Roquebert ' s expedition to the Caribbean Roquebert ' s expedition to the Caribbean , was an unsuccessful operation by a French naval squadron to transport supplies to Guadeloupe in December 1809 at the height of the Napoleonic Wars . Over the previous year , British Royal Navy squadrons had isolated and defeated the French Caribbean colonies one by one , until by the autumn Guadeloupe was the only colony remaining in French hands . Cut off from the rest of the world by British blockade squadrons that intercepted all ships coming to or from the island , Guadeloupe was in a desperate situation , facing economic collapse , food shortages and social upheaval , as well as the impending threat of British invasion . In an effort to reinforce and resupply the colony , the French government sent four frigates to the West Indies in November 1809 under Commodore François Roquebert . Two of the ships were only lightly armed , their cannon removed to make room for supplies and troops . Two others were at full strength , ordered to protect the storeships on their journey from the British forces operating off both the French and Guadeloupe coasts . The squadron almost reached the Caribbean without encountering any of patrolling British warships sent to watch for French reinforcements , but was spotted and intercepted by the frigate HMS " Junon " on 13 December . " Junon " s captain did not realise the size of the French squadron until it was too late and , despite fierce resistance , his ship was captured and he was mortally wounded . Continuing with the mission , Roquebert successfully delivered the disarmed frigates " Loire " and " Seine " to within sight of Guadeloupe and then left them , his frigates making their way back to France without ensuring the safe arrival of their convoy . On 15 December , the small British brig HMS " Observateur " , which had witnessed the defeat of " Junon " , brought news of the French arrival to the blockade squadron anchored off Basse - Terre . Summoning ships from the surrounding region , the British commander , Captain Volant Vashon Ballard amassed a significant squadron and forced the French supply ships to anchor in a protected bay at Anse la Barque , on the southeastern coast of Guadeloupe . Ineffectual efforts were made to capture the French ships , but it was not until the arrival of the 74 - gun HMS " Sceptre " under Captain Samuel James Ballard that an attack was made in earnest . As small ships engaged the batteries on shore , two frigates entered the bay and attacked the disarmed frigates , causing both to surrender in an hour - long engagement . Both French ships were badly damaged and a fire started during the engagement was able to rapidly spread through them , destroying both ships in succession . Many of the French crew escaped ashore from the wrecks , while others were picked up by British ships . The blockade of Guadeloupe was successfully maintained , and the island was captured in a coordinated invasion a month later . Roquebert ' s remaining ships were intercepted on 16 January by a patrolling British frigate , but successfully escaped pursuit and eventually returned undamaged to France . Background . During the Napoleonic Wars , the Royal Navy rapidly and decisively seized control of the war at sea , driving French ships into protected harbours and laying heavy blockades on ports held by the French Empire and her allies to strangle communications and overseas trade . This had a devastating effect on the French West Indian colonies , particularly the islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe . With trade impossible , their economies stagnated while social upheaval and limited food supplies reduced their ability to resist invasion by the large British forces maintained in the region . In the summer of 1808 , desperate messages were sent to France from the islands , prompting a succession of French efforts to supply food , reinforcements and trading opportunities during the latter part of 1808 and the first months of 1809 . These efforts were entirely unsuccessful : the few ships that did safely reach the Caribbean Sea and successfully landed supplies were all intercepted and captured on the return journey , costing the French four frigate s and numerous smaller ships by the end of February 1809 . The British blockade squadrons had intercepted a number of the messages sent from the islands during 1808 , and a large expeditionary force was built up on Barbados with orders to invade and capture the French colonies as swiftly as possible . Their first target was Martinique , which was invaded and captured during February 1809 . Outlying islands were captured over the next few months and a major French reinforcement squadron was trapped and then defeated near the Îles des Saintes in April : the French lost a ship of the line , and two more frigates were captured in June and July as they tried to return to France . With such heavy losses , the French took time preparing their next effort while the British were distracted by the Reconquista in Santo Domingo , a Spanish campaign to drives the French out of the island of Hispanola that was eventually