The Capture of the La Minerve off Toulon, June 24, 1795

Capture of Minerve off Toulon - Thomas Whitcombe

This weekend I was back at the wargaming table as I had the pleasure of playtesting Scenario 21, one of a hundred single-ship, small squadron engagements I have been compiling principally for use with Kiss Me, Hardy (KMH) and To Covet Glory (TCG), with set-up arrangements, victory conditions, break off rules and a mixture of meeting engagements and chases, which produce different games and with the two closely linked where one can quickly change to the other as circumstances permit.

These scenarios are garnered from the work of the great naval historian, William James, and his colossal work that documented the great sea fights and small actions fought by the British Royal Navy between 1793 and 1815 that cover the principal wars against Revolutionary France and her allies, 1793 to 1801, Napoleonic France and her allies 1802-1815 and the United States of America from 1812-1815, in the Naval History of Great Britain Volumes 1 to 6 extending into the close of the age of sail era in 1827, that includes the Battle of Algiers 1816, Navarin 1827 and the Burmese War of 1824.

Scenario 21 recreates the action fought on the 24th June 1795 that resulted in the capture of the French 40-gun frigate La Minerve and is outlined below in James' account of the fight that ensued, and in the post I thought I would take a look at the historical fight and the ships involved with a link to the club blog below and an AAR of how the scenario we played turned out.

Lowestoffe & Dido vs Minerve & Artemise 24th June 1795, 0845, 41°8'N 5°30'E

In the month of June Admiral Hotham, while cruising with the British fleet off the Island of Minorca, received intelligence that the French fleet was at sea. To ascertain the fact, the admiral, on the evening of the 23rd, detached the 28-gun frigate Dido, Captain George Henry Towry, and 12-pounder 32-gun frigate Lowestoffe, Captain Robert Gambler Middleton, to reconnoitre the road of Toulon

Lowestoffe & Dido vs Minerve & Artemise 24th June 1795, 0845, 41°8'N 5°30'E

On the 24th, at 4 a.m., latitude 41° 8' north, longitude 5° 30' east, these frigates, standing close hauled on the larboard tack, with the wind at north-north-west, descried approaching them, nearly ahead, the French 40-gun frigate Minerve, Captain Perree, and 36-gun frigate Artemise, Captain Charbonnier, which frigates, by a singular coincidence, had been ordered by the French admiral to proceed off Minorca, and ascertain the truth of a rumour that the British fleet was at sea.

As soon as the private signal made by the Dido, who was ahead of her consort, discovered the relation of the parties to each other, the French frigates wore round on the other tack and stood away. The Dido and Lowestoffe immediately made sail in chase. At 7 a.m. it was evident that the French frigates were leaving their pursuers; but at 8 a.m. the Minerve and Artemise, as a proof that they were not disposed to decline a combat with two ships, whose inferior force must now have betrayed itself, again wore round, and, with French colours flying, stood on under easy sail to meet the Dido and Lowestoffe; who, with colours hoisted, and all clear for action, kept their course to hasten the junction.

On arriving within about a mile of the Dido's larboard and weather bow, the Minerve, who was at some distance ahead of her consort, wore round on the same tack as the Dido, and at 8 h. 30 m. a.m. opened her fire upon the latter. The Dido, however, reserved her fire until 8 h. 45 m.; when, having got close under the Minerve's starboard and lee beam, the British frigate commenced a steady and well-directed cannonade. In about five minutes the Minerve, suddenly bearing up, with yards square, attempted to decide the contest at once by running down the little ship that was presuming to contend with her.

The table plan for our game, with the two forces cleared for action.
'. . . at 8 a.m. the Minerve and Artemise, as a proof that they were not disposed to decline a combat with two ships, whose inferior force must now have betrayed itself, again wore round, and, with French colours flying, stood on under easy sail to meet the Dido and Lowestoffe; who, with colours hoisted, and all clear for action, kept their course to hasten the junction.'

