Battle of Tory Island

, at which the main force of the United Irishmen was defeated Britain's enemies in continental Europe had long recognised Ireland as a weak point in Britain's defences. Landing troops there was a popular strategic goal, not only because an invader could expect the support of a large proportion of the native population, Finally, French planners considered that a successful invasion of Ireland might act as the ideal platform for a subsequent invasion of Great Britain. The rhetoric of the French Revolution inspired many Irishmen to fight for similar principles of liberty, equality, and brotherhood in their own nation; liberty in this context largely meant independence from Great Britain. With these goals in mind, in 1791 Dublin lawyer Wolfe Tone founded the Society of United Irishmen. Allying itself with the French Republic, the society was suppressed by the British authorities and forced to go underground when war broke out between France and Great Britain in 1793. Tone and other members secretly travelled to France to convince the French National Convention to invade Ireland. Such an invasion, they argued, could rely on support from large numbers of Irish irregulars, and if successful would strike a severe blow to the British war effort—perhaps even severe enough to force Britain to seek peace. Invasion attempts French political divisions made organising an operation against Ireland difficult. The process was further hampered by the French Atlantic Fleet's defeat in 1794 at the Glorious First of June and the disastrous Croisière du Grand Hiver operation in 1795. Having lost many of its best officers during the political purges of The Terror, these defeats bred a negative mentality in the French Navy, discouraging adventurous strategic thinking. Eventually, the ''Expédition d'Irlande'' was despatched in December 1796 under Admiral Morard de Galles, consisting of 17 ships of the line and 27 smaller vessels, and carrying as many as 25,000 men. Despite elements of the force spending up to a week in Bantry Bay, not a single French soldier was successfully landed, and the expedition was a total disaster, with 13 ships lost and over 2,000 men drowned. During 1797, the Dutch fleet was readied and provisioned, intending to combine with the French fleet and launch a second invasion attempt. The Batavian fleet sailed on a preparatory raiding cruise in the North Sea in October 1797 and on their return were confronted off the Dutch coast by the Royal Navy's North Sea Fleet under Admiral Sir Adam Duncan. Duncan immediately attacked, and in the ensuing Battle of Camperdown captured or destroyed ten ships and scattered the rest, ending the Batavian invasion threat. Rebellion of 1798 Hoping to capitalise on the spontaneous uprising that spread across Ireland in May 1798, Commodore Daniel Savary led a third, and more successful, effort. He took a small frigate squadron flying false British colours to Killala, and in August landed 1,150 French troops under General Humbert. Although its small size allowed it to reach Ireland unobserved, neither Savary's frigate squadron nor the army it carried were large enough to have a significant impact on the campaign. ==Bompart's mission==

