| Anglo-Russian War | |||||||
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| Part of theNapoleonic Wars | |||||||
 A painting of the battle between the Russian cutterOpyt andHMS Salsette off the coast ofNaissaar, 11 July 1808 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
Supported by:
| Supported by:
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Alexander INikolay RumyantsevNikolai Saltykov |  George IIIWilliam Cavendish-BentinckSpencer PercevalRobert Jenkinson | ||||||
TheAnglo-Russian War was a war between theUnited Kingdom and theRussian Empire which lasted from 2 September 1807 to 18 July 1812 during theNapoleonic Wars. It began after Russia signed theTreaty of Tilsit with theFirst French Empire, which ended hostilities between the two nations. During the war, actual military engagements were limited primarily to minor naval actions in theBaltic Sea andBarents Sea.[1]
AfterNapoleon Bonaparte defeated the Russians at theBattle of Friedland (14 June 1807),TsarAlexander I of Russia signed a peace treaty, known as theTreaty of Tilsit. Although the treaty was quite unpopular within the Russian court, Russia had no alternative as Napoleon could easily cross theNeman river (then the Russian border) and invade Russia.
The terms of the treaty obliged Russia to cease her maritime trade with Great Britain. This closure was a part of Napoleon's continuing efforts to establish theContinental System, strengthening economic ties between the different countries in Europe under French domination. Napoleon's objective was to close one of Britain's most important markets and thus force it economically into submission.
On 26 October 1807,Emperor of all the Russias Alexander formally declared war on the United Kingdom after theBritish attack on Copenhagen in September 1807. He did not actively prosecute the war; Alexander instead restricted Russia's contribution to the bare requirement to close off trade. The British, understanding his position, limited their military response to the declaration. However, there were a few notable incidents.
The official news did not arrive in Britain until 2 December, at which point the British authorities declared an embargo on all Russian vessels in British-controlled ports. The crews of approximately 70 British ships profited from the seizure of the 44-gun Russian frigateSpeshnoy, which was lying at anchor inPortsmouth Harbour.[2] The Russian storeshipWilhelmina was also seized at the same time.[3][4]Speshnoy had sailed fromKronstadt with the payroll for Vice-AdmiralDmitry Senyavin’s squadron in the Mediterranean, together withVilgemina.[5]Vilgemina was slower but caught up withSpeshnoy atPortsmouth.[5] A portion of their cargo found on board consisted of 601,167 Spanishdoubloons and 140,197 Dutchducats.[5] Consequently, anable seaman on any one of the 70 British vessels in the harbour received 14shillings and 71⁄2pence inprize money.[6]
In August 1807, Senyavin was ordered to bring his fleet from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, where theFinnish War withSweden was already brewing. He set sail fromCorfu on 19 September and although he planned to proceed directly toSaint Petersburg, stormy weather forced him to take refuge in theTagus river and cast anchor inLisbon on 30 October. With a French army approaching the city, Prince RegentJohn VI of Portugal had fled to the Portuguese colony ofBrazil and theRoyal Navy blockaded Lisbon, intercepting a Russiansloop as an enemy vessel because the Anglo-Russian War had been declared. In November, the French forces under the GeneralJean-Andoche Junot overran Lisbon.
Senyavin, placed in a delicate diplomatic position, proceeded to distinguish himself as a diplomat. He declared himself neutral and managed to protect his ships from seizure. In August 1808, British forces under the command ofArthur Wellesley defeated the French armyat Vimeiro, expelling them from Portugal. Senyavin's squadron of seven ships of the line and one frigate were left face to face with fifteen British ships of the line and ten frigates. Senyavin maintained his neutrality, threatening to blow up his ships and destroy Lisbon in the case of an attack made against his squadron. Eventually, he signed a convention with AdmiralSir Charles Cotton, whereby theRoyal Navy would escort his squadron toLondon, with the Russians still flying their flags. Moreover, Senyavin was to assume supreme command of the joint Anglo-Russian fleet, as he was higher in rank than Cotton. Two ships of Senyavin's squadron,Rafail andYaroslav, were left in Lisbon due to needing repairs.[7]
Senyavin's squadron embarked from Portugal for Portsmouth on 31 August 1808. On 27 September, it arrived at Portsmouth Harbour, and theBritish Admiralty was informed that the Russians had arrived with their flags streaming, as if in times of peace. TheLord Mayor of London,Charles Flower, argued that the convention was "disreputable for Britain's prestige", which many in the Admiralty agreed with. Senyavin's squadron was therefore detained in Portsmouth under various pretexts until winter, when the weather made their return to the Baltic impossible. The authorities in Portsmouth insisted that unless Senyavin's squadron sailed toArkhangelsk, they would be intercepted by theSwedish Navy. In 1809, the departure of the squadron was further delayed by the disastrousWalcheren Expedition. At long last, on 5 August, Senyavin's squadron was allowed to leave Portsmouth for Riga, arriving there on 9 September 1809.[7]
Russia alsoinvaded Sweden, a close ally of Britain, in 1808. But it was unlikely related to Britain and the Treaty, as the two countries already were at odds at the time. The Royal Navy supported the Swedish navy during theFinnish War and scored victories over the Russians in theGulf of Finland in July 1808 and August 1809. In May 1808, the British sent a fleet under Vice-AdmiralSir James Saumarez to the Baltic. The British 44-gunfrigateHMS Salsette captured the Russian cutterOpyt on 23 June [O.S. 11 June] 1808, after her captain and crew put up a determined resistance. Theaction took place offNargen island (now Naissaar), which defendsReval from the sea.[8] The Admiralty tookOpyt into service as HMSBaltic.
On 9 July, the Russian fleet, under AdmiralPyotr Khanykov, came out fromKronstadt. The Swedes massed a fleet under AdmiralRudolf Cederström, consisting of 11 line-of-battle ships and 5 frigates atÖrö andJungfrusund to oppose them. On 16 August, Saumarez then sent74-gunsCentaur andImplacable to join the Swedish fleet. They chased two Russian frigates on the 19th and joined the Swedes the following day.
On 22 August, the Russian fleet, consisting of nine ships of the line, five large frigates and six smaller ones, moved fromHanko to threaten the Swedes. The Swedes, with the two British ships, grouped at Örö, and three days later sailed to meet the Russians.
The Russians and the Anglo-Swedish force were fairly evenly matched, but the Russians retreated and the Allied ships followed them.Centaur andImplacable were better vessels than the Swedish ships and slowly pulled ahead, withImplacable catching up with a Russian straggler, the 74-gunVsevolod, under Captain Daniil Rudnev (or Roodneff). Eventually, and after heavy casualties,Vsevolodstruck her colours.[9] In 1847 the Admiralty awarded theNaval General Service Medal with clasps "Implacable 26 Augt. 1808" and "Centaur 26 Augt. 1808" to the surviving claimants (41 per vessel) from the action.[10]
Vice-Admiral Saumerez with his entire squadron joined the Anglo-Swedish squadron the next day. They then blockaded Khanykov's squadron for some months. After the British and the Swedes abandoned the blockade, the Russian fleet was able to return to Kronstadt.[9]
On 7 and 8 July 1809, the boats ofPrometheus,Implacable,Bellerophon andMelpomene captured or destroyed several Russiangunboats and a convoy offHanko Peninsula in the Baltic. Among the captured vessels were Russian gun boats No.5, No.10, No. 13, and No.15.[11] In 1847 the Admiralty issued theNaval General Service Medal with clasp "7 July Boat Service 1809" to 33 surviving claimants from the action.[12]
On 10 July, 18 Russian boats attacked the English ship at Pitcamp and it was forced to retreat hastily.19 British boats attacked several russian boats 3 days later, and the Russians lost 3 boats in this battle.[13]
Then on 25 July seventeen boats from a British squadron consisting ofPrincess Caroline,Minotaur,Cerberus andPrometheus, attacked a flotilla of four Russian gunboats and a brig offAspö Head nearFredrikshamn inOld Finland, then part of Russian Empire. Captain Forrest ofPrometheus commanded the boats and succeeded in capturing gunboats Nos. 62, 65, and 66, and the transport brig No. 11. The action was sanguinary in that the British lost 19 men killed and 51 wounded, and the Russians lost 28 men killed and 59 wounded.[14] In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "25 July Boat Service 1809" to 35 surviving claimants from the action.[12]
However the successes of the Russian army on land forced Sweden to sign a peace treaty with Russia in 1809 whereby,inter alia, Sweden ceded the laterGrand Duchy of Finland to Russia. Sweden sued for peace with France in 1810 and then formally joined the blockade against Britain as required by the Continental System, although in practice did little to enforce it. Sweden kept trading with Britain and the Royal Navy kept using Swedish ports.
In time, the Anglo-Russian War overlapped with theGunboat War againstDenmark-Norway, leading the British to expand their trade embargo to Russian waters and to forays by the British navy northwards into the Barents Sea. The navy conducted raids onHasvik andHammerfest and disrupted thePomor trade, the Norwegian trade with Russia.
In June 1809HMSNyaden participated in one or two actions. First, her boats conducted a night raid onKildin Island that neutralised a Russian garrison there. Boats fromNyaden also captured some 22–23 coastal trading vessels in theKola River, many upriver from the present city of Murmansk.[15]Nyaden also took several other Russian vessels at sea as prizes.
Nyaden was probably the vessel whose boats in July took possession of Catherine Harbour, in theostrog, or fortified settlement, ofKola. The British also commandeered all the stores belonging to theWhite Sea Company (est. 1803 atArchangelsk).The Times reported that this was the first British engagement in Russian territory, news of the actions on Kildin Island either being subsumed or overlooked.[16]
British naval involvement in the region continued into 1811. On 3 August 1810, the brigGallant captured theSt. Peder. Next year, on 2 January,Gallant captured the Danish privateerRestorateur off the Norwegian coast.Restorateur was armed with six 12-pounder guns and had a crew of 19 men.[17] Four months later, on 5 April,Gallant captured theVictoria.[18] Then on 1 August 1811, the frigateAlexandria, which was operating out of the Lieth station, captured the Russian vesselsMichael,Ivan Isasima, andSt. Oluff, and their cargoes.[19]
During theRusso-Persian War, several British officers, who were part of Sir John Malcolm's 1809 embassy to Persia, remained in Persia and provided training to the reforming Persian army. One of the officers,William Monteith, accompaniedAbbas Mirza on his unsuccessful campaign inGeorgia and then commanded a frontier force and the garrison ofErivan.[20]
Alexander I kept Russia as neutral as possible in the ongoing French war with Britain. He allowed Russians to continue secretly to trade with Britain and did not enforce the blockade required by Continental System.[21] In 1810, he withdrew Russia from the Continental System and trade between Britain and Russia grew.[22]
Franco-Russian relations became progressively worse after 1810. By 1811, it became clear that Napoleon was not keeping to his side of the terms of the Treaty of Tilsit. He had promised assistance to Russia in itswar against the Ottoman Empire, but as the campaign went on, France offered no support at all.[21]
With war imminent between France and Russia, Alexander started to prepare the ground diplomatically. In April 1812 Russia and Sweden signed an agreement for mutual defence. A month later Alexander secured his southern flank by theTreaty of Bucharest (1812), which formally ended the war against Turkey.[22]
After Napoleoninvaded Russia in June, the British and the Russians signed oneTreaty of Örebro on 18 July 1812; on that same day and in the same place the British and Swedes signed another Treaty of Örebro ending theAnglo-Swedish War (1810–1812), a war that had had no engagements and no casualties.[23]
