Battle of Providien The Battle of Providien was the second in a series of naval battles fought between a British fleet under Vice - Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and a French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren near India during the American Revolutionary War . The battle was fought on 12 April 1782 off the east coast of Ceylon , near a rocky islet called Providien , south of Trincomalee . Background . France had entered the American Revolutionary War in 1778 , and Britain declared war on the Dutch Republic in late 1780 after the Dutch refused to stop trading in military supplies with the French and the Americans . The British had rapidly gained control over most French and Dutch outposts in India when news of these events reached India , spawning the Second Anglo - Mysore War in the process . The French admiral the Bailli de Suffren was dispatched on a mission to provide military assistance to French colonies in India , leading a fleet of five ships of the line , seven transports , and a corvette to escort the transports from Brest in March 1781 . After a happenstance battle with a British fleet at Porto Praya in the Cape Verde Islands in April , and a stop at the Dutch - controlled Cape of Good Hope in October , where he left troops to assist the Dutch in defense of that colony and added some ships to his fleet , he sailed on to Île de France , arriving at Port Louis in December . There the fleet , further enlarged by ships available there , sailed for India under the command of the elderly Admiral D ' Estienne D ' Orves , accompanying transports carrying nearly 3 , 000 men under the command of the Comte du Chemin . D ' Orves died in February 1782 , shortly before the fleet arrived off the Indian coast , and Suffren once again took command . Suffren first sailed for Madras , hoping to surprise the British stronghold there . When he found the fleet of Sir Edward Hughes anchored there on 15 February 1782 , he turned south with the intent of landing troops at Porto Novo , from where they could march up the coast , recapturing French and Dutch holdings on the way . Hughes raised anchor and sailed after Suffren . In the Battle of Sadras , both fleets suffered damage without loss of ships , but the French were able to safely land troops at Porto Novo to assist the Mysoreans . Suffren made repairs to his fleet at Pondicherry after that battle , and on 23 February sailed out to find Hughes , who had gone to Trincomalee for repairs . On 8 April Hughes ' fleet was spotted heading for Trincomalee . Suffren gave chase , but was unable to close for three days . Hughes had to change course on 12 April to continue toward Trincomalee , which gave Suffren the advantage of the wind . Battle . The battle lines engaged at about 12 : 30 . At first , some of Suffren ' s captains hung back , not immediately joining in the line ( as had also happened at Sadras ) , but eventually ten of his twelve ships were engaged against the eleven British ships . " Monmouth " was the first ship to quit the British line after being dismasted , and " Superb " also suffered significant damage in the early rounds . Hughes was able to regain advantage by ordering his fleet to wear ship , and the battle began to turn against the French . Around 6 pm a storm arose , and the combatants , close to a lee shore , broke off the battle to attend to the risks the storm presented . Darkness from the storm and then nightfall precluded further battle that day . Aftermath . The fleets had anchored near enough each other that Suffren again positioned for battle . Hughes , however , had a convoy to protect , and sailed for Trincomalee . Suffren sailed south and put in at Batticaloa , which was still under Dutch control , where he spent six weeks for repairs and resupply . There he received orders to sail to Île de France to escort another troop convoy . He chose to disregard this order , as the risk posed by Hughes to French operations required his full strength , and he could not trust his captains . The captains of " Vengeur " and " Artésien " , the two ships that stayed out of the action , were reported for their failure to obey orders , and his second - in - command was intriguing with some of the other captains against him .