Misplaced Pages

William Bayne

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
#800199

57-532: William Bayne may refer to: William Bayne (naval officer) (died 1782) William Bayne (1858–1922) , Scottish writer and lecturer William George Bayne (died 1910), chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council Bill Bayne (1899–1981), American baseball player See also [ edit ] William Bain (disambiguation) Bayne (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by

114-417: A few minutes after 11:00 am. Both fleets then drifted apart for some time and became temporarily becalmed. Around noon, both fleets observed that the waters were teeming with sharks attracted by the noise and blood. French casualties were greatly increased due to the high number of troops packed onto the lower decks: a minimum of 900 per ship and no fewer than 1,300 on Ville de Paris . In order to lessen

171-709: A plan against British forces. The strategic objectives of the Franco-Spanish military forces in the West Indies in this plan were: This plan became known as the "De Grasse–Saavedra Convention." The first objective had been essentially met by the surrender of the British army under General Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown in September 1781. De Grasse and his fleet had played a decisive part in that victory, after which they returned to

228-498: A supernumerary onboard Formidable . Sir Charles Douglas, a nephew of Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry , was Captain of the Fleet . Sir James Wallace was also present. Other commanders included Captains Blair, Buckner, Burnett, Charrington, Cornish, Dumaresq, Graves, Inglefield, Inglis, Knight, Parry, Saumarez, Savage, Symons, Truscott, Wilkinson, Williams, and Wilson. Frederick Thesiger , Acting Lieutenant on board Formidable ,

285-926: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages William Bayne (naval officer) William Bayne (died 9 April 1782), was an officer of the Royal Navy . He saw service during the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence , being killed in action in a brief engagement prior to the Battle of the Saintes . Bayne became a lieutenant on 5 April 1749; in 1755 he served in that rank on board HMS Torbay , in North American waters, with Admiral Edward Boscawen , and in November 1756

342-662: The Channel Fleet through 1779 and 1780. He afterwards went to the West Indies as part of the squadron with Sir Samuel Hood , and was present in the action off Fort Royal in Martinique on 29 April 1781, and in the action off the Chesapeake on 5 September. Owing to the faulty system of tactics then in vogue and almost compulsory, the Alfred had no active share in either of these battles,

399-731: The Spanish and French attempts to take Gibraltar , which for two years had been a costly disaster. Whilst de Grasse waited for reinforcements to undertake the Jamaica campaign, he captured St. Kitts in February 1782. The rest of the Windward Islands— Antigua , St. Lucia , and Barbados —still remained under British control. Admiral George Rodney arrived in the Caribbean theatre the following month, bringing reinforcements. These included 17 ships of

456-576: The "Escadre Bleue;" and Vaudreuil as a second-in-command flew the mixed white and blue colours of the "Blanche et Bleue." Other British commanders included Captain Lord Robert Manners of HMS Resolution , Admiral William Cornwallis in command of HMS Canada , and HMS Monarch under the command of Captain Francis Reynolds . Other aristocrats present included Captain Lord Cranstoun ,

513-448: The 90-gun HMS Namur . The remaining 31 ships were equipped with 64 to 74 guns. In total the British fleet had 2,620 guns compared to the French total of 2,526. Most of the British fleet was equipped with carronades on the upper decks, which had a major advantage in flexibility and were a great advantage at close quarters. In March 1782 Formidable was stationed at Gros Islet Bay between

570-619: The British fleet would soon be upon them and broke off the engagement to withdraw a safe distance. De Grasse moved his ships to the Saintes Islands to the north (south of Guadeloupe). Meanwhile, Rodney reversed the order of his line to bring Drake's hitherto undamaged ships to the front, and allow Hood to undertake repairs in the rear lines. On 10 April the French began 10 miles distant but did not turn to engage, instead continuing on their original course, and by nightfall had increased their separation to 15 miles. This appears to be partly due to

627-546: The British line, the sudden shift of wind let Rodney's flagship Formidable and several other ships, including Duke and HMS  Bedford , sail toward the French line. At 8:00 am Formidable raised the red flag to permit Marlborough to open fire and engage the French. At this point Marlborough was opposite Dauphin Royal , who received her full broadside. Sixteen ships in line separated Marlborough from Formidable and each stood 200 metres apart. As each circled past

