page_title: Raid on Boulogne
section_title: Preparations
hierarchical_section_title: Raid on Boulogne / Preparations
context_page_description: The Raid on Boulogne in 1804 was a naval assault by elements of the Royal Navy on the fortified French port of Boulogne, during the Napoleonic Wars. It differed from the conventional tactics of naval assaults of the period by utilizing a wide range of new equipment produced by the American-born inventor Robert Fulton, with the backing of the Admiralty. Despite its ambitious aims the assault produced little material damage to the French fleet anchored in the harbour, but did perhaps contribute to a growing sense of defeatism amongst the French as to their chances of crossing the English Channel in the face of the Royal Navy and launching a successful invasion of the United Kingdom.
context_section_description: Napoleon left Boulogne on 27 August, bound for Aachen to visit the tomb of Charlemagne, and to see his wife Joséphine. The army remained encamped outside Boulogne and the British were initially suspicious that his departure was a ruse, and that he would double back unexpectedly to take command of the army and launch the invasion. In the meantime the frigate HMS Immortalite was sent under the command of Captain Edward Owen to carry out surveys along the French coast around the port. Fulton subsequently pronounced his inventions ready, and an assault was planned for early October. Working at Portsmouth Dockyard Fulton had built several types of craft and explosive devices. The 'torpedo-catamaran' was a coffer-like device balanced on two wooden floats and steered by a man with a paddle. Weighted with lead so as to ride low in the water, the operator was further disguised by wearing dark clothes and a black cap. His task was to approach the French ship, hook the torpedo to the anchor cable and, having activated the device by removing a pin, remove the paddles and escape before the torpedo detonated. Also to be deployed were large numbers of casks filled with gunpowder, ballast and combustible balls. They would float in on the tide and on washing up against an enemy's hull, explode. Also included in the force were several fireships, carrying 40 barrels of gunpowder and rigged to explode by a clockwork mechanism.
  The force assembled outside Boulogne in later September, under the overall command of Lord Keith aboard his flagship HMS Monarch. There to witness the operation were Lord Melville and Fulton. Fulton had negotiated a sum of £40,000 for the first decked ship destroyed in the attack, and half the value of any ship destroyed, on top of his salary of £200 a month. However Keith made no attempt to conceal the British force, and the French were alerted that an attack could be imminent. By 9pm on the night of 2 October the wind and tide were judged right and the flotilla began to approach the harbour.
caption: Admiral Lord Keith had overall responsibility for the British naval forces during the raid
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