Action of 6 December 1782

Action of 6 December 1782 Part of the Anglo-French War Date 6 December 1782 Location Off Martinique, Caribbean Result British victory Belligerents  Great Britain  France Commanders and leaders Captain John Collins Jean-Charles de Borda Strength 1 third rate ship of the line HMS Ruby 1 third rate ship of the line Solitaire 1 brig Speedy Casualties and losses 2 men wounded Solitaire & Speedy captured, 35 killed & 55 wounded, 500 captured

The Action of 6 December 1782 was an action primarily fought between HMS Ruby and the French ship Solitaire off the coast of Martinique. Ruby ended up defeating Solitaire.

By the end of 1783 the Spanish and French had been on the defensive since the Battle of the Saintes, which signaled British domination of the seas in the Caribbean.^[1] Soon after the Royal navy were conducting a blockade off Cap Francois and Fort Royal as well as keeping a watch off Havana.^[2]

Action

The Royal Navy squadron of Rear Admiral Richard Hughes on 6 December 1782 sighted a French squadron off Martinique. The 64-gun HMS Ruby, captained by John Collins, sailed towards the 1,521 ton French ship Solitaire of 64 guns, under the command of Jean-Charles de Borda.

Collins eventually caught up with Solitaire and a single-ship action developed. After nearly forty minutes Solitaire had her mizzenmast shot away, her rigging and sails in tatters, and was becoming dead in the water. At that point Borda decided to strike her colours.^[3] Solitaire had 35 men killed and 55 wounded whilst Ruby had only two men wounded.

Captain John Collins was knighted for his action. Solitaire entered the Royal Navy as HMS Solitaire and remained in service until 1790, when she was sold out of the navy. Jean-Charles de Borda, although captured along with his entire crew, was shortly released and returned as an engineer in the French Navy. He later achieved fame as a mathematician, physicist and political scientist.^[4]

In the action the British also captured the French brig Speedy, which defended herself vigorously at the cost of heavy casualties, including the death of her captain.

Citations and references

Citations

1. Mahan, Alfred Thayer (2013). The Major Operations of the Navies in the War of American Independence. BoD – Books on Demand. pp. 225–6. ISBN 9783954273393. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
2. Marley p. 175
3. Allen pp.316-17
4. "Thread: On This Day 6 December". http://sailsofglory.org/. Retrieved 2 March 2013. External link in |work= (help)

References

• Allen, Joseph (1852). Battles of the British Navy. London: Henry Bohn. pp. 349–350.
• Marley, David (2005). Historic Cities of the Americas: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, Volume 1. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576070277.