Battle of Pulo Aura
The Battle of Pulo Aura was a minor naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars fought on 14 February 1804, in which a large British East India Company convoy intimidated, drove off and chased away a powerful French Navy squadron. Although the French squadron was much stronger than the British convoy, Commodore Nathaniel Dance's aggressive tactics persuaded Counter-admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois to retire after only a brief exchange of fire. Dance then chased the French squadron until his convoy was out of danger, whereupon he resumed his passage toward British India.
The battle occurred during an extended commerce raiding operation by Linois' squadron, led by the ship of the line Marengo. In 1803, before war broke out, Linois sailed to the Indian Ocean to install garrisons in French and Batavian colonies and target British merchantmen. A prime target was the "China Fleet," a convoy of East Indiamen carrying millions of pounds' worth of trade goods. Although escorted by smaller merchant ships, the only available escort warship was the EIC armed brig Ganges. Dutch informants told Linois of the fleet’s destination and date of departure from Canton while he was at Batavia, and he set sail on 28 December 1803, eventually locating the convoy in early February.
Although no warships protected the convoy, Dance knew that lookouts could mistake a large East Indiaman for a ship of the line. He had his Indiamen form a line of battle and raise flags suggesting his fleet included part of the Royal Navy squadron operating in the Indian Ocean. Although Linois's ships were clearly superior, the bold British response unsettled him, and he quickly broke off combat. Dance maintained the ruse, aggressively pursuing Linois for two hours until the convoy was safe. The successful deception ensured the valuable cargo reached Britain without loss.
King George III knighted Dance for his courage and various mercantile and patriotic organisations awarded him large sums of money, while both Napoleon and Linois's own officers personally castigated him for his failure to press the attack against a weaker and extremely valuable enemy. Although he remained in command of the squadron for another two years and had some minor success against undefended merchant ships, he suffered a string of defeats and inconclusive engagements against weaker British naval forces. Ironically, Linois was captured at the action of 13 March 1806 by a numerically superior British battle squadron which he had mistaken for a merchant convoy.
Background
During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the economy of the United Kingdom relied heavily on its ability to trade with the British Empire, especially Britain's valuable colonies in India. British trade with Asia was primarily conducted by the East India Company using large, well-armed merchant ships known as East Indiamen. These ships were between 500 and 1200 nominal tons burthen and could carry up to 36 guns to defend against pirates, privateers, and smaller warships. However, they were not designed to fight large warships like frigates or ships of the line, as their guns were often of inferior design and their crews less trained.Despite these disadvantages, East Indiamen's size made them resemble a small ship of the line from a distance, often augmented by paintwork and dummy cannon. In the Bali Strait incident of 28 January 1797, an unescorted convoy of British East Indiamen used this similarity to intimidate a French frigate squadron into withdrawing without a fight. A similar event occurred in February 1799 during the Macau Incident, where a Franco-Spanish squadron attacking a British merchant convoy was driven off by a small Royal Navy squadron escorting it. British East Indiamen would gather at Asian ports and set out for Britain in large convoys, often carrying millions of pounds' worth of trade goods. The journey usually took six months, with the ships returning carrying troops and passengers to bolster British forces in Asia. "Country ships", smaller British merchantmen often unaffiliated with the EIC, would frequently join the convoys. To defend against pirate attacks, the EIC operated the Bombay Marine. These ships were an effective deterrent against small raiders but were no match for professional warships.
Seeking to threaten British trade from the beginning of the war, Napoleon ordered a French squadron to sail for India in March 1803 under the command of Counter-cdmiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois. Linois's squadron included the ship of the line Marengo and three frigates. Operating from Isle de France, Linois was ordered to attack British shipping once war began. After sailing to Pondicherry and narrowly escaping from a British squadron under Rear-admiral Peter Rainier in July, Linois received news of the outbreak of war in May 1803 and began making preparations. He landed supplies and troops at Réunion and Batavia, sent the frigate to Muscat, captured several country ships and raided British Bencoolen. On 10 December, after gathering intelligence about the British "China Fleet", Linois set sail to intercept it. His squadron, including Marengo, the frigates and, the corvette, and the Batavian Navy brig, departed Batavia on 28 December with six months' worth of provisions, expecting a long patrol in the Strait of Malacca. The China Fleet, which gathered annually at Canton in the Pearl River, included 16 East Indiamen, 11 country ships, a Portuguese merchantmen from Macau, and a vessel from Botany Bay by late January 1804.
