A naval skirmish between British and French warships during the Third Anglo-Mysore War that avoided major diplomatic fallout due to the French Revolution's disruptions.
Key Facts
- Date
- 18 November 1791
- Duration of action
- Approximately 20 minutes
- French frigate captured
- Résolue
- British commander
- Captain Sir Richard Strachan
- British commodore
- Commodore William Cornwallis
- Context
- Third Anglo-Mysore War; Britain and France not formally at war
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
French support for the Kingdom of Mysore against the British East India Company prompted Royal Navy patrols to stop and search French vessels heading to the Mysorean port of Mangalore. When a French convoy from Mahé passed Tellicherry in November 1791, Commodore William Cornwallis ordered a small squadron to intercept it, triggering the confrontation.
Captain Sir Richard Strachan's British squadron approached the French convoy, whereupon the escorting frigate Résolue opened fire. A general naval engagement followed, lasting roughly twenty minutes, after which Strachan forced the Résolue to surrender. Both sides sustained damage and casualties before all French vessels were searched and released.
The searched French ships were returned to Mahé, and local French authorities protested the action as a violation of their neutral status. Commodore Saint-Félix dispatched reports to France, but the upheavals of the ongoing French Revolution meant the despatches received little response, preventing what might otherwise have escalated into a serious diplomatic incident.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Commodore William Cornwallis, Captain Sir Richard Strachan.
Side B
1 belligerent
Commodore Saint-Félix.