concluded in July 1809 with British naval assistance . By the autumn of 1809 , the British commander , Vice - Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane , was again developing an expeditionary force , this time aimed at Guadeloupe . He had strengthened the blockade squadron off the island ' s principal port Basse - Terre , and placed heavier forces at Martinique in case they were required . Individual ships were dispersed in the approaches to the French island , ready to intercept any approaching reinforcement . Other ships operated against ships already anchored off Guadeloupe : one squadron seized the corvette " Nisus " from Deshaies on 12 December . In the months since Troude ' s failure , the French had only sent small supply ships to Guadeloupe , while carefully preparing a major expedition at Nantes . Two old frigates , " Loire " and " Seine " , were largely disarmed , a process known as " en flûte " : half their guns were removed and their crew reduced in order to take on board large quantities of food supplies and over 200 military reinforcements each . Command of the armed storeships was given to lieutenants Joseph - Normand Kergré and Bernard Vincent . To protect these ships two fully armed frigates were detailed to escort the convoy to Guadeloupe : " Renommée " , under Commodore François Roquebert , and " Clorinde " , under Captain Jacques Saint - Cricq . The force departed on 15 November 1809 and made rapid progress across the Atlantic , avoiding all contact with British warships . Of the small ships despatched around the same time , none reached Guadeloupe ; all were captured in the Western Atlantic or Caribbean by warships sent by Cochrane to patrol for approaching French reinforcements . Destruction of HMS " Junon " . Among the ships despatched by Cochrane was the 40 - gun frigate HMS " Junon " under Captain John Shortland . " Junon " had been captured from the French less than a year earlier at the Action of 10 February 1809 , following an unsuccessful attempt to return to France from Guadeloupe . Hastily repaired , she had been commissioned into the Royal Navy and added to Cochrane ' s fleet , from where Cochrane had ordered her to patrol to the east of Antigua for ships attempting to evade the British blockade . On 13 December , Shortland , in company with the 16 - gun brig HMS " Observateur " under Captain Frederick Wetherall , stopped an American merchant ship and boarded her in search of contraband . As he was engaged in the search , four sails appeared to the north . Shortland immediately gave chase , and by 16 : 00 realised his quarry was a squadron of four frigates . Firing warning shots in an effort to force the frigates to identify themselves , the strange ships raised Spanish colours . Initially unconvinced , Shortland raised the recognition signal for Spanish vessels and received the correct reply from the lead frigate . Closing with the ships during the afternoon , " Junon " was only a short distance from the lead ship at 17 : 30 when French colours replaced the Spanish and Roquebert ordered his ships to open fire . Roquebert had learned the correct signals for Spanish shipping from captured Spaniash merchant ships and , having lured " Junon " within range , opened a destructive fire from " Renommée " that caused severe damage to " Junon " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s rigging . Unable to manoeuvere away from the French due to the damage suffered in the opening broadside , Shortland returned fire as best he could while closing with " Renommée " to inflict maximum damage . As " Junon " closed with the flagship , " Clorinde " attacked her from the other side and the " flûtes " took up stations fore and aft , repeatedly raking the British ship . " Observateur " had been some distance behind " Junon " when the action began , and was thus not directly engaged by any of the French ships . Wetherall initially fired at " Clorinde " from extreme range , but soon recognised that he could do nothing to aid " Junon " in the face of overwhelming French numbers and so sailed westward to find and warn other British ships of the approaching French squadron . As " Observateur " escaped , " Junon " was pounded from all sides , Roquebert ' s ship coming so close to the British frigate that their rigging tangled and they collided , inflicting further damage . The French squadron was so close to " Junon " that the soldiers carried aboard for the garrison on Guadeloupe were able to fire their musket s at the British top deck , killing many of the sailors manning the guns . Within ten minutes of the first shot , " Junon " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s top deck was almost completely cleared and Shortland had been taken below , his leg broken by grapeshot and his body pierced by several large wooden splinters . Lieutenant Samuel Bartlett Deecker assumed command , and successfully beat off a boarding attack from " Clorinde " . Pulling " Junon " clear off the two full - strength French frigates , Deecker tried to escape but found his ship unresponsive . Within minutes , Roquebert and Saint - Cricq had regained their positions on either