Action of 10 April 1795 1795
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 10 April 1795 – 11 April 1795 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1795 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Nearest landmass | At sea (nearest continent: Europe) | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | French Revolutionary Wars | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | France, Kingdom of Great Britain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 49.5000, -10.7667 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The action of 10 April 1795 was a minor naval engagement during the French Revolutionary Wars in which a squadron of French Navy frigates was intercepted by a British battle squadron under Rear-Admiral John Colpoys which formed part of the blockade of the French naval base of Brest in Brittany. The French squadron split up in the face of superior British numbers, the three vessels seeking to divide and outrun the British pursuit. One frigate, Gloire was followed by the British frigate HMS Astraea and was ultimately brought to battle in a closely fought engagement. Although the ships were roughly equal in size, the British ship was easily able to defeat the French in an engagement lasting just under an hour.
The other French ships were pursued by British ships of the line and the chase lasted much longer, into the morning of 11 April when HMS Hannibal caught the frigate Gentille. Hannibal was far larger than its opponent and the French captain surrendered immediately rather than fight a futile engagement. The third French frigate, Fraternité successfully escaped. After refitting in Portsmouth, Colpoys' ships returned to their station off Brest, the blockade remaining in place for the remainder of the year.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Action of 10 April 1795 (revision 1370425796), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Action of 6 November 1794 1794 · 243 km
- French expedition to Ireland (1796) 1796 · 243 km
- Siege of Dunboy 1602 · 245 km
- Battle of Bantry Bay 1689 · 250 km
- Battle of Castlehaven 1601 · 250 km
- Battle of Ushant (1778) 1778 · 268 km
Other battles of the French Revolutionary Wars
- Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies 1794
- First Battle of Dego 1794
- Frigate action of 29 May 1794 1794
- Glorious First of June 1794
- Siege of Luxembourg (1794–1795) 1794
- Action of 22 August 1795 1795
- Action of 24 June 1795 1795
- Battle of Genoa (1795) 1795
- Battle of Groix 1795
- Battle of the Hyères Islands 1795
All 81 battles of the French Revolutionary Wars →
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