Action of 17 August 1779

The Action of 17 August 1779 was a naval battle between a French and a British squadron in the English Channel on 17 August 1779.

In June 1779, Spain followed France declaring war on Britain and together formed a combined fleet aiming for British Isles' invasion. On 14 August, the fleet was off the Lizard and on 16 August it were off Plymouth with some of the enemy frigates anchored in the Cawsand Bay.

In meantime, HMS Ardent was re-commissioned under the command of Captain Phillip Boteler, and sailed from Plymouth in 14 August to join Sir Charles Hardy watching the much superior Franco-Spanish forces in the Channel. According to the ship's logs, as many as 4/5 of the crew were landmen, and neither Boteler nor the captain of the HMS Marlborough, in whose company Ardent was sailing, were aware that a French fleet had put to sea. Ardent encountered this fleet two days after sailing, and after receiving the correct replies to the coded signal, both ships ran down to meet them assuming they were British. Instead, the fleet they encountered was French and Spanish, in possession of a Royal Navy signal codebook that permitted the correct response of Ardent's "who are you?" question.

With Ardent within range, the French frigate Junon fired two broadsides before raising her colours. In response, Ardent offered sporadic and inaccurate return fire and after three further French frigates and a Spanish ship of the line, Princesa, joined the action she stroked her colours to the enemy. In the meantime, Marlborough sailed away from the action and escaped back to Britain unscathed.

At his subsequent court martial Captain Boteler blamed his failure to return fire on an inadequate supply of gunpowder for Ardent′s cannons, a statement denied by the ship's gunner. Archibald Macintyre provided evidence that there was enough powder for fifty minutes of engagement. The court martial rejected Boteler's appeals, finding instead that the inexperience of the crew was the principal cause of the Ardent′s capture, and he was expelled from the Navy for his failure to adequately defend his ship.