The Action of 6 December 1782 was a single-ship action

Single-ship action

A single ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side...

 fought between HMS Ruby

HMS Ruby (1776)

HMS Ruby was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 November 1776 at Woolwich.She was converted to serve as a receiving ship in 1813, and was broken up in 1821....

 and the French ship Solitaire

French ship Solitaire (1774)

Solitaire was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1774.She was captured by the Royal Navy on 6th December 1782, and commissioned as the third rate HMS Solitaire. She was sold out of the navy in 1790....

 off the coast of Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

. The Ruby easily defeated the Solitaire.

Battle

A French convoy was intercepted off Martinique by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 squadron of Rear Admiral Richard Hughes on 6 December 1782. One of his ships, the 64-gun HMS Ruby

HMS Ruby (1776)

HMS Ruby was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 November 1776 at Woolwich.She was converted to serve as a receiving ship in 1813, and was broken up in 1821....

 captained by John Collins, sighted the 1,521 ton French ship Solitaire

French ship Solitaire (1774)

Solitaire was a 64-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, launched in 1774.She was captured by the Royal Navy on 6th December 1782, and commissioned as the third rate HMS Solitaire. She was sold out of the navy in 1790....

 of 64 guns under the command of Jean-Charles de Borda

Jean-Charles de Borda

Jean-Charles, chevalier de Borda was a French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor.-Life history:...

. Collins gave chase and eventually caught up and intercepted the Solitaire. After nearly forty minutes of action the Solitaire had her mizzenmast shot away, her rigging and sails in tatters and was becoming dead in the water when Borda decided to strike her colours

Striking the colors

Striking the colors is the universally recognized indication of surrender, particularly for ships at sea. Surrender is dated from the time the ensign is struck.-In international law:# "Colors. A national flag . The colors . ....

. The Solitaire had 35 men killed and 55 wounded whilst the Ruby had only two men wounded.

Aftermath

Captain John Collins was knighted for his action. The Solitaire enter the Royal Navy as HMS Solitaire and remained in service until 1790, when she was sold out of the navy. Jean-Charles de Borda, although captured along with his entire crew, was shortly released and returned as an engineer in the French Navy. He later achieved fame as a mathematician, physicist and political scientist.