Action of 29 November 1811 - Chase

Chase

The British commander on Lissa in November 1811 was Captain Murray Maxwell of HMS Alceste with two other frigates and a sloop. Maxwell responded to the signal by readying his squadron to seek out and destroy the convoy, but the attempted invasion of Lissa the previous March had bred caution in the British defenders and Maxwell was therefore compelled to disembark 30 sailors and most of his marines at Port St. George and leave behind the 20-gun HMS Acorn to protect the harbour. This not only weakened the squadron but also delayed it, Maxwell's force not departing Port St. George until 19:00. It was assumed among the British squadron that the convoy comprised the Danaé, Flore and Corona, the survivors of the Battle of Lissa now sailing from Trieste to Corfu to supply the island.

Shortly after passing the southern headland of Lissa, the British squadron encountered a neutral merchant ship that had been carrying Lieutenant John McDougal, formerly of HMS Unite, to Malta. McDougal had seen the French ships in passing and identified them as a convoy heading north from Corfu rather than south to it, and had ordered the merchant ship to return him to Lissa to bring warning. The French convoy was under the command of Commodore François-Gilles Montfort and consisted of three ships, the two large frigates Pomone and Pauline and the smaller Persanne. The convoy had departed Corfu on 16 November carrying a cargo of cannon to Trieste.