A French naval squadron captured nearly an entire British Levant convoy off Cape St. Vincent, disrupting British Mediterranean trade during the War of the First Coalition.
Key Facts
- Date
- 7 October 1795
- French commander
- Commodore Joseph de Richery
- British commander
- Commodore Thomas Taylor
- British ships of the line
- 3 (one in poor repair)
- Notable British loss
- HMS Censeur and almost entire convoy
- French retirement port
- Cádiz, Spain (neutral port)
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A French squadron under Commodore Richery was dispatched from Toulon to raid the Newfoundland fisheries. While en route, it encountered the annual British Levant convoy—merchant ships from the Eastern Mediterranean escorted by a weakly prepared Royal Navy force of three ships of the line and several frigates under Commodore Thomas Taylor, who had split his convoy into two divisions.
On 7 October 1795, Richery's superior French force surprised Taylor's convoy division off Cape St. Vincent. Taylor attempted to form a line of battle to delay the French, but HMS Censeur lost a topmast and was overwhelmed. With his line broken and French frigates seizing merchant vessels unopposed, Taylor withdrew, abandoning the convoy. Only one merchant ship escaped capture.
Richery escorted his prizes to Cádiz, where a British squadron under Rear-Admiral Robert Mann imposed a blockade. Nearly a year later, with Spanish assistance, Richery broke out and went on to inflict significant damage on British fishing fleets off Maritime Canada, extending the impact of the convoy loss beyond the initial engagement.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Commodore Joseph de Richery.
Side B
1 belligerent
Commodore Thomas Taylor, Rear-Admiral Robert Mann.