Just as the Minerve's flying jib-boom was about to touch the Dido's main yard, the latter put her helm a port, to avoid receiving directly upon her beam, a shock which, with the weight and impetus of the French frigate, must have sent her to the bottom. Owing to this well-planned movement, the Dido received the blow obliquely, the luff of the Minerve's starboard bow taking her on the larboard quarter. But so heavy, notwithstanding Captain Towry's precaution, was the shock, that it drove the Dido nearly athwart the hawse of the Minerve; and, the latter's jib-boom being carried away by the former's main rigging, the bowsprit of the Minerve became locked in the mizen rigging of the Dido.

From the bowsprit, thus favourably placed, the Frenchmen, under cover of the Minerve's foremost guns and a heavy fire of musketry, attempted to board, but were prevented, as well by the pikemen on the Dido's quarter-deck, as by the violence with which the ships, owing to a great swell and hollow sea, were striking against each other. After about a quarter of an hour's contest in this situation, and when the Dido was literally hanging by her mizen rigging on the Minerve's bowsprit, the latter snapped short in two, carrying overboard with it, besides eight or ten of the French boarders, the Dido's badly wounded mizenmast.

Laid down in January 1792, and launched in 1794 in Toulon, Minerve had a brief initial career before her capture, taking the British collier Hannibal off the island of Ibiza on the 14th December of that year before herself being taken in this action.

The wreck was quickly cleared; and the colours of the Dido having fallen into the sea with the gaff, the signalman, Henry Barling, with characteristic bravery, nailed a union jack to the stump of the mast. As soon as she had thus cleared herself, the Minerve passed along the Dido's larboard beam, rubbing sides the whole way, and the mutual cannonade recommenced with vigour. Presently, however, the lower yards of the Minerve, hooking the leeches of the Dido's two remaining topsails, tore them out of the bolt-ropes; and the French frigate, continuing to range ahead, left the Dido almost a wreck upon her larboard quarter.

Having, owing to the Dido's position ahead of the Minerve, been prevented from firing into the latter's stern as she passed under it to assist her consort, the Lowestoffe now placed herself on the Minerve's larboard bow, about a ship's length from her; and at 9 a.m. opened her fire, which, in six or eight minutes, brought down by the board the French frigate's unsupported foremast, also her main and mizen topmasts. About this time the Artemise, who, in running past, had fired an ineffectual broadside into each of the British frigates, hauled her wind and made all sail.

Artémise was a 32-gun Magicienne-class frigate, and was under construction in Toulon when the Coalition seized the city in August 1793,  leaving her behind  when they evacuated the city in December 1793. At the action of 24 June 1795, she escaped while Minerve was captured, seeing her captain relieved of his command for leaving Minerve.

At 9 h. 15 m. a.m., the escape of the Minerve being rendered impossible, Captain Towry caused the signal to chase to be spread over the Dido's quarter. The Lowestoffe thereupon quitted the Minerve, and made all sail in pursuit of the Artemise; and the Dido, setting her only serviceable sail, the foresail, stretched ahead to repair her damages. The Artemise and Lowestoffe soon began exchanging their chase-guns; but the latter, having unfortunately received a shot through her mizenmast, could not carry her mizen topsail. In consequence of this, the Artemise gained upon the Lowestoffe so much, that Captain Towry, at 10 h. 30 m. a.m., made the latter s signal of recall.

At 11 h. 30 m. the Lowestoffe again closed with the Minerve on the starboard quarter, and soon opened upon her a heavy raking fire. In the meantime the Dido, having bent new fore and main topsails, and partially repaired her damaged rigging, had wore and made sail in the direction of the Minerve; who, at 11 h. 45 m., on her mizenmast being shot away by the board, and with it her colours, hailed the Lowestoffe to send a boat and take possession. At this time the Artemise was nearly hull down to windward; and the Minerve, certainly, if not in a defenceless, was in an utterly unmanageable state.

HMS Dido was one of the twenty-seven Enterprise class of 28-gun sixth-rate frigates and was

commissioned in September 1787. Enjoying a long service career, not being broken up until 1817. 

The Dido, out of her complement of 193 men and boys, had her boatswain (Cuthbert Douglas) and five seamen killed, her first-lieutenant (Richard Buckoll, who, however, did not quit the deck), captain's clerk (Richard Willan), and 13 seamen wounded.

