Action of 26 July 1806

The action of 26 July 1806 was the first naval engagement of the Java campaign of 1806–1807. Fought off the southern coast of Celebes in the Dutch East Indies, the battle saw a Royal Navy squadron led by Captain Edward Elphinstone attack and capture a valuable Dutch convoy under Captain Nicolaas Sebastiaan Aalbers. Elphinstone's squadron, consisting of the frigate Greyhound and brig-sloop Harrier, was initially wary of Aalbers' convoy, mistaking the Dutch East Indiaman Victoria for a ship of the line. Closer observation revealed the identity of the Dutch vessels the following day and Elphinstone led Greyhound as she engaged and captured the frigate Pallas while Harrier targeted the convoy's merchantmen and took both of them. Only the Dutch corvette William escaped, taking no part in the engagement.

Elphinstone's victory was the first in a series of actions by the British squadron at Madras which aimed to eliminate the Dutch squadron stationed at Java. Greyhound had been sent to the Java Sea and Spice Islands to reconnoitre the Dutch ports in preparation for a raid on Java by a larger force under British Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew later in the year. Elphinstone's success was followed by the action of 18 October 1806, in which Caroline under Captain Peter Rainier captured the Dutch frigate Maria Riggersbergen. In November 1806, Pellew led the main body of his squadron in an attack against Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies and a year later eliminated the last vessels of the Dutch East Indies squadron at Griessie.