| USSConstellation vsLa Vengeance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theQuasi-War | |||||||
.jpg) USSConstellation engaging the French frigateLa Vengeance | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Thomas Truxton |  François Marie Pitot | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1frigate 336 crew 38 guns | 1frigate 380 crew 40 guns | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 14 dead 25 wounded 1 frigate severely damaged | 28–160 dead 110 wounded 1 frigate severely damaged | ||||||
USSConstellation vsLa Vengeance, or theaction of 1 February 1800, was asingle-ship action fought betweenfrigates of theFrench Navy and theUnited States Navy during theQuasi-War. In the battle the AmericanfrigateUSS Constellation tried to take the French frigateLa Vengeance as aprize. Both ships were heavily damaged. Although the French frigatestruck her colors (surrendered) twice, she managed to flee only after the main mast of her opponent had fallen.
In 1798, anundeclared war had begun between theUnited States andFrance due to French seizures of Americanmerchantmen. As part of an American effort to deter French attacks, CommodoreThomas Truxton led an Americannaval squadron that was dispatched to theLesser Antilles. Learning that regular French naval forces were in the region, Truxton set out in hisflagshipConstellation and sailed toGuadeloupe to engage them. On 1 February 1800, while nearing the French colony,Constellation metFrançois Marie Pitot's frigateLa Vengeance of the French Navy. Despite Pitot's attempts to flee, his frigate was drawn into a heavy engagement withConstellation. Although the French frigate struck her colors twice,Constellation was unable to takeLa Vengeance as a prize. Eventually Pitot was able to escape with his frigate toCuraçao, though only after sustaining severe casualties and damage to his vessel. Truxton's ship sustained serious damage and sailed toJamaica for repairs before returning home to a hero's welcome.
In 1800, theQuasi-War between the United States and France was in full force. In order to prevent French attacks against Americanmerchantmen in theCaribbean, theUnited States Navy maintained foursquadrons of vessels in the region. One such squadron was commanded byCommodoreThomas Truxton, and tasked with patrolling theLesser Antilles. Taking command on 19 January 1800 after arriving atSaint Kitts in his flagshipUSS Constellation, Truxton's squadron consisted of fourfrigates, threeschooners, and aship-riggedman of war.[1] Besides the numerousprivateers operating in the area, the only regularFrench naval forces in Truxton's area of operations were the frigateLa Vengeance underFrançois Marie Pitot and the corvetteLa Berceau under Louis Senes. Both vessels had arrived atGuadeloupe on 10 December 1799 escorting the new administrators of the French colony.[2] Once atSaint Kitts, Truxton dispersed his squadron, giving each ship orders to cruise independently. He then set sail for Guadeloupe on 30 January 1800 with his flagshipConstellation, intending to challenge the French frigate and corvette there.[3] The same day, Pitot inLa Vengeance left Guadaloupe's capital ofBasse-Terre for France.[4]
By this point in the Quasi-War, the 1,265-tonConstellation carried 38 cannon despite officially being classified by the United States Navy as a 36-gun frigate. Previously her armament had consisted of 24-pounder guns, but these had proven inefficient during Truxton'saction withL'Insurgente and as a result were removed and replaced with twenty-eight 18-pounder cannon and ten 24-poundercarronades.[5] Truxton and his crew were hardened veterans and were well prepared for a fight. Their French counterparts were not as ready for an engagement. Pitot's frigate was carrying a large quantity ofspecie as well as 36 Americanprisoners of war and 80 passengers, two of whom were generals. Under such circumstances Pitot intended to avoid an engagement if possible,[4][6] even thoughLa Vengeance was a more heavily armed vessel carrying eight 42-pounder carronades, twenty-eight 18-pounders, and sixteen 12-pounder cannon.[7] The French also had a distinct advantage in the event of aboarding action, asConstellation had only 310 men toLa Vengeance's complement of 380 crew.[6][8][9]