Unaware that Humbert had surrendered and the rebellion been defeated, the French prepared a follow-up expedition under the command of Commodore Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart. Bompart's squadron departed Brest late in the evening, hoping to slip past the inshore British blockade in the dark. However, they took too long to navigate the Raz passage, and were spotted at dawn on 17 September by a frigate squadron under Captain Richard Goodwin Keats, in HMS Boadicea. Keats immediately divided his forces, ordering HMS Ethalion under Captain George Countess and the brig HMS Sylph under Commander John Chambers White to follow the French force, while Keats brought news of the French movements to Admiral Lord Bridport, admiral of the Channel Fleet. Countess's pursuit Aware of the British pursuit, Bompart nevertheless continued to the north. Countess followed closely, and was joined on 18 September by HMS Amelia under Captain Charles Herbert. Initially north of the French, Amelia had spotted the chase the previous day and caught up during the night by passing silently through Bompart's squadron. The next day, Bompart attempted to throw off his pursuers by feinting towards Lorient, and again the following day by feinting south, as if travelling towards the Antilles. However, the British captains remained on track, and by 20 September were only nine miles from Bompart's force, which was continuing south-west as though sailing for the Americas. HMS Anson, a large razee frigate under Captain Philip Charles Durham, joined the British force on 20 September. Despite Bompart's attempts to disguise his destination, by the evening of 23 September Countess had correctly deduced the French were heading for Ireland, and despatched the brig Sylph to warn Warren and any other British ships she came across. In the high winds, Amelia was driven off course and away from her compatriots on 7 October while Anson again suffered damage, this time losing two topmasts. On 11 October the weather cleared, and spotting two sails to the south, Countess took Ethalion to investigate. The ships were Amelia and a ship of the line of Warren's squadron, who having received Sylphs warning on 23 September, was sailing north in an attempt to intercept the French. Warren's squadron of three ships of the line and the razee frigate HMS Magnanime had been joined the day before by two additional frigates stationed at Lough Swilly; HMS Melampus under Captain Graham Moore and HMS Doris under Captain Lord Ranelagh. Warren attached Melampus to his squadron and detached Doris to scout along the Irish coast and warn the British garrisons, especially along the coast of County Donegal and the North-West of Ireland region generally. Doris was also to scout along part of the coast of the West of Ireland region, further south, where the previous French landing had been effected at Killala. Unaware of the rebellion's defeat, he hoped that Humbert's army would be operating in the Lough Swilly area, as intended in the campaign planned before Humbert left France. Arriving off the coast, Bompart searched for a suitable landing site but was unable to find one before dark on 10 October. He waited out the night close to Tory Island, but was surprised the next day by sails on the horizon; Warren's squadron had been joined by Countess's ships, and an overwhelming force was bearing down on the French. Abandoning all notions of landing the troops, Bompart hauled his ships close to the wind to give them room to manoeuvre and allow their captains as much opportunity as possible to escape the approaching British. Throughout the day, Warren's squadron closed from the north-east while Bompart made frantic efforts to reach open water. Both fleets were hindered by a gale which swept the sea shortly before 20:00. All three of Hoches topmasts were blown down and her mizzensail shredded, leaving her substantially slower than her compatriots and forcing them to hold back in her defence. Other ships suffered too, as the French Résolue sprang a severe leak and HMS Anson lost her mizzenmast and several topmasts. During the night, Bompart attempted to decoy the British by sending the schooner Biche with orders for the frigate Résolue, commanding Captain Jean-Pierre Bargeau to beach his ship and fire flares in the hope of distracting Warren from his pursuit. For unknown reasons this order was never carried out, and in the morning Warren was still hard behind Bompart, whose ships were now sailing in two uneven lines. Warren's force was even more dispersed, with HMS Robust and HMS Magnanime astern of the French and gaining fast, Amelia and Melampus shortly behind them and Warren's flagship HMS Canada with HMS Foudroyant under Captain Sir Thomas Byard, from the French. The other British ships were scattered throughout this formation except Anson, which was wallowing to the rear, far out of sight. Realising that he could not escape and would have to fight his way past the British, Bompart formed his squadron into a battleline and turned westwards, waiting for Warren's signal for the attack. Captain Edward Thornbrough of Robust obeyed immediately and closed with the French, firing into the frigates Embuscade and Coquille as he passed, before closing with Hoche and, at 08:50, beginning a bitter close-range artillery duel. Minutes later Magnanime joined the action, firing on the rear frigates and engaging the French van of Immortalité, Loire and Bellone, which had worn out of the line in an attempt to rake her. Canada and the subsequent British ships all ignored Hoche except to fire a few distant shots. By the time they passed, the ship was clearly a wreck, having been pounded repeatedly by Robust and Magnanime. Bompart finally surrendered at 10:50 with 270 of his crew and passengers killed or wounded. Magnanime, suffering the effects of her engagement with Hoche, took possession of Embuscade and continued to follow slowly behind the rest of the fleet, while Robust, which had suffered severely in her duel with Hoche, remained alongside her erstwhile opponent to take possession. The direction of the French squadron's flight, following the direction of the wind, took them across the path of the straggling British ships, of which Foudroyant was the leading ship. Hoche apart, Bellone had suffered more casualties than any other ship present. To the south of this conflict, the struggling Anson discovered herself in danger when the surviving frigates of the French vanguard swept towards her en masse. Captain Durham was initially confused by their approach as he had been too distant to witness the action and the French ships flew false British ensigns, but he rapidly realised their true identity and at 16:00 opened fire on Loire. ==Chase==

