Roquebert's expedition to the Caribbean was an unsuccessful operation by a French naval squadron to transport supplies to Guadeloupe in December 1809 at the height of the Napoleonic Wars. Over the previous year, British Royal Navy squadrons had isolated and defeated the French Caribbean colonies one by one, until by the autumn Guadeloupe was the only colony remaining in French hands. Cut off from the rest of the world by British blockade squadrons that intercepted all ships coming to or from the island, Guadeloupe was in a desperate situation, facing economic collapse, food shortages and social upheaval, as well as the impending threat of British invasion. In an effort to reinforce and resupply the colony, the French government sent four vessels to the West Indies in November 1809 under Commodore Dominique Roquebert. Two of the ships were 20-gun flûtes carrying supplies and troops. The two others were 40-gun frigates, ordered to protect the storeships on their journey from the British forces operating off both the French and Guadeloupe coasts.
The squadron almost reached the Caribbean without encountering any of patrolling British warships sent to watch for French reinforcements, but was spotted and intercepted by the frigate on 13 December. Junons captain did not realise the size of the French squadron until it was too late and, despite fierce resistance, his ship was captured and he was mortally wounded. Destroying the badly damaged Junon and continuing with the mission, Roquebert successfully delivered the flûtes Loire and Seine to within sight of Guadeloupe and then left them, his frigates making their way back to France without ensuring the safe arrival of their convoy. On 15 December, the small British brig HMS Observateur, which had witnessed the defeat of Junon, brought news of the French arrival to the blockade squadron anchored off Basse-Terre. Summoning ships from the surrounding region, the British commander, Captain Volant Vashon Ballard amassed a significant squadron and forced the French flûtes to anchor in a protected bay at Anse à la Barque, on the southeastern coast of Guadeloupe.
Ineffectual efforts were made to capture the flûtes, but it was not until the arrival of the 74-gun under Captain Samuel James Ballard that an attack was made in earnest. As small ships engaged the batteries on shore, two frigates entered the bay and attacked the flûtes, causing both to surrender in an hour-long engagement. Both French ships were badly damaged and a fire started during the engagement was able to rapidly spread through them, destroying both ships in succession. Many of the French crew escaped ashore from the wrecks, while others were picked up by British ships. The blockade of Guadeloupe was successfully maintained, and the island was captured in a coordinated invasion a month later. Roquebert's remaining ships were intercepted on 16 January by a patrolling British frigate, but successfully escaped pursuit and eventually returned undamaged to France.
Background During the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy rapidly and decisively seized control of the war at sea, driving French ships into protected harbours and laying heavy blockades on ports held by the French Empire and her allies to strangle communications and overseas trade.Gardiner, p. 17 This had a devastating effect on the French West Indian colonies, particularly the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe. With trade impossible, their economies stagnated while social upheaval and limited food supplies reduced their ability to resist invasion by the large British forces maintained in the region. In the summer of 1808, desperate messages were sent to France from the islands, prompting a succession of French efforts to supply food, reinforcements and trading opportunities during the latter part of 1808 and the first months of 1809.James, p. 206 These efforts were entirely unsuccessful: the few ships that did safely reach the Caribbean Sea and successfully landed supplies were all intercepted and captured on the return journey, costing the French four frigates and numerous smaller ships by the end of February 1809.Gardiner, p. 75
The British blockade squadrons had intercepted a number of the messages sent from the islands during 1808, and a large expeditionary force was built up on Barbados with orders to invade and capture the French colonies as swiftly as possible. Their first target was Martinique, which was invaded and captured during February 1809.Clowes, p. 283 Outlying islands were captured over the next few months and a major French reinforcement squadron was trapped and then defeated near the Îles des Saintes in April: the French lost a ship of the line, and two more frigates were captured in June and July as they tried to return to France.James, p. 167 With such heavy losses, the French took time preparing their next effort while the British were distracted by the Reconquista in Santo Domingo, a Spanish campaign to drive the French out of the island of Hispaniola that was eventually concluded in July 1809 with British naval assistance.Woodman, p. 243 By the autumn of 1809, the British commander, Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, was again developing an expeditionary force, this time aimed at Guadeloupe. He had strengthened the blockade squadron off the island's principal port Basse-Terre, and placed heavier forces at Martinique in case they were required. Individual ships were dispersed in the approaches to the French island, ready to intercept any approaching reinforcement. Other ships operated against ships already anchored off Guadeloupe: one squadron seized the corvette Nisus from Deshaies on 12 December.Clowes, p. 446
In the months since Troude's failure, the French had only sent small supply ships to Guadeloupe, while carefully preparing a major expedition at Nantes. Two French flûtes, Loire, under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Joseph Normand-Kergré, and Seine, under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Bernard Vincent, took on board large quantities of food supplies and over 200 military reinforcements each. To protect these ships two frigates were detailed to escort the convoy to Guadeloupe: Renommée, under Commodore Dominique Roquebert, and Clorinde, under Captain Jacques Saint-Cricq.James, p. 186 The force departed on 15 November 1809 and made rapid progress across the Atlantic, avoiding all contact with British warships. Of the small ships despatched around the same time, none reached Guadeloupe; all were captured in the Western Atlantic or Caribbean by warships sent by Cochrane to patrol for approaching French reinforcements.
