The action of 10 February 1809 was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, in which a British Royal Navy squadron chased and captured the French frigate Junon in the Caribbean Sea.

The British blockading ships had also intercepted the communications from the island, and relayed the information to the Admiralty in London, who had ordered Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane to assemble a force and invade the French colonies before reinforcements and supplies could reach them.

Taking advantage of the temporary absence of enemy shipping, Junon slipped out of the Îles des Saintes to the south of Guadeloupe on 4 February and sailed north.

[4] The French captain, Jean-Baptiste-Augustin Rousseau, had dropped off his military and food supplies and taken on board large quantities of trade goods for sale in France in an effort to revive the Guadeloupe economy.

[6] Ignoring the orders from the smaller ships, Rousseau continued northwards, passing through the Virgin Islands closely followed by Superieure, although Asp was unable to keep up and fell far behind during the night.

At 08:00 on the morning of 9 February, with Virgin Gorda northwest, Superieure was close enough to open fire, a few long range shots failing to damage the large frigate, which responded with an ineffective broadside.

[8] With enemies on all sides, Rousseau recognised that his only hope of escape lay in defeating Horatio: a swift victory would enable him to outrun pursuit from the east, travelling westwards into the Atlantic.

As he did so the small brig Driver was well placed to intervene, but her captain, Charles Claridge, failed to engage the larger frigate, even though Latona was now rapidly approaching from the west and together they could have outnumbered and outmanoeuvred Junon.

British historians have debated this opinion: William James agreed with this assessment, but also opined that if Horatio had been alone it would have been Scott surrendering rather than the French officers, such was the damage his ship had suffered in the battle.

[15] In the month following the capture of Junon, Guadeloupe was the only French colony in the Caribbean not under attack; Martinique fell to the British on 24 February and Spanish forces continued their Siege of Santo Domingo.

[16] The influx of British reinforcements was too late for HMS Junon; on 13 December she had been cruising alone to the east of Antigua and been surprised by François Roquebert's squadron of four French frigates.

[17] Reduced to a sinking condition in the engagement, Junon was set on fire and abandoned by Roquebert, whose ships were intercepted five days later off Guadeloupe and defeated: two were destroyed and two others returned to France without landing their supplies.