Battle of Martinique (1779)

Battle of Martinique
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Bataille de la Martinique, Jean-Marie Chavane
Date 18 December 1779 Location Off Martinique, Caribbean Sea 14°35′N 61°09′W / 14.583°N 61.150°W / 14.583; -61.150 Result British victory[1]
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Hyde Parker	Picquet la Motte
Strength
13 ships of the line	3 ships of the line 26 merchant ships
Casualties and losses
150 killed and wounded 2 ships of the line damaged	9 merchant ships captured 4 merchant ships destroyed

The Battle of Martinique, or Combat de la Martinique, was a naval encounter on 18 December 1779 between a British 13-ship squadron under Admiral Hyde Parker and a three-ship French division under Admiral Lamotte-Picquet near the island of Martinique in the West Indies.

In order to cover the retreat of a convoy under Joseph de Flotte chased by the British, the lone 74-gun Annibal, under Lamotte-Picquet. For 90 minutes, Annibal single-handedly engaged the British squadron to block its advance, before she was joined by the two 64-guns, Vengeur and Réfléchi.^[2] Ten to 11 of the transports were taken by the British or beached themselves to avoid capture, but the rest of the convoy of the escorting frigate Aurore managed to escape, and the division returned to its anchorage. Hyde Parker wrote Lamotte-Picquet a congratulation letter in the following days.^[3]