Action of 5 May 1794 The Action of 5 May 1794 was a minor naval engagement fought in the Indian Ocean during the French Revolutionary Wars . A British squadron had been blockading the French island of Isle de France ( now Mauritius ) since early in the year , and early on 5 May discovered two ships approaching their position . As the strange vessels came closer , they were recognised as the French frigate " Duguay Trouin " , which had been captured from the East India Company the year before , and a small brig . Making use of a favourable wind , the British squadron gave chase to the new arrivals , which fled . The chase was short , as " Duguay Trouin " was a poor sailor with many of the crew sick and unable to report for duty . The British frigate HMS " Orpheus " was the first to arrive , and soon completely disabled the French frigate , successfully raking the wallowing ship . After an hour and twenty minutes the French captain surrendered , Captain Henry Newcome of " Orpheus " taking over the captured ship and bringing his prize back to port in India . Background . Britain joined the French Revolutionary Wars in February 1793 , but the news did not reach the Indian Ocean for four months . The immediate priority of the British squadron based at ports in British India under Commodore William Cornwallis was the capture of the French colonies in India , especially the main port in Pondicherry , and once this operation was completed at the end of August 1793 , the squadron returned to Europe . This left British commerce in Eastern waters badly exposed , and privateer s and warships operating from Isle de France captured a number of merchant vessels , including the large East Indiaman " Princess Royal " which was seized in the Sunda Strait on 27 September by three privateer corvettes . " Princess Royal " was a well - armed ship , carrying 26 12 - pounder cannon and a number of smaller calibre guns on the maindeck , and the ship was rapidly taken over by the French Navy as a 34 - gun frigate named " Duguay Trouin " . " Duguay Trouin " was subsequently attached to the Isle de France squadron of the frigates " Prudente " and " Cybèle " and the brig " Vulcain " under Captain Jean - Marie Renaud . This force skirmished inconclusively with a squadron of East India Company ships in the Sunda Strait in January 1794 , before returning to Isle de France with the captured East Indiaman " Pigot " . By the early spring of 1794 , Cornwallis ' squadron had been replaced by three vessels sent from Europe : the 32 - gun frigate HMS " Orpheus " under Captain Henry Newcome , the 50 - gun fifth rate HMS " Centurion " under Captain Samuel Osbourne and the 44 - gun HMS " Resistance " under Captain Edward Pakenham . These ships were instructed to blockade the French bases on Isle de France , and had some success against French merchant vessels : " Orpheus " alone sent three officers and twenty men back to India in captured merchant ships . The French too had ships at sea during this period , " Duguay Trouin " and " Vulcain " cruising together in the Indian Ocean during the spring before returning to Isle de France . Battle . As the French vessels approached the island on 5 May they were sighted by lookouts on the British squadron . The British captains then waited for the French to get closer , launching a chase in the mid - morning when they held the weather gage so that the wind was behind them . This allowed them to rapidly close with the French vessels whose efforts to escape were hampered by " Duguay Trouin " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s poor sailing qualities . At 11 : 45 , " Orpheus " was the first to reach the French frigate , firing on " Duguay Trouin " from long range . Within ten minutes the British ship had pulled closer to the former East Indiaman and although " Duguay Trouin " briefly returned fire , " Orpheus " was soon positioned across the starboard quarter of the French ship , allowing Newcome to pour raking fire into the " Duguay Trouin " without reply . By 13 : 15 , " Duguay Trouin " was a battered wreck , with the hull significantly damaged , the bowsprit shot away and heavy casualties among the crew . With his ship unmanageable and " Centurion " and " Resistance " now away and approaching rapidly , the French captain struck his colours and surrendered . The brig " Vulcain " had taken the opportunity to escape as " Duguay Trouin " and " Orpheus " fought and later reached Isle de France . Newcome lost one midshipman killed and one officer and eight men wounded in the exchange from a crew of 194 . Losses on " Duguay Trouin " were far more severe : the French ship recorded 21 men killed and 60 wounded from a nominal complement of 403 . Aftermath . Newcome initially took his prize to Mahé in the Seychelles , where he demanded fresh supplies , particularly water , for his prisoners . The French governors of the islands refused , and Newcome stormed and seized the town , taking all of the supplies and military stores . The wounded and sick prisoners were disembarked , and the contents of a small French brig were turned over to the inhabitants to replace the seized supplies . Newcome then returned to India with his prize , but the ship was not subsequently purchased by the Royal Navy . Historical reaction to the battle has focused on the significantly stronger British position in the encounter , with three large regular warships pitted against a hastily converted merchant vessel with a significant proportion of the crew suffering from illness . The French vessel was also weakly built , and weakly armed : early estimates that the " Duguay Trouin " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s main battery mounted 26 18 - pounder guns were revised to 12 - pounders with 8 small cannon on the upper deck . The British blockade of Isle de France continued throughout the year , with " Centurion " engaged in an inconclusive action against a French squadron in October . Although Isle de France remained in French hands throughout the conflict , the Indian Ocean was largely under British control by 1796 .