Action of 10 November 1808 The Action of 10 November 1808 was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars , in which a British frigate defeated and captured a French frigate in the Bay of Biscay . The action formed part of the blockade of the French Biscay ports during the war by the British Royal Navy , a strategy designed to prevent ships from entering or leaving French harbours , thus eliminating foreign trade with France and damaging the French economy as well as cutting France off from her overseas colonies . The French ship in the action , " Thétis " , was destined for the French held West Indian island of Martinique with a cargo of flour and military supplies , including over 100 soldiers to reinforce the island ' s garrison . " Thétis " had not even cleared the French coast when she was discovered by a patrolling British frigate of the inshore squadron , a unit tasked with watching the entrance to the French Biscay ports , principally Brest , and intercepting any ships seeking to enter or leave the harbours . This frigate , HMS " Amethyst " chased " Thétis " and brought her to battle , closing with the French ship but preventing the soldiers aboard " Thétis " from boarding the British ship and using their superior numbers to overwhelm her with heavy and accurate gunfire . The battle lasted more than six hours and the French suffered over 130 men killed , including the captain and many of the soldiers aboard , before the crew of " Amethyst " was able to storm and capture " Thétis " . Within minutes two additional British vessels arrived , attracted by the sound of gunfire , and helped secure the badly damaged " Thétis " for the journey to Britain . The battle was a blow for the French defenders of Martinique , who were isolated from France and suffering from shortages of military and food supplies . Although another supply frigate broke through the blockade and arrived in December 1808 , the island was surrounded by British bases and was invaded and captured in January 1809 . Other French colonies were seized over the next two years as the blockade cut off French communications with their overseas territories . " Amethyst " and her captain Michael Seymour were active in this campaign , capturing a second French frigate , " Niémen " , at the Action of 6 April 1809 . Background . By November 1808 , the Napoleonic Wars had lasted five years . Although the French had conquered large swathes of mainland Europe , they were unable to exert any significant influence at sea , where the British Royal Navy had been dominant since the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 . A vital part of Royal Navy strategy was the implementation of a close blockade of the major French seaports by squadrons of frigate s and ships of the line , intended to intercept and capture any ships attempting to enter or leave French harbours . The greatest French Atlantic seaport , and consequently the most important target for the Royal Navy , was Brest , situated on the Northern Biscay coast . Watching Brest were a large number of warships , divided into the inshore squadron designed to watch the coast directly and formed principally of frigates and small fast vessels , and the offshore squadron formed from heavy ships of the line and tasked with intercepting French fleets and battle squadrons spotted by the inshore squadron . The efficiency of the British blockade was such that communication and reinforcement between France and her colonies was dangerous for the ships involved and so was severely limited . This led to shortages and disaffection among the French colonists , especially in the Caribbean , where they were surrounded by hostile British harbours and constantly raided and blockaded by British ships . The island of Martinique was one of the more important French islands in the West Indies , but by late 1808 the island ' s economy had been crippled by the British blockade , and food stocks , military supplies and morale were all running low . In the summer a French dispatch vessel was intercepted by British warships , warning of the desperate state of the island ' s defences ; similar messages that did reach France safely prompted an urgent response by the French Navy . The frigate " Thétis " , stationed to the south of Brest at Lorient , was selected to carry supplies to Martinique and given a full complement of 330 men , 40 cannon and a new captain , Jacques Pinsum . Supplies were loaded , including over 1 , 000 barrels of flour and 106 soldiers to reinforce the garrison at Martinique . Secrecy was tight : to prevent the British discovering " Thétis " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > mission , even the local shore defences were not informed of the frigate ' s departure early on 10 November 1808 . The French efforts to hide the frigate ' s mission and departure were initially successful : the British ships in the area were unaware of " Thétis " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s intentions before she sailed . They were however prepared for any French movement and were launching regular patrols , in particular two ships under the command of captains Michael Seymour and Frederick Lewis Maitland , HMS " Amethyst " and HMS " Emerald " respectively . Both captains were experienced and veteran officers : Seymour had lost an arm at the Glorious First of June 15 years earlier , and they had agreed to hunt together , communicating regularly and with an understanding that all prize money won would be shared equally across both crews . After several weeks sailing in tandem , the frigates separated in early November . Battle . At 18 : 42 on 10 November 1808 , the garrison of a French defensive gun battery on the island of Groix saw a frigate moving rapidly westwards . As they had not been informed of any French movements at that time , the battery fired two warning shots at the ship to establish her identity . The frigate , " Thétis " , replied with her recognition signal and the firing stopped , but the sound had attracted the attention of HMS " Amethyst " , then approaching Groix from the west . Within a few minutes , Seymour ' s lookouts had spotted the French frigate and " Amethyst " immediately gave chase . Pinsum followed his orders to avoid combat and made all sail south - west , intending to escape into the Atlantic . By 21 : 00 , " Amethyst " was close enough to fire her bow - chasers , small guns positioned at the front of the ship , at