USS Constellation vs La Vengeance The USS " Constellation " vs " La Vengeance " , or the Action of 1 February 1800 , was a single - ship action fought between frigates of the French Navy and the United States Navy during the Quasi - War . The battle resulted in the American frigate " USS Constellation " severely damaging the French frigate " La Vengeance " and forcing her to flee . In 1798 , an undeclared war had begun between the United States and France due to French seizures of American merchantmen . As part of an American effort to deter French attacks , Commodore Thomas Truxtun led an American naval squadron that was dispatched to the Lesser Antilles . Learning that regular French naval forces were in the region , Truxton set out in his flagship " Constellation " and sailed to Guadaloupe to engage them . On 1 February 1800 , while nearing the French colony , " Constellation " met François Marie Pitot ' s frigate " La Vengeance " of the French Navy . Regardless of Pitot ' s attempts to flee , his frigate was drawn into a heavy engagement with " Constellation " . Although the French frigate struck her colors ( surrendered ) twice , " Constellation " was unable to take " La Vengeance " as a prize . Eventually Pitot was able to escape with his frigate to Curaçao , though only after sustaining severe casualties and damage to his vessel . Truxton ' s ship also suffered heavy damage and was forced to sail to Jamaica for repairs before returning home to a hero ' s welcome . Background . In 1800 , the Quasi - War between the United States and France was in full force . In order to prevent French attacks against American merchantmen in the Caribbean , the United States Navy maintained four squadron s of vessels in the region . One such squadron was commanded by Commodore Thomas Truxton , and tasked with patrolling the Lesser Antilles . Taking command on 19 January 1800 after arriving at Saint Kitts in his flagship " USS Constellation " , Truxton ' s squadron consisted of four frigate s , three schooner s , and a ship - rigged man of war . Besides the numerous privateer s operating in the area , the only French naval forces in Truxton ' s area of operations were the frigate " La Vengeance " under François Marie Pitot and the corvette " la Berceau " under Louis Senes . Both vessels had arrived at Guadeloupe on 10 December 1800 escorting the new administrators of the French colony . Once at Saint Kitts Truxton dispersed his squadron , giving each ship orders to cruise independently . He then set sail for Guadeloupe on 30 January 1800 with his flagship " Constellation " , intending to challenge the French frigate and corvette there . The same day , Pitot in " La Vengeance " left Guadaloupe ' s capital of Basse - Terre for France . By this point in the Quasi - War , the 1 , 265 - ton " Constellation " carried 38 cannon despite officially being classified by the United States Navy as a 36 - gun frigate . Previously her armament had consisted of 24 - pounder guns , but these had proven inefficient during Truxton ' s action with " L ' Insurgente " and as a result were removed and replaced with twenty - eight 18 - pounder cannon and ten 24 - pounder carronade s . Truxton and his crew were hardened veterans and were well prepared for a fight . Their French counterparts were not as ready for an engagement . Pitot ' s frigate was carrying a large quantity of specie as well as 36 American prisoners of war and 80 passengers , two of whom were generals . Under such circumstances Pitot intended to avoid an engagement if possible , even though " La Vengeance " was a more heavily armed vessel carrying eight 42 - pounder carronades , twenty - eight 18 - pounders , and sixteen 12 - pounder cannon . The French also had a distinct advantage in the event of a boarding action , as " Constellation " had only 310 men to " La Vengeance ' s " complement of 380 crew . Engagement . On 1 February 1800 at 07 : 00 , Truxton ' s crew spotted what appeared to be a 54 - gun frigate flying British colors two leagues off the Basse - Terre roadstead . In an effort to communicate with the mysterious frigate , " Constellation " flew British colors . Pitot had sighted the American frigate by 07 : 45 . Thinking the vessel chasing him was a superior 55 - gun warship , he sought to avoid conflict , and continued to sail with the wind rather than head north as he had originally intended . In an effort to increase her speed , the French frigate ' s crew put out studding sails to catch more wind . The behavior of Pitot ' s frigate signaled to Truxton that she was really a French warship , so he ordered " Constellation " cleared for action and gave chase . By 08 : 00 he struck the British colors and raised the American flag . As he closed with " La Vengeance " he shouted through a speaking trumpet for the French vessel to surrender . At this point the action began , with Pitot ' s stern chaser s opening fire upon " Constellation " . In an effort to cut the American frigate ' s advantage in speed , " La Vengeance " changed course to the south - east where the wind would give it an advantage . As he maneuvered his vessel , Pitot was able to unleash a broadside aimed at " Constellation " s rigging . The American frigate waited to return fire until it gained the weather gage . Now having the advantage of the wind , Truxton ' s opening double - shotted broadside slammed into the port side of " La Vengeance " s hull . Sailing side by side , the two frigates continued to engage each other for two and a half hours while Truxton attempted unsuccessfully to move his ship into a raking fire position . As the French tended to aim for the rigging , at one point " Constellation " s foresails were shot away and the frigate lost its maneuverability until they could be replaced . " La Vengeance " prepared for a boarding action when the two frigates drew closer together at 22 : 45 , but this attempt was foiled when " Constellation " fired broadsides of grapeshot at Pitot ' s ship while American marine s fired their musket s and hurled grenade s down from the rigging . With the French ship drawing off , the two vessels began a longer range roundshot duel that lasted until 02 : 00 on 2 February 1800 , when " La Vengeance " struck her colors for the second time . At some point earlier in the action , Pitot had struck his flag but the Americans did not notice because of darkness . Truxton moved " Constellation " to within of his vanquished opponent aiming to take her as a prize . The American commodore ' s ambitions were spoiled when at 03 : 00 " Constellation ' s " mainmast fell overboard , killing several topmen who went down with it . With the Americans unable to come alongside his vessel , Pitot took advantage of the situation and simply slipped away into the darkness . Aftermath . Casualties were heavy on both sides , and both vessels were in such poor condition that each commander thought he had sunk his opponent . Most of " La Vengeance " rigging had been blown away ; only the lower foremast , lower mizzenmast , and bowsprit were operational . Pitot set course for Curaçao and was forced to ground his vessel there to prevent it from sinking . The number of French casualties is somewhat unclear : official French accounts report 28 dead and 40 wounded , while accounts from Curaçao state that the French frigate had lost 160 men . Once Pitot reached Curaçao he was beset with further problems . " La Vengeance " remained out of action for months due to difficulties in acquiring support needed to repair the frigate from the Dutch officials there . A French expedition to seize the island brought the materiel needed to repair the frigate , but when asked to help attack the island Pitot refused and slipped away to Guadaloupe . " Constellation " had suffered heavy damage with 15 of her crew slain and a further 25 wounded , of whom 11 later died . The ship sailed to Port Royal , Jamaica , for a refit , but Truxton could not complete the necessary repairs because of a shortage of naval stores . The ship left Jamaica a week after she arrived , with only her mainmast replaced . After escorting a convoy of 14 merchantmen back to the United States , Truxton sailed his battered frigate to Hampton Roads for a proper refit . Only after he returned to the United States did the American commodore finally learn that the " La Vengeance " had not been sunk . Truxton was considered a hero and received considerable praise for his actions . In response to his engagement with Pitot ' s frigate , the American government commended Truxton with a Congressional Gold Medal depicting the battle .