Battle of Tory Island The Battle of Tory Island ( sometimes called the Battle of Donegal , Battle of Lough Swilly or Warren ' s Action ) was a naval action of the French Revolutionary Wars , fought on 12 October 1798 between French and British squadrons off the northwest coast of County Donegal , then in the Kingdom of Ireland . The last action of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , the Battle of Tory Island ended the final attempt by the French Navy to land substantial numbers of soldiers in Ireland during the war . The Society of United Irishmen , led by Wolfe Tone , launched an uprising against British rule in Ireland in May 1798 . At the request of the rebels , a small French force under General Humbert was landed at Killala , County Mayo , but by early September both this expedition and the rebellion had been defeated . Unaware of Humbert ' s surrender , the French despatched reinforcements on 16 September . Having missed one invasion force , the Royal Navy was on alert for another , and when the squadron carrying the reinforcements left Brest they were soon spotted . After a long chase , the French were brought to battle in a bay off the rugged County Donegal coast in the west of Ulster , very close to Tory Island . During the action the outnumbered French attempted to escape , but were run down and defeated piecemeal , with the British capturing four ships and scattering the survivors . Over the next fortnight , British frigate patrols scoured the passage back to Brest , capturing three more ships . Of the ten ships in the original French squadron , only two frigates and a schooner reached safety . British losses in the campaign were minimal . The battle marked the last attempt by the French Navy to launch an invasion of any part of the British Isles . It also ended the last hopes the United Irishmen had of obtaining outside support in their struggle with the British . After the action , Tone was recognised aboard the captured French flagship and arrested . He was brought ashore by the British at Buncrana , on the Inishowen Peninsula . He was later tried for treason , convicted , and committed suicide while in prison in Dublin , hours before he was to be hanged . Background . Britain ' s enemies in continental Europe had long recognised Ireland as a weak point in Britain ' s defences . Landing troops there was a popular strategic goal , not only because an invader could expect the support of a large proportion of the native population , but also because at least initially they would face fewer and less reliable troops than elsewhere in the British Isles . Additionally , embroiling the British Army in a protracted Irish campaign would reduce its availability for other theatres of war . Finally , French planners considered that a successful invasion of Ireland might act as the ideal platform for a subsequent invasion of Great Britain . The rhetoric of the French Revolution inspired many Irishmen to fight for similar principles of liberty , equality , and brotherhood in their own nation ; liberty in this context largely meant independence from Great Britain . With these goals in mind , in 1791 Dublin lawyer Wolfe Tone founded the Society of United Irishmen . Allying itself with the French Republic , the society was suppressed by the British authorities and forced to go underground when war broke out between France and Great Britain in 1793 . Tone and other members secretly travelled to France to convince the French National Convention to invade Ireland . Such an invasion , they argued , could rely on support from large numbers of Irish irregulars , and if successful would strike a severe blow to the British war effort — perhaps even severe enough to force Britain to seek peace . Invasion attempts . French political divisions made organising an operation against Ireland difficult . The process was further hampered by the French Atlantic Fleet ' s defeat in 1794 at the Glorious First of June and the disastrous Croisière du Grand Hiver operation in 1795 . Having lost many of its best officers during the political purges of The Terror , these defeats bred a negative mentality in the French Navy , discouraging adventurous strategic thinking . Eventually , the " Expédition d ' Irlande " was despatched in December 1796 under Admiral Morard de Galles , consisting of 17 ships of the line and 27 smaller vessels , and carrying as many as 25 , 000 men . Despite elements of the force spending up to a week in Bantry Bay , not a single French soldier was successfully landed , and the expedition was a total disaster , with 13 ships lost and over 2 , 000 men drowned . The following year , Tone and his companions tried again , this time persuading the government of the Netherlands , then under French occupation , to prepare their own expedition . During 1797 , the Dutch fleet was readied and provisioned , and in October sailed for Brest , intending to combine with the French fleet and launch a second invasion attempt . The Dutch fleet had only been at sea a few hours when they were confronted by the Royal Navy ' s North Sea Fleet under Admiral Sir Adam Duncan ( later created Lord Duncan in October , 1797 ) . Duncan immediately attacked , and in the ensuing Battle of Camperdown captured or destroyed ten ships and scattered the rest . The French fleet never left port . Rebellion of 1798 . Hoping to capitalise on the spontaneous uprising that spread across Ireland in May 1798 , Commodore Daniel Savary led a third , and more successful , effort . He took a small frigate squadron flying false British colours to Killala , and in August landed 1 , 150 French troops under General Humbert . A larger force would have been despatched , but the French had been caught unprepared — the Irish rebellion had originally been planned to coincide with a later French landing , but British intelligence operations had infiltrated the United Irishmen and arrested much of its leadership , prompting a precipitate revolt . Although the uprising achieved some early successes , by the time Humbert arrived its outcome had already been decided with the defeat of successive rebel armies by British troops . Humbert ' s force was joined by many United Irishmen and had some initial success , but was unable to face superior British numbers at the Battle of Ballinamuck , and surrendered on 8 September . Although its small size allowed it to reach Ireland unobserved , neither Savary ' s frigate squadron nor the army it carried were large enough to have a significant impact on the campaign . Bompart ' s mission . Unaware that Humbert had surrendered and the rebellion been defeated , the French prepared a follow - up expedition under the command of Commodore Jean - Baptiste - François Bompart . Three thousand men were embarked aboard the ship of the line " Hoche " and eight frigates , the force departing Brest on 16 September . However , having missed Savary ' s frigate squadron , the Royal Navy were more watchful ; roving frigate patrols cruised off the principal French ports and in the approaches to Ireland , while squadrons of battleships from the Channel Fleet sailed nearby , ready to move against any new invasion force . In command of the squadron on the Irish station was Commodore Sir John Borlase Warren , a highly experienced officer ( and politician ) who had made a name for himself raiding the French coast early in the war . Bompart ' s squadron departed Brest late in the evening , hoping to slip past the inshore British blockade in the dark . However , they took too long to navigate the Raz passage , and were spotted at dawn on 17 September by a frigate squadron under Captain Richard Goodwin Keats , in HMS " Boadicea " . Keats immediately divided his forces , ordering HMS " Ethalion " under Captain George Countess and the brig HMS " Sylph " under Commander John Chambers White to follow the French force , while Keats brought news of the French movements to Admiral Lord Bridport , admiral of the Channel Fleet . Countess ' s pursuit . Aware of the British pursuit , Bompart nevertheless continued to the north . Countess followed closely , and was joined on 18 September by HMS " Amelia " under Captain Charles Herbert . Initially north of the French , " Amelia " had spotted the chase the previous day and caught up during the night by passing silently through Bompart ' s squadron . The next day , Bompart attempted to throw off his pursuers by feint ing towards Lorient , and again the following day by feinting south , as if travelling towards the Antilles . However , the British captains remained on track , and by 20 September were only nine miles from Bompart ' s force , which was continuing south - west as though sailing for the Americas . HMS " Anson " , a large razee frigate under Captain Philip Charles Durham , joined the British force on 20 September . Despite Bompart ' s attempts to disguise his destination , by the evening of 23 September Countess had correctly deduced the French were heading for Ireland , and despatched the brig " Sylph " to warn Commodore Warren and any other British ships she came across . Two days later , on 25 September , Commodore Bompart was forced to haul to the east and lose ground to his pursuers when a 100 - ship British convoy passed to the north . This convoy consisted of many well - armed East Indiamen , protected by several frigates , and posed a serious threat to Bompart ' s overloaded ships . He then tried to drive off pursuit by feinting towards Countess ' s squadron , but the faster British ships simply withdrew to a safe distance , resuming their chase once the French had returned to their original course . On 29 September Bompart made a final bid to shake his pursuers ; he attempted to engage the British frigates with three of his own — " Immortalité " , " Loire " and another . This plan failed after his flagship " Hoche " lost a topmast in heavy weather and fell behind the rest of the squadron , forcing the frigates to return to her protection . Unable to escape , Bompart finally abandoned his pretence of sailing for the Americas and instead turned north - west . During the next day high winds cost both " Hoche " and " Anson " a topmast , slowing both squadrons , but the repairs to " Hoche " were conducted faster and the French were able to pull ahead . For four more days pursuit continued directly north , until 4 October , when a storm descended and Bompart successfully outran Countess in the increasing darkness . In the high winds , " Amelia " was driven off course and away from her compatriots on 7 October while " Anson " again suffered damage , this time losing two topmasts . On 11 October the weather cleared , and spotting two sails to the south , Countess took " Ethalion " to investigate . The ships were " Amelia " and a ship of the line of Warren ' s squadron , who having received " Sylph " ' s warning on 23 September , was sailing north in an attempt to intercept the French . Warren ' s squadron of three ships of the line and the razee frigate HMS " Magnanime " had been joined the day before by two additional frigates stationed at Lough Swilly ; HMS " Melampus " under Captain Graham Moore and HMS " Doris " under Captain Lord Ranelagh . Warren attached " Melampus " to his squadron and detached " Doris " to scout along the Irish coast and warn the British garrisons , especially along the coast of County Donegal and the North - West of Ireland region generally . " Doris " was also to scout along part of the coast of the West of Ireland region , further south , where the previous French landing had been effected at Killala . Warren ' s pursuit . Having finally eluded his pursuers , Bompart made directly for Lough Swilly where the landing was scheduled to take place . Unaware of the rebellion ' s defeat , he hoped that Humbert ' s army would be operating in the Lough Swilly area , as intended in the campaign planned before Humbert left France . Arriving off the coast , Bompart searched for a suitable landing site but was unable to find one before dark on 10 October . He waited out the night close to Tory Island , but was surprised the next day by sails on the horizon ; Warren ' s squadron had been joined by Countess ' s ships , and an overwhelming force was bearing down on the French . Abandoning all notions of landing the troops , Bompart hauled his ships close to the wind to give them room to manoeuvre and allow their captains as much opportunity as possible to escape the approaching British . Throughout the day , Warren ' s squadron closed from the north - east while Bompart made frantic efforts to reach open water . Both fleets were hindered by a gale which swept the sea shortly before 20 : 00 . All three of " Hoche " ' s topmasts were blown down and her mizzensail shredded , leaving her substantially slower than her compatriots and forcing them to hold back in her defence . Other ships suffered too , as the French " Résolue " sprang a severe leak and HMS " Anson " lost her mizzenmast and several topmasts . During the night , Bompart attempted to decoy the British by sending the schooner " Biche " with orders for the frigate " Résolue " , commanding Captain Jean - Pierre Bargeau to beach his ship and fire flares in the hope of distracting Warren from his pursuit . For unknown reasons this order was never carried out , and in the morning Warren was still hard behind Bompart , whose ships were now sailing in two uneven lines . Warren ' s force was even more dispersed , with HMS " Robust " and HMS " Magnanime " astern of the French and gaining fast , " Amelia " and " Melampus " shortly behind them and Warren ' s flagship HMS " Canada " with HMS " Foudroyant " under Captain Sir Thomas Byard , Kt . , from the enemy . The other British ships were scattered throughout this formation except " Anson " , which was wallowing to the rear , far out of sight . Realising that he could not escape and would have to fight his way past the British , Bompart formed his squadron into a battleline and turned westwards , waiting for Warren ' s signal for the attack . Because of the dispersed nature of his squadron , Warren did not issue this signal until 07 : 00 , when he ordered " Robust " to steer for the French line and attack " Hoche " directly . Captain Edward Thornbrough of " Robust " obeyed immediately and closed with the French , firing into the frigates " Embuscade " and " Coquille " as he passed , before closing with " Hoche " and , at 08 : 50 , beginning a bitter close - range artillery duel . Minutes later " Magnanime " joined the action , firing on the rear frigates and engaging the French van of " Immortalité " , " Loire " and " Bellone " , which had worn out of the line in an attempt to rake her . The