The Battle of Cuddalore in 1783 was a naval battle between a British fleet, under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes with Admiral L.J. Weiland, and a smaller French fleet, under the Bailli de Suffren, off the coast of India that took place right before the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War. In the battle, taking place near Cuddalore on 20 June 1783, Suffren commanded the engagement from the frigate Cléopâtre and won what is generally considered a victory.Palmer p.161 Peace had already been agreed upon in Europe, but that news had yet to reach India, making this the final battle of the war.

On the death of French ally Hyder Ali, the British decided to retake Cuddalore. They marched troops from Madras, and began preparing for a siege. The French fleet, under Suffren, appeared at Cuddalore on 13 June. A week of fickle winds prevented either side from engaging until 20 June, when Suffren attacked. No ships were seriously damaged, but each side lost about 100 men with around 400 wounded. The British fleet retreated to Madras after the action, preventing the landing of transports carrying additional troops en route to Cuddalore to reinforce the siege. A sortie from the town weakened the British forces, and word of peace officially arrived at Cuddalore on 29 June.

Background Following the December 1782 death of French ally Hyder Ali, the ruler of Mysore and previous controller of Cuddalore, British commanders at Madras decided to attempt the recapture of Cuddalore. The army marched south from Madras, circling around the city then encamping south of it. The British fleet, eighteen ships of the line under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, anchored to the south of Cuddalore in order to protect the army and its supply ships. By early June 1783, the Siege of Cuddalore was under way.

French Admiral Suffren was ordered on 10 June to sail with his smaller fleet of fifteen ships from Trincomalee to support the besieged city. When he arrived, Hughes, who sought to avoid battle, moved away from the city and again anchored. After five days of adverse winds, Suffren was able to anchor near the city, where he made contact with the city's commander, Sayed Sahib of Mysore. Since it appeared that the success of the siege would be decided by naval action, 1,200 troops were embarked onto Suffren's ships to increase his gunnery complement. His fleet weighed anchor on 18 June, and the two fleets began maneuvering for advantage.

Battle

Both fleets were at first frustrated by light and variable winds. When a consistent west wind developed on 20 June, Hughes lined-up for battle on a northward-trending port tack and awaited Suffren's action. Lining-up in a similar formation, Suffren gave to the order to attack, and battle was engaged shortly after four in the afternoon. The action lasted about three hours resulting in no major damage to ships in either fleet, despite all ships being engaged.

Aftermath Suffren's fleet anchored about 25 nautical miles north of Cuddalore after the battle, while Hughes anchored near the city. On 22 June, Hughes sighted the French fleet while he was en route to Madras; a number of his ships had been disabled, and he reported that many men were suffering from scurvy and that he was short of water.

Suffren returned to Cuddalore on 23 June, forcing the British supply fleet to withdraw. In addition to returning the 1,200 troops he had borrowed from the city's garrison, he landed an additional 2,400 men to support the defense. A sortie from the city was repelled but weakened the besieging British, and on 29 June a British ship flying under a truce flag brought news of a preliminary peace agreement between the two nations, resulting in a mutually-agreed suspension of hostilities on 2 July.

Order of battle French van squadron Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Sphinx 64-gun 64 Captain du Chilleau Brillant 64-gun 64 Lieutenant de Kersauson Fendant 74-gun 74 Captain Thomassin de Peynier (Captain of the fleet)Captain Armand de Saint-Félix (Flag captain) Flamand 54-gun 54 Lieutenant Perier de Salvert Ajax 64-gun 64 Captain Dupas de la Mancelière Fine frigate 32 Casualties:

French centre squadron Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Petit Annibal 50-gun 50 Captain Jean André de Pas de Beaulieu Argonaute 74-gun 74 Captain de Clavières Héros 74-gun 74 Major de Moissac Illustre 74-gun 74 Captain Bruyères de Chalabre Saint Michel 60-gun 60 Captain de Beaumont-Lemaître Cléopâtre frigate 32 Captain SuffrenCasualties:

French rear squadron Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Vengeur 64-gun 64 Captain de Cuverville Sévère 64-gun 64 Lieutenant de Maurville de Langle Annibal 74-gun 74 Captain d'Aymar Hardi 64-gun 64 Captain Cramezel de Kerhué Artésien 64-gun 64 Captain de Vignes d'Arrac Consolante frigate 40 Lieutenant de Costebelle Coventry frigate 28 Casualties:

British van squadron Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Third rate 74 Captain Thomas Newnham73845 Fourth rate 50 Captain Christopher Halliday33033 Third rate 80 Commodore Sir Richard BickertonCaptain Thomas Hicks64046 Third rate 64 Captain John Whitmore Chetwynd33033 Third rate 64 Captain John Smith4913 Fifth rate 32 Casualties:

British centre squadron Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Third rate 64 Captain Charles Hughes83240 Third rate 64 Captain Robert McDougall52530 Third rate 74 Captain Andrew Mitchell42024 Third rate 74 Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes Captain Henry Newcome124153 Third rate 68 Captain John Gell61420 Third rate 64 Captain Peter Rainier102030 Third rate 64 Captain Samuel Graves174764 Sixth rate 28 Captain Erasmus GowerCasualties:

British rear squadron Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded Total Third rate 64 Captain Thomas Mackenzie11617 Third rate 64 Captain William Clark4812 Third rate 74 Commodore Richard KingCaptain Theophilus Jones52126 Fourth rate 50 Captain James Burney01010 Third rate 64 Captain James Alms21921 Third rate 74 Captain William Allen21113Casualties:

British lighter ships Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Casualties Notes Killed Wounded TotalSan Carlos armed storeship 22 George Murray, William WhiteHarriott armed storeship 22 Thomas Stephenson sloop 18 Edward Buller Fifth rate 32 Captain James Montagu Fifth rate 28 Captain Erasmus Gower Fifth rate 24 John Drew Pondicherry troop ship 18 Thomas Saunders GroveCasualties:

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(1671-1870)

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