Action of 8 September 1796 The Action of 8 September 1796 took place in the Indian Ocean , when a French frigate squadron under contre - amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey encountered two British 74 - gun ships of the line . Under orders to avoid doubtful encounters , Sercey retreated and the British gave chase . In the ensuing gunnery exchange , the British ships sustained enough damage to be forced to retreat , and the French squadron continued its cruise unhindered . Background . On 4 March 1796 , a frigate squadron under contre - amiral Sercey left Rochefort for Mauritius . Its mission was to deliver 800 soldiers and two artillery companies , under general François - Louis Magallon , large quantities of food and ammunitions , and two Directory commissioners : Baco and Burnel . Once the squadron had completed its primary mission , the squadron ' s secondary mission was to disrupt British trade in the Indian Ocean . The squadron comprised " Vertu " ( Lhermitte ) , " Régénérée " ( Willaumez ) , " Forte " ( Beaulieu - Leloup ) and " Seine " ( Latour and later Bigot ) . The corvettes and reinforced the squadron until they had to return to Rochefort after sustaining damage in a storm in the Bay of Biscay . The four frigates reached Mauritius in 18 June after taking a number of prizes en route . Soon after his arrival , Sercey had two more frigates readied to reinforce his squadron . These were " Prudente " ( Magon ) and " Cybèle " ( Tréhouart ) . He also requisitioned a privateer cutter , " Alerte " , and brought her into service to replace his missing corvettes . On 14 July , the division set sail to raid British commerce . Because " Alerte " sailed badly , retarding the squadron , Sercy detached " Alerte " , sending her to the Dutch neutral post of Tharangambadi to locate the British squadron . Unfortunately , on 19 August she mistakenly attacked ( James Alexander ) , which " Alerte " had taken for a merchantman ; " Carysfort " captured her . On 8 September 1796 as the division cruised off Sumatra , they spotted two sails , which they soon recognised to be British 74 - gun s . As Sercey ' s orders were to avoid any engagement of unclear outcome , he decided to break contact . Seeing the squadron retreating , the British ships of the line , ( Captain William Clark ) and ( Captain Richard Lucas ) , gave chase . The British caught up with the French on 9 September at dawn , which the Admiralty , which counted the day as running from noon to noon , still counted as 8 September . Around 7 : 00 a . m . , the lead British ship opened fire on " Vertu " , which had the rear of the French squadron . " Vertu " closed to " Seine " for support , and Sercey sent signals for a general engagement . " Vertu " sustained most of the British fire , but Sercey then ordered his frigates to engaged the British at point blank range , causing a fire aboard one of the ships . During the action , Tréhouart ordered a boat launched to tug the becalmed " Cybèle " into a position where she could rake " Victorious " . As her crew was occupied controlling the fire , the French turned their guns against the second ship , which had to retreat . Aftermath . Having lost none of his warships , Sercey remained free to roam the Indian Ocean , which he continued to do for another two years .