The Le Coureur is chasing the HMS Alert
sorry to highjack your topic, but I think some members would be interested in this history of the vessel.....
I guess this painting is based somehow on the well known painting Combat de la
Belle Poule et de l'
Aréthusa en 1778
(Fight of Belle Poule and Arethusa) from Auguste-Louis de Rossel de Cercy, painted 1789
View attachment 172522
Excerpt:
View attachment 172523
The British cutter Alert, Lieut. William George Fairfax, attacked the French lugger Coureur. The Alert carried eighty men, twelve 6's, and as many swivels: the Coureur had fifty men, two 3's, eight 2's, and six swivels; she was commanded by Enseigne de Rosily. She was ordered to go to the British Admiral; refused; and was at once fired upon. The two fought at pistol-shot range for nearly an hour and a half, until the Coureur struck. She hit the Alert several times on the water-line and cut up her rigging.
from Threedecks:
Description and participants : Alert vs Coureur, 17th June 1778
threedecks.org
Lugger Le Coureur:
French lugger 'Le Coureur' (1776). Dates of service, name changes, previous and next incarnations, dimensions, armament, commanders, officers and crewmen, actions, battles, sources
threedecks.org
Cutter HMS Alert:
British cutter 'Alert' (1777). Dates of service, name changes, previous and next incarnations, dimensions, armament, commanders, officers and crewmen, actions, battles, sources
threedecks.org
From wikipedia the complete description of the main fight:
Action of 17 June 1778
The
Action of 17 June 1778 also known as the
Fight of Belle Poule and Arethusa was a minor naval action that took place off the coast of France between British and French
frigates. The action was widely celebrated by both France and Great Britain and was the first between the two naval forces during the
American Revolutionary War before a formal declaration of war was even announced.
View attachment 172527 View attachment 172528
Background
On 13 June 1778,
Admiral Augustus Keppel, with twenty-one
ships of the line and three frigates, was dispatched by the
Admiralty to keep watch over the French fleet at
Brest; Keppel was to prevent a junction of the Brest and
Toulon fleets, more by persuasion if he could since both nations were not at war. The French 26-gun frigate,
Belle Poule was on a
reconnaissance along with the 26-gun frigate
Licorne, the
corvette Hirondelle, and the
cutter Coureur, when on 17 June she encountered a large British
squadron that included
HMS Arethusa at a point 23 miles (37 km) south of
The Lizard.
Admiral Keppel, commanding the British fleet, ordered that the French ships be pursued and returned to his
flagship by any means since he did not want the French ships to see the British strength.
Action
Licorne did so, after being overhauled by two British ships
HMS Milford, mounting 28 guns, and
HMS America, of 64 guns.
Licorne subsequently tried to escape during the night after having meditated on affairs, but surrendered after a brief combat with
America, a vessel double her size.
View attachment 172531
Beginning of the action
Meanwhile,
Arethusa and the cutter
HMS Alert caught up to
Belle Poule, accompanied by the French cutter
Le Courier. The captain of
Belle Poule refused the order to sail back to the British fleet. The British fired a warning shot across his ship's
bow, to which he responded with a full
broadside. Thus a furious, two-hour battle between the two ships with
Arethusa.
Belle Poule was eager to escape and soon began to inflict serious damage upon
Arethusa, which ended up with her
topmasts hanging over the side and canvas torn. Soon after
Arethusa lay shattered and then lost her
main mast.
Soon the wind fell and with it the shot-torn loftier sails of
Belle Poule. However, they held enough wind to drift her out of the reach of
Arethusa's fire. Both ships were close under the French cliffs and
Belle Poule struggled into a tiny
cove in the rocks. Nothing remained for
Arethusa but to cut away her wreckage, hoist what sail she could, and drag herself back under
jury-masts to the British fleet.
Meanwhile,
Coureur was overtaken by the British cutter
Alert, and after some resistance finally cooperated with being taken to Keppel's flagship.
Hirondelle escaped the engagement entirely.
Aftermath
Arethusa suffered 44 casualties from her 198-man crew, but the masts and rigging had been so severely damaged that the ship had to be towed by newly arrived British ships. As other ships from Keppel's fleet approached,
Belle Poule withdrew toward the French coast having lost 30 killed and 72 wounded, among them her captain, Lieutenant
Jean Isaac Chadeau de la Clocheterie.
This battle was the first between British and French naval forces during the
Anglo-French War[4] and took place around three weeks before the formal declaration of war by France. Admiral Keppel himself was surprised by the reaction of the French captains as he only intended to speak with them, and then release their ships.
The battle was widely celebrated in France as a victory; ladies of the high society invented the hairstyle "Belle Poule", with a ship on the top of the head.
With the capture of
Licorne and
Hirondelle it was also viewed as a victory in Britain and became the subject of a traditional
Sea shanty,
The Saucy Arethusa.
Arethusa is also the subject of a song on
the Decemberists' album
Her Majesty the Decemberists.
en.wikipedia.org