SECTION 10

#1732869098801

684-497: The Caribbean. On arrival in Saint-Domingue in November 1781, the admiral was notified to proceed with a plan for the conquest of Jamaica. Jamaica was the largest and most profitable British island in the Caribbean, mainly because of sugar: it was more valuable to the British economy than all of the 13 American colonies. King George III wrote to Lord Sandwich , saying that he would protect Britain's important Caribbean islands at

741-602: The French during the American Revolutionary War . The British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse , forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned invasion of Jamaica . The battle is named after the Îles des Saintes , a group of small islands between Guadeloupe and Dominica in the West Indies . The French had blockaded the British Army at Chesapeake Bay

798-463: The French fleet in the darkness. Rodney rested for the remainder of the night. The sun rose at 5:30 am. The French fleet extended from six to 12 miles distant, navigating the waters between Dominica and Guadeloupe. The majority of the warships lay off Prince Rupert's Bay . Due to a dead calm from 3:00 until 7:00 am, neither fleet could move. The initial wind only reached Barfleur and its eight support ships, causing them to detach ahead of

855-606: The French, they fired a broadside against them. Second, behind Marlborough , was HMS Arrogant , who had been recently re-equipped and managed three broadsides against one from the French as they passed. Third in line was HMS Alcide under Captain Charles Thomson. Then followed HMS Nonsuch under Captain Truscott, and then HMS Conqueror under Captain George Balfour. Next in line was Admiral Drake on HMS Princessa , who

912-738: The battle at this stage, and many presumed her to be sunk. Formidable was followed by Namur under Captain Fanshawe and then St Albans under Captain Inglis . These were followed by the deadly Canada under Captain William Cornwallis , HMS Repulse under Captain Thomas Dumaresq, and HMS Ajax under Captain Nicholas Charrington. Each of these fired further upon the hapless and already crippled Glorieux . Simultaneously, and because of

969-598: The battle three days later, a national monument was placed in Westminster Abbey . Attribution: Battle of the Saintes The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique ), also known as the Battle of Dominica , was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The British victory was considered their greatest over

1026-713: The blue. This was headed by HMS America under Captain Thompson. HMS Hercules under Captain Henry Savage followed. Then came HMS Prothee under Captain Buckner and Resolution under Captain Robert Manners . The 24-year-old Manners was the first casualty on his ship and was severely injured in both legs and right arm, dying later of these wounds. Resolution was followed by Duke under Captain Alan Gardner . As Formidable

1083-424: The centre of the French line. Having remained parallel with the French, the ships of Drake's division passed the remaining length of de Grasse's line and the two sides exchanged broadsides , a typical naval engagement of the time. Marlborough headed the British attack. As the battle progressed, the strong winds of the previous day and night began to temper and became more variable. As the French line passed down

1140-416: The circumstances of which were afterwards much discussed. On returning to the West Indies the Alfred was with Sir Samuel Hood at the Battle of Saint Kitts , where she accidentally fouled the frigate HMS  Nymphe , cutting her down to the water, and losing her own bowsprit . This delayed the fleet at the very critical moment when Hood had proposed an unexpected attack on the French at anchor. No blame

1197-515: The confusion, the French had been throwing the dead (and perhaps the near-dead) overboard, a rich feast for the sharks. The French now lay totally to the leeward of the British fleet, which stood between them and their destination. They had little option on the re-emergence of the wind but to sail west with it and attempt escape. At 1:00 pm the frigate Richemont , under the command of Captain De Mortemart, but with Denis Decrès in charge of

SECTION 20

#1732869098801

1254-513: The enemy." As the wind rose around noon, it enabled most of the French fleet and part of the British fleet (including Rodney in Formidable ) to join the melee. At this point the French outnumbered the British two to one. Captain William Bayne on Alfred was killed during this action. After an inconclusive encounter during which both sides suffered damage, de Grasse realised that the remainder of

1311-502: The flag from the mast and surrender, which was done to Royal Oak . Captain Burnett used this opportunity to restock his depleted powder supplies. Meanwhile, Monarch stood alongside Andromache , who was acting as a supply ship to the British fleet; 40 barrels of powder were exchanged. In the next action, around 1:30 pm, Centaur and Bedford attacked the stricken César , captained by Bernard de Marigny , who refused to surrender and

