| Battle of Toulon | | Part of the War of the Austrian Succession | 
The Battle of Toulon by José Manuel de Moraleda. Watercolour on paper, 1783. | | | | Belligerents |  Spain
 [1] France |  Great Britain | | Commanders | | Juan José Navarro | Thomas Mathews,
Richard Lestock,
William Rowley | | Strength | 27 ships of the line,
3 frigates,
3 others,
(1,806 guns) | 30 ships of the line,
3 frigates,
6 others,
(2,280 guns) | | Casualties and losses | 149 dead
467 wounded
5 ships damaged
1 ship sunk[2] | 142 dead
196 wounded[3][4]
10 ships damaged
1 ship sunk[2] | The naval Battle of Toulon or Battle of Cape Sicié took place on 22 February 1744 (New Style) between 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Toulon, France (Cape Sicié is near Toulon). A Spanish convoy fought off Britain's Mediterranean fleet. The French fleet only joined the fighting at the end of the battle, when the British fleet retreated. While some authors assessed the action as a British marginal victory,[5] the battle is largely viewed as indecisive by English-language sources,[6][7][8][9][10][11], or even as a fiasco.[12] The Spanish depict the engagement as a success of their own, to the point that Admiral Juan José Navarro was created Marqués de la Victoria (Marquess of Victory) after his conduct of the battle.[13][14] [edit] Engagement On 22 February 30 British ships under Thomas Mathews attacked the Spanish rear of a French-Spanish combined fleet of 27 ships, while the French centre and vanguard kept apart from the combat. Mathews had been following the French fleet in case either side declared war on the other as part of the War of the Austrian Succession. The 12 Spanish ships were under command of Don Juan José Navarro. At 5:00 p.m., both sides drew away from each other. They attacked each other from afar the next day, but the British suffered heavily, and the French ships approached to help their Spanish allies, forcing the British to withdraw. Finally, on 24 February, Mathews retreated to Mahon, Minorca, then under British control. [edit] Aftermath Mathews' second in command, Vice Admiral Richard Lestock, later petitioned King George II of Great Britain to hold a court-martial against many of the British officers, including Mathews. Mathews and several other officers were dismissed from the Royal Navy. [edit] Order of Battle [edit] France and Spain Van
Boree 64
Tolosa 60
Tigre 50
Eole 64
Alcion 56
Duc d'Orleans 68
Espoir 74 (flag of de Gavaret)
Center
Trident 64
Heureux 60
Aquilon 44
Sólide 64
Diamant 50
Firme 70
Terrible 74 (flag)
Sancti Spiritus 68
Serieux 64
Rear
Oriente* 60
América* 60
Neptuno* 60
Poder* 60 - Damaged and captured but recaptured, scuttled next day
Constante* 70
Real Felipe* 114 (flag of Juan José Navarro)
Hércules* 64
Brillante* 60
Halcón* 60
San Fernando* 64
Soberbio* 60
Santa Isabel* 80
3 frigates
2 fire ships
1 battleship being used as a hospital ship Ships marked * were Spanish. [edit] Britain (Thomas Mathews) Van
Chatham 50
Nassau 70
Chichester 80
Boyne 80
Barfleur 90 (flag of Rowley)
Princess Caroline 80
Berwick 70
Stirling Castle 70 - lead ship of van division, survived engagement
Bedford 70
Center
Dragon 60
Royal Oak 70
Princess 70
Somerset 80
Norfolk 80
Marlborough 90
Dorsetshire 80
Essex 70 (Richard Norris)
Rupert 60
Namur 90 (flag)
Rear
Salisbury 50
Romney 50
Dunkirk 60
Revenge 70
Cambridge 80
Neptune 90 (flag of Lestock)
Torbay 80
Russell 80
Buckingham 70
Elizabeth 70
Kingston 60
Oxford 50
Warwick 60
3 frigates
3 fire ships - One of them, the Ann Galley, was blown up by the guns of the Real Felipe[2]
3 brigantines - ^ George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana, The American Cyclopaedia, New York, 1874, p. 250, "...the standard of France was white, sprinkled with golden fleur de lis...". *[1]The original Banner of France was strewn with fleurs-de-lis. *[2]:on the reverse of this plate it says: "Le pavillon royal était véritablement le drapeau national au dix-huitième siecle...Vue du chateau d'arrière d'un vaisseau de guerre de haut rang portant le pavillon royal (blanc, avec les armes de France)."[3] from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: "The oriflamme and the Chape de St Martin were succeeded at the end of the 16th century, when Henry III., the last of the house of Valois, came to the throne, by the white standard powdered with fleurs-de-lis. This in turn gave place to the famous tricolour."
- ^ a b c Carlos Martínez-Valverde (1983): La campaña de don Juan José Navarro en el Mediterráneo y la batalla de Sicié (1742-1744) Revista de Historia Naval (Spanish)
- ^ Allen, Joseph: Admirals Mathews and Lestock. The United service magazine, part 2, pp. 327-329. H. Colburn, 1842
- ^ Biggs, William: The military history of Europe: from the commencement of the war with Spain in 1739, to the treaty of Aix-la Chapelle in 1748 R. Baldwin, 1755, page 272
- ^ Browning, p. 155
- ^ Waldegrave Head, p. 289
- ^ Roskill, p. 60
- ^ White, p. 358
- ^ Williams Damer Power, p. 4
- ^ Garner Thomas, p. 119
- ^ Crofts, p. 31
- ^ Willis, p. 62
- ^ O'Donnell Duque de Estrada y Conde de Lucena, Hugo: El primer Marqués de La Victoria, personaje silenciado en la reforma dieciochesca de la Armada. Real Academia de la Historia, 2004, p. 63. ISBN 8496849082 (Spanish)
- ^ Vaca de Osma, José: Carlos III. Ediciones Rialp, 1997, p. 63. ISBN 8432131415 (Spanish)
[edit] Bibliography - Browning, Reed. The War of the Austrian Succession. Alan Sutton, 1994.
- Rodger N.A.M. Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815. Penguin Books, 2006.
- Roskill, Stephen Wentworth: H. M. S. Warspite: the story of a famous battleship. Collins, 1957.
- Waldegrave Head, Frederick: The fallen Stuarts. Issue 12 of Cambridge historical essays. Prince consort prize essays. Cambridge University press, 1901.
- White, Henry: History of Great Britain and Ireland. Oxford University, 1868.
- Williams Damer Power, John: Bristol privateers and ships of war. J. W. Arrowsmith Ltd., 1930.
- Garner Thomas, Peter: Politics in eighteenth-century Wales. University of Wales Press, 1998. ISBN 0708314449
- Crofts, Cecil H.: Britain on and Beyond the Sea - Being a Handbook to the Navy League Map of the World. Read Books, 2008. ISBN 1443766143
- Willis, Sam: Fighting at sea in the eighteen century: the art of sailing warfare. Boydell Press, 2008. ISBN 1843833670
[edit] External links Coordinates: 42°46′45.39″N 5°41′27.30″E / 42.779275°N 5.690917°E / 42.779275; 5.690917 |
