Battle of St. Lucia
Part of theAmerican Revolutionary War and theAnglo-French War (1778–1783)
Barrington's Action at St Lucia, 15 December 1778,Dominic Serres
Date 15 December 1778 Location OffSaint Lucia,Caribbean Sea 14°1′1.200″N60°58′58.800″W / 14.01700000°N 60.98300000°W /14.01700000; -60.98300000 Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Samuel Barrington	Comte d'Estaing
Strength
7 ships of the line 3 frigates	12 ships of the line 4 frigates
Casualties and losses
230 killed and wounded	850 killed and wounded[1]
class=notpageimage| Location within Caribbean

TheBattle of St. Lucia or theBattle of the Cul de Sac was anaval battle fought off the island ofSt. Lucia in theWest Indies during theAmerican Revolutionary War on 15 December 1778, between the BritishRoyal Navy and theFrench Navy.^[2]

The French had entered the American Revolutionary War on behalf of the rebels and were conducting actions in the Caribbean to try to take over British colonies there. On 7 September 1778, the French governor ofMartinique, themarquis de Bouillé, surprised and captured the British island ofDominica. On 4 November, FrenchAdmiral Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, Comte d'Estaing sailed for the West Indies from the port ofBoston, Massachusetts. On that same day,Commodore William Hotham was dispatched fromSandy Hook, New Jersey, to reinforce the British fleet in the West Indies. Hotham sailed with "five men of war, a bomb vessel, some frigates, and a large convoy."^[3] The convoy Hotham was escorting consisted of 59 transports carrying 5,000 British soldiers under Major General Grant.^[4] The French fleet was blown off course by a violent storm, preventing it from arriving in the Caribbean ahead of the British.Admiral Samuel Barrington, the British naval commander stationed on theLeeward Islands, joined the newly arrived Commodore Hotham on 10 December at the island ofBarbados. Grant's men were not permitted to disembark and spent the next several days aboard their transports. Barrington and Hotham sailed for the island ofSt. Lucia on the morning of 12 December.^[5]

On the evening of 13 December and morning of 14 December,Major General James Grant,^[6] supported by additional troops underBrigadier General William Medows^[7] andBrigadier General Robert Prescott,^[8] landed at Grand Cul de Sac, St. Lucia. Grant and Prescott took control of the high ground around the bay, while Medows continued on and tookVigie the following morning (14 December). On 14 December the French fleet under d’Estaing arrived, forcing Admiral Barrington to move his ships into line of battle and forgo his plan of moving the transports into Carénage Bay.^[3]

Admiral Barrington was alerted to the presence of the French fleet by the frigateAriadne and organised his line of battle so thatIsis and his three frigates (Venus,Aurora, andAriadne) were close to shore guarding the windward approach, and he placed his flagship,Prince of Wales, toward the leeward.^[1] Barrington, in a defensive strategy, placed his transports inside the bay but behind his battle line, which took him the entire evening of 14 December. By 1100 hours the next day, most of the transports had been safely tucked behind his line.^[4]

At 1100 hours 15 December Admiral d’Estaing approached St. Lucia with ten ships of the line, and was fired on by one of the shore batteries. D’Estaing moved to engage Barrington from the rear, and a "warm conflict" raged between the two fleets, with the British supported by two shore batteries.^[1] D’Estaing was repulsed but succeeded in reforming his line of battle. At 1600 hours d’Estaing renewed his assault by attacking Barrington's centre with twelve ships of the line. Again, heavy fire was exchanged, and the French were eventually repulsed for a second time.^[9]

On 16 December Admiral d’Estaing appeared to be preparing for a third assault against Admiral Barrington's line, but then sailed away towards the windward.^[1] On the evening of 16 December d’Estaing anchored in Gros Islet Bay, where he landed 7,000 troops for an assault on the British lines at La Vigie. Three assaults were made but British control of the high ground enabled them to repulse the French. The French troops were re-embarked, and when d'Estaing's fleet left on 29 December, the island surrendered to the British.^[10]

• Contenson, Ludovic (1934).La Société des Cincinnati de France et la guerre d'Amérique (1778–1783). Paris: éditions Auguste Picard.OCLC 7842336.
• Lacour-Gayet, Georges (1905).La marine militaire de la France sous le règne de Louis XVI. Paris: Honoré Champion.OCLC 763372623.
• Troude, Onésime-Joachim (1867).Batailles navales de la France (in French). Vol. 2. Challamel ainé.OCLC 836362484.

• Conflicts in 1778
• Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving Great Britain
• Naval battles of the American Revolutionary War involving France
• Naval battles of the Anglo-French War (1778–1783)
• History of British Saint Lucia
• 1778 in the Caribbean

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