Dido's notable contribution to the taking of the Minerve was remarkable when it is remembered that

the weight of Minerve's broadside alone was greater than that of the two British frigates together, seeing the Admiralty duly award the two captains a Naval Gold Medal each, and in 1847 issuing to all surviving claimants from the action the Naval General Service Medal with the clasps "Dido 24 June 1795" and "Lowestoffe 24 June 1795".

The Lowestoffe, out of her complement of 212, had none killed and only three wounded. Each of these frigates carried the guns of her class, as described in the table below, with four 18-pounder carronades in addition; making the Lowestoffe's guns 36, and those of the Dido 32.

The Minerve mounted two carronades less than her establishment, see below, or 42 guns in all, with a complement on board of 318 men and boys, and is represented to have lost upwards of 20 in killed and wounded (among the latter her captain), exclusive of those that were drowned by the falling of the bowsprit.

Note: James rates Artémise as a 36-gunner rather than the 32-gunner with some sources suggesting her four extra guns weren't added until 1798, prior to her destruction at the Battle of the Nile.

The loss sustained by the Artemise, a regular 36, mounting 40 guns, out of a complement amounting at least to 300, could not of course be ascertained, but, from her small share in the action, was probably of very slight amount.

In every point of view, this was a gallantly-fought action on the part of the British. The Minerve alone was superior in broadside weight of shot to the Dido and Lowestoffe together, and the Artemise was rather more than a match for the Lowestoffe.

The conduct of Captain Towry was noble in the extreme. His senior rank gave him, although commanding the smaller ship, the right of choosing his antagonist, and he did not hesitate a moment in laying the Dido alongside a ship of nearly double her size and force. A ship of 1102 tons, and 318 men, coming stem-on upon a ship of 595 tons, and 193 men, was indeed a critical situation for the latter; and, had the Minerve's consort not behaved in a most dastardly manner, the Dido at least must have become the prize of the French commodore.

The 32-gun frigate HMS Lowestoffe - Derek Gardner
HMS Lowestoffe was a 32-gun fifth-rate frigate built during the latter part of the Seven Years' War, she went on to see action in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary War, and served often in the Caribbean. A young Horatio Nelson served aboard her shortly after passing his lieutenant's examination.

It was well for the Dido that the Lowestoffe's captain possessed none of the backwardness of the captain of the Artemise; and, indeed, so ready is Captain Towry to admit the benefit he derived from his consort's aid; so far is he from wishing to monopolize the credit of the victory, that in his official letter he says, "By Captain Middleton's good conduct the business of the day was, in a great measure, brought to a fortunate issue."

The Minerve was conducted in safety to Port Mahon, and afterwards to Ajaccio, and was added to the British navy, under the command of Captain Towry, as a 38-gun frigate; to which class, from her fine qualifications, the Minerve became a valuable acquisition. The Dido’s first-lieutenant, already named, was justly promoted to the rank of commander; as was also Mr. Joshua Sydney Horton, the first-lieutenant of the Lowestoffe.

The table set up at the DWG yesterday in readiness for our refight of this remarkable action.
Devon Wargames Group - Action off Toulon, June 1795, Kiss Me Hardy

As can be seen from James' account, the Minerve put up quite a fight as did her opponents Dido and Lowestoffe with Artémise not so much, perhaps typifying the mixed resolve of the officers serving the French Revolutionary Navy of that time, so much so that a British commander could never be certain of the fight he might get from one action to the next.

As will be seen from the account of our game, the events had some distinct similarities with encounters of the 'right up against the bulwarks kind' and a good old boarding action to follow, to some very different ones with regard to the fighting performance of the two French frigates compared to their historical counterparts; although an unfortunate morale test result didn't help, that eight times out of ten would normally have been passed with flying colours, if you'll excuse the pun of another historically based British expression from the glorious days of Royal Naval history.

You can follow the link above to read the account of this scenario, which proved to be the entertaining game that James' account promised.

More anon 

JJ