By nightfall some of the remaining French ships had entered Donegal Bay with Canada, Melampus and Foudroyant still in pursuit. The two forces repeatedly passed one another in the dark, and Canada almost drove ashore. Back at the battle site, Warren had ordered Robust to tow Hoche into Lough Swilly—this order later came under criticism, as Robust was in a battered state herself and the storms of the previous week had not abated. Eventually, on 15 October, Doris appeared and took Hoche in tow, arriving in Lough Swilly without further incident a few days later. Meanwhile, Ethalion saw Bellone safely into port, and Magnanime and Amelia brought in Coquille and Embuscade respectively. In the gloom and confusion, he mistook Melampus for Immortalité and came alongside, only realising his mistake when Melampus opened fire. Because of the heavy seas, Résolue's guns had been tied down below decks, so the only return fire she could offer was from her handful of quarterdeck guns. Bargeau, whose ship was still leaking badly, recognised that further resistance was futile and surrendered in minutes, having lost ten men and much of his rigging. Melampus put aboard a prize crew and then departed in pursuit of Immortalité. Pressing on sail in pursuit, Newman ordered HMS Révolutionaire to focus on Sémillante whilst he pursued Loire in HMS Mermaid, accompanied by the brig HMS Kangaroo under Commander Edward Brace. Loire and Sémillante separated to divide their pursuers; Mermaid and Kangaroo lost track of Loire in the early evening, and Sémillante evaded Révolutionaire after dark. However, on the morning of 16 October Newman spotted Loire on the horizon and immediately ordered his ships in pursuit. Loire was faster than Mermaid in the high winds but was unable to outrun Kangaroo, which directly engaged the far larger frigate in a distant artillery duel. The difference in weight of shot between the combatants was greatly unbalanced, and Kangaroo eventually fell behind after suffering damage to her rigging. Seeing an opportunity to escape, the battered Loire disengaged, making significant distance before Newman's crew could clear the wreckage of the mast. High winds further hampered ''Mermaid's'' repair efforts by tearing away several sails and spars and drowning the ship's carpenter when he was blown overboard. By the time Mermaid was ready for action once more, Loire had escaped. Although his ship was almost unmanageable, Captain Durham was not prepared to lose a second opportunity to engage, and slowly brought his vessel to bear on Loire, which was unable to escape. Accompanying Anson was Kangaroo, recovered from the damage of 16 October and ready for further action. At 10:30, Anson and Loire began firing on one another, neither able to effectively manoeuvre and both relying on firepower to overwhelm their opponent. Kangaroo closed on the unprotected stern of Loire, firing as she did so and repeatedly raking the immobile French ship. Fisgard and Immortalité The four remaining survivors of the French fleet had mostly avoided pursuit, and by 19 October were nearing Brest in Brittany independently, hoping to slip through the tight British blockade around the harbour. Captain Mathieu-Charles Bergevin on Romaine had attempted to land the troops aboard his ship in Ireland on 13 October, but was forced to abandon this plan when the soldiers refused to be put ashore. He then sailed southwest and successfully avoided all contact with British forces, joining with the schooner Biche and arriving at Brest on 23 October. The same day, after outrunning ''Révolutionaire's pursuit, Sémillante'' arrived in Lorient—the last French ship to return home. Immortalité almost reached safety. On the morning of 20 October, Captain Jean-François Legrand was approaching Brest when he was spotted by Captain Thomas Byam Martin of HMS Fisgard. Fisgard, part of the inshore squadron of the Brest blockade, immediately offered battle. Immortalité initially attempted to flee but was forced to engage the faster Fisgard at 11:00. During the bitter, close–range action, Fisgard took severe damage and almost lost her opponent. Immortalité, which had lost a mast and was in a sinking condition, surrendered at 15:00. Among the 115 casualties aboard Immortalité were Captain Legrand, his first lieutenant and General Monge (commander of the 250 soldiers on board), all dead. Fisgard, with the aid of other ships of the blockade squadron, successfully brought her prize into port. ==Savary's squadron==

The French high command had not been idle during the destruction of their invasion force, and had prepared and despatched a second squadron of four frigates under Commodore Daniel Savary. This force was initially ordered to support Bompart, but was later tasked with escorting the squadron's survivors back to France. On 27 October, Savary learnt of the destruction of both Bompart's squadron and the Irish rebellion from sympathetic locals at Killala, and turned immediately south, hoping to avoid a similar fate. However, on 28 October, he was spotted by a three-ship squadron under Captain Sir James Saumarez, which included two ships of the line. Saumarez immediately gave chase, and the squadrons exchanged long-distance cannon fire throughout the day. Late in the evening Saumarez's flagship HMS Caesar lost its foretopmast in strong winds, and command passed to Sir Richard Bickerton, 2nd Baronet, in HMS Terrible. After another day's chase, late on 29 October Savary divided his squadron, sending two frigates to the south east and turning north west with two more. In response, Bickerton split his force, sending the frigate HMS Melpomene after the southern group and following Savary himself in Terrible. By 30 October, both British ships were within of their opponents and were preparing for action, when at 17:00 a severe storm lashed the area. Savary's ships had been extending their pursuit by throwing guns, horses and equipment overboard in an effort to lighten their ships, and were consequently better suited to the high winds. The heavier British ships were unable to match their opponents' speed and fell behind. When the weather cleared, the French ships were out of sight, and all four eventually returned independently to Brest, ending the final French attempt to invade Ireland. An abortive effort to support the French invasion fleet was also made by the Navy of the Batavian Republic, which despatched the small frigates Furie and Waakzaamheid to Ireland with military supplies on 24 October. Within hours of leaving port, both these ships were intercepted and captured by the British frigate HMS Sirius under the young Captain Richard King at the action of 24 October 1798. ==Aftermath==

Savary's return to port marked the end of the last attempt by a continental nation to land troops in Ireland. French losses in the operation were so severe that a repeat effort was never seriously contemplated. Similarly, the huge Irish losses during the rebellion, combined with British reprisals against the Irish populace, ended any hopes of reigniting the uprising in the near future. In Britain the engagement was considered a great success, with the thanks of Parliament bestowed on the entire force. Five decades later, the battle was among the actions recognised by the clasp, "12th October 1798", attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. == Notes ==