Action of 8 September 1796
1796 CE.
Shown on the map at 5.550°, 95.850°.
The action of 9 September 1796 was an inconclusive minor naval engagement between small French Navy and British Royal Navy squadrons off northwestern Sumatra, near Banda Aceh, during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French squadron comprised six frigates engaged in commerce raiding against British trade routes passing through captured parts of the Dutch East Indies, and posed a considerable threat to the weakened British naval forces in the region. The British force consisted of two 74-gun ships of the line hastily paired to oppose the eastward advance of the French squadron. The French squadron, commanded by Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey, had left its base on Île de France in July and cruised off Ceylon and Tranquebar before sailing eastwards. Its movement had so far been unopposed, as British forces in the East Indies were concentrated at Simon's Town in the west and Malacca in the east. After raiding the shipping at Banda Aceh on 1 September the squadron sailed eastwards to attack Penang. On 8 September, while the French were removing supplies from a captured British merchant ship east of Banda Aceh, two large sails were spotted.
Text from the Wikipedia article Action of 9 September 1796, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.