September 5, 1781

Battle of the Chesapeake

Battle of the Chesapeake prevents Graves from entering the bay

Many of de Grasse's officers and sailors were ashore when British masts appeared at the mouth of the bay.

5 September 1781: getting twenty-four ships out of an anchorage

At about 9 a.m. on 5 September 1781, Thomas Graves's British fleet reached the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and learned from a scouting frigate that de Grasse was anchored inside.

Many French officers and crewmen were ashore. De Grasse nonetheless hurried 24 ships of the line out of the bay and formed them against Graves's 19.

A shallow V, and two and a half hours of firing

Firing began at about 4:15 p.m. The two lines closed at an angle, forming a shallow V, so the leading divisions carried most of the fighting while the rear divisions never fully engaged. Wind and Graves's confusing signals contributed to the British rear's failure to close, Hood's division among them.

The fleets disengaged at sunset, around 6:30 p.m. The National Park Service reports 90 British killed and 246 wounded, and 209 French casualties; the Naval History and Heritage Command puts French losses at 220 killed and wounded.

No fleet destroyed, but the bay stayed closed to Graves

No fleet was destroyed, so the cannonade was tactically inconclusive. But Graves had failed to enter the Chesapeake or dislodge de Grasse, which was the whole point of the voyage.

The damaged fleets drifted south within sight of each other, leaving the bay entrance open. The Comte de Barras brought his transports and siege equipment in unopposed; de Grasse was back by 10 September, and when Graves approached again he found the French reinforced and withdrew to New York.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 4 sources 2 audit passes, 1 issue open

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

What the sources leave uncertain

Official secondary accounts disagree slightly on French losses: the National Park Service reports 209 casualties, while the Naval History and Heritage Command reports 220 killed and wounded.
The same sources differ over whether five or six British ships should be counted as damaged. HMS Terrible was later scuttled.
The cannonade was tactically inconclusive because neither fleet was destroyed, but its strategic result was a French victory because Graves failed to gain access to the bay.