The capture of L'Insurgente was the first major American naval victory of the Quasi-War, boosting US morale and Truxtun's national reputation.
Key Facts
- Date
- 9 February 1799
- Duration of engagement
- 1 hour and 14 minutes
- Conflict
- Quasi-War (1798–1800)
- Outcome
- USS Constellation captured L'Insurgente
- Captured ship fate
- Commissioned into US Navy as USS Insurgent
- Patrol area
- Caribbean, between Puerto Rico and Saint Kitts
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
French privateering raids against American merchant vessels, ongoing for roughly a year before the battle, escalated tensions into the undeclared Quasi-War. Commodore Thomas Truxtun's squadron was dispatched to the Caribbean to patrol the waters between Puerto Rico and Saint Kitts with orders to engage French forces encountered there.
While sailing independently in his flagship USS Constellation, Truxtun encountered the French frigate L'Insurgente. After pursuing the French vessel through a storm, Constellation forced an engagement lasting one hour and fourteen minutes. Both sides exchanged heavy broadsides and musket fire before L'Insurgente surrendered, having suffered heavy casualties while American losses remained low.
L'Insurgente was taken to Saint Kitts and commissioned into the United States Navy as USS Insurgent. The victory significantly raised American morale, and Truxtun returned home to widespread praise from the government and the public, with subsequent American naval successes further strengthening the nation's confidence during the Quasi-War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Thomas Truxtun.
Side B
1 belligerent