next three British ships into action , " Ethalion " , " Melampus " and " Amelia " , all raked the isolated " Hoche " as they passed , before pressing on sail to pursue the French frigates , now making distance to the south - west . " Canada " and the subsequent British ships all ignored " Hoche " except to fire a few distant shots . By the time they passed , the ship was clearly a wreck , having been pounded repeatedly by " Robust " and " Magnanime " . Bompart finally surrendered at 10 : 50 with 270 of his crew and passengers killed or wounded . " Embuscade " was the next to surrender , having been battered in the opening exchanges by " Magnanime " , and further damaged by long - range fire from " Foudroyant " during the pursuit . Overhauled by several larger British ships , Captain de la Ronciére surrendered at 11 : 30 rather than allow his ship to be destroyed . " Magnanime " , suffering the effects of her engagement with " Hoche " , took possession of " Embuscade " and continued to follow slowly behind the rest of the fleet , while " Robust " , which had suffered severely in her duel with " Hoche " , remained alongside her erstwhile opponent to take possession . The direction of the French squadron ' s flight , following the direction of the wind , took them across the path of the straggling British ships , beginning with the " Foudroyant " . Most of the frigates were able outrun this ponderous enemy , but " Bellone " was less fortunate and a speculative shot from the battleship detonated a case of grenades in one of her topmasts . This began a disastrous fire which was eventually brought under control , but at a significant cost in speed . She was soon closely attacked by " Melampus " and suffered further damage . Nearby , the struggling " Coquille " surrendered after being outrun by the approaching " Canada " ; Warren ordered the slowly following " Magnanime " to take possession . " Ethalion " took over pursuit of " Bellone " from " Melampus " , and for two hours maintained continuous fire with her bow - chasers on the French ship . " Ethalion " was faster than her quarry , and she slowly pulled parallel with " Bellone " during the afternoon , but could not get close enough for a decisive blow . It took another two hours of pursuit before the battered " Bellone " eventually surrendered . " Hoche " apart , " Bellone " had suffered more casualties than any other ship present . To the south of this conflict , the struggling " Anson " discovered herself in danger when the surviving frigates of the French vanguard swept towards her en masse . Captain Durham was initially confused by their approach as he had been too distant to witness the action and the French ships flew false British ensigns , but he rapidly realised their true identity and at 16 : 00 opened fire on " Loire " . The damaged " Anson " was severely hampered by her inability to manoeuvre , and so could do nothing when the French ships pulled back and sailed away , except to continue to fire until they were out of range . During the evening , the surviving French frigates gradually pulled away from their pursuers and disappeared into the gathering night , leaving behind four of their squadron , including their flagship , as captives . Chase . By nightfall some of the remaining French ships had entered Donegal Bay with " Canada " , " Melampus " and " Foudroyant " still in pursuit . The two forces repeatedly passed one another in the dark , and " Canada " almost drove ashore . Back at the battlesite , Warren had ordered " Robust " to tow " Hoche " into Lough Swilly — this order later came under criticism , as " Robust " was in a battered state herself and the storms of the previous week had not abated . When a gale struck the pair on 13 October , " Hoche " lost several masts and broke her tow , only being prevented from foundering by the combined efforts of the British prize crew and their French prisoners . Eventually , on 15 October , " Doris " appeared and took " Hoche " in tow , arriving in Lough Swilly without further incident a few days later . Meanwhile , " Ethalion " saw " Bellone " safely into port , and " Magnanime " and " Amelia " brought in " Coquille " and " Embuscade " respectively . " Melampus " and " Résolue " . On the morning of 13 October , Warren sighted two of the French frigates standing out of Donegal Bay and went after them , directing Moore in " Melampus " to stay behind to search for stragglers . Hindered by contrary winds , " Melampus " scoured the bay until well after nightfall , and at 23 : 30 was surprised by the sudden appearance directly in front of her of " Immortalité " and " Résolue " near St . John ' s Point . " Immortalité " soon spotted " Melampus " and made sail , but Captain Bargeau of " Résolue " had not seen the British ship , and was hesitant about following his compatriot in the dark . In the gloom and confusion , he mistook " Melampus " for " Immortalité " and came alongside , only realising his mistake when " Melampus " opened fire . Because of the heavy seas , " Résolue " ' s guns had been tied down below decks , so the only return fire she could offer was from her handful of quarterdeck guns . Bargeau , whose ship was still leaking badly , recognised that further resistance was futile and surrendered in minutes , having lost ten men and much of his rigging . " Melampus " put aboard a prize crew and then departed in pursuit of " Immortalité " . Flight of " Loire " . " Loire " and " Sémillante " had escaped from the battle into Black Sod Bay , where they hoped to hide until they had a clear passage back to France . However , late on 15 October , a British frigate squadron under James Newman - Newman rounded the southern headland of the bay , forcing the French ships to flee to the north . Pressing on sail in pursuit , Newman ordered HMS " Révolutionaire " to focus on " Sémillante " whilst he pursued " Loire " in HMS " Mermaid " , accompanied by the brig HMS " Kangaroo " under Commander Edward Brace . " Loire " and " Sémillante " separated to divide their pursuers ; " Mermaid " and " Kangaroo " lost track of " Loire " in the early evening , and " Sémillante " evaded " Révolutionaire " after dark . However , on the morning of 16 October Newman spotted " Loire " on the horizon and immediately ordered his ships in pursuit . " Loire " was faster than " Mermaid " in the high winds but was unable to outrun " Kangaroo " , which directly engaged the far larger frigate in a distant artillery duel . The difference in weight of shot between the combatants was greatly unbalanced , and " Kangaroo " eventually fell behind after suffering damage to her rigging . " Loire " too had been damaged , and by 06 : 45 the following morning Captain Segond realised he could not escape his pursuers and instead shortened sail , intending to engage " Mermaid " — by then the only pursuer still within reach . " Mermaid " and " Loire " joined battle at 07 : 00 , and the artillery exchange became close and furious after a boarding attempt by " Loire " was foiled by the helmsman of the British ship . Both ships took severe damage , " Mermaid " knocking away several of her opponent ' s spars , but suffering in turn from the musketry of the soldiers still aboard the " Loire " . At 09 : 15 , the French vessel lost another spar , and Newman determined to rake his opponent . As he attempted to complete this manoeuvre , a shot from " Loire " brought down " Mermaid ' s " mizzenmast , making her unmanageable and disabling a number of her guns . Seeing an opportunity to escape , the battered " Loire " disengaged , making significant distance before Newman ' s crew could clear the wreckage of the mast . High winds further hampered " Mermaid ' s " repair efforts by tearing away several sails and spars and drowning the ship ' s carpenter when he was blown overboard . By the time " Mermaid " was ready for action once more , " Loire " had escaped . Unfortunately for Captain Segond , when dawn broke on 18 October , HMS " Anson " was revealed only a short distance off , limping southwards after the damage its rigging and masts had suffered before the battle on 12 October . Although his ship was almost unmanageable , Captain Durham was not prepared to lose a second opportunity to engage , and slowly brought his vessel to bear on " Loire " , which was unable to escape . Accompanying " Anson " was " Kangaroo " , recovered from the damage of 16 October and ready for further action . At 10 : 30 , " Anson " and " Loire " began firing on one another , neither able to effectively manoeuvre and both relying on firepower to overwhelm their opponent . " Kangaroo " closed on the unprotected stern of " Loire " , firing as she did so and repeatedly raking the immobile French ship . By 12 : 00 " Loire " had lost her mainmast and was leaking badly , forcing Segond to surrender . His ship was towed to port as the sixth prize of the campaign . " Fisgard " and " Immortalité " . The four remaining survivors of the French fleet had mostly avoided pursuit , and by 19 October were nearing Brest independently , hoping to slip through the tight British blockade around the harbour . Captain Mathieu - Charles Bergevin on " Romaine " had attempted to land the troops aboard his ship in Ireland on 13 October , but was forced to abandon this plan when the soldiers refused to be put ashore . He then sailed southwest and successfully avoided all contact with British forces , joining with the schooner " Biche " and arriving at Brest on 23 October . The same day , after outrunning " Révolutionaire ' s " pursuit , " Sémillante " arrived in Lorient — the last French ship to return home . " Immortalité " almost reached safety . On the morning of 20 October , Captain Jean - François Legrand was approaching Brest when he was spotted by Captain Thomas Byam Martin of HMS " Fisgard " . " Fisgard " , part of the inshore squadron of the Brest blockade , immediately offered battle . " Immortalité " initially attempted to flee but was forced to engage the faster " Fisgard " at 11 : 00 . During the bitter , close – range action , " Fisgard " took severe damage and almost lost her opponent . " Immortalité " , which had lost a mast and was in a sinking condition , surrendered at 15 : 00 . Among the 115 casualties aboard " Immortalité " were Captain Legrand , his first lieutenant and General Monge ( commander of the 250 soldiers on board ) , all dead . " Fisgard " , with the aid of other ships of the blockade squadron , successfully brought her prize into port . Savary ' s squadron . The French high command had not been idle during the destruction of their invasion force , and had prepared and despatched a second squadron of four frigates under Commodore Daniel Savary . This force was initially ordered to support Bompart , but was later tasked with escorting the squadron ' s survivors back to France . On 27 October , Savary learnt of the destruction of both Bompart ' s squadron and the Irish rebellion from sympathetic locals at Killala , and turned immediately south , hoping to avoid a similar fate . However , on 28 October , he was spotted by a three - ship squadron under Captain Sir James Saumarez , which included two ships of the line . Saumarez immediately gave chase , and the squadrons exchanged long - distance cannon fire throughout the day . Late in the evening Saumarez ' s flagship HMS " Caesar " lost its foretopmast in strong winds , and command passed to Sir Richard Bickerton , 2nd Bt . , in HMS " Terrible " . After another day ' s chase , late on 29 October Savary divided his squadron , sending two frigates to the south east and turning north west with two more . In response , Bickerton split his force , sending the frigate HMS " Melpomene " after the southern group and following Savary himself in " Terrible " . By 30 October , both British ships were within of their opponents and were preparing for action , when at 17 : 00 a severe storm lashed the area . Savary ' s ships had been extending their pursuit by throwing guns , horses and equipment overboard in an effort to lighten their ships , and were consequently better suited to the high winds . The heavier British ships were unable to match their opponents ' speed and fell behind . When the weather cleared , the French ships were out of sight , and all four eventually returned independently to Brest , ending the final French attempt to invade Ireland . An abortive effort to support the French invasion fleet was also made by the Navy of the Batavian Republic , which despatched the small frigates " Furie " and " Waakzaamheid " to Ireland with military supplies on 24 October . Within hours of leaving port , both these ships were intercepted and captured by the British frigate HMS " Sirius " under the young Captain Richard King at the Action of 24 October 1798 . Aftermath . Savary ' s return to port marked the end of the last attempt by a continental nation to land troops in Ireland . French losses in the operation were so severe that a repeat effort was never seriously contemplated . Similarly , the huge Irish losses during the rebellion , combined with British reprisals against the Irish populace , ended any hopes of reigniting the uprising in the near future . Most serious of all for the United Irishmen was the arrest of Wolfe Tone himself , who was discovered among the prisoners taken from " Hoche " at Buncrana . Tone was charged with treason and sentenced to death , though he committed suicide in Dublin before the sentence could be carried out . In Britain the engagement was considered a great success , with the thanks of Parliament bestowed on the entire force . Numerous junior officers were promoted and all crew members received financial rewards from the sale of the captured vessels . Of these prizes , " Immortalité " and " Loire " were purchased and served in the Royal Navy under their own names for many years , while " Hoche " and " Embuscade " were renamed HMS " Donegal " and HMS " Ambuscade " respectively . " Coquille " was intended for purchase but suffered a catastrophic ammunition explosion in December 1798 , which killed 13 people and totally destroyed the vessel . The last two prizes , " Résolue " and " Bellone " , were deemed too old and damaged to be worthy of active service . They were , however , purchased by the Royal Navy to provide their captors with prize money , " Bellone " becoming HMS " Proserpine " and " Résolue " becoming HMS " Resolue " . Both ships served as harbour vessels for some years until they were broken up . Five decades later , the battle was among the actions recognised by the clasp , " 12th October 1798 " , attached to the Naval General Service Medal , awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847 .