This Day in Naval History

Calendar These pages list the key dates in the history of the sailing navies of the world.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

Jun.

Jul.

Aug.

Sep.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30

01 June	1666	First day of The Four Days Battle, off the North Foreland between the English fleet of 56 ships, under George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, and the Dutch fleet of 84 ships, under Lt.-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter.
	1676	Danish-Dutch fleet of 25 ships-of-the-line, 10 frigates and some minor ships, under Dutch General Admiral Tromp and Admiral Niels Juel, defeats a Swedish force of 27 ships-of-the-line, 11 frigates and some minor ships, under Admiral Lorentz Creutz,.off Oland, Sweden
	1677	The Danish Baltic Squadron of 10 ships-of-the-line and 3 frigates, under Admiral Niels Juel, defeated a Swedish squadron of 7 ships-of-the-line, 2 frigates and 2 armed cutters, under Admiral Sjöblad, off Moen
	1794	Glorious First of June. British fleet under Lord Howe defeat French fleet under Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse.
	1795	Adam Duncan promoted to full Admiral.
	1797	HMS Astraea (32), Cptn. Richard Dacres, captures the Dutch privateer Stuiver (10) off the Scaw
	1808	HMS Unite (38), Cptn. Patrick Capmbell, captured Nettuno and Teulie in the Adriatic.
	1813	HMS Shannon (38), Cptn. Philip Bowes Vere Broke, captures USS Chesapeake (36) Cptn. James Lawrence, off Boston Harbor
	1814	Start of 4 day British operation in the River Patuxent.
02 June	1653	First day of Battle of the Gabbard Bank, off the coast of Suffolk. English fleet of 100 ships under Generals at Sea George Monck and Richard Deane and Admirals John Lawson and William Penn beat of 98 Dutch ships under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp and Vice-admiral Witte de With. On second day the English were joined by Admiral Robert Blake, but Tromp decided to attack but was routed, the English chasing them until well in the evening.
	1676	Battle of Palermo. A French force led by Abraham Duquesne attacked a Spanish force supported by a Dutch maritime expedition force. Largely because the Dutch and Spanish ships were at bay making repairs from an earlier a battle, the French fleet destroyed four Spanish and three Dutch ships with fireships.
	1773	George III reviewed the English Fleet at Portsmouth.
	1779	HMS Glasgow (20) burnt by accident in Montego Bay, Jamaica
	1787	HMS Pelican (10) foundered
	1805	HMS Diamond Rock capitulated. Boats of HMS Loire (40), Cptn. Frederick Maitland, cut out privateer felucca Esperamza from Camarinas Bay. Another privateer was taken but abandoned and 3 merchant vessels were destroyed.
03 June	1665	Battle of Lowestoft. English fleet of 109 ships, under James Stuart, Duke of York, badly defeat Dutch fleet of 103 ships, under Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam (Killed in Action). The Dutch lost 17 ships and the English lost 1 ship.
	1785	Order to sell last ship remaining in Continental Navy, frigate Alliance . No other US Navy ships were authorized until 1794.
04 June	1673	Engagement between the Anglo-French fleet under Prince Rupert and the Dutch under De Ruyter. Second Battle of Schooneveld. Anglo-French fleet of 86 ships, under Rupert of the Rhine, engaged Dutch fleet of 64 ships, under Michiel de Ruyter.
	1800	HMS Thames (32), Cptn. Lukin, and HMS Cynthia (18) silenced the forts at Quiberon which were afterwards destroyed by a party of troops.
	1805	Boats of HMS Loire (40), Cptn. Frederick Maitland, destroyed a battery and fort at Muros Bay, took the privateer Confiance and burnt privateer Belier .
	1808	4 Danish gunboats, under Lt. Christian Wulff, defeats the British gun-brig HMS Tickler, Lieut. John W. Skinner (Killed in Action), off Taars.
	1812	Boats of HMS Medusa (32), Cptn. Bouverie, cut out and destroyed Dorade (14) at Arcasson near Bourdeaux.
	1824	The Danish Navy's first steamship, the paddle steamer Kiel, arrives at Copenhagen from England.
	1849	The Danish corvette Valkyrien, Andreas Polder, and the paddle steamer Gejser, Lt. Cmdr Jørgen P. F. Wulff, of the North Sea Squadron engages 3 Schleswig-Holstein naval paddle steamers, under Rear Ad. Bromme off Heligoland.
