The Prince Imperial slowly sailed forward from the foggy harbor of Brest, destined towards rendezvous with a three frigates from Bordeaux before sailing on towards Tangiers. After a month at Tangiers it was destined for her to head towards Marsilles, where she would join the Mediterranean Fleet. The captain, Jacques de Champlain a veteran within the French navy was a bit unease, the Prince Imperial would be sailing unescorted, though eighty guns of the Prince Imperial would make her an impossible target for any British frigates; which continued to patrol the outskirts of Brest.
Unbeknowst to Captain Champlain a daring young British captain had been assigned to the 38 gun frigate the HMS Wellington. The Captain, Kirk Picard thought he could easily overcome a French vessel when the weather favored surprise; which it did this morning. Though Brest was foggy, it was a relatively light fog compared to the open seas. Picard could hardly make out the vessel slowly progressing towards the position, but she looked like a fine prize for the Royal Navy. By his estimate it would be close to half an hour before the French vessel could be ambushed. He could see it within his day dream, the rank of Admiral being bestowed upon him.
With his eyeglass Captain Champlain could barely see the British vessel within the distance. He could see her beginning to load cannons and make haste for the Prince Imperial. The British frigate was coming into a trap, one which she could not escape from. The only concern for the crew of the Prince Imperial was to allow the British earn the first shots; such a thought carried valid concerns. What if the British managed to get a lucky broadside that damaged the mast and sails? Barring the concerns the crew stood ready, cannons already loaded, sharpshooters awaiting the command to climb the rigging, and the doctor fearing for the worse.
The Prince Imperial versus the HMS Wellington.
At a quarter past noon; on January 3rd, 1846, the first broadside was delivered by the HMS Wellington into the Prince Imperial. The distance between the two ships was hardly one hundred feet apart when the first cannonball began smashing against the reinforced wood. The Prince Imperial sustained the blow as the crew; which had hid from sight from British observers ran for their guns to begin their deadly barrage. Right before the Wellington could unleash its second broadside, 40 guns of the port (left) side of the Prince Imperial opened up. The Wellington sustained the blows, but it was apparent to both Captains that she could not sustain a barrage for long.
The Wellington increased its sails in an attempt to outmaneuver the Prince Imperial; however a second broadside from the port side of the French vessel severely crippled the masts and rigging, which came crashing down to the deck. A third broadside from the Prince Imperial ripped through the starboard (right) side of the Wellington and she began taking on water. The crew of the Wellington began jumping overboard, regardless of what the officers ordered them to due. As quickly as Captain Picard’s dreams of admiralty appeared they had vanished. By one in the afternoon, a mere forty-five minutes since the first broadside began, Captain Picard, along with two other officers and thirty-seven crewmen were prisoners on the Prince Imperial which was headed back to Brest.
The third broadside from the Prince Imperial severely crippled the HMS Wellington, shortly after wards her crew was seen jumping overboard.
War was now certain.