Action of 6-8 June 1755

Posted by Cy on Friday 26th of August 2022 07:40

Volumes 1 to 6 of Guérin's book are available on Archive.org. All are now linked in the sources for this site.

Posted by Albert Parker on Friday 26th of August 2022 01:49

I have been researching the previous war, 1739–48, for over 20 years. Mistakes about enemy forces are quite common on both sides. Usually they are an exaggeration rather than an underestimate of the other side: passing merchantmen taken for part of an enemy squadron, overstatements of the force of enemy ships (a ship with 50 or 60 guns credited with 80, etc.). Wasn't the Marquis de Vaudreuil governor-general of New France? He would be in a much better position to know the composition of the French squadron than an Englishman writing to /The Gentleman's Magazine/. Troude is not a very reliable source. For the French side of things, I depend on Léon Guérin, /Histoire maritime de France/. Guérin had some unofficial connection to the French navy in the 1840s when the navy's archives were first being made available to the public, and evidently used them in his detailed narrative. Volume IV covers French involvement in the War of the Austrian Succession from 1744 to 1748 and might also cover the next war (Seven Years' War), to which the 1755 incident was a prelude. If it's not in vol. IV, it would be in vol. V. I downloaded a PDF of vol. IV many years ago but it might still be available through Google Books or at the Gallica web site of the Bibliothèque national de France.

Posted by regis on Wednesday 24th of August 2022 17:48

In Troude , Batailles Navales de la France , pages 349 to 351 , list of the fleet , only Lys and Alcide listed in the encounter but all the british ships listed .

Posted by Teresa Mercier on Wednesday 24th of August 2022 17:25

Thanks you for your comments Cy. It's interesting that threedecks is the only site i've found that has suggested that there were 4 ships involved that day. My take: the French would know better which ships were involved, since the English lost the third ship into the fog. It is especially frustrating when sources that have a lot of "spotlight" share the "other story" that includes only the dauphin royal (wikipedia: "Action on 8 June 1755" & Kronoskaf: "1755- French Reinforcement of Canada").

Posted by Cy on Monday 22nd of August 2022 07:50

Different source with different details. Very common. You have to take the balance of probabilities and make a choice. It's entirely possible that the fourth ship mentioned in the summary was the l'Actif.

Posted by Teresa Mercier on Monday 22nd of August 2022 03:00

Can you help me clarify? I have seen both the account from Gentleman's Monthly 1755 that states Alcide, Lys, & Dauphin Royal. I have also seen the research compiled by Larry Roux, referencing account from the he Monsieur de Vaudreuil & Jean Guillaume Charles de Plantevit de Margon, Chevalier de la Pause & that states Alcide Lys, & L'Actif (in the Report of the Archivist of the Province of Quebec, 1931, 1931-1932). My 5xG grandfather, Pierre Vivet dit Sans Chagrin was aboard the L'Actif, so I would like to understand. Thanks.