The Battle of Martinique, or Combat de la Martinique, was a naval encounter on 18 December 1779 between a British 13-ship squadron under Admiral Hyde Parker and a three-ship French division under Admiral Lamotte-Picquet near the island of Martinique in the West Indies. In order to cover the retreat of a convoy under Joseph de Flotte chased by the British, the lone 74-gun Annibal, under Lamotte-Picquet. For 90 minutes, Annibal single-handedly engaged the British squadron to block its advance, before she was joined by the two 64-guns, Vengeur and Réfléchi. Ten to 11 of the transports were taken by the British or beached themselves to avoid capture, but the rest of the convoy of the escorting frigate Aurore managed to escape, and the division returned to its anchorage. Hyde Parker wrote Lamotte-Picquet a congratulation letter in the following days. Background In the autumn of 1779, a British fleet under Admiral Hyde Parker was anchored at St. Lucia, which the British had captured a year before in the Capture of St. Lucia. Parker was awaiting the arrival of Admiral George Brydges Rodney, who was to lead the 1780 campaign, and his fleet was largely at rest, with crews ashore and repairs being made to some vessels. Meanwhile, the French Caribbean division, under Chef d'Escadre Lamotte-Picquet, was undergoing a refit at the nearby island of Martinique in the West Indies. The division comprised eight ships of the line, but in December 1779 only three were operational: the 74-gun Annibal, and the 64-guns, Vengeur, under Fournoue, and Réfléchi, under Cillart de Suville. Battle In the morning of 18 December, a French convoy under Joseph de Flotte, which had departed Marseille in October and was bound for Martinique, arrived in Saint Lucia channel, the body of water between the islands of Saint Lucia and Martinique. The convoy brought supplies for the French colonies of the Caribbeans and for the division under Lamotte, as well as diplomat Gérard de Rayneval. It comprised 26 transports, escorted by the lone 34-gun frigate Aurore. Around 0800, , which was stationed in Saint Lucia channel, gave a signal indicating the arrival of an unknown fleet. Parker immediately scrambled, and managed to get five ships of the line and a 50-gun frigate out to meet the arriving fleet. Shortly thereafter, the French observation post of Les Anses-d'Arlet signaled the arrival of Flotte's convoy, as well as 15 British warships chasing