French forty-gun frigates, Bellone and Minerve, the 18-gun corvette Victor, and two East Indiaman prizes entered the harbour and took up defensive positions at the head of the main entrance channel. The French also moved the channel markers to confuse the British approach. On 23 August 1810 the British squadron entered the channel. Sirius was the first to run aground, followed by Magicienne and Néréide. Iphigenia prudently anchored in the channel some distance from the action. The French vessels concentrated all their gunfire first against Néréide and then against Magicienne. The battle continued without interruption all night and on 24 August the French boarded the defenceless Néréide. Once the French flag was hoisted on what was left of the foremast of the Néréide, Magicienne and the Sirius began an intense cross fire against their enemies. Still, in the evening her crew had to abandon Magicienne, setting her on fire as they left her. Loss Every effort to kedge Sirius off failed; she was firmly aground, taking on water, and unable to be freed. Pym ordered the transfer of her stores and provisions to Iphigenia. When this was complete the men left, the last of the crew leaving on the morning of 25 August 1810. As they left they set fire to her; Sirius exploded at about eleven o'clock, with her hull then briefly drifting off the reef before sinking. The Battle of Grand Port was an important victory for the French. With two English frigates taken (Iphigenia and Néréide), and two others destroyed (Sirius and Magicienne), as well as 1,600 prisoners taken against 150 French dead or wounded, this battle marks the only French naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. Post script Sirius lies in some of water. The wreck has been broken up, as much by salvors as by her scuttling. Still, the site is of archaeological interest and many of her cannon rest exposed. Notes, citations, and references Notes Citations References The Wreck of the 5th Rated British Frigate H.M.S. Sirius (1797) in Mauritius (Yann Von Arnim) External links Shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean Maritime incidents in 1810 Ships built in Deptford 1797 ships Fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy