Action of 22 May 1812

By 1812, the Royal Navy enjoyed an absolute supremacy on all seas, and even blockaded French harbours, preventing French squadrons from leaving and conducting naval operations of significance. The French Navy was thus forced into commerce raiding: small frigate squadrons (usually just a pair of frigates) would attempt to slip through the blockade and roam the seas, patrolling to capture lightly armed merchantmen. On 9 January 1812, a French frigate squadron left Nantes to attack British and American shipping in the Atlantic, off the Azores and Bermuda. Feretier was the commanding officer of the squadron. In the face of overwhelming odds, the French fled and in the evening had successfully outrun their pursuers. The French squadron, free to continue on its mission. reached its patrolling area and started preying on merchant shipping. In the course of four next months, it took 36 prizes (9 British, 3 Portuguese, 1 Spanish, 1 Swedish and 11 American), and made 217 prisoners. Neale sent Northumberland, under Captain the Honourable Henry Hotham, to attempt to intercept the frigates and bring them into action. Northumberland detached on 19 May and took position off the point of Isle Groix. ==Action==

In the morning of 22 May, the French squadron arrived off the Roches de Penmarch. Around 11:30, a large sail appeared in the north, which was soon recognised to be the Northumberland . Feretier decided to sail through by force. However, Morice signaled that one of his crew, Ensign Legrand, was familiar with the area and thought himself capable of leading the frigates through a shallow pass where they could evade Northumberland. Feretier decided to take his chance with this idea, and ordered Andromaque to lead, leaving Mameluck free to manoeuver at will. Around 15:00, the frigates came within range of Northumberland, which waited near Pointe du Talut. Northumberland fired a few shots, to which Andromaque, supported by coastal defence batteries, responded with her whole broadside. A full artillery exchange broke out, obscuring the view of the ships with smoke and killing Ensign Legrand on Andromaque. particularly her fore topmast. a fire broke out in the fore top of Andromaque; with his fire pump shattered, Morice ordered the mast cut down, but all the men assigned to the task were killed or wounded by British shots, and fire soon engulfed the forecastle. Mameluck had cut her topmasts and thrown her artillery overboard in fruitless attempts to refloat, and had been abandoned by her crew because a number of the shots below the waterline made her impossible to sail into combat. However, she had not suffered as much as the frigates, and the next day, a party returned to Mameluck and succeeded in refloating her. She reached Lorient on 24, only survivor of the squadron. == Aftermath ==

The frigates, loaded with the most valuable items captured on their prizes, were particularly low in the water, which contributed to their grounding; moreover, the pass that Legrand, a native of Ploemeur, recalled, could only be used by boats, and would never have accommodated a frigate. the ship in question was the 80-gun Diadème, that could not intervene due to the unfavourable winds. In 1996, an underwater excavation was undertaken to salvage remains of the wreck, with 54 divers searching the area between 1 and 10 metres deep. Another excavation in June 2000 located the second frigate. The fruits of the search were put on display at the Cité de la Mer. == Notes, citations, and references ==

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