 The Battle of Tellicherry was a naval action fought off the Indian port of Tellicherry between British and French warships on 18 November 1791 during the Third Anglo @-@ Mysore War . Britain and France were not at war at the time of the engagement , but French support for the Kingdom of Mysore in the conflict with the British East India Company had led to Royal Navy patrols stopping and searching French ships sailing for the Mysorean port of Mangalore . When a French convoy from Mahé passed the British port of Tellicherry in November 1791 , Commodore William Cornwallis sent a small squadron to intercept the French ships . 
