In 1795 Captain Sir Sidney Smith seized the uninhabited Îles Saint-Marcouf, which lie 3.5 nautical miles (6.5 km) off Ravenoville on the Cotentin peninsula in Normandy.

[3] Smith constructed barracks and gun batteries and manned the islands with 500 sailors and Royal Marines, including a large proportion of men unfit for ship-board service, described as "invalids".

[4] Smith supported the islands with several gunvessels, including Badger, Hawke, and Shark, and the floating battery Sandfly.

They retreated in confusion after coming under fire from the redoubts the British had erected on East Island and from the gunvessels,[6] among them the hoys Badger, Serpent, Hawk, and Sandfly.

[12] On the night of 6 May 1798 the French approached the islands with a large number of armed troop-carrying barges and some brigs to provide covering fire, as well as 5-6,000 troops.

[2] Nearly five decades later the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Isles St. Marcou" upon application to the three still-living British claimants from the battle.

He sent Lieutenant M'Cullen of the Royal Marines with 24 picked men in Badger's ten-oared galley and six-oared cutter to catch the French vessel.

The prize was the privateer rowboat Victoire, mounting four swivel guns, 26 oars, and having a crew of at least 40 men, under the command of Captain Barier.