Action of 22 October 1793
The action of 22 October 1793 was a minor naval engagement fought in the Mediterranean Sea during the War of the First Coalition, early in the French Revolutionary Wars. During the engagement a lone British Royal Navy ship of the line, the 64-gun HMS Agamemnon, attacked the French Navy large frigate Melpomène, part of a larger squadron, off the coast of Sardinia. Although Agamemnon chased Melpomène some distance through the night and inflicted significant damage, the French frigate was able to escape following the arrival of the rest of its squadron under Commodore Jean-Baptiste Perrée. The French ships later anchored in Corsican harbours to land reinforcements for the French garrison on the island, where the population was in open revolt.
Agamemnon engaging four French frigates and a brig near Sardinia, Nicholas Pocock
HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary, and Napoleonic Wars and fought in many major naval battles. She is remembered as Horatio Nelson's favourite ship, and she was named after the mythical ancient Greek king Agamemnon, the first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
Duckworth's Action off San Domingo, 6 February 1806 by Nicholas Pocock. HMS Agamemnon is visible in the background, third from left.
A model of Agamemnon at Bucklers Hard
Agamemnon (left) battling Ça Ira on 13 March 1795. The frigates HMS Inconstant (left, background) and Vestale (right) are also visible.
Diagram of the Battle of Copenhagen, showing Agamemnon grounded near the Middle Ground