Action of 26 July 1806 The Action of 26 July 1806 was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars fought off the southern coast of the island of Celebes in the Dutch East Indies . During the battle , a small British squadron attacked and defeated a Dutch force defending a valuable convoy , which was also captured . The British force — consisting of the frigate and brig - sloop under the command of Captain Edward Elphinstone — was initially wary of the Dutch , mistaking the Dutch East Indiaman merchant ship " Victoria " for a ship of the line . Closer observation revealed the identity of the Dutch vessels the following day and Elphinstone led his frigate against the leading Dutch warship " Pallas while " Harrier " engaged the merchant vessels and forced them to surrender . Only the corvette " William " escaped , taking no part in the engagement . The battle was the first in a series of actions by the Royal Navy squadron based at Madras with the intention of eliminating the Dutch squadron maintained at Java . " Greyhound " had been sent to the Java Sea and the Molucca Islands to reconnoitre the Dutch ports in preparation for a raid on Java by a larger force under Rear - Admiral Sir Edward Pellew later in the year . Elphinstone ' s success was followed by a second frigate action by Captain Peter Rainier in which the Dutch ship was captured . In November 1806 , Admiral Pellew led the main body of his squadron against the capital of the Dutch East Indies at Batavia and a year later eliminated the last vessels of the Dutch East Indies squadron at Griessie . Background . The Dutch squadron in the Dutch East Indies was a constant threat to the British system of trade routes during the Napoleonic Wars . The Dutch — under the guise of the Kingdom of Holland and ruled by the French Emperor Napoleon ' s brother Louis Bonaparte — had joined the war against Britain following the end of the Peace of Amiens in 1803 . Although the primary function of the Dutch East Indies squadron was the suppression of piracy , their presence threatened British shipping in the Malacca Straits , in particular the lucrative trade with China . At the start of every year , the " China Fleet " — a large convoy of British East Indiamen merchant ships — sailed from Canton and passed through the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait on their journey to the Indian Ocean and eventually to Britain . Worth millions of pound s , these convoys were vital to the British economy , but they faced considerable danger in passing though waters that were within easy reach of the Dutch ports in Java . In 1804 , a French squadron under Rear - Admiral Charles Linois used Batavia on Java as a base to attack the China Fleet , although the attempt ended in failure at the Battle of Pulo Aura . Java presented a clear threat to British maritime interests in the South China Sea , but the British squadron based in the Indian Ocean was too weak in 1805 to consider operations so far from its main base at Madras while Linois remained active . By the start of 1806 , Linois had sailed into the Atlantic and an expeditionary force had seized the Dutch base at the Cape of Good Hope , securing the western Indian Ocean and providing reinforcements that allowed Rear - Admiral Sir Edward Pellew to begin operations against the Dutch forces in the East Indies . Pellew ' s first action , during the spring of 1806 , was to deploy several frigate s to the Java Sea with instructions to reconnoitre the Dutch squadron and its main port at Batavia . The first British ship to reach the Java Sea was the 32 - gun frigate under Captain Edward Elphinstone , which arrived in July 1806 . In company with the brig - sloop under Commander Edward Troubridge , the two vessels cruised in search of Dutch activity in the area . On 4 June they successfully destroyed the armed brig " Christian Elizabeth " at Manado and two days later captured the " Belgica " at Tidore . During the evening of 25 July , lookouts spotted four sails passing through the Selayar Strait that separates Selayar Island from the southern tip of Celebes . These four vessels were a Dutch convoy from the Molucca Islands , consisting of : The Dutch national frigate " Pallas " , of 36 guns , under Captain N . S . Aalbers ; Dutch East India Company corvette " William " , of twenty 24 - pounder guns and 110 men , under Captain P . Feteris ; Dutch East Indiaman " Victoria " ( or in some sources " Vittoria " ) , of about 800 tons burthen ( bm ) , under Captain Klaas Kenkin and Dutch East Indiaman " Batavier " , of some 500 tons ( bm ) under Captain William De Val . Battle . On observing the Dutch ships , Elphinstone immediately gave chase . Aalbers responded by