Battle of the Saintes

Battle of the Saintes
Part of the American Revolutionary War[1]
The French flagship Ville de Paris in action against HMS Barfleur by Thomas Whitcombe
Date 9–12 April 1782 Location Off Dominica, Caribbean Sea 15°47′N 61°36′W / 15.783°N 61.600°W / 15.783; -61.600 Result British victory[2][3]
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Sir George Rodney Sir Samuel Hood	Comte de Grasse   Louis de Bougainville
Strength
36 ships of the line	30 ships of the line[4]
Casualties and losses
243 dead, 816 wounded[5]	4 ships of the line captured, 1 destroyed 3,000 dead or wounded,[6] 5,000 captured[5]

The Battle of the Saintes (known to the French as the Bataille de la Dominique), also known as the Battle of Dominica, was an important naval battle in the Caribbean between the British and the French that took place 9–12 April 1782. The British victory was considered their greatest over the French during the American Revolutionary War.^[7][8]

The British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse, forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned invasion of Jamaica.^[9]

The battle is named after the Îles des Saintes, a group of small islands between Guadeloupe and Dominica in the West Indies. The French had blockaded the British Army at Chesapeake Bay the year before, during the Siege of Yorktown, and supported the eventual American victory in their revolution. This battle, however, halted their momentum and had a significant effect on peace negotiations to end the war.^[1]

The French suffered heavy casualties at the Saintes and many were taken prisoner, including de Grasse. Four French ships of the line were captured (including the flagship) and one was destroyed. Rodney was credited with pioneering the tactic of "breaking the line" in the battle, though this is disputed.^[9][10]