Action of 18 June 1799
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| Action of 18 June 1799 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War of the Second Coalition | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Great Britain | France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Lord Keith John Markham | Jean-Baptiste Perrée | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
|
3 ships of the line 2 frigates[1] |
3 frigates 2 brigs | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown |
3 frigates captured 2 brigs captured | ||||||
The action of 18 June 1799 was a naval engagement of the War of the Second Coalition fought off Toulon in the wake of the Mediterranean campaign of 1798. A frigate squadron under Counter-admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée, returning to Toulon from Syria, met a 30-ship British fleet under Lord Keith. Three ships of the line and two frigates detached from the British squadron, and a 28-hour running battle ensued. When the British ships overhauled them, the French frigates and brigs had no choice but to surrender, given their opponents' overwhelming strength.
In the opening moves of the Mediterranean campaign of 1798, the French Navy's Toulon squadron, under Vice-admiral Brueys, embarked a 40,000-man force and rushed to land them in Egypt. The landing of the Army, under General Bonaparte, proceeded well and the French Army scored successes against the Ottomans and the Mameluks. However, the Royal Navy, under Admiral Nelson, obliterated most of the naval squadron at the Battle of the Nile.
After the crushing losses sustained at Abukir, the French naval forces available to Bonaparte amounted to a number of frigates and the many captured French sailors that Nelson released, being unwilling to feed so many prisoners. Napoleon incorporated the sailors into units for duty on shore, or on a flotilla of xebecs and galleys on the Nile. The frigates, on the other hand, could prove useful in supporting the land forces by blockading besieged Ottoman fortresses, conducting shore bombardments, and ferrying supplies; furthermore, as their 18-pounder long guns were the equivalent of heavy siege pieces in the Army, their artillery and ammunition could be borrowed for land combat.
With the French invasion of Egypt and Syria shifting its centre of gravity to the east, notably with the Siege of Acre, Rear-admiral Perrée was given command of a squadron of three frigates and two brigs, survivors of the Battle of the Nile, to ferry supplies and artillery for the Army in spite of the Ottoman and British blockades. The squadron comprised the frigates Junon (Commander Pourquier[2][3]), Courageuse (Captain Trullet[4]) and Alceste (Captain Barré), and the brigs Salamine (Lieutenant Landry[3][5]) and Alerte (Demay[6]).[7] After they had arrived at Jaffa, the frigates unloaded their cargo, and furthermore shared their ammunition with the army, leaving the frigates with only 15 shots per gun; Junon also landed four of her 18-pounder long guns.[6] The division then established a blockade to complete the Siege of Acre.[6]
On 14 May, two British ships of the line and a frigate, under Sidney Smith, chased the frigate squadron,[8] which quickly eluded its pursuers. Despite specific orders not to go to Europe unless it was unavoidable,[6] Perrée conferred with his officers and decided that his low supplies made it necessary for him to return to Toulon, via Lampedusa, where he would replenish his water.[9]
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