A minor engagement in the Bay of Biscay in which HMS Thames was captured by a French squadron after resisting a larger frigate for nearly four hours.
Key Facts
- Duration of initial combat
- Nearly four hours
- French squadron size
- Three frigates and a brig
- Squadron commander
- Captain Zacharie Allemand
- HMS Thames recommissioned as
- Tamise in the French Navy
- Uranie renamed
- Tartu, in honour of her deceased captain
- British recaptured Tamise
- 8 June 1796, off the Scilly Isles
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the War of the First Coalition, HMS Thames was cruising in the Northern Bay of Biscay when she encountered the larger French frigate Uranie. The two ships engaged in prolonged combat, severely damaging both vessels. While Thames attempted repairs after Uranie's crew withdrew, a French squadron of three frigates and a brig under Captain Zacharie Allemand arrived on the scene.
Outnumbered and unable to manoeuvre, Captain James Cotes surrendered HMS Thames to Allemand on 24 October 1793. Allemand commended Cotes for his resistance against the far larger Uranie, whose captain, Jean-François Tartu, had been killed during the earlier engagement. The French brought Thames into Brest, where sailors from the squadron looted the frigate.
HMS Thames was commissioned into the French Navy as Tamise, while Uranie was renamed Tartu in honour of her fallen captain. Both vessels served with the French Atlantic Fleet until the British recaptured Tamise on 8 June 1796 off the Scilly Isles, and seized Tartu on 30 December 1796 during the Expédition d'Irlande. The British officers from Thames were held prisoner for approximately two years.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Captain James Cotes.
Side B
1 belligerent
Captain Jean-François Tartu (killed), Captain Zacharie Allemand.