Algeciras Campaign - Linois's Voyage

Linois's Voyage

Linois sailed from Toulon on 13 June 1801 with three ships of the line and one frigate carrying 1,560 soldiers under Brigadier-General Devaux. Ganteaume's earlier expedition was still in the Eastern Mediterranean, and so the British blockade force under Sir John Borlase Warren detailed to watch Toulon was instead off Malta hoping to intercept Ganteaume on his return. Therefore the only British ships on hand when Linois emerged from the port were a few frigates, which were easily chased away by the larger warships of the French squadron. Linois's passage was slow, facing winds from the southwest that delayed his squadron so that by the 30 June they were only off Cape de Gata in the Alboran Sea. On 1 July they were spotted from Gibraltar, although the only warship there was the 14-gun HMS Calpé under Captain George Heneage Dundas which was unable to influence their advance. Instead, Captain Dundas ordered Lieutenant Richard Janvarin to take a boat and communicate with the Cadiz blockade force of seven ships of the line, under Saumarez.

Linois passed Gibraltar on 3 July and during the night discovered the 14-gun brig HMS Speedy a short distance ahead. Linois's squadron had captured a number of merchant vessels during their voyage but this was their first warship, and although it was no match for size, Speedy was an infamous vessel under the command of Captain Lord Cochrane. Cochrane had spent the last year raiding the Spanish coast with great success, taking or destroying more than 50 ships including the celebrated Action of 6 May 1801 in which Cochrane had attacked and captured the far larger Spanish privateer frigate Gamo off Barcelona. Cochrane's initial belief that the strange ships were Spanish treasure vessels caused him to bring Speedy closer to the ships and by the time he realised his error escape was impossible. Rather than surrender however, Cochrane threw all of his guns and excessive weight overboard and manoeuvered his ship to avoid coming into range of the French broadsides. He then attempted to cut directly between the approaching Formidable and Desaix, the small target avoiding the concentrated fire of the French ships and pulling into open water. At this, Commodore Jean-Anne Christy-Pallière on Desaix swung his ship about and pursued, several shots damaging Speedy's sails and rigging. As Speedy slowed, Desaix overtook the small brig and fired a full broadside at close range. This was fired as the French ship was on the uproll and therefore missed the deck entirely and failed to cause a single casualty. It did however tear away the remaining rigging and sails, leaving Speedy unmanageable. Rather than suffer another broadside, Cochrane surrendered his ship and was taken aboard Desaix, where Christy-Pallière acknowledged his brave defence by refusing to accept Cochrane's surrendered sword with the words "I will not accept the sword of an officer who has for so many hours struggled against impossibility". From Cochrane, Linois learned of Saumarez's presence ahead of him and, knowing that his presence would have been reported by the garrison at Gibraltar, his squadron returned eastwards around Cabrita Point and came to anchor at Algeciras, a fortified Spanish port which lay directly opposite and within sight of Gibraltar across Algeciras Bay on the 4 July.

Off Cadiz, the squadron under Saumarez was notified of Linois's arrival by Lieutenant Janvarin at 02:00 on 5 July and immediately turned back towards Gibraltar, tacking against the wind. The frigate HMS Thames was detached and sent 18 nautical miles (33 km) westwards to the mouth of the Guadalquivir River to collect HMS Superb under Captain Richard Goodwin Keats, which was blockading the river with the small brig HMS Pasley. Keats did follow Saumarez back to Algeciras, and was in distantly in sight when the battle commenced, but on hearing an inaccurate report from an American merchant ship that Linois had escaped the bay and was at sea once more, Keats reasoned that the French must be returning to Toulon and that he would be in a better position returning to the blockade of Cadiz than attempting to join Saumarez's chase. The lugger HMS Plymouth was also detached to Lisbon with despatches for the Admiralty informing them of Saumarez's intentions. The British admiral, knowing that Linois was still anchored in the bay, intended to descend on Algeciras immediately but was beset by a series of calm spells that prevented his squadron from doing more than slowly drifting eastwards away from Superb and towards Algeciras. It was not until the morning of 6 July therefore that Saumarez was in a position to attack the anchored French squadron. In anticipation of Saumarez's arrival, Linois had formed his squadron into a strong defensive position, the three ships of the line anchored in a line north to south across in shallow waters off the mouth of Algeciras harbour, protected by Spanish forts at either extremity and around the town itself, where Murion was anchored in shallower water. Linois led the line himself in Formidable, but despatched parties from the crews of the ships of the line to augment the Spanish defences.