Roger Curtis - French Revolutionary War Service

French Revolutionary War Service

In 1793 at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Curtis returned to Queen Charlotte and joined Lord Howe at the head of the Channel Fleet. In May 1794, Howe led the fleet to sea to search for a French grain convoy and after a month of fruitless searching, discovered that the French Atlantic Fleet under Villaret de Joyeuse had left harbour and was sailing to meet the convoy. Howe gave chase and gradually closed on Villaret's rearguard, fighting two inconclusive actions during the Atlantic campaign of May 1794. On 1 June 1794, Howe caught the French fleet and brought them to battle in the battle of the Glorious First of June. The action was hard fought and Curtis' ship was heavily engaged, fighting several French ships of the line simultaneously.

In the closing stages of the battle, the aged Howe retired to his cabin and Curtis was given responsibility for the flagship and consequently the fleet over the next day. Exactly how much of what transpired was Curtis's fault has never been established, but in a series of unusual decisions the British failed to pursue the defeated French fleet, allowing many battered French ships to escape. Even more controversially, a despatch was sent to the Admiralty concerning the action which praised certain officers and excluded others. The awards presented to the captains who had served at the battle were given based on the praise each captain received in this report, and those omitted were excluded from the medal celebrating the victory and other honours. Although Howe had ultimate responsibility for the despatch, many blamed Curtis for this slight and he was rumoured to have taken the decision to abandon pursuit and subsequently penned the report himself in Howe's name.

Curtis's subsequent actions increased the distrust felt by his fellow officers. While Curtis was granted a baronetcy for his role in the action, another captain, Anthony Molloy, faced a court martial and national disgrace for what was considered to be his failure to engage the enemy during the battle. Curtis stood as prosecutor in the case, and Molloy was subsequently dismissed from his ship and effectively from the service as the result of Curtis's prosecution. Cuthbert Collingwood, one of the captains overlooked by the despatch, subsequently described Curtis as "an artful, sneeking creature, whose fawning insinuating manners creeps into the confidence of whoever he attacks and whose rapacity wou'd grasp all honours and all profits that come within his view".

During the two years following the battle, Curtis had brief periods in command of HMS Canada, HMS Powerful, HMS Invincible and HMS Formidable. In 1796, he was promoted to rear-admiral and raised his flag on HMS Prince. In Prince, Curtis led the blockade of Brest when most of the fleet was paralysed by the Spithead Mutiny. He was also in overall command of the naval operations which succeeded in destroying or driving off much of the French force sent to support the Irish Rebellion of 1798 culminating in the Battle of Tory Island, at which he was not present. Later in the year he joined Lord St Vincent off Cadiz with a squadron of eight ships of the line, and was soon afterwards made a vice-admiral. In 1799, he retired ashore.