1368-421: The incorrect presumption on Rodney's part that the French were going to turn to engage. On Wednesday 11 April two French ships, Zélé and Magnanime , who had accidentally collided and fallen behind the main French fleet, came into view around noon. Rodney decided that attacking these two ships would cause de Grasse to return to protect them, which worked: a large section of the French fleet turned to protect

1425-411: The island of St. Lucia and Pigeon Island . She was under the command of Admiral Rodney, serving as his flagship at the head of 36 ships of the line. Meanwhile, French Admiral de Grasse headed 34 ships of the line at Fort Royal Bay in Martinique. Rodney had been dispatched from Britain with 12 well-fitted ships to rescue the West Indies from a series of attacks from the French, which had already resulted in

1482-513: The line and gave the British a slight numerical advantage. On 7 April 1782, de Grasse set out from Martinique with 35 ships of the line, including two 50-gun ships and a large convoy of more than 100 cargo ships, to meet with a Spanish fleet of 12 ships of the line. In addition de Grasse was to rendezvous with 15,000 troops at Saint Domingue, who were earmarked for the conquest and intended to land on Jamaica's north coast. Rodney, on learning of this, sailed from St. Lucia in pursuit with 36 ships of

1539-421: The line the following day. The British ships' hulls by this time had been given copper sheathing to protect them from marine growth , fouling , and saltwater corrosion, dramatically improving speed and overall sailing performance in good wind. The British flagship was HMS Formidable under Admiral Rodney. Second in command was Admiral Samuel Hood . and third was Vice Admiral Francis Samuel Drake . As

1596-467: The line" was born here, it is logically of mixed blessings, since in breaking the enemy line, one breaks one's own line. Whilst the movement has the advantage that guns can be fired on both port and starboard sides, it also exposes the ship to attack on both sides. The advantage in this instance was that many of the French gunners left their post, in fear of Formidable' s three tiers of guns bearing down on them. Diadem appears to have fully withdrawn from

1653-561: The loss of several islands. They joined 24 ships on St. Lucia who had already seen action against the French and were undergoing repairs. The French had allies in the Spanish, who had 13 ships of the line at Cap‑Français on the island of San Domingo (Hispaniola). Together with transport ships, the Spanish had a considerable force of 24,000 men. They awaited the arrival of a further 10,000 French troops dispatched from Brest , under escort of five men-of-war, to further boost their strength. The plan

1710-473: The main fleet, which lay in the lee of Dominica. De Grasse saw the opportunity to cripple this advanced section and wheeled to begin the first attack. On 9 April 1782 the copper-sheathed British fleet caught up with the French, who were surprised by their speed. Admiral de Grasse ordered the French convoy to head into Guadeloupe for repair, forcing him to escort two 50-gun ships ( Fier and Experiment ), and placing his fleet in line of battle in order to cover

1767-502: The marines, was sent to join a towing cable to the heavily crippled Glorieux . Souverain moved alongside to provide covering fire. However, the British, with both wind and cannon-power in their favour, moved a number of ships up to block this movement. The captain of Glorieux was already dead, and the ship was now under command of the senior officer remaining, Lieutenant Trogoff de Kerlessi. Souverain and Richmond retreated under heavy fire, and Kerlessi had little choice but to tear

William Bayne - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-455: The men-of-war, heading for St. Pierre . Just past 4:00 pm Hood's Barfleur , at the head of the British fleet, espied five sails ahead that she presumed to be part of the French fleet. These came into view of Formidable around two hours later, just before sunset. They pursued the French through the night. At 2:00 am on 9 April, HMS St Albans dropped alongside Formidable , reporting that along with HMS Valiant , she had located

1881-766: The pair. These movements were executed without any physical attacks. On 12 April the French were ranged from six to 12 miles distant and were not in formation, as the two fleets manoeuvred between the northern end of Dominica and the Saintes in the Saintes Passage. The unfortunate Zélé had had a second collision during the night with one of its rescuers, Ville de Paris , and was now being towed to Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe by Astrée with General de Bouillé on board. They were chased by four British ships: Monarch , Valiant , HMS Centaur and HMS Belliqueux . De Grasse made for Guadeloupe and bore up with his fleet to protect

