Sagone Bay, 1811 RCIN 735163.b.jpg

English: TO THE CAPTAINS, OFFICERS, & CREWS, OF HIS MAJESTY'S SHIPS POMONE, CAPTAIN BARRIE, / UNITÉ, CAPTAIN CHAMBERLAYNE, & SCOUT BRIG, CAPTAIN SHARPE. / Plate 2,,nd ½ past 6, o'Clock PM, Representing the Squadron under the orders of... published Jul 1812

Aquatint with etching and engraving; colour printed on paper; hand coloured; edged with paper | 47.2 x 62.1 cm (image) | RCIN 735163.b
Sagone Bay, 1811.

A view of three British frigates attacking French transport ships in the Bay of Sagone on 1 May 1811. Napoleonic Wars (1803-15). Proof copy.

One of three views; the companion prints are at RCINs 735163.a and c.

This view shows the action, thirty minutes after the beginning, by three British ships: the Pomone (38-gun frigate), Captain Robert Barrie (later Sir Robert; 1774-1841); the Unité (the former French 40-gun frigate Imperieuse, captured by the British in 1793 and renamed in 1802), Captain Chamberlayne; to the left of the view, Scout (a Cruizer-class 18-gun brig sloop), Captain Alexander Renton Sharpe (d.1860; not promoted to captain until 2 January 1813; Vice-Admiral 30 October 1855).

The scene shows the British and French ships exchanging fire. The French frigates were supported by fire from the onshore batteries which were under the martello tower, clearly seen in the middle background. The French ships carried a cargo of timber which was destined for the French naval yards at Toulouse. After ninety minutes, two of the French ships, the Giraffe and Nourrice caught fire, setting fire to the merchant ship which was with them. The loss of the timber delayed construction of new French ships by several months.

The British frigates are flying the white ensign from the gaff-peak; a new four-cornered sail - the spanker - had been introduced in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. It was suspended at the top by a wooden pole known as the gaff, and held at the bottom by another wooden pole known as the boom. This new sail got in the way of the old ensign staff and so the ensign, where a ship was rigged with a spanker, was hoisted from the peak of the gaff, as shown clearly in this view.

George III catalogue entry: Naval Engagement Three Views of H.M. Ships Pomone, Captain Barrie, Unité, Captain Chamberlayne, and Scout Brig, Captain Sharpe; attacking and destroying the Batteries and a Squadron of French Ships in Sagone Bay, on the 1.st of May 1811: engraved by Havell and published by Andrews, 1812.