Qualla: Action of 7 May 1794 https://qualla.com/action-of-7-may-1794 en-us © 2026 Bendyline Wed, 08 Jul 2026 02:40:12 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/8/m/action-of-7-may-1794-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Action of 7 May 1794 https://qualla.com/action-of-7-may-1794 Action of 7 May 1794: Introduction https://qualla.com/action-of-7-may-1794/ Photo credit Antoine Maurin, Public domain. At 02:30 on the morning of 7 May 1794, in dark Atlantic waters about 75 nautical miles west of the Mullet Peninsula, the starboard guns of HMS Swiftsure finally reached the French frigate they had been chasing for nearly thirty-three hours. The frigate was the Atalante, 36 guns, under Captain Charles Linois. Swiftsure was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line, more than twice her opponent's weight of broadside, and Linois had been trying every trick in his repertoire to lose her since the previous evening. By 03:25 his rigging was in tatters, ten of his men were dead, thirty-two wounded, and he struck his colours. He had lost. He had also, against the odds, lasted long enough to be remembered for losing well.

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Image: Antoine Maurin | Public domain

]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/8/m/action-of-7-may-1794-wp/gc8m-action-of-7-may-1794-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Action of 7 May 1794: A Hungry France, A Convoy of Bread https://qualla.com/action-of-7-may-1794/ Photo credit Antoine Maurin, Public domain. Revolutionary France was starving in the spring of 1794. The harvest had failed. To feed Paris, the Republic turned to its American colonies and to the young United States, which began assembling an enormous grain convoy in Hampton Roads. To shepherd it home, the French Navy sent...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/8/m/action-of-7-may-1794-wp/gc8m-action-of-7-may-1794-a-hungry-france-a-convoy-of-bread.mp3 0:06 2 full Action of 7 May 1794: The Mistake and the Chase https://qualla.com/action-of-7-may-1794/ Photo credit Antoine Maurin, Public domain. At 17:45 on the 5th, Captain Charles Boyles of Swiftsure turned toward the strangers with HMS St Albans, a 64-gun ship, alongside him. Swiftsure hoisted her colours and fired three shots in the direction of the larger Frenchman. Linois understood his error at once. He raised the ...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/8/m/action-of-7-may-1794-wp/gc8m-action-of-7-may-1794-the-mistake-and-the-chase.mp3 0:06 3 full Action of 7 May 1794: Surrender With Honour https://qualla.com/action-of-7-may-1794/ Photo credit Antoine Maurin, Public domain. Linois lost ten of his 274 men and had 32 wounded. Swiftsure lost one. Boyles put a prize crew aboard the captured frigate and took the surviving French sailors aboard his own ship as prisoners of war. The Royal Navy already had a vessel named HMS Atalanta in service, so the capt...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/8/m/action-of-7-may-1794-wp/gc8m-action-of-7-may-1794-surrender-with-honour.mp3 0:06 4 full Action of 7 May 1794: A Footnote That Became Famous https://qualla.com/action-of-7-may-1794/ Photo credit Antoine Maurin, Public domain. The action of 7 May 1794 was a minor engagement. It was eclipsed within a month by the Glorious First of June, the great fleet battle that climaxed the Atlantic campaign of May 1794. Yet Linois's reputation, polished by his refusal to surrender easily, helped carry him to a notab...

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]]> Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/8/m/action-of-7-may-1794-wp/gc8m-action-of-7-may-1794-a-footnote-that-became-famous.mp3 0:06 5 full