Battle of the Chesapeake

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The Battle at Yorktown was unquestionably the most important battle of the American Revolution. Yet, ironically, its outcome was the direct result of a sea battle fought between French and British men-of-war, some 40 nautical miles from Yorktown at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The very existence of the United States of America and the fate of the American Revolution weighed heavily on the success of General George Washington and the Continental Army, aided by the French at Yorktown.

The American Revolution, begun in 1775, had been going on for six long, hard years. General Washington’s forces had been driven out of New Jersey and South Carolina. British Lt. General Charles Cornwallis and his Redcoats conducted devastating raids against towns and plantations in Virginia, then dug in at Yorktown, Virginia, in August of 1781. General Cornwallis put his troops to work building fortifications in the town and at the promontory at Gloucester Point, Virginia, across the York River. His plan was to build a naval port in Virginia which would allow British ships to land troops and supplies easily. It was also destined to be a repair yard for British ships.

When Washington learned what British General Cornwallis was up to, he directed Major General Marquis de Lafayette to block Cornwallis’ escape from Yorktown by land. Lafayette was a French nobleman and officer with the rank of major general in the Continental Army by the age of 19. Lafayette was already in Virginia with an American army of around 5,000 men. Of Cornwallis, he said:

“This devil Cornwallis is much wiser than the other generals

with whom I have dealt. He inspires me with a sincere fear,

and his name has greatly troubled my sleep. This campaign is

a good school for me. God grant that the public does not pay

for my lessons.” Marquis de Lafayette, July 9, 1781.

On October 14, 1781, 400 French soldiers commanded by Major General Lafayette and 400 Americans under Major General Alexander Hamilton stormed the British Redoubt Number 9 — a fortification constructed mainly of piled-up dirt with wooden spears designed to stop the enemy’s approach.

Washington had 2,500 troops in New York, which were joined by 4,000 French soldiers under the command of the French General Count de Rochambeau. Their plan was to march south to Yorktown. Washington was fearful that Cornwallis might, if resupplied, escape from Yorktown. Washington and Lafayette had Cornwallis trapped at Yorktown by land, but was helpless to block him from being rescued by British ships.

Just when it seemed as if all the Americans had fought and died for might be lost, a dispatch arrived from French Admiral deGrasse informing Washington that a French fleet was en route from the West Indies. This was the answer to Washington’s prayers. The large French fleet commanded by Admiral Count de Grasse, with 37 ships and roughly 3,000 French troops aboard, was sailing to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to back up the land assault on British General Cornwallis and blockade the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

Their mission was to prevent any British reinforcements or supplies from reaching British General Cornwallis, who was under siege at Yorktown and desperately close to surrender. When the British learned the French fleet was heading for the Chesapeake Bay, a British fleet of 19 ships and seven frigates, under the command of rear Admiral Thomas Graves, slowly made its way to the Chesapeake Bay to intercept the French fleet. Meanwhile, a French fleet under the command of Admiral de Grasse had arrived ahead of the British and was at anchor at the mouth of the bay when the British arrived at about 9 AM on September 5, 1781. Two great fleets had a date with destiny.

James A. Michener, in his historical novel Chesapeake, described the situation in this way: “And worst of all, [de Grasse’s] position allowed him no room in which to maneuver. He was trapped, and when scouting boats rushed in with news that Admiral Rodney was bearing down with the entire Caribbean squadron, he realized his peril. If de Grasse had been a prudent man, he might have surrendered then and there, for the enemy had every advantage except one: the British ships were sleek-bottomed and free of worm; their crews were complete and battle-hardened; they had the advantage of the wind and ocean space in which to maneuver; they had guns of shattering power manned by the best seamen in the world. The only disadvantage the English suffered was that Admiral Rodney, a tested leader in battle, was not aboard the ships....” British Admiral Rodney was ill and had returned to England.

The French fleet lay at anchor when they were discovered by the British scout boats. Another admiral might have surrendered there and then, but not French Admiral de Grasse. He ordered the anchor lines cut and the guns made ready on his 24 ships of the line. British Admiral Graves missed a golden opportunity to attack the French fleet, which was unprepared for a fight at the moment and still at anchor offloading supplies. Many of his French officers and crew were ashore. It wasn’t until 4 PM, six hours later, that both fleets were in battle positions off Cape Charles, Maryland, and Cape Henry, Virginia. The French had lured the 19 British ships of the line out of the Chesapeake into open waters. A ship of the line is a type of naval warship constructed from the seventeenth century through the mid-nineteenth century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would maneuver to bring the greatest weight of broadside firepower to bear.

On September 5, 1781, the Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Capes, was on. The battle began with HMS Intrepid firing its cannons at the French ship Marseillais. The British had the weather gage. The weather gage is the advantageous position of a fighting sailing vessel relative to another. A sailing ship at sea is said to possess the weather gage if it is in any position upwind of the other vessel. With each ship carrying between 70 and 100 cannons, the firepower was enormous. Very quickly, the vanguard and center of each line got closer together and fully engaged each other. Smoke and the shriek of cannonballs hurtling by filled the air. The French gunners soon disabled the HMS Intrepid and the HMS Shrewsbury, which drifted out of the line. French Captain de Boades of the Réfléchi was killed in the opening broadside or by cannon blasts from the HMS Princessa At one point, the HMS Princessa and the French Auguste were close enough for the French Admiral Bougainville to consider boarding. But just in time, British Admiral Drake managed to steer his ship to avoid being boarded by widening the gap between the ships. With cannons blasting away from both sides, tearing away at sails, masts and men, the odor of gun powder, human blood and guts filled the air and mixed with the screams of the wounded.

As the two and one-half hour battle progressed, it first appeared as if the British would prevail. There was some confusion in the orders transmitted between the British ships resulting in several British ships not entering the fight. Rear Admiral Hood aboard the HMS Barfleu was directing the rear squadron. He interpreted the signals differently than British Admiral Graves. This resulted in a piecemeal arrival of the ships into the line of battle. A critical disadvantage for the British. The British used some wooden cannon balls that sent shards of wood tearing the flesh of the French sailors. The decks were awash with blood. But, after a while, the deadly accuracy of the French gunners took down mast after mast of the British ships. Sails were in tatters and body parts were strewn across the decks. Torn sails and blasted-off masts hung precariously from the gunwales. Debris littered the sea. With cannons roaring and belching their deadly charge, the ships of both sides lined up in an uneven line in such a way that only the forward and center sections were close enough to fully engage. As the battle raged on, 90 British sailors were killed and 246 were wounded. Six British ships were badly damaged, one of the ships had be scuttled (sunk) to keep it from being salvaged by the enemy. The French fleet suffered 220 dead or wounded with two ships damaged.

The British suffered more casualties and ship damage. They were hindered too by poorly maintained ships, some of which were leaking and others weakened by wood worms. It was the British that broke off the battle, but the two fleets sailed in view of each other for several days. The French fleet lured the British fleet further out to sea, hoping to make it possible for French Admiral de Barras to sail his fleet undetected into the bay with urgent supplies needed for the siege of Yorktown. His arrival increased the size of the French fleet to 36 ships of the line. By sunset, the battle was over. Broken ships and battered sailors floated away from the deadly chaos, eerily having made history.

The great irony is the Battle of the Chesapeake was the greatest naval battle ever fought in American waters. Yet, there were no Americans aboard either side’s ships in the battle, which would be the turning point of the American Revolution. 

“The Battle of the Chesapeake Bay was one of the decisive

battles of the world. Before it, the creation of the United States

of America was possible; after it, it was certain.”

Michael Lewis, The History of the British.

The French victory at the Battle of the Chesapeake meant the French fleet controlled the Chesapeake Bay, eliminating a further threat to the Americans ships. This battle was incredibly important to the allied American and French armies. A defeat at Yorktown would have ended the American Revolution with the British as the victors. Edward Ayres, historian at the American Revolution Museum in Yorktown described it this way:

“The outcome of the Battle of the Capes was the critical factor

leading to the defeat of the British forces under General

Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781.

The use of the French fleet to neutralize British naval power, if only for a

brief time, allowed the joint American and French Army to

trap the British in Virginia and prevent Cornwallis from either

escaping or being reinforced. Without the assistance of French

naval and military help it is doubtful that the Revolution

would have ended so favorably for the Americans.”

This incredible moment in history is vividly depicted at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown in a film presented in a modern theater, complete with sound effects, the smell of battle and sea water, along with seats actually shuddering when the ship’s cannons fire. For details about this wonderful new museum at Yorktown, Virginia, go online to www.historyisfun.org/.