Battle
As the two vessels made toward each other, the wind shifted to the southward, giving neither the Peacock nor the Epervier the advantage of the windward position. At about 10:20 in the morning, both ships fired their starboard broadsides on opposite tacks, aiming high to disable their opponent's rigging. Both vessels received damage aloft, after which the Epervier turned downwind and engaged the Peacock on a parallel course.
Peacock directed her fire against Epervier's hull with great effect. The British fire fell away rapidly, and Epervier probably scored no hits after the first broadside from the port battery. After 40 minutes, the Epervier was badly damaged, with 45 shot holes in the hull, and 5 feet (1.5 m) of water in the hold. Commander Wales summoned boarding parties to muster, intending to board and capture the Peacock, but his crew refused. At 11:05, the Epervier struck her colours. She had lost eight men killed and 15 wounded, about 20 percent of her crew.
Read more about this topic: Capture Of HMS Epervier
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“Forty years after a battle it is easy for a noncombatant to reason about how it ought to have been fought. It is another thing personally and under fire to have to direct the fighting while involved in the obscuring smoke of it.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)