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The Action of 6 April 1809 was a small naval battle fought between the French frigate and several British frigates, principally , as part of the blockade of Brest, France during the Napoleonic Wars. During the Wars, a central part of British strategy was to isolate French ports from international trade in an attempt to both restrict French imports of food and military supplies and simultaneously to damage the French economy. To achieve this, British warships maintained a constant vigil off the French coastline, attacking ships that attempted to enter or leave French ports. Despite the threat that their ships faced, communication and the transfer of supplies between France and her colonies was vital to the French war effort, and the French Navy made constant attempts to evade the patrolling British squadrons. In late 1808, a significant French squadron was deployed to Isle de France (now Mauritius) to disrupt British trade in the Indian Ocean. This force required reinforcement and supply from France, and periodic attempts were made to reach the isolated convoy with new frigates, the first of which was ''Niémen''. ''Niémen'' was a new and fast ship, carrying 40 guns and a large quantity of much needed naval supplies. However, in order to leave her home port of Brest, it was necessary to avoid contact with the British frigates that constantly watched the entrance to the harbour in search of enemy movement. In April 1809, these ships were HMS ''Amethyst'' and , loosely supported by other patrolling ships and tasked specifically with the capture of ''Niémen'', acting on intelligence passed on by the Admiralty. When ''Niémen'' emerged on 5 April, she was immediately spotted and chased. ''Amethyst'' retained contact throughout the night and brought the French ship to action on the morning of 6 April. The ensuing battle was fiercely contested and both ships suffered severe damage and heavy casualties. While the outcome of the battle was still undecided, a second British frigate——arrived. Outnumbered, the French captain saw no alternative and surrendered his ship. The late arrival of ''Arethusa''—under Captain Robert Mends, who claimed the victory for himself—sparked a furious argument that developed into a lasting animosity between Mends and Captain Michael Seymour of ''Amethyst''. The failure of ''Niémen'' to reach Isle de France also had serious repercussions for the French squadron there. With naval supplies severely limited, their ability to operate at sea for long periods of time was hampered and by late 1810 few of their vessels were still seaworthy. ==Background== During the Napoleonic Wars, as with the French Revolutionary Wars that preceded them, the British Royal Navy enjoyed almost complete dominance at sea. By 1809, their superiority was so entrenched that few French ships even left port, because to do so meant breaking through a system of blockading warships off every major French harbour.〔Gardiner, p. 17〕 The biggest port in France at the time was Brest in Brittany, and thus it was there that the greatest concentration of British warships off the French coast was concentrated. The main squadron was formed from large ships of the line, often dubbed the "Offshore Squadron" due to their position up to a hundred miles from the coast, to avoid the risks posed by the rocky Biscay shore. This was complemented by the "Inshore Squadron", formed primarily from frigates and brigs, which was tasked with watching the myriad entry points to Brest and other Biscay ports. These frigates often sailed independently or in small squadrons, maintaining contact with each other and with the Offshore Squadron via signals and despatch boats.〔Gardiner, p. 34〕 Despite their inferiority at sea, both in numbers and experience, frigates of the French Navy were still required to leave port regularly on raiding missions against British commerce and to convoy supplies and reinforcements to overseas regions of the French Empire.〔 These colonies formed bases for French commerce raiders, and in 1808 a determined effort was made to develop a raiding squadron on the French Indian Ocean territories of Isle de France and Île Bonaparte. These ships—led by Commodore Jacques Hamelin—required regular resupply from France as they were unable to repair damage and replenish ammunition and food from the reserves on the Indian Ocean islands alone. In early 1809, therefore, it was decided to reinforce and resupply the squadron by despatching the newly built frigate from Brest under Captain Jean Dupotet.〔Woodman, p. 282〕 In January 1809, John Tremayne Rodd—captain of the frigate , then part of the Inshore Squadron—obtained information that ''Niémen'' was preparing to sail from Brest. Rodd passed this information to the Admiralty, who took immediate steps to intercept the French ship.〔Wareham, p. 186〕 For this purpose, they selected Captains Michael Seymour of and Frederick Lewis Maitland of HMS ''Emerald''. These captains had extensive experience serving with the Inshore Squadron off Brest and Seymour, who had lost an arm at the Glorious First of June, was much in favour for his recent capture of the French frigate at the Action of 10 November 1808.〔(Seymour, Sir Michael ), ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', J. K. Laughton, (subscription required), Retrieved 24 January 2009〕 Seymour and Maitland—during their patrols in 1808 that led to the capture of ''Thétis''—had entered into a verbal agreement that any prize money they earned would be shared equally over both crews. This agreement continued on their new commission, which was jealously guarded from other captains: when Seymour discovered hunting in the same area in March, he was furious and ordered her away.〔Wareham, p. 187〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Action of 6 April 1809」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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