CASUALTY RECORD // January 14, 1797
Action of 13 January 1797
Estimated casualties — killed, wounded, captured, and missing — by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Casualties by side
2 sides catalogued · combined 353–750 estimated
République française
103–500
Medium-confidence figure
Royaume de Grande-Bretagne
250
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The action of 13 January 1797 was a minor engagement off Brittany in which two British frigates neutralized a French ship of the line by driving it ashore in heavy seas. The loss of a French vessel of the line, along with between 400 and 1,000 of the approximately 1,300 persons aboard, represented a disproportionate blow given the small British force involved. The engagement also cost the British one frigate and six sailors, lost on a sandbank while attempting to clear a lee shore, illustrating the hazard that coastal waters and heavy weather posed to both sides regardless of tactical success.
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