side of the British frigate and boarded simultaneously , forcing Deecker to surrender at 18 : 15 . The British had suffered heavy losses , with 20 killed and 40 wounded , including Shortland . The prisoners were dispersed among the French squadron and rather than spare the men required to repair and crew the battered " Junon " , Roquebert had the frigate set on fire and abandoned . French losses were also severe , " Renommée " losing 15 killed and three wounded and " Clorinde " six killed and 15 wounded . Neither " Seine " , " Loire " nor HMS " Observateur " suffered any loss at all . Operations off Guadeloupe . Although " Junon " had been destroyed , " Observateur " had escaped from the French squadron and immediately sought out the blockade force off Guadeloupe , the only place that the French squadron could be destined for . Arriving at Basse - Terre at 13 : 00 on 15 December , Captain Wetherall telegraphed the senior officer on the station , Captain Volant Vashon Ballard in the frigate HMS " Blonde " , of the impending arrival of Roquebert ' s squadron . Ballard swiftly gathered his squadron , the frigate HMS " Thetis " under Captain George Miller and the sloop s HMS " Hazard " and HMS " Cygnet " , and positioned them in the channel between Guadeloupe and the Îles des Saintes , through which Roquebert ' s ships would have to pass . Urgent messages were sent to all nearby ships and bases , and the following day the sloops HMS " Ringdove " and HMS " Scorpion " joined the squadron , Ballard placing " Hazard " and " Ringdove " to watch Basse - Terre while the rest of squadron patrolled to the south of the island . On the same day that " Observateur " arrived off Basse - Terre , the frigate HMS " Castor " under Captain William Roberts had recaptured the merchant brig " Ariel " near La Désirade , taken by Roquebert ' s squadron two weeks earlier . Roberts also discovered two other ships in the distance to the north and had closed to investigate , discovering the French convoy . Darkness fell soon afterwards and " Castor " separated from the French ships , as Roberts sailed westwards as fast as possible to notify Ballard of his sighting , arriving at 04 : 00 on 17 December . In the aftermath of the destruction of " Junon " and the encounter with " Castor " , Roquebert decided to separate from the convoy and return to France , turning north with " Clorinde " and leaving the supply ships to make the journey to Guadeloupe independently . As a result , " Loire " and " Seine " were sailing unprotected straight towards Ballard ' s squadron . At daylight on 17 December , " Blonde " sighted the French armed storeships approaching Basse - Terre from the northwest and Ballard advanced on them , blocking them from reaching Basse - Terre . Retreating northwest along the southern coastline of Guadeloupe , the disarmed frigates entered a sheltered cove named Anse la Barque at 10 : 00 , sheltering under two gun batteries on either side of the bay . Lieutenants Kergré and Vincent then anchored their ships parallel with the shore , so that they had the maximum number of cannon aimed at the entrance to the cove . As Ballard ' s ships cruised along the coast in light winds , seeking a way into the well - protected anchorage , other batteries opened fire , one striking " Ringdove " off Pointe Lizard . Captain William Dowers of " Ringdove " then landed a shore party from his ship and stormed the battery , capturing it in 15 minutes . He demolished the position and withdrew to his ship , rejoining Ballard off Anse la Barque . Ballard then tested the feasibility of an attack on the French ships , ordering the 12 - gun schooner HMS " Elizabeth " to assess the depth of the entrance to the bay while he in " Blonde " attacked the batteries directly at 16 : 00 . Discovering that the entrance was navigable . " Blonde " and " Elizabeth " withdrew out of range . Operations were then suspended for the evening to allow addition reinforcements to come up . Ballard ' s squadron was joined during the night by the frigate HMS " Freija " under Captain John Hayes . Destruction of " Loire " and " Seine " . At 08 : 30 on the morning of 18 December , a small boat sailed from Anse la Barque with a message offering the British a temporary truce . Simultaneously a British ship of the line , HMS " Sceptre " , arrived from Fort Royal on Martinique under the command of Captain Samuel James Ballard , who immediately assumed command of the diverse squadron assembled at the entrance to the bay . Ballard dismissed the French negotiators and ordered an immediate attack on the anchored frigates . His plan was simple : the frigates " Blonde " and " Thetis " would enter the harbour and engage the armed storeships directly , while " Sceptre " and " Freija " would engage the gun batteries to prevent them targeting the small brigs bringing up the rear . The brigs would be towing boats full of sailors and Royal Marines , who would storm the French ships and gun positions as they were engaged with the larger warships . The plan was initially frustrated by light winds , but by 14 : 25 " Blonde " and " Thetis " were within range of the gun batteries and fifteen