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Battle of the Chesapeake Part of the American War of Independence The French battleships Ville de Paris and Auguste, in the "Battle of the Chesapeake", September 1781. Date September 5, 1781 Location Virginia Capes, Chesapeake Bay, United States Result French victory Belligerents France Great Britain Commanders Comte de Grasse Sir Thomas Graves Strength 24 ships of the line 19 ships of the line 8 other vessels Casualties and losses 209 killed or wounded 2 ships damaged 90 killed 246 wounded 5 ships damaged 1 ship scuttled

Yorktown Campaign, 1781 Cape Henry – Blandford – Spencer's Ordinary – Green Spring – Waters Creek – Chesapeake – Yorktown

Naval campaigns in North American waters Machias – Gloucester – Falmouth – Block Island – Newport – Penobscot – Cape Henry – Louisbourg – Chesapeake – Delaware Bay – Hudson Bay

The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American War of Independence which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on September 5, 1781, between a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves and a French fleet led by Rear Admiral François Joseph Paul, the Comte de Grasse. The battle was tactically inconclusive but strategically a major defeat for the British. It was the most significant defeat for the British Royal Navy in the almost 400 years between the defeat of the Spanish Armada and World War II.

The victory by the French fleet prevented the Royal Navy from resupplying or evacuating the besieged forces of General Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia. It also prevented interference with the supply of troops and provisions from New York to the armies of George Washington through Chesapeake Bay. As a result, Cornwallis surrendered his army after the Siege of Yorktown (the second British army to surrender during the war), and Great Britain later recognized the independence of the United States of America.

Background

In the summer of 1781 British troops under Lord Cornwallis headed to the coast at Yorktown, Virginia, to establish a fortified landing point which would improve sea communication with New York and enable the southern campaign to take better advantage of British naval domination. The presence of the British troops at Yorktown made control of the Chesapeake Bay an essential naval objective.

On May 21, Generals George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau met to discuss potential operations against the British, considering either an assault on the principal British base at New York City, or operations against Cornwallis in Virginia. Since either of these operations would require the assistance of the French fleet then in the West Indies, a ship was dispatched to meet with French Rear Admiral François Joseph Paul, the Comte de Grasse who was expected at Cap-Français, outlining the possibilities and requesting his assistance.^[2] Rochambeau, in a private note to de Grasse, indicated that his preference was for an operation against Virginia on Chesapeake Bay. They then moved their forces to White Plains, New York to await news from de Grasse.^[3]

De Grasse arrived at Cap-Français (now known as Cap-Haïtien) on August 15. He immediately dispatched his response, which was that he would make for the Chesapeake. Taking on 3,200 troops, he sailed from Cap-Français with his entire fleet, 28 ships of the line. Sailing outside the normal shipping lanes, he arrived at the mouth Chesapeake Bay on August 30,^[3] and disembarked the troops to assist in the land blockade of Cornwallis.

François Joseph Paul, the Comte de Grasse

British Admiral George Brydges Rodney, who had been tracking de Grasse throughout the West Indies, was alerted to the latter's departure, but was uncertain of the French admiral's destination. Believing that de Grasse would return a portion of his fleet to Europe, Rodney detached Rear Admiral Sir Samuel Hood with 14 ships of the line to find de Grasse's destination in North America. Rodney, who was ill, sailed for Europe with the rest of his fleet in order to recover, refit his fleet, and to avoid the Atlantic hurricane season.^[4]

Sailing more directly than de Grasse, Hood's fleet arrived off the entrance to the Chesapeake on August 25. Finding no French ships there, he then sailed for New York.^[4] Meanwhile his colleague and commander of the New York fleet, Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, had spent several weeks trying to intercept a convoy organized by John Laurens to bring much-needed supplies and hard currency from France to Boston.^[5] When Hood arrived at New York, he found that Graves, who had failed to find the convoy, was in port, but had only 5 additional ships of the line that were ready for battle.

De Grasse had notified his counterpart in Newport, the Comte de Barras Saint-Laurent, of his intentions and his planned arrival date. De Barras sailed from Newport on August 27 with 8 ships of the line, 4 frigates, and 18 transports carrying French armaments and siege equipment. He deliberately sailed via a circuitous route in order to minimize the possibility of an encounter with the British, should they sail from New York in pursuit. Washington and Rochambeau, in the meantime, had crossed the Hudson on August 24, leaving some troops behind as a ruse to delay an potential move on the part of General Sir Henry Clinton to mobilize assistance for Cornwallis.^[4]

News of de Barras' departure led the British to realize that the Chesapeake was the target of the French fleet. By August 31, Graves had moved five ships of the line over the bar. Taking command of the combined fleet, now 19 ships, Graves sailed south, and arrived at the mouth of the Chesapeake on September 5, to see most of de Grasse's fleet anchored there.^[4]