the French frigate and was attacked in turn from the French stern chasers . Certain that his quarry was an enemy , Seymour launched signal rockets in the hope of attracting attention from other ships of the inshore squadron that might intercept the French ship , and he received answering flashes from the north - east as Captain Sir Thomas Hardy joined the chase in HMS " Triumph " . By 21 : 15 , Pinsum realised that his heavily laden ship could not outrun " Amethyst " and reduced his speed , turning sharply in front of the British ship in an attempt to rake her . Seymour was prepared for the manoeuvre and countered it by turning sharply away from " Thétis " so that the French broadside fell harmlessly into the sea and both frigates performed a complete circle before returning to their previous course . Seymour then swung back towards the French ship , bringing " Amethyst " alongside and pouring a heavy fire into " Thétis " , which replied in kind . For 25 minutes , the frigates continued firing on one another from close range as they sailed westwards . At 21 : 40 , Pinsum again attempted to rake " Amethyst " , trying to cross the British ship ' s stern as she pulled ahead . Seymour countered by slowing his ship and the French rigging became tangled in the British , the firing continuing as the crews worked to free their ships from one another . Separating a few minutes later , the frigates continued their close - range duel . " Amethyst " again pulled ahead at 22 : 05 , Seymour successfully crossing the bow of the French ship from port and raking her before swinging back along the starboard side to resume the close range exchange of broadsides . French fire was taking its toll on the British ship , and at 22 : 20 , " Amethyst " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s mizzenmast was shot through and collapsed on the quarterdeck , smashing the wheel and impeding Seymour ' s command of his ship . " Thétis " began to pull ahead and Pinsum attempted to rake " Amethyst " in her disorganised state , turning sharply to starboard but coming to a sudden halt as her own mizzenmast collapsed . With their ability to manoeuvre severely hindered , " Amethyst " and " Thétis " gradually closed on one another , Pinsum ordering the soldiers on his frigate to board the British vessel and capture her , while Seymour prepared for the eventuality by loading his cannon with two roundshot and his carronades with double loads of grapeshot . At 23 : 00 , Pinsum suddenly swung his frigate towards " Amethyst " , the bows colliding and rebounding and the French stern swinging towards the British . At his signal , the soldiers and sailors crowded onto the deck and railings , ready to leap on to the British ship and engage her crew in hand - to - hand combat . With seconds remaining , Seymour ordered his gunners to fire . The double - shotted broadside , fired at point - blank range , killed or wounded over 100 men , including most of the officers . Only four guns were still serviceable on " Thétis " , which was set alight in three places due to the proximity of the British muzzle flashes . Aftermath . " Amethyst " continued firing on " Thétis " for the next 80 minutes , almost without reply , until 12 : 20 , when the British were able to board and seize " Thétis " unopposed , the two frigates tangled together by their rigging . Seymour ' s most immediate problem was to secure his prize . Many of the unwounded prisoners were transferred to " Amethyst " under guard and at 01 : 05 , the frigates were cut apart by severing the tangled rigging . Ten minutes later , the 74 - gun appeared out of the darkness and at 01 : 30 a second frigate , under Captain Philip Broke , arrived , drawn by the gunfire . Together , the three British ships removed the prisoners from " Thétis " and affected improvised repairs : " Thétis " had lost her remaining masts shortly after she had been boarded and " Amethyst " s were in immediate danger of collapse . British casualties in the engagement were severe , with 19 killed and 51 wounded , but French losses were several times larger , with 135 dead , including Pinsum , and 102 wounded . In Britain , Seymour ' s victory was rewarded : Seymour himself was presented with a commemorative medal , £100 ( with £625 to share among the wounded ) and the freedoms of Cork and Limerick , although there were suggestions that he should receive a knighthood . In addition , first lieutenant Goddard Blennerhasset was promoted to commander , the junior officers were advanced and " Thétis " was purchased by the Royal Navy as HMS " Brune " , the crews of " Emerald " and " Amethyst " profiting from the prize money . Four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal , awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847 . " Amethyst " had been severely damaged in the engagement and repairs took 71 days to complete at Plymouth . Five months later , Seymour and Maitland were specially selected to hunt the " Niémen " , " en route " to Île de France , in the Bay of Biscay . Again , " Emerald " was absent when the frigate was brought to action and again Seymour was able to capture his opponent after a fierce encounter in the Action of 6 April 1809 . Although Seymour praised the bravery of " Thétis " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > surviving French officer , Lieutenant Joseph Dedé , Dedé later swore in court that " Thétis " had not surrendered until after " Triumph " and " Shannon " arrived , a statement that contradicts not only British testimony , but also Dedé ' s own insistence on the night of the battle that he had not seen any other ships during the action . Historian William James suggests that this was a deliberate attempt to appeal to the French naval authorities to avoid responsibility for the defeat . The failure of the supplies and reinforcements carried on " Thétis " to reach the Caribbean may have had an effect on the outcome of the subsequent invasion of Martinique in January 1809 . Except for one reinforcement frigate , " Amphitrite " , none of the subsequent French efforts to transport supplies or soldiers to Martinique were successful , and a large British expeditionary force was able to overwhelm the island ' s poorly - supplied defenders in a brief campaign . The tightening blockade also affected other French colonies , preventing the despatch of food and military supplies and contributing to the captures of both Île de France and Guadeloupe in 1810 .