The action of 13 May 1779 was a battle in Cancale Bay, near St Malo, between a French and a British squadron of frigates. The French force of three frigates, two sloops, a brig, and a cutter had been part of the escort meant for Karl Heinrich von Nassau-Siegen's invasion of Jersey. When that invasion failed on 1 May the French retreated to Coutances. The British brought together a large squadron of frigates under Captain Sir James Wallace and Captain John Gidoin, which then split in two to attack the French squadron against the coast in a pincer manoeuvre.
On 13 May Gidoin's squadron chased the French from Coutances up the coast to St Malo where Wallace's squadron awaited them. Wallace followed the French into Cancale Bay and attacked them; in response the French beached their ships and went ashore after having been cannonaded for an hour and a half. Wallace captured the frigate and two merchant vessels, but was forced to burn the other vessels because of gunfire from gun batteries on shore. Wallace's squadron suffered minimal casualties. Danae would go on to be bought into the Royal Navy; the sloop Guepe and the gabarre were the only French vessels the French were able to recover and repair.
Background
On 1 May 1779 a French invasion force led by Karl Heinrich von Nassau-Siegen attacked Jersey, intending to capture the island through a coup de main. The invasion force was made up of five ships of the line and a number of smaller vessels, together carrying 2,500 soldiers. The force attempted to land at Saint Ouen Bay, but a combined force of local militia and the 78th Regiment of Foot, which was garrisoned on the island, repulsed the attack. Unable to proceed with their landings, Nassau-Siegen's force put to sea again. When the threat from the French force had been at its highest, the island's governor had sent a flyboat to Portsmouth to raise the alarm. While on her way there the boat encountered the squadron of Rear-Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot at 10 a.m. on 2 May that was escorting a large convoy to North America. Arbuthnot took his force to the Channel Islands and arrived at Guernsey on 4 May to find that the invasion force had departed.
While Arbuthnot sailed to relieve the islands, the messenger that had reached him continued on to Portsmouth. Admiral Sir Thomas Pye, the commander-in-chief there, ordered a group of frigates under the command of Captain John Gidoin of to sail out to Jersey. Arbuthnot left Jersey to continue to North America on 6 May, but had left behind the frigate HMS Experiment under Captain Sir James Wallace to temporarily bolster naval forces in the area. Gidoin's force joined with Wallace at Boule Bay.
Action in Cancale Bay
On 10 May the bailiff of Jersey sent a letter to Gidoin, who was the senior captain still on station, to report that a group of French ships that had been tasked with assisting the invasion, had been seen near the Chausey islands, situated between the French coast and the Channel Islands. Wallace, who had been preparing to leave the area and re-join Arbuthnot, instead chose to stay with Gidoin. Some small ships were sent out to Chausey to discover the nature of the French ships, and they soon reported that the French force consisted of the frigates and , the gabarre Ecluse, the corvette , and , and that they were anchored off Coutances.
Gidoin and Wallace decided to split their force to provide the greatest possible chance of intercepting the French ships before they could escape. Wallace, in Experiment, took with him the frigates and , the brig HMS Cabot, the sloop , and one other vessel donated by the locals to assist in the hunt. Gidoin, in Richmond, took with him the four other ships of the squadron and three more local armed vessels. The two forces sailed on 12 May; Gidoin went directly for Coutances where the French were still at anchor, while Wallace took a westerly route around Jersey in order to cut off any escape route the enemy might have used.
When Gidoin's force came in sight of the French, the French set sail north towards St Malo – unbeknownst to them, this was towards where Wallace was waiting for them. Gidoin chased the French but by 10 p.m. the tide was against him and his ships were making very little headway so he was forced to anchor off Granville. At the same time Wallace's force were beset by similar difficulties but by 7 p.m. had succeeded in getting round Jersey.