The Battle of Sadras was the first of five largely indecisive naval battles fought between a British fleet under Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and French fleet under the Bailli de Suffren off the east coast of India during the American War of Independence. The battle, which was fought on 17 February 1782 near present-day Kalpakkam, was indecisive, but the British fleet suffered the most damage, and the troop transports that Suffren was protecting ...