Battle

Formation of fleets

De Grasse had detached a few of his ships to blockade the York and James Rivers farther up the bay, and many of the ships at anchor were missing officers, men, and boats when the British fleet was sighted. Rather than directly attacking the French fleet at anchor, Graves ordered his fleet to form a line of battle aimed at the bay's mouth.^[6]

At 11:30 am, 24 ships of the French fleet cut their anchor lines and began sailing out of the bay with the noon tide, leaving behind the shore contingents and ships' boats.^[6] By 1 pm, the two fleets were roughly facing each other, but sailing on opposite tacks. In order to engage, and to avoid some shoals near the mouth of the bay, Graves then ordered his whole fleet to wear, a maneuver that reversed his line of battle, but enabled them to line up with the French line that formed as its ships exited the bay. This placed the division of Hood, his most aggressive leader, at the rear of the line.^[7][8] It was after 4 pm, over 6 hours since the two fleets had first sighted each other, when the British—who still had the weather gage, and therefore the initiative—opened their attack.^[8]

At this point, both fleets were sailing generally east, away from the bay, with winds from the north-northeast.^[6] The two lines were approaching at an angle so that the leading ships of the vans of both lines were within range of each other, while the ships at the rear were too far apart to engage. The French had a firing advantage, since the lee gage meant they could open their lower gun ports, while the British had to leave theirs closed to avoid water washing onto the lower decks. Both sides were inconvenienced by crew shortages, the French because they had left their shore detachments behind. The French fleet, in addition to outnumbering the British in the number of ships and total guns, had heavier guns capable of throwing more weight, and thus had a decided advantage. Its state of repair was also somewhat better.^[8]

The battle began with HMS Intrepid opening fire against the Marseillais, its counterpart near the head of the line. The action very quickly became general, with the van and center of each line fully engaged.^[8] Graves made signals for the van to close, but also left signals for maintaining line of battle. Hood, directing the rear, interpreted the instruction to maintain line of battle to take precedence, and as a consequence his division never became significantly engaged in the action.^[9] The British van took the brunt of the assault, and HMS Terrible, which was already in fairly poor condition, was badly mauled.^[10] With the onset of darkness, firing ended. Graves gave a general signal to keep to windward so that the heads of the two fleets separated.

Aftermath

For several days after the battle the two fleets continued to maneuver within sight of each other, as ships on both sides carried out repairs.^[11] De Grasse tried on several occasions to reengage the British, without success, all the while trying to make sure the fleets stayed away from de Barras' route.^[12] French scouts spied de Barras' fleet on September 9, and de Grasse turned his fleet back toward Chesapeake Bay that night. Arriving on September 12, he found that de Barras had arrived in the bay on the 10th.^[13] Graves turned his battered fleet toward New York on September 13, after learning that the two French fleets had successfully joined. He arrived off Sandy Hook on September 20.^[14]

The French success left them firmly in control of Chesapeake Bay. In addition to capturing a number of smaller British vessels, de Grasse and de Barras assigned their smaller vessels to assist in the transport of Washington's and Rochambeau's forces from Head of Elk to Yorktown.

After effecting repairs in New York, Admiral Graves sailed from New York October 19 leading 25 ships of the line and transports carrying 7,000 troops to relieve Cornwallis. It was the day Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, which led to peace two years later with British recognition of the United States of America.

Memorial

At the Cape Henry Memorial located at Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Virginia, there is monument maintained by the Colonial National Historical Park of the National Park Service which commemorates Admiral de Grasse and his sailors who helped the United States achieve its independence from Great Britain.

Ships involved

(Ship — guns, Commander)

Notes

References

External links

• War for Independence—Battle of the Capes on u-s-history.com
• Center of Military History, Battle of the Virginia Capes
• Role of the Spanish in the Battle of Yorktown

Virginia during the American Revolutionary War 1774 Fairfax Resolves · Virginia Conventions 1775 Fincastle Resolutions · "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" · Gunpowder Incident · Formation of Culpeper Minutemen · Formation of Ethiopian Regiment · Battle of Kemp's Landing · Battle of Great Bridge 1776 Burning of Norfolk · Virginia Declaration of Rights · Formation of Lee's Legion 1781 Battle of Cape Henry · Battle of Blandford · Skirmish at Waters Creek · Battle of Spencer's Ordinary · Francisco's Fight · Battle of Green Spring · Battle of the Chesapeake · Siege of Yorktown

Coordinates: 36°51′59.18″N 75°34′29.82″W / 36.8664389°N 75.57495°W / 36.8664389; -75.57495 (Battle of the Chesapeake)