Action of 22 January 1809 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 , but often losing the vessels in the process . One such attempt was made by the French frigate " Topaze " , despatched from Brest to Cayenne with a large cargo of flour . Driven away from Cayenne by a British expeditionary force that had recently captured the colony , " 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 " . In the ensuing engagement , the British ships outnumbered and overwhelmed their opponent , capturing the ship and her cargo , despite heavy fire from a French gun battery that overlooked the anchorage . The British ships were drawn from a force gathered for the impending invasion of Martinique , which was launched six days after " Topaze " had been captured and successfully completed in a campaign lasting just over three weeks . Background . By the summer of 1808 , the Napoleonic Wars were five years old and the British Royal Navy — whose success during the 1793 – 1801 French Revolutionary Wars had continued into the new conflict — was dominant at sea . In an effort to restrict French movement and trade , the British fleet actively blockaded French ports , maintaining squadrons of fast frigate s and large ships of the line off every important French harbour and smaller warships off less significant anchorages to intercept any vessel that attempted to enter or leave . This strategy was practised across the French Empire , particularly in the West Indies , where lucrative British trade routes were at constant risk from raiding French warships and privateers . As a result , the economies of the French colonies , especially the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe , collapsed and their food stocks , military supplies and morale all began to run low . Messages requesting assistance from France were despatched but many were intercepted by British ships , convincing the Admiralty to order invasions of the French colonies . During late 1808 and early 1809 therefore , expeditionary forces were sent to occupy the smaller colonies while a major army and naval fleet were assembled on Barbados under Sir Alexander Cochrane in readiness for an attack on Martinique . In France , news of the situation in the West Indies forced the authorities to take action . During the autumn of 1808 , a number of ships were despatched carrying much needed food and military supplies , but several were intercepted , including the frigate " Thétis " , captured during the Action of 10 November 1808 in the Bay of Biscay . Despite the losses , some ships did reach their destination intact and further supply ships were prepared , including the frigate " Topaze " , ordered to transport 1 , 100 barrels of flour to Cayenne . The cargo was loaded during late November and early December , the frigate also carrying military supplies and 100 soldiers to augment the Cayenne garrison . The ship , under the command of Captain Pierre - Nicolas Lahalle , was only three years old and carried 40 heavy guns . In early December 1808 , " Topaze " departed Brest and travelled across the Atlantic , encountering the British frigate HMS " Loire " in the Bay of Biscay . " Loire " fired on " Topaze " , but was unable to catch her and , despite minor damage , the French ship was able to reach the Caribbean without further incident . Nearing Cayenne on 13 January 1809 , Lahalle was surprised to see the small British ship HMS " Confiance " emerge from the harbour and manoeuvre threateningly towards his ship . Realising that Cayenne was in British hands , he turned and sailed northwards , concerned that stronger British forces might be nearby . In fact " Confiance " was the only British ship in the vicinity and she was severely underarmed , with a crew of just 47 men , including 20 local inhabitants recruited on the spot . The colony had been captured just three days earlier by a combined British and Portuguese expeditionary force under Captain James Lucas Yeo . Battle . With Cayenne under British control , " Topaze " made all speed for Guadeloupe , Lahalle intending to land his food supplies and reinforcements on French held territory before attempting the return journey to Europe . For nine days " Topaze " crossed the Caribbean without encountering any British warships , but at 07 : 00 on 22 January she was spotted approaching Guadeloupe from the southwest by the brig HMS " Hazard " under Captain Hugh Cameron , which was part of a squadron detached from Cochrane ' s invasion fleet on Barbados to watch the French islands . Although his lookouts had also sighted a French schooner close inshore , Cameron gave orders for his brig to close with the much larger French frigate instead . Within two hours , " Hazard " was joined by the frigates HMS " Cleopatra " under Captain Samuel Pechell and HMS " Jason " under Captain William Maude . Although both ships were smaller than " Topaze " , together they held a considerable advantage over the overladen French ship . With " Hazard " approaching from the northeast , " Cleopatra " from the southeast and " Jason " from the south , Lahalle had only one clear route available , eastwards directly towards Guadeloupe . By 11 : 00 , " Topaze " was offshore , sheltering in the anchorage off Pointe - Noire , which was protected by a small gun battery manned by soldiers from the island ' s garrison . Over the next three and a half hours , the British ships steadily approached the bay , hampered by light winds . The breeze strengthened at 14 : 30 and by 16 : 30 " Cleopatra " was close enough for " Topaze " to open fire on her from . Under fire , Pechell manoeuvered into an advantageous position off " Topaze " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s bow and began to fire on his opponent , shooting away one of the French ship ' s anchors . This caused her to swing with her bow towards the shore and " Cleopatra " was able to repeatedly rake Lahalle ' s ship from close range . Severely damaged , " Topaze " was unable to effectively respond , the only serious danger to the British ships coming from the battery onshore . By 17 : 10 " Jason " and " Hazard " had joined " Cleopatra " , the brig bombarding the battery while " Jason " opened fire on the other side of the French ship , causing further damage . Recognising that his situation was hopeless , Lahalle surrendered at 17 : 20 . As the French colours fell , approximately a third of the 430 soldiers and sailors on board " Topaze " attempted to escape captivity by diving overboard and swimming for the shore . Many drowned , and more were killed when " Jason " opened fire on the swimmers , although exact losses in the water are unknown . The remainder of the survivors , including Lahalle , totalled almost 300 men and were all made prisoners of war . The badly damaged " Topaze " was towed out of the bay and taken to a British port for repairs . Aftermath . Casualties were minimal : none were recorded on " Jason " and " Hazard " and none in the French battery on shore . " Cleopatra " , due to the poor position and accuracy of her opponent , lost only two men killed and one wounded , the most serious damage being to her masts and rigging , which were badly cut up . Losses among the French crew in the engagement were also relatively light , with 12 dead and 14 wounded , although a number of men were killed in their attempt to reach the shore after " Topaze " had surrendered . The French frigate was badly damaged , particularly in her hull , and required extensive repairs before she was fit for service in the Royal Navy , commissioned under the new name of HMS " Alcmene " . On 28 January , Cochrane ' s fleet at Barbados , including " Jason " , " Cleopatra " and " Hazard " , sailed for Martinique , arriving two days later and conducting successful landings at three points on the island . Within a week , all of the French colony was in British hands except for Fort Desaix , which held out for a further three weeks before surrendering after a heavy bombardment . The following month , a major reinforcement fleet arrived from France but was unable to affect the situation on Martinique and anchored in Îles des Saintes , a small archipelago to the south of Guadeloupe . There they were blockaded and attacked by Cochrane ' s squadron and in the ensuing Action of 14 – 17 April 1809 were defeated , with the ship of the line " Haupoult " captured and the remainder driven back to Europe . Two frigates reached Guadeloupe , but both were later captured . Subsequent attempts to resupply Guadeloupe , the only remaining French position in the West Indies , were made during 1809 , and a squadron under Commodore Francois Roquebert managed to capture a British frigate at the Action of 13 December 1809 . However , this force was intercepted by a British blockade squadron near Guadeloupe at the Action of 18 December 1809 and defeated , with two frigates destroyed and two others forced to return to Europe without reaching their destination . Guadeloupe was subsequently invaded in January 1810 and captured , ending direct French interest in the Americas during the Napoleonic Wars .