Despite the presence of the small EIC brig Ganges as an escort, the convoy had no real military protection, as the news of war had arrived in Canton before reinforcements could reach them. While spies in Canton informed Linois of the fleet’s composition, Dutch informants also sent false reports suggesting Royal Navy warships were with the convoy, which were possibly planted by British authorities. The convoy was an incredibly valuable target, with a cargo worth over £8 million in contemporary values, including tea, silk, porcelain, and 80 Chinese plants ordered by Sir Joseph Banks for the Kew Gardens. The EIC's select committee in Canton had debated delaying the convoy’s departure over security concerns. Captains of the convoy, including Henry Meriton, who had captured a French frigate in the action of 4 August 1800, argued that the convoy's size and appearance would deter attacks. However, James Farquharson, the captain of, opposed Meriton, arguing the convoy's crews were too poorly trained to defend themselves effectively. Ultimately, the committee decided to proceed, placing Commodore Nathaniel Dance—with over 45 years of experience in the East Indiaman Earl Camden—in charge of the convoy.
Battle
At 08:00 on 14 February 1804, with the island of Pulo Aura within sight to the south-west near the eastern entrance to the Straits of Malacca, the Indiaman Royal George raised a signal describing three sail approaching the convoy from the direction of the island. This was Linois's squadron, which had been cruising in the area for the previous month in anticipation of the convoy's arrival. Dance ordered the brig Ganges and the Indiamen Alfred, Royal George, and Hope to approach the strange vessels and investigate, rapidly discovering they were enemy warships. By 13:00, Dance had readied his guns and reformed his convoy, with the large Indiamen formed up in line of battle to receive the French attack as if they were warships. During the late afternoon, Linois's squadron fell in behind the slow line of merchant ships and Dance expected an immediate attack, but Linois was cautious and merely observed the convoy, preferring to wait until the following morning before engaging the enemy. Dance made use of the delay to gather the smaller country ships on the opposite side of his line from the French, the brig Ganges shepherding them into position and collecting volunteers from their crews to augment the sailors on board the Indiamen. Linois later excused his delay in attacking the merchant convoy by citing the need for caution:At dawn on 15 February, both the British and the French raised their colours. Dance hoped to persuade Linois that his ships included some fully armed warships and he therefore ordered the brig Ganges and the four lead ships to hoist blue ensigns, while the rest of the convoy raised red ensigns. By the system of national flags then in use in British ships, this implied that the ships with blue ensigns were warships attached to Rainer's squadron, while the others were merchant ships under their protection. Dance was unknowingly assisted by the information that had reached Linois at Batavia, which claimed that there were 23 merchant ships and the brig in the convoy. Dance had collected six additional ships during his journey, and the identity of these were unknown to the French, who assumed that at least some of the unidentified vessels must be warships, particularly as several vessels had been recently painted at Canton to resemble ships of the line.
At 09:00 Linois was still only observing the convoy, reluctant to attack until he could be sure of the nature of his opponents. Dance responded to the reprieve by reforming the line of battle into sailing formation to increase his convoy's speed with the intention of reaching the Straits ahead of Linois. With the convoy a less intimidating target, Linois began to slowly approach the British ships. By 13:00 it was clear that Linois's faster ships were in danger of isolating the rear of the convoy, and Dance ordered his lead ships to tack and come about so they would cross in front of the French squadron. The British successfully executed the manoeuvre, and at 13:15 Linois opened fire on the lead ship—Royal George—under the command of John Fam Timmins. The Royal George and the next four ships in line, the Indiaman Ganges, Dance's Earl Camden, the Warley and the Alfred, all returned fire, Ganges initially attacking Royal George in error. Captain James Prendergrass in Hope, the next in line, was so eager to join the battle that he misjudged his speed and collided with Warley, the ships falling back as their crews worked to separate their rigging. Shots were then exchanged at long range for 43 minutes, neither side inflicting severe damage.
Royal George had a sailor named Hugh Watt killed, another man wounded, and suffered some damage to her hull. None of the other British ships or any of the French reported anything worse than superficial damage in the engagement. At 14:00, Linois abandoned the action and ordered his squadron to haul away with the wind and sail eastwards, away from the convoy, under all sail. Determined to maintain the pretence of the presence of warships, Dance ordered the ships flying naval ensigns, including his flagship Earl Camden, to chase the French. None of the merchant ships could match the French speed, but an attempt at a chase would hopefully dissuade the French from returning. For two hours, Dance's squadron followed Linois, Hope coming close to catching Avonturier but ultimately unable to overtake the brig. At 16:00, Dance decided to gather his scattered ships and return to his former heading rather than risk attack from other raiders or lose sight of his convoy in the darkness. By 20:00, the entire British convoy had anchored at the entrance to the Straits of Malacca. On 28 February, the British ships of the line and joined them in the Strait and conducted them safely to Saint Helena in the South Atlantic.
There escorted the convoy to England. Five whalers and, Captain Doree, also joined the convoy, with the Blackhouse, from coast of Guinea, joining at sea. The convoy returned to England without further incident.
Linois's squadron reached Batavia several days after the action without encountering any British ships. He was there joined by Atalante and, after taking on supplies, made sail for Isle de France, arriving on 2 April. Avonturier was left at Batavia and remained there until British forces raided the port in November 1806, destroying her. Linois later attempted to explain his conduct during the engagement: