingue | |||||||
![]() Detail from the Fight of the Poursuivante against the British ship Hercules, 28 June 1803: Poursuivante delivers her decisive raking broadside. Louis-Philippe Crépin, 1819, Musée national de la Marine | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Captain Jean-Baptiste Willaumez Commander Jean-Pierre Bargeau |
Captain Henry William Bayntun Captain Charles Brisbane Acting captain John B. Hills[1] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
1 frigate | 3 74-gun ships of the line | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 corvette captured 10 men killed & 15 wounded |
A few killed and wounded 1 ship damaged |
The action of 28 June 1803 marked the opening shots[2] of the Blockade of Saint-Domingue after the collapse of the Treaty of Amiens and the outbreak of the War of the Third Coalition in May 1803.
A French heavy frigate and a corvette, both partially armed en flûte and unaware of the recently begun war,[3] met three British 74-gun ships of the line. The corvette was overhauled and captured, but the frigate, sailing close to shore, managed to out-manoeuver her opponent and deliver a devastating raking broadside that put her out of action.
The feat of a frigate managing to escape a ship of the line yielded high praise for Willaumez, who had commanded the frigate. A large painting by Louis-Philippe Crépin was commissioned in 1819 to commemorate the event.