On This Day 8 October

[Coog]

On 8 October 1800, at 8:00 A.M., the British schooner HMS Gipsy, with 10 long 4-pounders and 42 men commanded by Lieutenant Coryndon Boger, was cruising off the north end of Guadeloupe when she sighted and gave chase to an armed sloop. When Gipsy fired a shot at her, she hoisted French colors and returned fire. During an hour and a half the two vessels engaged at close quarters. Gipsy, receiving a great volume from the musketry of her opponent, hauled a little further off. Gipsy kept up a heavy fire with round and grape shot, and at 10:30 A.M. the sloop, which was found to be the Quidproquo, with eight 4- and 8-pounders and 98 men commanded by M. Tourpie, struck her colors. Eighty of the 98 men were Guadeloupe chasseurs; and it was to save his people from their powerful musketry that the Gipsy's commander, with so much judgment, had hauled off to a long-gun range.

Gipsy had three seamen killed, and nine, including Lieutenant Boger, wounded; Quidproquo, her captain and four seamen killed, and 11 wounded. Although upon a small scale this action was not the less creditable to those who, by their skill and bravery, had brought it to a successful termination.

[Anav]

1812 - A boat party under Lt. Jesse D. Elliott captures HMS Detroit and Caledonia in the Niagara River.
1842 - Commodore Lawrence Kearny of USS Constitution addresses a letter to the Viceroy of China, urging that American merchants in China be granted the same treaty privileges as the British. His negotiations are successful.

[Coog]

1842 - Commodore Lawrence Kearny of USS Constitution addresses a letter to the Viceroy of China, urging that American merchants in China be granted the same treaty privileges as the British. His negotiations are successful.

And now it seems everything we have is made in China.:)

[csadn]

On 8 October 1800, at 8:00 A.M., the British schooner HMS Gipsy, with 10 long 4-pounders and 42 men commanded by Lieutenant Coryndon Boger, was cruising off the north end of Guadeloupe when she sighted and gave chase to an armed sloop. When Gipsy fired a shot at her, she hoisted French colors and returned fire. During an hour and a half the two vessels engaged at close quarters. Gipsy, receiving a great volume from the musketry of her opponent, hauled a little further off. Gipsy kept up a heavy fire with round and grape shot, and at 10:30 A.M. the sloop, which was found to be the Quidproquo, with eight 4- and 8-pounders and 98 men commanded by M. Tourpie, struck her colors. Eighty of the 98 men were Guadeloupe chasseurs; and it was to save his people from their powerful musketry that the Gipsy's commander, with so much judgment, had hauled off to a long-gun range.

Good tactics; tho' I wonder why the British closed in the first place, given the long-4 loadout.

[Coog]

Good tactics; tho' I wonder why the British closed in the first place, given the long-4 loadout.

Sounds like Boger was not expecting all the musket armed chasseurs on board and the heavy volume of fire they produced. He probably thought they could close, unleash a broadside, and board the ship without much of a fight. As the British were able to overwhelm most of their enemies, they became overconfident and caught off guard at times. While I don't believe they ever learned to respect the French or Spanish, the first year of the War of 1812 was a tough lesson for them and at least changed their approach to fighting American ships.

[csadn]

Sounds like Boger was not expecting all the musket armed chasseurs on board and the heavy volume of fire they produced. He probably thought they could close, unleash a broadside, and board the ship without much of a fight. As the British were able to overwhelm most of their enemies, they became overconfident and caught off guard at times. While I don't believe they ever learned to respect the French or Spanish, the first year of the War of 1812 was a tough lesson for them and at least changed their approach to fighting American ships.

On consideration: I agree with this. Which is why, elsewhere, I mentioned wanting to break-out the various small-ship actions -- I want to see how many were "actual fights" (like the above), and how many were "shot over the bow, and heave-to"; and then see how the "actual fights" results break down. It goes without saying: _SoG_ (and every other tactical game) focuses on the "actual fights" (no one would buy a game where one side surrenders after the first shot 5/6 of the time); so it would be interesting to know specifically what happened when both sides actually showed up for the battle.