Destruction of HMS Junon
Among the ships despatched by Cochrane was the 40-gun frigate under Captain John Shortland. Junon had been captured from the French less than a year earlier at the action of 10 February 1809, following an unsuccessful attempt to return to France from Guadeloupe.Brenton, p. 376 Hastily repaired, she had been commissioned into the Royal Navy and added to Cochrane's fleet, from where Cochrane had ordered her to patrol to the east of Antigua for ships attempting to evade the British blockade. On 13 December, Shortland, in company with the 16-gun brig HMS Observateur under Captain Frederick Wetherall, stopped an American merchant ship and boarded her in search of contraband. As he was engaged in the search, four sails appeared to the north. Shortland immediately gave chase, and by 16:00 realised his quarry was a squadron of four frigates. Firing warning shots in an effort to force the frigates to identify themselves, the strange ships raised Spanish colours. Initially unconvinced, Shortland raised the recognition signal for Spanish vessels and received the correct reply from the lead frigate. Closing with the ships during the afternoon, Junon was only a short distance from the lead ship at 17:30 when French colours replaced the Spanish and Roquebert ordered his ships to open fire.
Roquebert had learned the correct signals for Spanish shipping from captured Spanish merchant ships and, having lured Junon within range, opened a destructive fire from Renommée that caused severe damage to Junons rigging.James, p. 187 Unable to manoeuvre away from the French due to the damage suffered in the opening broadside, Shortland returned fire as best he could while closing with Renommée to inflict maximum damage. As Junon closed with the flagship, Clorinde attacked her from the other side and the flûtes took up stations fore and aft, repeatedly raking the British ship. Observateur had been some distance behind Junon when the action began, and was thus not directly engaged by any of the French ships. Wetherall initially fired at Clorinde from extreme range, but soon recognised that he could do nothing to aid Junon in the face of overwhelming French numbers and so sailed westward to find and warn other British ships of the approaching French squadron.Clowes, p. 447. As Observateur escaped, Junon was pounded from all sides, Roquebert's ship coming so close to the British frigate that their rigging tangled and they collided, inflicting further damage. The French squadron was so close to Junon that the soldiers carried aboard for the garrison on Guadeloupe were able to fire their muskets at the British top deck, killing many of the sailors manning the guns.
Within ten minutes of the first shot, Junons top deck was almost completely cleared and Shortland had been taken below, his leg broken by grapeshot and his body pierced by several large wooden splinters. Lieutenant Samuel Bartlett Deecker assumed command, and successfully beat off a boarding attack from Clorinde. Pulling Junon clear off the two full-strength French frigates, Deecker tried to escape but found his ship unresponsive. Within minutes, Roquebert and Saint-Cricq had regained their positions on either side of the British frigate and boarded simultaneously, forcing Deecker to surrender at 18:15. The British had suffered heavy losses, with 20 killed and 40 wounded, including Shortland. The prisoners were dispersed among the French squadron and rather than spare the men required to repair and crew the battered Junon, Roquebert had the frigate set on fire and abandoned. French losses were also severe, Renommée losing 15 killed and three wounded and Clorinde six killed and 15 wounded. Loire, Seine, and HMS Observateur suffered no losses at all.James, p. 188
Operations off Guadeloupe Although Junon had been destroyed, Observateur had escaped from the French squadron and immediately sought out the blockade force off Guadeloupe, the only place that the French squadron could be destined for. Arriving at Basse-Terre at 13:00 on 15 December, Captain Wetherall telegraphed the senior officer on the station, Captain Volant Vashon Ballard in the frigate HMS Blonde, of the impending arrival of Roquebert's squadron.James, p. 189 Ballard swiftly gathered his squadron, the frigate HMS Thetis under Captain George Miller and the sloops and , and positioned them in the channel between Guadeloupe and the Îles des Saintes, through which Roquebert's ships would have to pass. Urgent messages were sent to all nearby ships and bases, and the following day the sloops and joined the squadron. Ballard placed Hazard and Ringdove to watch Basse-Terre while the rest of squadron patrolled to the south of the island.