forming his ships in a line of battle and retaining close formation as the convoy passed the Celebes coast close to the small Dutch trading posts at Borthean and Balacomba . At 21 : 00 , Aalbers ordered his force to anchor offshore and prepare for the British attack . Elphinstone was cautious however as " Victoria " was a particularly large ship , with two decks and the appearance of a ship of the line . Aware that such a large vessel could easily destroy his frigate Elphinstone halted his advance and " Greyhound " and " Harrier " stopped to observe the Dutch convoy during the night , maintaining a position to windward of Aalbers ' force . At dawn , lookouts on " Greyhound " were able to establish that " Victoria " was a large merchant ship rather than a warship and Elphinstone was encouraged to resume the attack . Aalbers sailed shortly afterwards , his ships tacking away from the shore in line of battle ready for the British advance . In doing so , " Pallas " drew ahead of the next ship in line , creating a gap through which the British attack could be directed . At 05 : 00 , Elphinstone raised French colours in an effort to confuse the Dutch officers and indicated that he wished to speak with the Dutch commander . Aalbers was not fooled , and when Elphinstone opened fire on " Pallas " at close range at 05 : 30 , the Dutch frigate replied immediately . With the frigates engaged , " Harrier " cut between " Pallas " and " Victoria " , Troubridge discharging his carronades into " Victoria " and ordering his crew to fire musket s at the deck of " Pallas " . In response , " Victoria " and " Batavier " pulled out of the line to engage " Harrier " , which continued its fire against " Pallas " , while " William " , bringing up the rear of the Dutch line , pulled out completely and sailed for the coast . Elphinstone rapidly took advantage of the confusion " Harrier " s attack had created , passing Aalbers ' bow and raking his ship . Elphinstone then threw his sails back , halting his ship and allowing " Greyhound " to maintain a position across " Pallas " bow from which he could inflict severe damage on the Dutch frigate without coming under fire himself . As the damage and casualties mounted on " Pallas " , " Harrier " joined the attack . Gunfire from the Dutch ship gradually slackened , and finally stopped at 06 : 10 , the Dutch flag was struck from the mast and " Pallas " surrendered with over 40 casualties from a crew of 250 ( including 50 local recruits ) . Throughout the engagement , " Victoria " and " Batavier " had kept up a constant but inefficient fire on " Harrier " , Troubridge waiting until the Dutch flagship surrendered before counterattacking . With Troubridge in pursuit , the Dutch merchant ships were unable to escape " Harrier " , and at 06 : 30 " Victoria " surrendered . Sending a boat to take possession , Troubridge immediately turned away towards " Batavier " . Elphinstone too was sailing towards the isolated merchant vessel and at 06 : 40 Captain De Val surrendered rather than fight the superior British force . " William " successfully escaped in the aftermath of the battle , rapidly outdistancing a weak chase from the battered " Harrier " . All three captured ships were taken over by prize crews and brought to Port Cornwallis on South Andaman Island . Casualties on " Pallas " were heavy , with eight men killed outright and 32 wounded , including Aalbers and three of his lieutenants . Six of the wounded later died , including the Dutch captain . There were also four men killed on the East Indiamen and seven wounded , one of whom died later . British losses by contrast were light , with one man killed and eight wounded on " Greyhound " and just three wounded on " Harrier " . Aftermath . In India , the prizes were sold , " Pallas " being purchased by the Royal Navy and recommissioned as HMS " Celebes " . Elphinstone did not long survive his victory : he was ordered back to Britain in early 1807 and took passage on Rear - Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge ' s flagship . He was presumed drowned in February 1807 along with the entire crew , when " Blenheim " disappeared during a hurricane in the western Indian Ocean . For Pellew , the victory was an encouraging sign of the weakness of the Dutch squadron . In October , Captain Peter Rainier seized another Dutch frigate from Batavia harbour itself and the following month Admiral Pellew led a large scale raid on the port that eliminated most of the Dutch East Indies squadron . Two ships of the line escaped Pellew ' s attack , but they were old and in a poor state of repair , and so were unable to defend themselves when Pellew discovered and destroyed them at Griessie in 1807 .