After spending the Hurricane season at anchor the French fleet was eager for action or movement of any kind. Admiral Bougainville had set a rotation of ships out to the far side of the island for gunnery practice and Naval exercises. Sailing in squadrons of six to eight ships the French were drilling their gun crews off the western point battery of Martinique. British interest in this new French presence was seen only as a set of sails far off on the northeastern horizon. The British watched and waited. Braving the risk of bad weather an intrepid Admiral Martin set about spying on the French operations. Admiral Haworth gained a vast understanding of the French powers in the area. Upon the capture of the French payroll Frigate "Escargot", Admiral Haworth had a full comprehension of the size of the French Fleet occupying Martinique. A plan is formed. By anticipating severe casualties in the coming operation against the French, Admiral Haworth and Admiral Martin devised a rue de guerre to trap the French fleet and close the mouth of the harbor. In mid December 1778 the Leeward Isle Squadron commanded by Haworth from the deck of the Monarch approached the French port under the French colours. By signaling the port authority that they had perishable cargo aboard two damaged merchant ships the British fleet was able to maneuver a set of fire ships up into the French Ships of the Line guarding the mouth to the port. Successful in one of the fireships the plucky British crew lit the fuse and made good their escape. The resultant explosion leveled the masts of the L'Orient. The other British fire ship was blundered into by two French merchants. The crew feeling that it was a waste of powder to destroy the dim French merchant captains failed to anticipate when the lights went on in the captain's heads! Merde! These Brutes are packed with gunpowder. In an interest of French maritime safety the British crews were hastily overpowered and the Merchant ship escorted away from the port opening. All told that fateful December battle cost the French three Ships of the Line: L'Orient-sunk, Actionaire-captured and towed away , Amphion-run aground and broken up , I 48 gun frigate -run aground, Merchant transport Gilly- captured. British losses were also severe: Catterick(frig), Falcon(frig),Dolphin(frig), Merchant- all destroyed. There was during this action an amphibious landing upon the Northwest battery guarding the fort. Brave lads from the Catterick bolstered by a contingent of marines assaulted the gun position from the landward side. Fearfully outnumbered, the British were subdued and put under guard in the port prison on Martinique. Subsequent attempts at their release to this date have been unsuccessful. That is a lot of action for the campaign this Gazette! Until next time - avoid the lee shore and give your capstan a few turns. Back to Table of Contents Penny Whistle #42 Back to Penny Whistle List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Lion's Den Publications. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com