Action of 2 September 1781

Action of 2 September 1781 Part of the American Revolutionary War Date 2 September 1781 Location Cape Ann Result British victory Belligerents  Great Britain  France Commanders and leaders Andrew Snape Douglas Chevalier Bouchetierre Strength 1 Frigate 1 Frigate Casualties and losses 1 killed & 1 wounded Magicienne captured 32 killed & 54 wounded[1]

Northern coastal theater Fairhaven 1st Machias Gloucester Falmouth Turtle Gut Inlet Fort Cumberland Ridgefield Sag Harbor St. John River 2nd Machias Setauket Mount Hope Bay Newport Grey's raid Chestnut Neck Little Egg Harbor Tryon's raid (Norwalk) Penobscot Expedition Fort St. George Cape Breton Cape Ann Groton Heights Fort Slongo Halifax Lunenburg Anglo-French War 1778–1783 Europe 17 June 1778 1st Ushant 1st Jersey English Channel Plymouth Gibraltar Flamborough Head 6 October 1779 Cape Santa Maria 13 August 1780 2nd Jersey Minorca 2nd Ushant 3rd Ushant Île-de-Batz Cape Spartel 12 December 1782 Caribbean Dominica 1st St. Lucia 2nd St. Lucia Saint Vincent 1st Grenada 2nd Grenada 1st Martinique Guadeloupe 2nd Martinique Bermuda Fort Royal Tobago Brimstone Hill Frigate Bay Demerara & Essequibo Montserrat The Saintes Mona Passage 18 October 1782 6 December 1782 15 February 1783 Grand Turk North America Rhode Island Charles Town Savannah 1st Long Island Cape Henry Cape Breton Cape Ann Yorktown Chesapeake Yorktown Hudson Bay 2nd Long Island Delaware Bay 2nd Chesapeake East Indies Pondicherry Porto Praya Sadras Providien Negapatam Pisang Trincomalee 1st Cuddalore 2nd Cuddalore

The Action of 2 September, 1781 was a minor naval engagement fought off Cape Ann during the American War of Independence; HMS Chatham captured the French frigate Magicienne after a fight of a few hours.^[2]

On 2 September, the British fifty gun fourth rate HMS Chatham under Captain Andrew Snape Douglas was cruising off Cape Ann near Boston harbour and spotted the French frigate Magicienne. She was a thirty six gun 800 ton frigate that was serving in comte d'Orvilliers fleet and was commanded by the Chevalier Bouchetierre with 280 men.^[3]

Douglas ordered action stations, and the Chatham hove to and after a few hours chase opened the action; she overtook the French frigate. After an hour's action, the Chatham got the better of the French and Magicienne soon struck.^[4]

The Chatham had only one man killed and one wounded while losses on the Magicienne were heavy; 32 killed and 54 wounded with the rest being taken prisoner. She was subsequently taken to Halifax and recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Magicienne.^[5]

Subsequently the action thwarted a planned French assault on British ships in the Saint John River.^[3]

Notes

References

• Allen, Joseph (1852). Battles of the British Navy, Volume 1. Bohn's illustrated library. ASIN B009ZMMQ56. 
• Clowes, William Laird (2003). The Royal Navy: v. 4: A History - From the Earliest Times to 1900. Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1861760128.