Qualla: Action of 1 January 1800 https://qualla.com/action-of-1-january-1800 en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:13 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/7/7/s/action-of-1-january-1800-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Action of 1 January 1800 https://qualla.com/action-of-1-january-1800 Action of 1 January 1800: Introduction https://qualla.com/action-of-1-january-1800/ Photo credit Alonzo Chappell, Public domain. The wind died on New Year's Day, 1800, and five American ships went nowhere. Becalmed off the island of Gonave in the Bight of Leogane, the armed schooner Experiment and her convoy of four merchant vessels sat motionless on glassy Caribbean water while, from the shore, eleven oar-powered barges pushed out to meet them. The men at the oars served Andre Rigaud, a French-aligned Haitian general locked in a civil war with Toussaint L'Ouverture and desperate enough to seize any foreign ship carrying supplies. The Americans had stumbled into the overlap of two conflicts they barely understood - the Quasi-War between the United States and France, and the Haitian War of Knives - and what followed was an all-day fight that would save two ships, lose two others, and destroy a captain's reputation.

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Image: Alonzo Chappell | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/7/7/s/action-of-1-january-1800-wp/d77s-action-of-1-january-1800-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Action of 1 January 1800: A Dead Calm and a Swarm of Oars https://qualla.com/action-of-1-january-1800/ Photo credit Alonzo Chappell, Public domain. The convoy had departed in late December 1799, bound through waters contested by French privateers. Experiment, a 135-ton schooner armed with twelve six-pounder guns and crewed by seventy men, was the escort for three smaller schooners and a brig, none carrying more than three gu...

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Image: Alonzo Chappell | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/7/7/s/action-of-1-january-1800-wp/d77s-action-of-1-january-1800-a-dead-calm-and-a-swarm-of-oars.mp3 0:06 2 full Action of 1 January 1800: Three Assaults, Three Hours https://qualla.com/action-of-1-january-1800/ Photo credit Alonzo Chappell, Public domain. The ruse worked. When the barges closed to musket range, Experiment threw open her ports and answered with grapeshot. The first volley shredded the lead barges, and the picaroons withdrew to Gonave to land their wounded and regroup. They returned with reinforcements, splitting in...

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Image: Alonzo Chappell | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/7/7/s/action-of-1-january-1800-wp/d77s-action-of-1-january-1800-three-assaults-three-hours.mp3 0:06 3 full Action of 1 January 1800: The Accusation That Outlasted the Battle https://qualla.com/action-of-1-january-1800/ Photo credit Alonzo Chappell, Public domain. Experiment had saved two ships and lost two. One captain dead, one civilian wounded, and Experiment's own second-in-command, Lieutenant David Porter, shot through the arm. By the metrics of the day, it was an acceptable outcome against overwhelming odds. But the battle's afterlif...

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Image: Alonzo Chappell | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/7/7/s/action-of-1-january-1800-wp/d77s-action-of-1-january-1800-the-accusation-that-outlasted-the-battle.mp3 0:06 4 full Action of 1 January 1800: The Wider Storm https://qualla.com/action-of-1-january-1800/ Photo credit Alonzo Chappell, Public domain. The action off Gonave was a single skirmish in a forgotten conflict. The Quasi-War between the United States and France never produced a formal declaration of hostilities - it was fought entirely at sea, a slow-motion naval brawl over trade rights and revolutionary politics. Hait...

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Image: Alonzo Chappell | Public domain

]]> Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/7/7/s/action-of-1-january-1800-wp/d77s-action-of-1-january-1800-the-wider-storm.mp3 0:06 5 full