Combat· Quasi-War with France
Loss of USS Retaliation
The Retaliation, the former Le Croyable, has the odd distinction of being the first vessel captured by both sides in the war.
Under Lieutenant William Bainbridge, with a Marine guard led by First Lieutenant Simon W. Geddes aboard, she was cruising off Guadeloupe when she fell in with the French frigates L'Insurgente and Volontaire. Bainbridge took them for friendly ships until he was too close to escape, and the Retaliation surrendered without a fight. Geddes and his Marines were carried into Guadeloupe and held prisoner, suffering the privations of captivity along with the rest of the crew. She was the only American warship to strike her colors during the entire Quasi-War, a failure that nonetheless cost no battle casualties, and the same ship the Delaware had captured from the French only months earlier.
Podcast episodes on Quasi-War with France
Record no. 173