05 June	1794	First officers of the U.S. Navy under the Constitution are appointed.
	1807	Boats of HMS Pomone (38), Cptn. Robert Barrie, captured gun-brig and 14 sail south of the Ile d'Yeu
06 June	1758	Howe attacks St. Malo.
	1762	George Anson died
	1800	HMS Impetueux (74), Cptn. Sir Edward Pellew, and consorts took two brigs, two sloops, two gun vessels and about 100 prisoners and destroyed the batteries ashore at Morbihan.
	1806	A British prize schooner of HMS Port D'Espagne, Lt. James Pattison Stewart, captured Spanish privateer Mercedes
	1827	HMS Cynthia Packet-Brig (6) wrecked off the Island of Barbados.
07 June	1692	Port Royal, Jamaica destroyed by Earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
	1777	HMS Fox (28), Cptn. Patrick Fotheringham, was taken by American frigates Hancock (32), Cpt. John Manley, and Boston (30), Cptn. Hector McNeil, off Newfoundland Banks.
08 June	1794	HMS Crescent (36), Cptn. James Saumarez, HMS Druid (32), Cptn. Ellison, and HMS Eurydice (24), Cptn. Francis Cole, engaged French squadron off the West coast of Guernsey..
	1795	HMS Kingfisher (18) engaged a French convoy.
	1796	HMS Unicorn (32), Cptn. Thomas Williams, and HMS Santa Margarita (36), Cptn. Thomas Byam Martin, captured Tribune (44), Commodore Moulson, and Tamise (42) to the westward of the Scillies. A corvette Legere escaped. First day of 4 day campaign by HMS Arethusa (38), Cptn. Thomas Wolley, with three frigates, two sloops and army units capturing island of St. Vincent.
	1813	Boats of HMS Elizabeth (74), Cptn. Leveson Gower, and HMS Eagle (74), Cptn. Charles Rowley, defeated troops at Omago.
	1830	Sloop-of-war Vincennes becomes first U.S. warship to circle the globe
	1853	Commodore Matthew Perry arrives at Uraga, Japan to begin negotiations for a treaty with Japan
09 June	1772	HMS Gaspee schooner, Lt. William Dudingston, burned at Namquid Point, Narragansett Bay by American colonists from Providence, Rhode Island.
	1795	HMS Mosquito captured a privateer.
	1796	HMS Southampton (32), Cptn. James Macnamara, ccut out French corvette Utile (24) from Hyeres Bay
	1799	Boats of HMS Success (32), Cptn. Shuldham Peard, cut out Belle Aurore.
	1801	HMS Kangaroo (16), George Christopher Pulling, and HMS Speedy (14), Lord Thomas Cochrane, destroyed gunboats and took 3 brigs from under the battery of Oropeso HMS Meleager (32), Cptn. Thomas Bladen Capel, wrecked on the Triangles, Gulf of Mexico.
	1808	21 Danish gunboats and 12 mortar shallops, under Cmdr Johan C. Krieger, engages a British escorted convoy in the southern part of the Sound. HMS Turbulent (12) and 11 merchant ships are captured.
10 June	1673	Rene Duguay-Trouin born in St. Malo, France. French privateer and naval officer, he captured 300 merchantmen and 20 warships during his career.
	1805	HMS Chiffonne (36), Cptn. Charles Adamand, HMS Falcon (14), Cptn. George Sanders, HMS Clinker (14), Lt. Nisbet Glen, and the Frances hired armed cutter, engaged French gunboats Foudre (10), Cptn. Jacques-Felix-Emmanuel Hemelin, Audacieuse (10), Lt. Dominique Roquebert, and 7 others protecting a convoy off the coast of France.
	1809	HMS Amelia (38), Cptn. Frederick Paul rby, and HMS Statira captured French national vessels Mouche (16), Rejouie (8) and a schooner together with 2 luggers Legere and Notre Dame at Santander.
11 June	1800	Boats of Rear Ad. Sir John B. Warrens's squadron, HMS Renown (74) Cptn. Eyles, HMS Fisgard (44), Cptn. T. Byam Martin, HMS Defence (74), Cptn. Lord H. Paulet, and HMS Unicorn (32), Cptn. Wilkinson, cut out gunboat Nochette (2) two armed chasse-maree and eight other vessels at St. Croix within the Penmarks. Twenty other vessels were run on to the rocks.
	1808	Boats of HMS Euryalus (36), Cptn. George Heneage Dundas, and HMS Cruizer (18), George Charles M'Kenzie, burnt two large troop transports and captured a gun-vessel (2) off the Naskon.
12 June	1652	English squadron under Sir George Ayscue overtook the Dutch outward bound East Indian fleet of forty merchantmen, and secured six prizes off the Lizard.
	1667	HMS Royal Charles (80), not in commission, captured during dutch raid on Medway
	1775	General Assembly of the Crown Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations authorize the charter of two naval vessels "to protect the trade of the colony." Jeremiah O'Brien & crew of the sloop Unity capture HMS Margaretta schooner, Lt. James Moor (mortally wounded), in Machias Bay, Maine. Arguably the first naval battle of the American Revolution.
	1813	Boats of HMS Bacchante (38), Cptn. William Hoste, captured 24 vessels at Abruzza.
13 June	1796	HMS Dryad (36), Cptn. Lord Amelius Beauclerk, captured Proserpine (42).
	1805	Boats of HMS Cambrian (40), Cptn. John Poo Beresford, captured Spanish privateer schooner Maria (14) to the east of Bermuda.
	1829	HMS Mermaid survey ship, Samuel Nol, lost on Franklands Reef off Australia.
14 June	1777	John Paul Jones takes command of Ranger
	1789	William Bligh and loyal crew of HMS Bounty arrive at Timor, off the coast of Java.
	1803	HMS Immortalite (42), Cptn. Edward William Campbell Owen, HMS Jalouse (18), Christopher Strachey, and HMS Cruizer (18), John Hancock, cut out Inabordable (4) and Commode (4) from Cap Blanc Nez.
	1809	Boats of HMS Scout (18), William Raitt, stormed and captured the battery, spiked the guns and carried off 7 vessels at Cape Croisette, south of Marseilles. Start of 5 day engagement in which HMS Latona (38), Cptn. Hugh Pigot, took Felicite (14)
	1814	HMS Superb (74), Cptn. Charles Paget, and HMS Nimrod (18), Nathaniel Mitchell, attacked Wareham at the head of Buzzard's Bay, and destroyed American ships Fair Trader (18), Independent (14), Fancy, Elizabeth and Nancy,together with a valuable cotton mill belonging to Boston merchants.
15 June	1744	Commodore George Anson, HMS Centurion (60, returned to Spithead after circumnavigation voyage
	1775	Cptn. Abraham Whipple, Commodore of the Rhode Island Navy, in sloop Katy, captures the armed sloop Diana, tender to HMS Rose.
	1783	HMS Shrewsbury (74) scuttled off Jamaica.
	1797	HMS Fortune (14) wrecked near Oporto
16 June	1798	Boats of HMS Aurora (28) Capt. Thomas Gordon Caulfield, destroyed two vessels.
	1812	HMS Swallow (18), Cptn. Edward Reynolds Sibly, engaged Renard (16), Lt. Charles Baudin des Ardennes, and Goéland (14) Ens.Belin, near the island of Sainte-Marguerite.
	1813	HMS Persian (18), Cdr. Charles Bertram, wrecked on the Silver Keys shoal just north of the island of Hispaniola
	1897	HMS Foudroyant (80) driven on shore at Blackpool in a gale.
17 June	1755	British fleet under Admiral Boscawen took Alcide (64), Captain Hocquart, and Lys (64) off Newfoundland.
	1775	Cuthbert Collingwood promoted to Lieutenant
	1778	HMS Milford (28) took Licorne. HMS Arethusa (32), Samuel Marshall, engages French frigate Belle Poule (32) in the Channel
	1794	HMS Romney (50), William Paget, captured Sybille (44)
	1813	Garrison defeated at island of Zupano, protecting Ragusa (Dubrovnik), by party from HMS Saracen (18), John Harper. Boats of HMS Narcissus (32), Cptn. John Richard Lumley, took the American revenue schooner Surveyor in the York River in the Chesapeake.
	1815	HMS Pilot (18) John Toup Nicholas, engaged French frigate Legere off Cape Corse.
	1833	USS Delaware enters drydock at Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, VA, the first warship to enter a public drydock in the United States
18 June	1778	HMS Foudroyant (80), Cptn. John Jervis, HMS Courageaux (74) and HMS Robust (74) captured French frigate Pallas (32)
	1793	HMS Nymphe (36), Cptn. Edward Pellew, captured Cleopatra (40), Cptn. Jean Mullon (Killed in Action)
	1809	HMS Sealark (4) lost at sea on the East coast of UK
	1812	US declares war on Great Britain for impressment of sailors and interference with commerce
19 June	1798	HMS Aurora (28), Capt. Henry Digby, engaged off Adeira.
	1807	Turkish fleet of 9 ships of the line, supported by 5 frigates and 5 small craft under Kapudan Pasha Seyit-Ali intercepted between Lemnos Island and Mount Athos by Russian fleet under Dmitry Senyavin of 10 ships of the line. Raphael (80), Cptn. Dmitry Lukin (Killed in Action), damaged Messudie (120), Seyit-Ali, and broke through the enemy's defence line also damaging Sed-ul-Bahr (84), Admiral Bekirbey, and 2 frigates before escaping. Tverdy (74), Admiral Senyavin, forced the leading Turkish ship to withdraw and the Turkish line being broken Seyit-Ali took flight. The fastest Russian vessels pursued. Selaphail (74), Cdr. Rozhnov, took Seid-ul-Bahr (84) and other ships cut off Besharet-Nyuma, as well as a frigate and a corvette which were set ablaze. Seyit-Ali was also forced to burn the lagging Tausu-Bahri (84) and a frigate in order to gain enough time to escape into the Dardanelles with his remaining vessels.
	1808	The Danish brig Lougen, Lt. Peter F. Wulff, and 4 gunboats under Sub Lt. Fønss captures the British brig HMS Seagull (16), R. Cathcart, off Flekkerø in Norway.
	1809	Boats of HMS Bellerophon (74), Cptn. Samuel Warren, carried Russian batteries at Hango.
	1812	Boats of HMS Briseis (10), Cptn. John Ross, re-captured British merchant Urania from Pillau roads in the Baltic
	1864	USS Kearsarge sinks Confederate raider Alabama off France
20 June	1743	HMS Centurion (50), Cptn. George Anson, took Nuestra Senora del Caba Donga (42), Admiral Don Geronimo Montero, worth £400,000 off Cape Spiritu Santo.
	1781	HMS Castor (32) and HMS Crescent (28), Cptn. T. Packenham, Lt. John Bligh (act.), badly damaged from a previous engagement taken by French Gloire (40) and Friponne (36). HMS Flora (36), Cptn. William Pere Williams, escaped
	1783	The Battle of Cuddalore. British fleet of 18 ships, under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, engaged French fleet of 15 ships, under the Bailli de Suffren, off the coast of India. It took place after peace had been signed but before the news had reached India. It was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War.
	1798	HM Brig Victorieuse (12), Edward Stirling Dickson, captures the French privateer Trois Couleurs (4) off Trinidad
	1809	HMS Agamemnon (64), Cptn. Jonas Rose, ran on shore and wrecked in Maldonado Roads, Rio de la Plata.
	1813	Fifteen U.S. gunboats engage HMS Junon (38), Cptn. James Sanders, HMS Narcissus (32), Cptn. John Richard Lumley, and HMS Barrossa (36), Cptn. William Henry Shirreff, in Hampton Roads, VA. Capture of Dignano by boats of HMS Elizabeth (74), Cptn. Leveson Gower.
	1815	Trials of Fulton I, built by Robert Fulton, are completed in New York. This ship would become the US Navy's first steam-driven warship.
	1822	HMS Drake Sloop (10), Charles Adolphus Baker, wrecked off the coast of Newfoundland.
21 June	1588	First engagement between English ships and the Spanish Armada
	1810	Manado surrendered to HMS Dover (38), Cptn. Edward Tucker.
22 June	1798	HMS Aurora (28), Capt. Henry Digby, destroyed French corvette Egalite (20)
	1807	HMS Leopard (50), Cptn. Humphries, fired on USS Chesapeake (36), Cptn Barron, off the coast of Maryland
	1813	Unsuccessful attack by boats of British squadron under Admiral Warren on Craney Island at Portsmouth, Virginia.
	1865	Confederate raider Shenandoah fires last shot of Civil War in Bering Strait
23 June	1795	Lord Bridport's victory over Vice-admiral Villaret-Joyeuse off L'Orient.
	1798	HMS Rover ran aground off Gulf of St. Lawrence.
	1800	Boats of Rear Ad. Sir John B. Warrens's squadron, HMS Renown (74) Cptn. Eyles, HMS Fisgard (44), Cptn. T. Byam Martin, and HMS Defence (74), Cptn. Lord H. Paulet, attacked a convoy in the Quimper River. When the enemy retired up stream they landed and blew up a battery and other works.
	1808	HMS Porcupine (22), Cptn. Hon. Henry Duncan, drove ashore and destroyed a French vessel at Civita Vecchia.
	1812	HMS Belvidera (36), Cptn. Richard Byron, engaged and escaped from USS President (44), Commodore John Rodgers, USS Congress (38), Cptn. John Smith, and USS United States (44), Stephen Decatur.
	1813	Boats of HMS Castor (32), Cptn. Charles Dilkes, cut out French privateer Fortune off Catalonia.
24 June	1746	HMS Saltash (14) foundered off Beachy Head
	1795	HMS Dido (28), Cptn. George Henry Towry, and HMS Lowestoffe (32), Cptn.Robert Gambier Middleton, engage the French frigates Minerve (42), Cptn. Jean-Baptiste Perrée, and Artémise (40), Cptn. Charbonnier, eventually capturing Minerve
	1801	HMS Swiftsure captured by Dix Aout, &c.
	1833	USS Constitution enters drydock at Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA, for overhaul. The ship was saved from scrapping after public support rallied to save the ship following publication of Oliver Wendell Holmes' poem, "Old Ironsides."
25 June	1667	Victory over anchored French Squadron, under Admiral Joseph de la Barre, at Martinique by British fleet, under Rear-Admiral Sir John Harman. At least eight French ships were burnt and several more were sunk.
	1746	British squadron, under Cptn. Edward Peyton, engaged French fleet, under Comte de La Bourdonnais, in E. Indies.
	1754	John Jervis (later Earl of St Vincent) moved to HMS Severn (50) as a Midshipman
	1755	HMS Mars (64), Cptn. John Amherst, grounded and wrecked while going into harbour at Halifax NS.
	1795	HMS Dido (28), Cptn. George Henry Towry, and HMS Lowestoffe (32), Cptn. Robert Gambier Middleton, engaged Minerve (40) and Artemise (36). Minerve was taken.
	1803	HMS Endymion (50), Cptn. Hon. Charles Paget, captured French corvette Bacchante (18), Lt. Vaisseau.
	1808	HMS Porcupine (22), Cptn. Hon. Henry Duncan, captured French letter of marque schooner Nouvelle Enterprise (6) south of Bastia.
	1809	HMS Cyane (22), Cptn. Thomas Staines, and HMS Espoir (18), Robert Mitford, engaged Ceres.
	1813	Capture of Hampton by boats of HMS Marlborough (74), Cptn. C. B. Ross, and squadron.
26 June	1748	HMS Fowey (44), Cptn. Francis William Drake, wrecked in the Gulf of Florida.
	1766	HMS Saint Lawrence lost, off Ingonish
	1798	HMS Seahorse (38), Cptn. Edward James Foote, captured French frigate Sensible (32) off the coast of Sicily
	1799	HMS Alcmene (32), Cptn. H. Digby, captured French privateer Conrageux (28), Jean Bernard, off the coast of Portugal.
	1806	Boats of HMS Port Mahon (18), Samuel Chambers, cut out Spanish letter of marque brig San Josef (7) from the harbour of Banes in Cuba.