minutes later they were able to open fire on the disarmed frigates , although still at quite a distance . Becalmed in the bay , " Blonde " was forced to engage one of the forts instead , fire from the shore causing some damage but not enough to endanger the ship . " Thetis " was luckier , and Captain Miller was able to close with one of the French ships , although their identities during the engagement are uncertain in historical accounts and it is not clear which one was first into the action . By 15 : 35 , " Thetis " had dismasted her opponent , who surrendered . Moving against the second ship , " Thetis " was then also becalmed and was forced to engage the forts instead . As " Sceptre " led the remainder of the squadron into the bay , fire was seen spreading through the surrendered ship and , in the face of overwhelming opposition , the second frigate also surrendered at 16 : 20 . By 17 : 10 , " Thetis " and " Blonde " began to withdraw from the bay as the fire took hold of the first frigate . The rest of the British squadron , despite heavy cannon fire from a fort on shore , successfully landed their troops and stormed and captured the defences . There were heavy casualties in the storming parties , including Hugh Cameron , captain of " Hazard " , who was killed by grapeshot . At 17 : 20 , the fire reached the magazines of the burning ship , and the ensuing explosion hurled burning wreckage across the bay . The British ships were largely untouched , but the second French frigate was struck by a large piece of flaming timber , which ignited her mainmast and destroyed her as well . The operations successfully completed , the British ships embarked their landing parties , who had demolished the fortifications around the bay , and returned to open water . In total they had lost eight killed and 16 wounded on " Blonde " , six wounded on " Thetis " and an uncertain number lost in the amphibious operation , although casualty figures are not known . French losses in the engagement are also uncertain , although most of the crews of " Loire " and " Seine " were able to quite easily reach the shore . Among those that did make land were a section of prisoners from " Junon " , including the grievously wounded Captain Shortland . Transported across the island on a wagon in the full glare of the sun , Shortland ' s condition rapidly worsened and he died on 21 January 1810 without regaining consciousness . He was buried at Basse - Terre with full military honours . Four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by the clasp " ANSE LA BARQUE 18 DECR . 1809 " attached to the Naval General Service Medal , awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847 . Aftermath . Roquebert ' s remaining frigates turned north after parting from the storeships , sighting the British squadron in the distance and grounding on a sandbar off Antigua in their haste to escape . Throwing overboard their guns and stores , the ships were lightened enough to regain open water . They then returned to European waters , avoiding all contact with British shipping until 16 January 1810 at position , approximately west of the Portuguese coast , when they encountered the frigate HMS " Virginie " under Captain Edward Brace . Brace shadowed the French frigates for two days , but was unable to close with them and Roquebert made no attempt to use his superior strength against the British frigate . Eventually , Roquebert outran " Virginie " and on 23 January reached Brest safely . Within a year , Roquebert and Saint - Cricq would be despatched on another mission to resupply a French colony , sailing with the frigate " Néréide " to Île de France in December 1810 . Unknown to the French authorities , a British expeditionary force had already captured the island , and Roquebert ' s squadron was ambushed in May 1811 and brought to battle off Tamatave in Madagascar . " Néréide " and " Rénomee " were both captured and Roquebert killed in action . " Clorinde " only escaped by deserting the other ships in the middle of the engagement , fleeing north and eventually reaching France . In the West Indies , the failure of the main resupply effort resulted in a further drop in morale among the defenders of Guadeloupe . Other smaller ships sent with supplies were captured during the operations against Roquebert ' s squadron , including the brig " Béarnais " captured on 14 December and " Papillion " on 19 December . In January 1810 , the blockade tightened : " Scorpion " captured the brig " Oreste " from inside the harbour at Basse - Terre and " Freija " seized several coastal vessels in Baie - Mahault . By 27 January , Cochrane ' s preparations for the invasion of Guadeloupe were complete and 7 , 000 men were landed under Lieutenant - General George Beckwith . The French garrison largely deserted , and by 6 February all resistance was defeated and the governor , General Manuel Ernouf , surrendered . Over the rest of the month , the few remaining colonies belonging to France and the Netherlands were seized without opposition and the entire Caribbean was either under British or Spanish control , with the exception of the independent state of Haiti .