Action of 22 January 1809 1809
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 22 January 1809 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1809 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | 19th century (1800–1913) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Napoleonic Wars | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 16.2139, -61.8000 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The action of 22 January 1809 was a minor naval engagement fought off the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe during the Napoleonic Wars. The action was fought as part of the blockade of Guadeloupe and neighbouring Martinique by a large British Royal Navy squadron, which was seeking to cut the islands off from contact and supplies from France by preventing the passage of shipping from Europe to the islands. The British blockade was part of their preparation for planned invasions during the next year.
The French made numerous efforts to supply their colonies during this period, attempting to use fast frigates to bring food and military stores to the Caribbean past the British blockades, themselves a response to Napoleon's Continental System, but often losing the vessels in the process. One such attempt was made by the French frigate Topaze, despatched from Brest to the colony of Cayenne with a large cargo of flour. Driven away from Cayenne by HMS Confiance, Topaze took refuge under the gun batteries of Guadeloupe.
Discovered at anchor off Pointe-Noire on 22 January by the British brig HMS Hazard, Topaze was isolated and attacked by two British frigates, led by Captain Samuel Pechell in HMS Cleopatra.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Action of 22 January 1809 (revision 1370426261), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Guadeloupe 1703 · 24 km
- Invasion of Guadeloupe (1759) 1759 · 25 km
- Battle of Guadeloupe (1779) 1779 · 27 km
- Battle of the Saintes 1782 · 52 km
- Battle of Guadalupe Island (1595) 1595 · 62 km
- Capture of Montserrat 1782 · 73 km
Other battles of the Napoleonic Wars
- Battle of Friedland 1807
- Capture of the Jeune Richard 1807
- Siege of Graudenz 1807
- Siege of Stralsund (1807) 1807
- Action of 10 November 1808 1808
- Action of 10 February 1809 1809
- Action of 31 May 1809 1809
- Battle of Kock (1809) 1809
- Battle of Les Sables-d'Olonne 1809
- Battle of Ratisbon 1809
All 50 battles of the Napoleonic Wars →
Browse more: battles in France · North America · 19th century battles