	1808	Boats of HMS Standard (64), Cptn. Thomas Harvey, captured Italian gunboat Volpe and French dispatch boat Leger off Corfu.
27 June	1588	Spanish Armada arrives at Calais
	1796	HMS Inconstant (36) saved British residents at Leghorn.
	1803	Boats of HMS Loire (40), Cptn. Frederick Maitland, captured Venteux (10) at anchor under a shore battery in the Isle de Bas Roads.
	1811	HMS Guadaloupe (16), Joseph Swabey Tetley, engaged French Tactique (16) and Guepe (8) off the Cap de Creux.
28 June	1588	Fireship attack on Spanish Armada
	1720	HMS Milford (32), Cptn. Peter Chamberlain, driven ashore and wrecked on the north west end of Cuba.
	1776	HMS Actaeon (28), Cptn. Christopher Atkins, part of a squadron under Commodore Sir Peter Parker, grounded taking up position to attack Fort Moultrie at the southern end of Sullivan's Island, Charleston, SC, and was set on fire when she could not be got off.
	1783	HMS Nymph (14) burnt by accident at Tortola
	1794	HMS Rose (28) wrecked on Rocky-Point, Jamaica.
	1801	Boats of HMS Mercury (28), Cptn. T Rogers, and HMS Corso (14), William Ricketts, captured pirate vessel Tigre (8) among the rocks of the Tremite Islands in the Adriatic.
	1803	HMS Goliath (74), Capt. C. Brisbane, captured Mignonne (16), Cptn. J. P. Bargeaud, and HMS Hercule (74) engaged Poursuivante (40) off San Domingo
	1810	Boats of HMS Amphion (32), Cptn. William Hoste, and HMS Cerberus (32), Cptn Henry Whitby, and HMS ACTIVE (38), Cptn. James Alexander Gordon, took two forts and cut out 25 vessels from the harbour at Grao.
	1811	HMS Firm Brig (12), Lt. John Little, grounded on a bank off the coast of France and set on fire to avoid capture..
	1814	USS Wasp (22), Cptn. Johnston Blakely, captures HMS Reindeer (18), William Manners (Killed in Action), in the Atlantic HMS Leopard (50), wrecked near the Island of Anticosti, Gulf of St. Lawrence.
	1849	The Danish brig St. Croix, Lt Cmdr Peter C. Holm, on blockade in the Baltic, fights the Prussian paddle steamer Preussischer Adler, Commodore Schroeder, off Hela in the Bay of Danzig.
	1865	CSS Shenandoah captures 11 American whalers in one day
29 June	1758	HMS Renown (30) took French Guirlande (22)
	1798	HMS Pique (38), Cptn. David Milne, and HMS Jason (46), Cptn. Charles Stirling, captured Seine (42). They all grounded near Pointe de la Trenche and Pique was bilged so it was necessary to destroy her.
	1811	4 Danish gunboats, under Lt. Broder K. B. Wigelsen, took HMS Safeguard (14), Lt. Thomas England, off Randers fjord.
30 June	1690	Battle of Beachy Head. French fleet of 75 ships, under Comte de Tourville, defeated Anglo-Dutch fleet of 56 ships, under the Earl of Torrington. The Anglo-Dutch fleet lost 11 ships.
	1797	Richard Parker, President of the "Floating Republic" at the Nore, hanged aboard HMS Sandwich (98)
	1803	HMS Vanguard (74) Cptn. James Walker, and HMS Cumberland (74) captured French frigate Creole.
	1808	HMS Capelin Schooner (6), Lt. Josias Bray, wrecked on sunken rock off entrance of Brest Harbor.
	1814	USS Alligator schooner sank in Port Royal Sound during a heavy storm
	1815	USS Peacock, Cptn. Lewis Warrington, takes HMS Nautilus, last action of the War of 1812
May : July

*Dates of events prior to September 1752 may be quoted differently in some countries as both the Julian and Gregorian calendars were in use by countries. Calendars were regularised when Britain passed the Calendar Act of 1751 An Act for Regulating the Commencement of the Year; and for Correcting the Calendar now in Use.

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