1938-402: The rear red squadron, HMS Prince William and Magnificent , had somehow passed Bedford , who was now third in line within the red squadron and completely detached from her own white squadron. The whole red squadron then passed between César and Hector , causing each to be crippled. The final ship of the red squadron, HMS Royal Oak , passed the stern of César and delivered a final blow

1995-434: The retreat. Hood's section of the fleet, headed by Barfleur , braced for the first attack. As the first action, HMS Alfred taunted the 18 approaching French ships under de Vaudreuil by exposing her broadside to the approaching French, but without consequence. The British patiently awaited the formal signal from Rodney on Formidable , some six miles behind, and eventually received a red flag signal telling them to "engage

2052-418: The risk of Britain herself, and this was the strategy implemented in 1779. Sugar made up 20% of all British imports and was worth five times as much as tobacco. The French and Spanish were fighting to take over Jamaica in order to expel the British from the West Indies, and to strike a massive blow against the British economy. The courts at Paris and Madrid perceived the invasion of Jamaica as an alternative to

2109-407: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Bayne&oldid=1082599134 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

2166-453: The ship. At the same time, Rodney recalled his chasing ships and made the signal for line of battle. Rear Admiral Hood's van division were still making repairs from the action three days earlier, so he directed his rear division, under Rear Admiral Drake, to take the lead. At 7:40, HMS  Marlborough under Captain Taylor Penny led the British line and opened battle when she approached

2223-409: The smoke and approached Ville de Paris at 8:40 am. The countermovement of the fleets brought a series of ships opposite Formidable in sequence behind Ville de Paris , movements that brought about a different pairing of enemies every five minutes. Next was Couronne , followed by Éveillé under Le Gardeur de Tilly, and then Sceptre under the command of de Vaudreuil. Within an hour,

2280-422: The smoke, Commodore Edmund Affleck on Bedford , the hindmost ship of the central white squadron, accidentally sailed through the confused French line, between César and Hector , only to discover this error when no enemy lay on his starboard side in the clearing smoke. Bedford was followed by Hood's red squadron and this broke the French line into three sections. In the confusion the two leading ships of

2337-416: The uncontrollable speed of the mastless Glorieux . Formidable turned to starboard and brought her port guns to bear on them. As a result, Formidable sailed through the gap, breaking the French line. This breach was further followed through by five other British ships. The breach was later recorded by Charles Dashwood , who was a midshipman on Formidable on that day. Although the concept of "breaking

William Bayne - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-461: The wind had shifted to the south, forcing the French line to separate and bear to the west, as it could not hold its course into the wind. This allowed the British to use guns on both sides of their ships without fear of return fire from the front and rear of the French ships, between which they were passing. The effect was greater using the carronades, with which the British had just equipped nearly half their fleet. This relatively new short-range weapon

2451-460: The year before, during the Siege of Yorktown , and supported the eventual American victory in their revolution. This battle, however, halted their momentum and had a significant effect on peace negotiations to end the war. The French suffered heavy casualties at the Saintes and many were taken prisoner, including de Grasse. Four French ships of the line were captured (including the flagship ) and one

2508-452: Was advanced to the command of a sloop of war. In 1760 he was promoted to post captain and given command of the 44-gun HMS  Woolwich , and served in that ship at the reduction of Martinique in 1762, and continued there aboard the frigate HMS  Stag , under the command of Vice-Admiral George Brydges Rodney . After this he had no command until 1778, when he was appointed to the newly built 74-gun HMS  Alfred , and served in

2565-464: Was appointed as Rodney's aide-de-camp shortly before the battle. A lookout squadron, a line of frigates headed by Captain George Anson Byron on HMS Andromache , reported all of de Grasse's movements at Fort Royal. This squadron included the speedy HMS Agamemnon and also HMS Magnificent . On 3 April it was signalled that the repairs on the French fleet were complete. On 5 April it

2622-460: Was attached to Captain Bayne for the accident, which was mainly due to the darkness of the night. Bayne quickly refitted his ship and resumed his station in the line, which won him credit, as did his distinguished conduct in the battle. When the fleet was reunited under the flag of Sir George Rodney, the Alfred continued under the immediate orders of Sir Samuel Hood, and with other ships of Hood's division

