This mid-Atlantic engagement ended Contre-Admiral Linois's three-year Indian Ocean raiding campaign and secured a second British victory in the Atlantic campaign of 1806.
Key Facts
- Date
- 13 March 1806
- British commander
- Rear-Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren
- French commander
- Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois
- British ships of the line
- 7 ships
- French casualties (approx.)
- Nearly 70 men
- Engagement duration
- Over 3 hours
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
Contre-Admiral Linois had spent nearly three years raiding British trade in the Indian Ocean with diminishing success. With stores exhausted and French replenishment ports gone, he set sail for France in January 1806, inadvertently crossing the cruising ground of Warren's squadron, which was itself hunting Willaumez's separate French raiding force.
At 03:00 on 13 March 1806, Linois spotted scattered sails and approached in Marengo hoping to find a merchant convoy. Instead he encountered Warren's seven-ship squadron. HMS London engaged Marengo while HMS Amazon ran down the French frigate Belle Poule. Both actions lasted over three hours before the French ships surrendered.
The capture of Marengo and Belle Poule ended Linois's campaign. Linois was taken prisoner and Napoleon refused to exchange or re-employ him, criticising his conduct. The action was the second British success of the 1806 Atlantic campaign, following the Battle of San Domingo, further frustrating French Atlantic raiding strategy.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Rear-Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren.
Side B
1 belligerent
Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois.