Action of 18 September 1810 - Aftermath

Aftermath

With the assistance of HMS Otter, which had followed Boadicea from Saint Denis, Rowley was able to return his prize and the battered Ceylon to Île Bourbon without significant difficulty. British casualties had been relatively minor for such a difficult engagement, Ceylon suffering 10 men killed and 31 wounded and Boadicea just 2 wounded. French losses were also comparatively light, with only 9 dead and 15 wounded on Vénus and none at all on Victor. Rowley repaired Ceylon and restored Gordon in command. Vénus was also repaired, and entered British service as HMS Nereide to replace the Nereide lost at Grand Port. Nearly four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by the clasps "BOADICEA 18 SEPT. 1810", "OTTER 18 SEPT. 1810" and "STAUNCH 18 SEPT. 1810" attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847.

With the British squadron bolstered and the French commander and best frigate in British hands, the campaign stalemated. The French were no longer able to repair or maintain their ships due a lack of naval stores on Île de France, and so remained in port and prepared for the inevitable invasion. Rowley meanwhile was busy preparing troops, stores and his squadron for the coming attack, which was led by Admiral Bertie in November 1810. The French squadron made no attempt to disrupt the invasion forces and were captured intact in their harbours. Bertie was credited with the final defeat of Île de France and was made a baronet as reward for the successful campaign, sending Rowley back to Britain with despatches. A court martial, held on HMS Illustrious in the aftermath of the invasion cleared Gordon of any blame in the defeat of his ship, although historian William James criticised Gordon's assumption during the battle that Victor was a French frigate rather than a much smaller corvette, and identified discrepancies between Gordon's published account and the ship's log.