The battle of Pulo Aura.

[Bligh]

HEIC merchantmen vs. the French.



Artistic representation of the battle of Pulo Aura.
The Indiamen (centre), engage the French (left), and protect the unarmed merchant ships (right)

I had not heard of this action until I recently read " The Sea Warriors" by Richard Woodman which Captain Kiwi bought me as a birthday present.



The Battle of Pulo Aura, was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, but of some consequence to the British lines of supply, fought on 14 February 1804 off the Malayan peninsular, in which a large squadron of Honourable East India Company (HEIC) East Indiamen, drove off and chased a stronger and more powerful French naval squadron under the command of Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois.





While this actions pales in comparison with Trafalgar, the Nile, Camperdown or Santo Domingo it shows that "John Company" was not a push over at sea, and may well figure in one of my AAR's later in the year.




The HEIC fleet under the command of Commodore Nathaniel Dance sailing in "The Earl Camden" detached the Ganges Brig, with the Indiamen Royal George and Hope pretending to be ships of the Line, to convinced the French ships to retire.

Linois later claimed that the unescorted British merchant fleet was defended by eight ships of the line, a claim criticised by contemporary officers and later historians.

Linois had sailed to the Indian Ocean in 1803 before the Treaty of Amiens was repudiated, under orders to install garrisons in the French and Dutch colonies in the region and to prey on lightly defended British merchant shipping. One of the richest and most significant targets was the "China Fleet", an annual convoy of East Indiamen from China and other Far Eastern ports that carried millions of pounds worth of trade goods. Although these large vessels were accompanied by numerous smaller merchant ships, news of the outbreak of war had only just arrived in the Pacific and the only warship available to defend the fleet was the small HEIC armed brig Ganges. Dutch informants notified Linois of the fleet's destination and date of departure from Canton while he was anchored at Batavia on Java, and he sailed in search of the convoy on 28 December 1803, eventually discovering it on the 14th of February 1804.



Commodore Dance knew that lookouts could, from a distance, mistake a large East Indiaman for a ship of the line. He arranged with his captains to raise Blue Ensigns at the Mainmast tops that indicated that his fleet included part of the Royal Navy squadron operating under Rainier's command, stationed in the Indian Ocean at this time, and formed into a line of battle. Although Linois's ships were clearly superior, the British reaction unnerved him and thinking that he was up against at least five 74s he quickly broke off combat. Dance continued his ruse, pursuing Linois for two hours until the body of the convoy was safe. King George III knighted Dance for his courage and various mercantile and patriotic organisations awarded him large sums of money, while both Linois's own officers and the Emperor Napoleon personally castigated the French admiral for his failure to press the attack against a weaker and extremely valuable enemy. Although he remained in command of the squadron for another two years and had some minor success against undefended merchant ships, he suffered a string of defeats and inconclusive engagements against weaker British naval forces. Ironically, Linois was captured at the Action of 13 March 1806 by a numerically superior British battle squadron that he mistook for a merchant convoy.


East Indiaman Warley which took part in the action.


This was a remarkable victory. While "John Company" ships were well armed for merchantmen, carrying up to 36 18 pounders and several Carronades, they were no match for a well armed squadron. It goes to show that Dance, his captains and his men were every bit as resourceful and brave as any Regular Royal Navy seamen.

Rob.