The two fleets had faced each other…

April 1782 CE

The two fleets had faced each other parallel in the following days but both sides had kept their distance as they repaired their ships.

The French are sighted a short distance away on April 12, as the two fleets maneuver between the northern end of Dominica and the Saintes.

A French straggler, Zélé (seventy-four guns), is spotted and was chased by four British ships as De Grasse makes for Guadeloupe.

At the same time Rodney recalls his chasing ships and makes the signal for line of battle.

Rear-Admiral Hood's van division are still making repairs from the action three days earlier, so he directs his rear division, under Rear Admiral Francis S. Drake, to take the lead.

At 7:40, HMS Marlborough, under Captain Taylor Penny, leads the British line and opens the battle when he approaches the center of the French line.

Having remained parallel with the French, the ships of Drake's division now pass the remaining length of de Grasse's line and the two sides exchange broadsides, a typical naval engagement of this time.

As the battle progresses, the strong winds of the previous day and night begin to temper and become more variable.

As the French line passes down the British line, the sudden shift of wind lets Rodney's flagship HMS Formidable and several other ships, including HMS Duke and HMS Bedford, sail towards the French line.

At 8 am, Formidable opens fire and engages the French center and as she slows, duels with de Grasse's flagship, Ville de Paris of one hundred and four guns.

The rest of the ships soon follow, raking the French as they do so, causing huge casualties among the soldiers and sailors.

Within an hour, the wind has shifted to the south and thus forced the French line to separate and bear to the west, as it cannot hold its course into the wind.

This allows the British to use their guns on both sides of their ships without any fear of return fire from the front and rear of the French ships they are passing between.

The effect is greater with the use of carronades, with which the British had just equipped nearly half their fleet; this relatively new short-range weapon is quicker to reload and more can be carried.

Glorieux is the first victim; virtually a sitting duck, she is quickly pounded and dismasted by intense fire.

Four French ships in the confusion begin milling around; Formidable turns to starboard and brings her port guns to bear on them.

As a result, Formidable sails through the French line, blasting her way through; this piercing is followed by five other British ships.

At the same time, Commodore Edmund Affleck, to the south, also immediately capitalizes on the opportunity and leads the rearmost of the British ships through the French line, inflicting significant damage.

The French try to restore order; around 1:30 pm, de Grasse signals line on the port tack, but this is not fulfilled; he is soon battling Hood's ninety-gun HMS Barfleur.

With their formation shattered and many of their ships severely damaged, the French fall away to the southwest in small groups.

Rodney attempts to redeploy and make repairs before pursuing the French.

By 2 pm, the wind has freshened and a general chase ensues.

Images

“Lord Rodney’s flagship ‘Formidable’ breaking through the French line at the battle of the Saintes, 12th April 1782,” painted between 1784 and 1787 by Lieutenant William Elliott of the Royal Navy.