Key Facts
- Date
- 24 March 1811
- French ships involved
- Frigates Elisa and Amazone
- Key British vessel
- HMS Berwick (ship of the line)
- Outcome for Amazone
- Scuttled by French crew to prevent capture
- Location
- ~1 nautical mile west of Phare de Gatteville
Strategic Narrative Overview
On the night of 23–24 March 1811, Amazone slipped out of Le Havre again, sailing west toward Cherbourg. At dawn on 24 March, HMS Berwick sighted her rounding Cape Barfleur and gave chase, pursuing the frigate into a bay just west of the Phare de Gatteville lighthouse. Berwick, joined by smaller vessels, attacked Amazone but was prevented by rocks and shoals from closing in. Plans were prepared to assault the grounded frigate using ship's boats the following day.
01 / The Origins
By 1811, the Royal Navy's blockade of French Channel ports had grown so effective that French warships could not move safely even within their own territorial waters. French frigates Elisa and Amazone had attempted to sail from Le Havre to Cherbourg in late 1810 to join a larger squadron, but a British frigate force intercepted them and compelled both ships to take refuge at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, where Elisa was destroyed and Amazone barely escaped back to Le Havre.
03 / The Outcome
Before the planned boat attack could be executed, French Captain Bernard-Louis Rosseau ordered Amazone set alight to deny her to the British. The ship was destroyed by fire, ending the engagement. The episode confirmed the near-total stranglehold the Royal Navy maintained over French coastal movement and underscored France's inability to reinforce or concentrate its Channel squadrons under British surveillance.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Bernard-Louis Rosseau.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.