| Action of 6 December 1782 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAmerican Revolutionary War and theAnglo-French War (1778–1783) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Great Britain | France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| John Collins | Jean-Charles de Borda | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1third rate ship of the line HMS Ruby | 1third rate ship of the line Solitaire 1brigSpeedy | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2 men wounded | Solitaire &Speedy captured, 35 killed & 55 wounded, 500 captured | ||||||
 | |||||||
Theaction of 6 December 1782 was a naval encounter primarily fought betweenHMS Ruby and theFrench ship Solitaire off the coast ofMartinique. Ruby easily defeatedSolitaire.
By the end of 1782 the Spanish and French had been on the defensive since theBattle of the Saintes, which signaled British domination of the seas in the Caribbean.[1] Soon after, the Royal Navy were conducting ablockade offCap-François andFort-de-France as well as keeping a watch offHavana.[2]
TheRoyal Navy squadron of Rear AdmiralRichard Hughes on 6 December 1782 sighted a French squadron off Martinique. The 64-gunHMS Ruby, captained by John Collins, sailed towards the 1,521-tonFrench ship Solitaire of 64 guns, under the command ofJean-Charles de Borda. Collins eventually caught up withSolitaire and asingle-ship action developed. After nearly forty minutesSolitaire had her mizzenmast shot away, her rigging and sails in tatters, and was becoming dead in the water. At that point Borda decided tostrike her colours.[3]
In the action the British also captured the French brigSpeedy, which defended herself vigorously at the cost of heavy casualties, including the death of her captain.
Solitaire had 35 men killed and 55 wounded whilstRuby had only two men wounded.[citation needed]
Collins wasknighted for his action.[citation needed]Solitaire entered the Royal Navy as HMSSolitaire and remained in service until 1790, when she was sold out of the navy. Jean-Charles de Borda, although captured along with his entire crew, was shortly released and returned as anengineer in the French Navy. He later achieved fame as amathematician,physicist andpolitical scientist.[4]
Solitaire.