2679-517: Was destroyed. Rodney was credited with pioneering the tactic of " breaking the line " in the battle, though this is disputed. In October 1781 Admiral Comte de Grasse, commander of the French fleet in the West Indies; Francisco Saavedra de Sangronis , General Bureau for the Spanish Indies; and Bernardo de Gálvez , court representative and aide to the Spanish Governor of Louisiana , developed

2736-414: Was engaged in the partial action with the French on 9 April 1782, just prior to the Battle of the Saintes . It was little more than a distant interchange of fire between the respective vans; but one shot carried off Captain Bayne's leg about mid-thigh. Before a tourniquet could be applied, he was dead. To his memory, jointly with that of Captains William Blair and Lord Robert Manners , who were killed in

2793-417: Was flanked by HMS Belliqueux and HMS Prince William and soon surrendered. They then took possession of Glorieux and caught up with the French rear at around 3pm. Admiral de Grasse signalled other ships to protect Ville de Paris , but this was only partially fulfilled. Nine ships from de Vaudreuil's squadron came to his aid. The British fleet bore down on this small group. In succession Rodney's ships isolated

2850-489: Was for Grasse's fleet, with at least 5,000 further troops, to unite with the Spanish at Cap‑Français, and from there to attack and capture the island of Jamaica with their conjoined armada of some 60 ships and 40,000 troops. Rodney had been in communication with de Grasse during March, organising the exchange of prisoners, who were conveyed by HMS Alert under Captain Vashon. The two officers had much mutual respect. Rodney's task

2907-688: Was in command of the first 12 vessels, and was followed by Prince George under Captain Williams. Then came the 100-year-old HMS Torbay under Captain Keppel and the year-old HMS Anson under Captain William Blair on the main deck, who was struck by round shot at waist level and sliced in two. The blue squadron was then completed by HMS Fame and HMS Russell under Captain James Saumarez . The white squadron under Rodney followed in exact formation after

SECTION 50

#1732869098801

2964-429: Was in the centre of the British line, it took her almost an hour to reach the centre of the action. All ships had to maintain a steady speed, and as she passed de Grasse's flagship, the 104-gun Ville de Paris , the two met for the first time. Ville de Paris was already damaged by the 15 ships ahead of Formidable in the line. Although it was a sunny day, the smoke of the battle was like a dense fog. Formidable entered

3021-400: Was quicker to reload and more of them could be carried. Glorieux , under command of Captain des Cars, moving in the wake of Ville de Paris , was the next victim. Virtually a sitting duck due to damage in the previous 10 minutes from Duke , she was quickly pounded and dismasted by intense fire. In the confusion four French ships beginning with Diadem broke out of sequence, partly due to

3078-402: Was reported that the French troops were boarding the ships. At 8:00 am on Sunday 8 April, it was reported that the French fleet were leaving Fort Royal. Rodney's fleet called all men to join their ships and they began leaving Gros Islet Bay at 10:30 am. The total French armada comprised 35 ships of the line, 10 frigates, and over 100 smaller ships. The smaller ships moved in advance of

3135-447: Was seriously wounded in the first five minutes. Command then fell to his Captain Paul. With their formation shattered and many of their ships severely damaged, the French fell away to the southwest in small groups. Rodney attempted to redeploy and make repairs before pursuing the French. By 2:00 pm the wind had freshened and a general chase ensued. As the British pressed south, Ardent

3192-759: Was the convention of the day, the fleet was split into three sections: Rodney had individual control as Admiral of the White of 12 ships flying the White Ensign ; Drake had command of 12 ships as Admiral of the Blue flying the Blue Ensign ; and Hood was Admiral of the Red with 12 ships flying the Red Ensign . Formidable was accompanied by three 98-gun ships: HMS Barfleur (commanded by Hood), HMS Prince George , and HMS Duke , plus

3249-482: Was to intercept the French fleet en route to Cap‑Français. Grasse's vice admiral at the time was Louis-Philippe de Rigaud, Marquis de Vaudreuil . Third in command was Louis Antoine de Bougainville . The French flagship was the huge 104-gun Ville de Paris . The troops were under the command of the Marquis de Bouillé . The French fleet was also split into three squadrons: Grasse led the "Cornette Blanche;" Bougainville led

#800199