On 1 February 1800 at 07:00, Truxton's crew spotted what appeared to be a 54-gun frigate flying British colors two leagues off the Basse-Terreroadstead. In an effort to communicate with the mysterious frigate,Constellation flewBritish colors. Pitot had sighted the American ship by 07:45. Thinking the vessel chasing him was a superior 55-gun warship, he sought to avoid conflict, and continued to sail with the wind rather than head north as he had originally intended.[4] In an effort to increase her speed, the French frigate's crew put outstudding sails to catch more wind. The behavior of Pitot's frigate signaled to Truxton that she was really a French warship, so he orderedConstellation cleared for action and gave chase. By 08:00 he struck the British colors and raised the American flag. As he closed withLa Vengeance he shouted through aspeaking trumpet for the French vessel to surrender.[6]
At this point the action began, with Pitot'sstern chasers opening fire uponConstellation. In an effort to cut the American frigate's advantage in speed,La Vengeance changed course to the south-east where the wind would give her an advantage. As he maneuvered his vessel, Pitot was able to unleash abroadside aimed atConstellation'srigging. The American frigate waited to return fire until she'd gained theweather gage. Now having the advantage of the wind, Truxton's openingdouble-shotted broadside slammed into the port side ofLa Vengeance's hull.[10] Sailing side by side, the two frigates continued to engage each other for two and a half hours while Truxton attempted unsuccessfully to move his ship into araking fire position. As the French tended to aim for the rigging, at one pointConstellation'sforesails were shot away and the frigate lost her maneuverability until they could be replaced.[6]
La Vengeance prepared for aboarding action when the two frigates drew closer together at 22:45, but this attempt was foiled whenConstellation fired broadsides ofgrapeshot at Pitot's ship whileAmerican marines fired theirmuskets and hurledgrenades down from the rigging. With the French ship drawing off, the two vessels began a longer rangeround shot duel that lasted until 02:00 on 2 February 1800, whenLa Vengeancestruck her colors for the second time. At some point earlier in the action, Pitot had struck his flag but the Americans did not notice because of darkness.[10] Truxton movedConstellation to within 25 yards (23 m) of his vanquished opponent aiming to take her as a prize. The American commodore's ambitions were spoiled when at 03:00Constellation's mainmast fell overboard, killing severaltopmen who went down with it. With the Americans unable to come alongside his vessel, Pitot took advantage of the situation and simply slipped away into the darkness.[11]
Casualties were heavy on both sides, and both vessels were in such poor condition that each commander thought he had sunk his opponent. Most ofLa Vengeance's rigging had been blown away; only the lowerforemast, lowermizzenmast, andbowsprit were operational. Pitot set course for Curaçao and was forced to ground his vessel there to prevent her from sinking. The number of French casualties is somewhat unclear: official French accounts report 28 dead and 40 wounded, while accounts from Curaçao state that the French frigate had lost 160 men.[5] Once Pitot reached Curaçao he was beset with further problems.La Vengeance remained out of action for months due to difficulties in acquiring support needed to repair the frigate from the Dutch officials there. AFrench expedition to seize Curaçao brought themateriel needed to repair the frigate, but when asked to help attack the island Pitot refused and slipped away to Guadaloupe.[12]
Constellation had also suffered heavy damage with 15 of her crew slain and a further 25 wounded, of whom 11 later died. The ship sailed toPort Royal, Jamaica, for a refit,[5][13]but Truxton could not complete the necessary repairs because of a shortage ofnaval stores. The ship left Jamaica a week after she arrived, with only her mainmast replaced. After escorting a convoy of 14 merchantmen back to the United States, Truxton sailed his battered frigate toHampton Roads for a proper refit. Only after he returned to the United States did the American commodore finally learn that theLa Vengeance had not been sunk.[14] Truxton was considered a hero and received considerable praise for his actions. In response to his battle with Pitot's frigate, the American government commended Truxton with aCongressional Gold Medal depicting the battle.[15]James C. Jarvis, a 13-year-old Midshipman who was killed when the mainmast collapsed, became famous for his bravery during the battle.
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