Battle of Bantry Bay

Battle of Bantry Bay
Part of the Nine Years' War
and Williamite War

Battle of Bantry Bay by Adriaen van Diest.
Date11 May 1689[1]
Location
Bantry Bay, Ireland
51°39′N 9°43′W / 51.650°N 9.717°W / 51.650; -9.717
Result French victory[2]
Belligerents
 England  France
Commanders and leaders
Earl of Torrington Châteaurenault
Strength
19[3]-22[4] ships 24 ships[5]
Casualties and losses
94 killed
c. 300 wounded
No ships lost		 40 killed
93 wounded
No ships lost

The Battle of Bantry Bay was a naval engagement fought on 11 May 1689, a week before the declaration of the Nine Years' War. The English fleet was commanded by Admiral Arthur Herbert, created Earl of Torrington after the Battle; the French fleet by François Louis de Rousselet, Marquis de Châteaurenault. Apart from the inshore operations at La Rochelle in 1627–28, the Battle of Bantry Bay was the first time English and French navies had met in fleet action since 1545.[6]

The battle near the southern Irish coast was somewhat inconclusive but the French, endeavouring to supply King James II in his attempt to re-establish his throne, had managed to unload their supplies for James's Irish campaign. But although the French failed to follow up their tactical success with strategic gain, Châteaurenault had inflicted considerable damage on the English fleet.

  1. ^ All dates in the article are New Style (unless otherwise stated). The Old Style calendar as used in England differed by ten days. Thus, the Battle of Bantry Bay is 11 May N.S or 1 May O.S., while the Battle of the Boyne is 11 July N.S or 1 July O.S.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference lynn203 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Aubrey states 18
  4. ^ Weigley states 22
  5. ^ Roger and Aubrey state 24 ships; Lynn, 26.
  6. ^ Tunstall: Naval warfare in the Age of Sail: The Evolution of Fighting Tactics, 1650-1815, p. 52