Action of 18 November 1809

Hamelin's squadron achieved local superiority, capturing several British merchant ships and destroying a factory of the East India Company (EIC).

On 18 November 1809, two frigates and a brig of Hamelin's squadron encountered a convoy of three EIC East Indiamen bound for British India.

With the squadron scattered after the storm, Windham was recaptured by British frigate HMS Magicienne within a few miles of Isle de France; the other French ships and their two prizes successfully reached the colony.

These ships had enough resilience, firepower and crew to fight off pirates or small naval vessels, but were not warships and unable to match frigates in combat.

[1] In late 1808, the French navy dispatched a squadron of four frigates under Commodore Jacques Hamelin from France to attack British trade routes in the East Indies.

The goal was to damage the British economy and force the Royal Navy to send more ships to the Indian Ocean, thereby weakening their presence elsewhere.

These colonies were thousands of miles from India and surrounded by open ocean, forcing Hamelin to sail substantial distances to find his targets.

All three were crewed by a full complement of experienced sailors reinforced by unemployed men stranded on Isle de France due to a British blockade.

Four years earlier, at the Battle of Pulo Aura, a British convoy of 29 East Indiamen had driven off a superior French squadron by pretending to be ships of the line.

[7] By 08:00, it was clear that Stewart's plan was going to fail: Charlton and United Kingdom had not joined his attack, falling far behind Windham as Mortlock and D'Esterre deliberately checked the advance towards the French.

[12] Manche and Créole rapidly overhauled and captured Charlton and United Kingdom, both of which made no attempt to escape and surrendered after a token resistance.

However, Vénus struggled to catch Windham, as Stewart threw all non-essential stores overboard in an effort to make his ship lighter and faster.

Windham's prize crew were able to regain control of their ship and continued on to Isle de France alone, but Vénus was struck by an even larger cyclone on 27 December, losing all three topmasts.

[13] The French crew panicked as the storm began, and refused to attend to the sails or even close the hatches, resulting in the ship almost foundering due to large amounts of water poured in.

In desperation, Hamelin called Stewart to his cabin and requested that his men save the ship but demanded that he give his word that they would not attempt to escape or seize the frigate.

After securing the weapons lockers aboard, Hamelin agreed and Stewart and his men cut away the wrecked masts and pumped the water out of the hold, repairing the ship so that she was able to continue her journey without fear of foundering.

Stewart and his men, who never had an opportunity to escape, were marched to Port Louis, where they witnessed the arrival of Manche accompanied by Créole, Charlton and United Kingdom on 1 January 1810.

Bellone and her prizes arrived at Port Louis on 2 January, having slipped past Rowley's blockade during a period of calm weather.

These losses were exceptionally heavy, especially when combined with the 12 East Indiamen wrecked during 1809, and would eventually lead to a massive buildup of British forces in the region late 1810.

The action of 18 September 1810 , where Hamelin was captured by the British navy