Battle of Fort Royal

The Battle of Fort Royal was a naval battle fought off Fort Royal, Martinique in the West Indies during the American War of Independence on 29 April 1781 between fleets of the British Royal Navy and the French Navy. After an engagement lasting four hours, the British squadron under Sir Samuel Hood broke off and retreated. De Grasse offered a desultory chase before seeing the French convoys safely to port.

Background
In March 1781, a large French fleet under the command of Comte de Grasse left the port of Brest. Most of this fleet was destined for the West Indies; of the 26 ships of the line, one was sent to North America, and five, under the command of the Bailli de Suffren, were destined for India. The remaining twenty arrived off Martinique on April 28. Before passing to the lee (western) side of the island, de Grasse anchored the fleet and sent someone ashore for news. He learned that a British fleet of 17 ships of the line under Samuel Hood was blockading Fort Royal, preventing the four French ships in anchored there from leaving.

Hood was under orders from the fleet's station commander, Admiral George Brydges Rodney, to maintain the blockade of the port on the lee side, in spite of his protestations that this would put him at a disadvantage in any action involving an arriving fleet. While he was disadvantaged by the position and his inferior strength, all of his ships had coppered bottoms (improving their performance), and he was not burdened with the responsibility of escorting a convoy.

Battle
De Grasse ordered his fleet to prepare for action on the morning of April 29, and sailed for Fort Royal with the convoy ships hugging the coast, and the armed ships in battle line. Hood's fleet was spotted around 8 am, slowly bearing toward them, but de Grasse held the weather gage. At about 9:20, Hood was joined by the Prince William, a 64-gun ship that had been at St. Lucia. The two fleets then continued to maneuver for advantage, but Hood's leeward position meant he was unable to prevent de Grasse from bringing the convoy to harbor, and the meeting of de Grasse's fleet and the four blockaded ships. Around 11:00, de Grasse's van began firing at long range, with no effect. By 12:30 the two fleets were aligned, but de Grasse refused to take advantage of the weather gage to close with Hood, in spite of Hood's efforts to bring the French to him. The fleets then exchanged cannonades and broadsides for the next hour, but at long range, the damage incurred was modest. The four British ships on the southern end of the line suffered the most damage, since they were targeted by eight French ships. Hood finally drew away toward St. Lucia.

Aftermath
Hood dispatched the Russell, which had been holed below the waterline to St. Eustatius for repairs, and to bring news of the action to Admiral Rodney. Hood spent the next day in fruitless attempts to gain the windward, and eventually made sail to the north. He met Rodney on May 11 between St. Kitts and Antigua, the latter having left St. Eustatius on May 5.

Reports of French casualties vary considerably, from as few as 74 killed and wounded to more than 250.

British fleet
British order of battle as provided by Clowes, p. 482.
 * HMS Alfred (1778), 74, Captain William Bayne
 * HMS Belliqueux (1780), 64, Captain James Brine
 * HMS Alcide (1779), 74, Captain Charles Thompson
 * HMS Invincible (1765), 74, Captain Sir Richard Bickerton
 * HMS Monarch (1765), 74, Captain Francis Reynolds
 * HMS Barfleur (1768), 90, Captain John Knight, Rear-Admiral Samuel Hood
 * HMS Terrible (1762), 74, Captain James Ferguson
 * HMS Princessa (1780), 70, Captain Sir Thomas Rich
 * HMS Ajax (1767), 74, Captain John Symons
 * HMS Resolution (1770), 74, Captain Lord Robert Manners
 * HMS Montagu (1779), 74, Captain John Houlton
 * HMS Gibraltar (1780), 80, Captain Charles Knatchbull, Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Samuel Drake
 * HMS Centaur (1759), 74, Captain John Neale Pleydell Nott
 * HMS Prince William (1780), 64, Captain Stair Douglas
 * Torbay, 74, Captain John Lewis Gidoin
 * HMS Intrepid (1770), 64, Captain Anthony James Pye Molloy
 * HMS Shrewsbury (1758), 74, Captain Mark Robinson