Combat· Quasi-War with France
Connecticut vs L'Italie Conquise
Off Guadeloupe, the USS Connecticut chased down and captured the French privateer L'Italie Conquise after a long pursuit.
Second Lieutenant Newton Keene and his twenty-five Marines played an important part: as the Connecticut closed to within half a gunshot, Keene was ordered to open fire, and the Marines' musketry, combined with the ship's broadsides, quickly forced the privateer to call for quarter. Keene reported that his men fired 180 rounds and that their conduct "would have done honor to veteran soldiers." There were no American casualties. The action was a clean example of the Marines' shipboard role in the Quasi-War, sharpshooting from the deck and tops to break an enemy's will before a prize could be taken.
Podcast episodes on Quasi-War with France
Record no. 176