11 January in military history: Capture of Trincomalee, 1782

Quick answer

On 11 January 1782 seamen and marines from the squadron of Admiral Sir Edward Hughes stormed Fort Ostenburg, which commanded the harbor of Trincomalee in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and took the Dutch port for Britain. They held it for only a few months: at the end of August a French squadron under Suffren took it back.

A war against the Dutch in the East

Britain, already at war with France over American independence, was at war with the Dutch Republic as well, and in India the war gave the East India Company a chance to seize Dutch trading posts. In October 1781 East India Company troops under General Sir Hector Munro, joined by seamen and marines from the squadron of Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, besieged Negapatam on the Coromandel coast. The siege began on 21 October and the place was taken on 11 November.¹

With Negapatam taken, Hughes turned to the main Dutch harbor in Ceylon. Trincomalee was guarded by two forts: Fort Fredrick, then called Trincomale fort, and Fort Ostenburg, which stood on a height commanding the harbor.²

Fort Fredrick taken by surprise

Hughes embarked 500 sepoys and sailed from Negapatam at the start of January 1782, arriving off Trincomalee on 4 January. Marines, a battalion of seamen and the sepoys were put ashore, and on the evening of 5 January the marines took Fort Fredrick.³

The storming of Fort Ostenburg

The assault on Fort Ostenburg went in on 11 January, and the seamen and marines carried it by storm. The British found two Dutch East India Company ships in the harbor.⁴

The British lost a naval lieutenant and 20 seamen and marines killed, and two officers and 40 men wounded. The dead lieutenant was George Long of the navy. A memorial in the parish church of Saxmundham in Suffolk records that he was 21, led the attack and fell in the moment of victory.⁵

Lost again within the year

Hughes left a garrison in the captured forts and took his squadron away. The prize did not last. At the end of August 1782 the French admiral Pierre André de Suffren attacked Trincomalee, and the British garrison surrendered after a short defense, on 30 August according to Nicolas and on 31 August according to Clowes's history of the Royal Navy. Hughes arrived too late, and on 3 September he and Suffren fought the Battle of Trincomalee off the port. For more sea fights of the age of sail, see our guide to the greatest naval battles.⁶

Frequently asked questions

Who captured Trincomalee on 11 January 1782?

Seamen and marines from the squadron of Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, landed with East India Company sepoys. The marines took Fort Fredrick on the evening of 5 January, and Fort Ostenburg was stormed on 11 January.

Why was Trincomalee so important?

It was the main Dutch harbor in Ceylon, and Fort Ostenburg commanded the anchorage. Two Dutch East India Company ships were taken in the harbor.

How many men were lost in the attack?

The British lost a lieutenant and 20 seamen and marines killed, and two officers and 40 men wounded.

Did Britain keep Trincomalee?

No. The French under Suffren took it at the end of August 1782, and Hughes arrived only in time to fight the Battle of Trincomalee off the port on 3 September.

Sources

Paul Harris Nicolas, Historical Record of the Royal Marine Forces, vol. I (1845), “pp. 120-124 and 129”, via Internet Archive

BnF, France-Amériques, “The 1783 peace treaties”

Royal Collection Trust, “Map of Negapatam 1781”

William Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present, “vol. IV” (1899), pp. 76-77, and “vol. III” (1898), p. 557, via Internet Archive

The London Gazette, no. 12296 (14 to 18 May 1782), “page 5”, Admiralty notice of the taking of Trincomale

Royal Museums Greenwich, Maritime Memorials, “Memorial in the Church of St John the Baptist, Saxmundham, Suffolk commemorating Lieutenant George Long, RN d. 1782”