A prolonged frigate-versus-ship-of-the-line action off Brittany resulted in the wreck of the French 74-gun Droits de l'Homme with up to 1,000 dead.
Key Facts
- Duration of engagement
- More than 15 hours
- French ship guns
- 74 guns
- Persons aboard Droits de l'Homme
- 1,300 persons
- French deaths
- 400–1,000 persons
- British frigates involved
- HMS Indefatigable (44-gun) and HMS Amazon (36-gun)
- British sailors drowned
- 6 sailors
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The French 74-gun ship Droits de l'Homme was returning from the failed Expédition d'Irlande, an attempt to invade Ireland that collapsed due to poor coordination and severe weather. Two British frigates, HMS Indefatigable and HMS Amazon, were patrolling off Ushant to intercept the dispersed French fleet and sighted the warship on 13 January 1797.
The engagement lasted over 15 hours in a fierce gale near the rocky Breton coast. Heavy seas prevented the French crew from opening the lower gun ports, limiting the ship to upper-deck guns and negating its usual advantage over frigates. The more manoeuvrable British vessels inflicted severe damage until the French crew lost control and the Droits de l'Homme was swept onto a sandbar.
The stranding and destruction of the Droits de l'Homme killed between 400 and 1,000 of the 1,300 persons on board. HMS Amazon was also lost after running onto a sandbank, with six sailors drowned. The action illustrated how weather conditions and coastal hazards could neutralise the firepower advantage of a ship of the line.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent