Certain intelligence of the war between Great Britain and France reached Calcutta July 7th, 1778. On the same day the Governor-General ordered immediate preparations to attack Pondicherry, the principal seaport of the French. The army arrived before the place on the 8th of August, and on the same day Commodore Sir Edward Vernon anchored in the roads to blockade by sea. A French squadron, under Captain Tronjoly, soon after appearing in the offing, Vernon gave chase, and on the 10th an action ensued. The forces engaged were about equal, the French, if anything, slightly superior; a 60-gun ship and four smaller vessels being on each side. As the French then went into Pondicherry, the immediate advantage may be conceded to them; but, Vernon returning on the 20th, Tronjoly soon after quitted the roads, and returned to the Ile de France.[136] From that day the British squadron blockaded closely, and on the 17th of October Pondicherry capitulated.

On the 7th of March, 1779, Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes sailed for the East Indies with a small squadron. The French also sent out occasional ships; but in 1779 and 1780 these went no further than the Ile de France, their naval station in the Indian Ocean. Hughes's force remained unopposed during those years. The period was critical, for the British were at war with Hyder Ali, Sultan of Mysore, and with the Mahrattas; and all depended upon command of the sea. In January, 1781, when Hughes was wintering at Bombay, the French squadron under Comte d'Orves appeared off the Coromandel coast, but, despite Hyder Ali's entreaties, it refused to cooeperate with him. The different spirit of the two commanders may be illustrated from contemporary documents.

"We have advices from Fort St. George of a French squadron which appeared off that place on January 25, 26, and 27, consisting of 1 seventy-four, 4 sixty-fours, and 2 fifties. They proceeded south without making any attempt on five Indiamen then in the roads, with a number of vessels laden with grain and provisions; the destroying of which might have been easily accomplished, and would have been severely felt."

"On December 8th, off Mangalore,"[137] writes Hughes, "I saw two ships, a large snow, three ketches, and many smaller vessels at anchor in the road with Hyder's flag flying; and, standing close, found them vessels of force and all armed for war. I anchored as close as possible, sent in all armed boats, under cover of three smaller ships of war, which anchored in four fathoms water, close to the enemy's ships. In two hours took and burned the two ships, one of 28 and one of 26 guns, and took or destroyed all the others, save one which, by throwing everything overboard, escaped over the bar into the port. Lost 1 lieutenant and 10 men killed, 2 lieutenants and 51 wounded."

It is interesting to note these evidences of Hughes's conceptions of naval warfare and enterprise, common though they were to the British service; for their positive character brings into strong relief the qualities of his next antagonist, Suffren, and his great superiority in these respects over the average run of French officers of that day.

D'Orves returned to the Ile de France.

When war with Holland began, the British government decided to attempt the capture of the Cape of Good Hope. For that object a squadron of one 74, one 64, and three 50's, with numerous smaller vessels, under Commodore George Johnstone, convoying a considerable body of troops, sailed from England on the 13th of March, 1781, in company with the Channel fleet under Vice-Admiral George Darby, then on its way to relieve Gibraltar. The French government, having timely notice of the expedition, undertook to frustrate it; detailing for that purpose a division of two 74's, and three 64's, under the since celebrated Suffren.[139] These ships left Brest on the 22d of March, with the fleet of de Grasse. They also carried some battalions of troops.

On April 11th the British squadron reached Porto Praya, Cape de Verde Islands. This bay is open to the southward, extending from east to west about a mile and a half, and is within the limits of the north-east trade-winds. Although aware that a French division was on his track, and conscious, by the admissions of his report, that protection could not be expected from the neutrality of the place, Johnstone permitted his vessels to anchor without reference to attack. His own flagship, the Romney, 50, was so surrounded by others that she could fire only with great caution through intervals. On the 16th of April, at 9.30 A.M., the Isis, 50, which was the outermost of the British squadron, signalled eleven sail in the north-east. Fifteen hundred persons were then ashore engaged in watering, fishing, embarking cattle, and amusing themselves. The strangers were Suffren's division. The meeting was not expected by the French commander, whose object in entering was simply to complete the water of the ships; but he determined at once to attack, and hauled round the east point of the bay in column, the two seventy-fours at the head, his own ship, the Heros, leading with the signal for battle (line ab). Passing through, or along, the disordered enemy until he reached the only seventy-four among them, he there luffed to the wind, anchoring five hundred feet from the starboard beam of this vessel (f) which by an odd coincidence bore the same name—Hero. From this position he at once opened fire from both broadsides. His next astern, the Annibal (b), brought up immediately ahead of him, but so close that the Heros had to veer cable and drop astern (a), which brought her on the beam of the Monmouth, 64[140] (m). The captain of the Annibal had thought the order for battle merely precautionary, and had not cleared for action. He was therefore taken unawares, and his ship did no service proportionate to her force. The third French vessel (c) reached her station, but her captain was struck dead just when about to anchor, and in the confusion the anchor was not let go. The ship drifted foul of a British East Indiaman, which she carried out to sea (c' c"). The two remaining French (d, e) simply cannonaded as they passed across the bay's mouth, failing through mishap or awkwardness to reach an effective position.



The attack thus became a mere rough and tumble, in which the two seventy-fours alone sustained the French side. After three quarters of an hour, Suffren, seeing that the attempt had failed, slipped his cable and put to sea. The Annibal followed, but she had been so damaged that all her masts went overboard; fortunately, not until her head was pointed out of the harbour. Johnstone, thus luckily escaping the consequences of his neglect, now called his captains together to learn the condition of their ships, and then ordered them to cut their cables and pursue. All obeyed except Captain Sutton of the Isis, who represented that the spars and rigging of his ship could not bear sail at once. Johnstone then ordered him to come out anyhow, which he did, and his fore topmast shortly went overboard. The disability of this ship so weighed upon the Commodore that his pursuit was exceedingly sluggish; and the French kept drawing him away to leeward, the Annibal having got a bit of canvas on a jury foremast. Night, therefore, was falling as Johnstone came near them; the Isis and Monmouth were two or three miles astern; the sea was increasing; if he got much further to leeward, he could not get back; he had forgotten to appoint a rendezvous where the convoy might rejoin; a night action, he considered, was not to be thought of. Yet, if he let the enemy go, they might anticipate him at the Cape. In short, Johnstone underwent the "anguish" of an undecided man in a "cruel situation,"[141] and of course decided to run no risks. He returned therefore to Porto Praya, put the captain of the Isis under arrest, and remained in port for a fortnight. Suffren hurried on to the Cape, got there first, landed his troops, and secured the colony against attack. Johnstone arrived in the neighbourhood some time later, and, finding himself anticipated, turned aside to Saldanha Bay, where he captured five Dutch East Indiamen. He then sent the Hero, Monmouth, and Isis on to India, to reinforce Hughes, and himself went back to England.

No accusation of misbehavior lies against any of the British subordinates in this affair of Porto Praya. The captain of the Isis was brought to a court-martial, and honourably acquitted of all the charges. The discredit of the surprise was not redeemed by any exhibition of intelligence, energy, or professional capacity, on the part of the officer in charge. It has been said that he never had commanded a post-ship[142] before he was intrusted with this very important mission, and it is reasonably sure that his selection for it was due to attacks made by him upon the professional conduct of Keppel and Howe, when those admirals were at variance with the administration.[143] His preposterous mismanagement, therefore, was probably not wholly bitter to the Navy at large. In the British ships of war, the entire loss in men, as reported, was only 9 killed, 47 wounded. Several casualties from chance shots occurred on board the convoy, bringing up the total to 36 killed and 130 wounded. The French admit 105 killed and 204 wounded, all but 19 being in the Heros and Annibal. Although precipitated by Suffren, the affair clearly was as great a surprise to his squadron as to the British. Therefore, the latter, being already at anchor and more numerous as engaged, had a distinct advantage; to which also contributed musketry fire from the transports. Nevertheless, the result cannot be deemed creditable to the French captains or gunnery.

Suffren remained in the neighbourhood of the Cape for two months. Then, having seen the colony secure, independent of his squadron, he departed for the Ile de France, arriving there October 25th. On the 17th of December the whole French force, under the command of d'Orves, sailed for the Coromandel coast. On the way the British 50-gun ship Hannibal, Captain Alexander Christie, was taken. On the 9th of February, 1782, Comte d'Orves died, and Suffren found himself at the head of twelve ships of the line: three 74's, seven 64's and two 50's.[144] On the 15th Hughes's fleet was sighted, under the guns of Madras. It numbered nine of the line: two 74's, one 68, five 64's, and one 50. Suffren stood south towards Pondicherry, which had passed into the power of Hyder Ali. After nightfall Hughes got under way, and also steered south. He feared for Trincomalee, in Ceylon, recently a Dutch port, which the British had captured on the 5th of January. It was a valuable naval position, as yet most imperfectly defended.



At daylight the British saw the French squadron twelve miles east (A, A) and its transports nine miles south-west (c). Hughes chased the latter and took six. Suffren pursued, but could not overtake before sunset, and both fleets steered south-east during the night. Next morning there were light north-north-east airs, and the French were six miles north-east of the British (B, B). The latter formed line on the port tack (a), heading to seaward; Hughes hoping that thus the usual sea-breeze would find him to windward. The breeze, however, did not make as expected; and, as the north-east puffs were bringing the enemy down, he kept off before the wind (b) to gain time for his ships to close their intervals, which were too great. At 4 P.M. the near approach of the French compelled him to form line again, (C), on the port tack, heading easterly. The rear ship, Exeter, 64 (e), was left separated, out of due support from those ahead. Suffren, leading one section of his fleet in person, passed to windward of the British line, from the rear, as far as Hughes's flagship, which was fifth from the van. There he stopped, and kept at half cannon-shot, to prevent the four ships in the British van from tacking to relieve their consorts. It was his intention that the second half of his fleet should attack the other side of the English rear. This plan of intended battle is shown by the figure D in the diagram. Actually, only two of the French rear did what Suffren expected, engaging to leeward of the extreme British rear; the others of the French rear remaining long out of action (C). The figure C shows the imperfect achievement of the design D. However, as the position of Suffren's flagship prevented the British van from tacking into action, the net result was, to use Hughes's own words, that "the enemy brought eight of their best ships to the attack of five of ours." It will be noted with interest that these were exactly the numbers engaged in the first act of the battle of the Nile. The Exeter (like the Guerrier at the Nile) received the fresh broadsides of the first five of the enemy, and then remained in close action on both sides, assailed by two, and at last by three, opponents,—two 50's, and one 64. When the third approached, the master of the ship asked Commodore Richard King, whose broad pennant flew at her masthead, "What is to be done?" "There is nothing to be done," replied King, "but to fight her till she sinks." Her loss, 10 killed and 45 wounded, was not creditable under the circumstances to the French gunnery, which had been poor also at Porto Praya. At 6 P.M. the wind shifted to south-east, throwing all on the other tack, and enabling the British van at last to come into action. Darkness now approaching, Suffren hauled off and anchored at Pondicherry. Hughes went on to Trincomalee to refit. The British loss had been 32 killed, among whom were Captain William Stevens of the flagship, and Captain Henry Reynolds, of the Exeter, and 83 wounded. The French had 30 killed; the number of their wounded is put by Professor Laughton at 100.

On the 12th of March Hughes returned to Madras, and towards the end of the month sailed again for Trincomalee carrying reinforcements and supplies. On the 30th he was joined at sea by the Sultan, 74, and the Magnanime, 64, just from England. Suffren had remained on the coast from reasons of policy, to encourage Hyder Ali in his leaning to the French; but, after landing a contingent of troops on the 22d of March, to assist at the siege of the British port of Cuddalore, he put to sea on the 23d, and went south, hoping to intercept the Sultan and Magnanime off the south end of Ceylon. On the 9th of April he sighted the British fleet to the south and west of him. Hughes, attaching the first importance to the strengthening of Trincomalee, had resolved neither to seek nor to shun action. He therefore continued his course, light northerly airs prevailing, until the 11th, when, being about fifty miles to the north-east of his port, he bore away for it. Next morning, April 12th, finding that the enemy could overtake his rear ships, he formed line on the starboard tack, at two cables' intervals, heading to the westward, towards the coast of Ceylon, wind north by east, and the French dead to windward (A, A). Suffren drew up his line (a) on the same tack, parallel to the British, and at 11 A.M. gave the signal to steer west-south-west all together; his vessels going down in a slanting direction (bb'), each to steer for one of the enemy. Having twelve ships to eleven, the twelfth was ordered to place herself on the off side of the rear British, which would thus have two antagonists.

In such simultaneous approach it commonly occurred that the attacking line ceased to be parallel with the foe's, its van becoming nearer and rear more distant. So it was here. Further, the British opening fire as soon as the leading French were within range, the latter at once hauled up to reply. Suffren, in the centre, wishing closest action, signalled them to keep away again, and himself bore down wrathfully upon Hughes to within pistol-shot; in which he was supported closely by his next ahead and the two next astern. The rear of the French, though engaged, remained too far distant. Their line, therefore, resembled a curve, the middle of which—four or five ships—was tangent to the British centre (B). At this point the heat of the attack fell upon Hughes's flagship, the Superb, 74 (C, d), and her next ahead, the Monmouth, 64. Suffren's ship, the Heros, having much of her rigging cut, could not shorten sail, shot by the Superb, and brought up abreast the Monmouth. The latter, already hotly engaged by one of her own class, and losing her main and mizzen masts in this unequal new contest, was forced at 3 P.M. to bear up out of the line (m). The place of the Heros alongside the Superb was taken by the Orient, 74, supported by the Brillant, 64; and when the Monmouth kept off, the attack of these two ships was reinforced by the half-dozen stern chasers of the Heros, which had drifted into the British line, and now fired into the Superb's bows. The conflict between these five ships, two British and three French, was one of the bloodiest in naval annals; the loss of the Superb, 59 killed and 96 wounded, and of the Monmouth, 45 killed and 102 wounded, equalling that of the much larger vessels which bore the flags of Nelson and Collingwood at Trafalgar. The loss of the three French was 52 killed and 142 wounded; but to this should be added properly that of the Sphinx, 64, the Monmouth's first adversary: 22 killed and 74 wounded. At 3.40 P.M., fearing that if he continued steering west he would get entangled with the shore, Hughes wore his ships, forming line on the port tack, heading off shore. The French also wore, and Suffren hoped to secure the Monmouth, which was left between the two lines; but the quickness of a British captain, Hawker, of the Hero, ran a tow-rope to her in time, and she was thus dragged out of danger. At 5.40 Hughes anchored, and Suffren did the same at 8 P.M. The total British loss in men on this occasion was 137 killed and 430 wounded; that of the French 137 killed, and 357 wounded.



The exhausted enemies remained at anchor in the open sea, two miles apart, for a week, repairing. On the 19th of April the French got under way and made a demonstration before the British, inviting battle, yet not attacking; but the condition of the Monmouth forbade Hughes from moving. Suffren therefore departed to Batacalo, in Ceylon, south of Trincomalee, where he covered his own convoys from Europe, and flanked the approach of his adversary's. Hughes, on the 22d of April, got into Trincomalee, where he remained till June 23d. He then went to Negapatam, formerly a Dutch possession, but then held by the British. There he learned that Suffren, who meanwhile had captured several British transports, was a few miles north of him, at Cuddalore, which had surrendered to Hyder Ali on April 4th. On the 5th of July, at 1 P.M., the French squadron appeared. At 3 P.M. Hughes put to sea, and stood south during the night to gain the wind,—the south-west monsoon now blowing.

Next morning, at daylight, the French were seen at anchor, seven or eight miles to leeward. At 6 A.M. they began to get under way. One of their sixty-fours, the Ajax, had lost her main and mizzen topmasts in a violent squall on the previous afternoon, and was not in the line. There were therefore eleven ships on each side. The action, known as that of Negapatam, began shortly before 11, when both fleets were on the starboard tack, heading south-south-east, wind south-west. The British being to windward, Hughes ordered his fleet to bear up together to the attack, exactly as Suffren had done on the 12th of April. As commonly happened, the rear got less close than the van (Position I). The fourth ship in the French order, the Brillant, 64 (a), losing her mainmast early, dropped to leeward of the line, (a'), and astern of her place (a"). At half-past noon the wind flew suddenly to south-south-east,—the sea-breeze,—taking the ships a little on the port bow. Most of them, on both sides, paid off from the enemy, the British to starboard, the French to port; but between the main lines, which were in the momentary confusion consequent upon such an incident, were left six ships—four British and two French—that had turned the other way (Positions II and III).[145] These were the Burford, Sultan (s), Worcester, and Eagle, fourth, fifth, eighth and tenth, in the British order; and the Severe (b), third in the French, with the dismasted Brillant, which was now towards the rear of the fight (a). Under these conditions, the Severe, 64, underwent a short but close action with the Sultan, 74; and with two other British ships, according to the report of the Severe's captain. The remainder of the incident shall be given in the latter's own words.

"Seeing the French squadron drawing off,—for all the ships except the Brillant had fallen off on the other tack,—Captain de Cillart thought it useless to prolong his defence, and had the flag hauled down. The ships engaged with him immediately ceased their fire, and the one on the starboard side moved away. At this moment the Severe fell off to starboard, and her sails filled. Captain de Cillart then ordered the fire to be resumed by his lower-deck guns, the only ones which remained manned, and he rejoined his squadron."

When the Severe's flag came down, Suffren was approaching with his flagship. The Sultan wore to rejoin her fleet, and was raked by the Severe in so doing. The Brillant, whose mainmast had been shot away in conflict with either the Sultan or the Burford, both much heavier ships, had at this later phase of the fight fallen under the guns of the Worcester and the Eagle. Her captain, de Saint-Felix, was one of the most resolute of Suffren's officers. She was rescued by the flagship, but she had lost 47 killed and 136 wounded,—an almost incredible slaughter, being over a third of the usual complement of a sixty-four; and Suffren's ships were undermanned.

These spirited episodes, and the fact that his four separated ships were approaching the enemy, and being approached by them, caused Hughes to give the orders to wear, and for a general chase; the flag for the line being hauled down. These signals would bring all the main body to the support of the separated ships, without regard to their order in battle, and therefore with the utmost expedition that their remaining sail power would admit. Two of the fleet, however, made signals of disability; so Hughes annulled the orders, and at 1.30 formed on the port tack, recalling the engaged vessels. Both squadrons now stood in shore, and anchored at about 6 P.M.; the British near Negapatam, the French some ten miles north. The loss in the action had been: British, 77 killed, 233 wounded; French, 178 killed, 601 wounded.

On the following day Suffren sailed for Cuddalore. There he received word that two ships of the line—the Illustre, 74, and St. Michel, 60, with a convoy of supplies and 600 troops—were to be expected shortly at Pointe de Galle, then a Dutch port, on the south-west side of Ceylon. It was essential to cover these, and on the 18th he was ready for sea; but the necessity of an interview with Hyder Ali delayed him until the 1st of August, when he started for Batacalo. On the 9th he arrived there, and on the 21st the reinforcement joined him. Within forty-eight hours the supply-ships were cleared, and the squadron sailed again with the object of taking Trincomalee. On the 25th he was off the port, and, the operation being pushed energetically, the place capitulated on the 31st of August.

It is difficult to resist the impression that greater energy on Hughes's part might have brought him up in time to prevent this mishap. He reached Madras only on July 20th, a fortnight after the late action; and he did not sail thence until the 20th of August, notwithstanding that he apprehended an attempt upon Trincomalee. Hence, when he arrived there on the 2d of September, not only had it passed into the hands of the enemy, but Suffren had reembarked already the men and the guns that had been landed from his fleet. When Hughes's approach was signalled, all preparations for sea were hastened, and the following morning, at daybreak, the French came out. Hughes had been joined since the last action by the Sceptre, 64, so that the respective forces in the action fought off Trincomalee on September 3d were twelve of the line to fourteen, viz.: British, three 74's, one 70, one 68, six 64's, one 50; French, four 74's, seven 64's, one 60, two 50's. Suffren had also put into the line a 36-gun ship, the Consolante.[146]

While the French were getting underway from Trincomalee, the British fleet was standing south-south-east towards the entrance, close-hauled on the starboard tack, a fresh south-west monsoon blowing. When Hughes made out the hostile flags on the works, he kept away four points,[147] and steered east-south-east, still in column, under short canvas (A). Suffren pursued, being to windward yet astern, with his fleet on a line of bearing; that is, the line on which the ships were ranged was not the same as the course which they were steering. This formation, (A), wherein the advance is oblique to the front, is very difficult to maintain. Wishing to make the action, whatever the immediate event, decisive in results, by drawing the French well to leeward of the port, Hughes, who was a thorough seaman and had good captains, played with his eager enemy. "He kept avoiding me without taking flight," wrote Suffren; "or rather, he fled in good order, regulating his canvas by his worst sailers; and, keeping off by degrees, he steered from first to last ten or twelve different courses." Hughes, on his part, while perfectly clear as to his own object, was somewhat perplexed by the seeming indecision of an adversary whose fighting purpose he knew by experience. "Sometimes they edged down," he wrote; "sometimes they brought-to; in no regular order, as if undetermined what to do." These apparent vacillations were due to the difficulty of maintaining the line of bearing, which was to be the line of battle; and this difficulty was the greater, because Hughes was continually altering his course and Suffren's ships were of unequal speed.

At length, at 2 P.M., being then twenty-five miles south-east of the port, the French drew near enough to bear down. That this movement might be carried out with precision, and all the vessels come into action together, Suffren caused his fleet to haul to the wind, on the starboard tack, to rectify the order. This also being done poorly and slowly, he lost patience,—as Nelson afterwards said, "A day is soon lost in manoeuvring,"—and at 2.30, to spur on the laggard ships, the French admiral gave the signal to attack, (a), specifying pistol-range. Even this not sufficing to fetch the delinquents promptly into line with the flagship, the latter fired a gun to enforce obedience. Her own side being still turned towards the British, as she waited, the report was taken by the flagship's men below decks to be the signal for opening fire, and her whole broadside was discharged. This example was followed by the other ships, so that the engagement, instead of being close, was begun at half cannon-shot.



Owing to his measured and deliberate retreat, Hughes had his fleet now in thoroughly good shape, well aligned and closed-up. The French, starting from a poor formation to perform a difficult evolution, under fire, engaged in utter disorder (B). Seven ships, prematurely rounding-to to bring their broadsides to the enemy, and fore-reaching, formed a confused group (v), much to windward and somewhat ahead of the British van. Imperfectly deployed, they interfered with one another and their fire consequently could not be adequately developed. In the rear a somewhat similar condition existed. Suffren, expecting the bulk of his line to fight the British to windward, had directed the Vengeur, 64, and the Consolante, 36, to double to leeward on the extreme rear; but they, finding that the weather sides of the enemy were not occupied, feared to go to leeward, lest they should be cut off. They attacked the rear British ship, the Worcester, 64 (w), to windward; but the Monmouth, 64 (m), dropping down to her support, and the Vengeur catching fire in the mizzen top, they were compelled to haul off. Only Suffren's own ship, the Heros, 74 (a), and her next astern, the Illustre, 74, (i), came at once to close action with the British centre; but subsequently the Ajax, 64, succeeding in clearing herself from the snarl in the rear, took station ahead (j) of the Heros. Upon these three fell the brunt of the fight. They not only received the broadsides of the ships immediately opposed to them, but, the wind having now become light yet free, the British vessels ahead and astern, (h, s,) by luffing or keeping off, played also upon them. "The enemy formed a semicircle around us," wrote Suffren's chief of staff, "and raked us ahead and astern, as the ship came up and fell off with the helm to leeward." The two seventy-fours were crushed under this fire. Both lost their main and mizzen masts in the course of the day, and the foretopmast of the flagship also fell. The Ajax, arriving later, and probably drawing less attention, had only a topmast shot away.

The British total of killed and wounded was very evenly distributed throughout the fleet. Only the rear ship lost an important spar,—the main topmast. It was upon her, as already mentioned, and upon the two leading ships, the Exeter and Isis, that fell the heaviest fire, proportionately, of the French. From the position of the seven van ships of the latter, such fire as they could make must needs be upon the extreme British van, and the Exeter was forced to leave the line. The loss of the French that day was 82 killed and 255 wounded; of which 64 killed and 178 wounded belonged to the Heros, Illustre, and Ajax. The British had 51 killed and 283 wounded; the greatest number of casualties in one ship being 56. Singularly enough, in such a small list of deaths, three were commanding officers: Captains Watt of the Sultan, Wood of the Worcester, and Lumley of the Isis.

At 5.30 P.M. the wind shifted suddenly from south-west to east-south-east (C). The British wore together, formed on the other tack, and continued the fight. It was during this final act, and at 6 P.M., that the mainmast of the French flagship came down. The van ships of the French had towed their heads round with boats before 4, in order to come to the support of the centre, in obedience to a signal from Suffren; but the light airs and calms had retarded them. With the shift they approached, and passed in column (c) between their crippled vessels and the enemy. This manoeuvre, and the failure of daylight, brought the battle to an end. According to Hughes's report, several of his fleet "were making much water from shot-holes so very low down in the bottom as not to be come at to be effectually stopped; and the whole had suffered severely in their masts and rigging." Trincomalee being in the enemy's possession, and the east coast of Ceylon an unsafe anchorage now, at the change of the monsoon, he felt compelled to return to Madras, where he anchored on the 9th of September. Suffren regained Trincomalee on the 7th of the month, but the Orient, 74, running ashore at the entrance and being lost, he remained outside until the 17th, saving material from the wreck.

The break-up of the south-west monsoon, then at hand, is apt to be accompanied by violent hurricanes, and is succeeded by the north-east monsoon, during which the east coasts of the peninsula and of Ceylon give a lee shore, with heavy surf. Naval operations, therefore, were suspended for the winter. During that season Trincomalee is the only secure port. Deprived of it, Hughes determined to go to Bombay, and for that purpose left Madras on the 17th of October. Four days later a reinforcement of five ships of the line arrived from England, under Commodore Sir Richard Bickerton, who at once followed the Commander-in-Chief to the west coast. In the course of December the entire British force was united at Bombay.

In Trincomalee Suffren had a good anchorage; but the insufficiency of its resources, with other military considerations, decided him to winter at Acheen, at the west end of Sumatra. He arrived there on the 2d of November, having first paid a visit to Cuddalore, where the Bizarre, 64, was wrecked by carelessness. On the 20th of December he left Acheen for the Coromandel coast, having shortened his stay to the eastward for reasons of policy. On the 8th of January, 1783, he was off Ganjam, on the Orissa coast, and thence reached Trincomalee again on the 23d of February. There he was joined on the 10th of March by three ships of the line from Europe: two 74's and one 64. Under their convoy came General de Bussy, with twenty-five hundred troops, which were at once despatched to Cuddalore.

On the 10th of April Vice-Admiral Hughes, returning from Bombay, passed Trincomalee on the way to Madras, The various maritime occurrences, wrecks and reinforcements, since the battle of September 3d had reversed the naval odds, and Hughes now had eighteen ships of the line, one of which was an eighty, opposed to fifteen under Suffren. Another important event in the affairs of India was the death of Hyder Ali, on the 7th of December, 1782. Although his policy was continued by his son, Tippoo Saib, the blow to the French was serious. Under all the conditions, the British authorities were emboldened to attempt the reduction of Cuddalore. The army destined to this enterprise marched from Madras, passed round Cuddalore, and encamped south of it by the shore. The supply-ships and lighter cruisers anchored near, while the fleet cruised to the southward. Being there to windward, for the south-west monsoon had then set in, it covered the operations against disturbance from the sea.

Towards the beginning of June the investment of the place was complete by land and by water. Intelligence of this state of things was brought on the 10th of June to Suffren, who by Bussey's direction was keeping his inferior fleet in Trincomalee until its services should be absolutely indispensable. Immediately upon receiving the news he left port, and on the 13th sighted the British fleet, then at anchor off Porto Novo, a little south of Cuddalore. Upon his approach Hughes moved off, and anchored again five miles from the besieged place. For the next two days the French were baffled by the winds; but on the 17th the south-west monsoon resumed, and Suffren again drew near. The British Vice-Admiral, not caring to accept action at anchor, got under way, and from that time till the 20th remained outside, trying to obtain the weather-gage, in which he was frustrated by the variableness of the winds. Meanwhile Suffren had anchored near the town, communicated with the general, and, being very short of men at the guns, had embarked twelve hundred troops for his expected battle; for it was evident that the issue of the siege would turn upon the control of the sea. On the 18th he weighed again, and the two fleets manoeuvred for the advantage, with light baffling airs, the British furthest from shore.

On the 20th of June, the wind holding at west with unexpected constancy, Hughes decided to accept the attack which Suffren evidently intended. The latter, being distinctly inferior in force,—fifteen to eighteen,—probably contemplated an action that should be decisive only as regarded the fate of Cuddalore; that is, one which, while not resulting in the capture or destruction of ships, should compel his opponent to leave the neighbourhood to repair damages. The British formed line on the port tack, heading to the northward. Suffren ranged his fleet in the same manner, parallel to the enemy, and was careful to see the order exact before bearing down. When the signal to attack was given, the French kept away together, and brought-to again on the weather beam of the British, just within point-blank range. The action lasted from shortly after 4 P.M. to nearly 7, and was general throughout both lines; but, as always experienced, the rears were less engaged than the centres and vans. No ship was taken; no very important spars seem to have been shot away. The loss of the British was 99 killed, 434 wounded; of the French, 102 killed, 386 wounded.

As the ships' heads were north, the course of the action carried them in that direction. Suffren anchored next morning twenty-five miles north of Cuddalore. There he was sighted on the 22d by Hughes, who had remained lying-to the day after the fight. The British Vice-Admiral reported several ships much disabled, a great number of his men—1,121—down with scurvy, and the water of the fleet very short. He therefore thought it necessary to go to Madras, where he anchored on the 25th. Suffren regained Cuddalore on the afternoon of the 23d. His return and Hughes's departure completely changed the military situation. The supply-ships, upon which the British scheme of operations depended, had been forced to take flight when Suffren first approached, and of course could not come back now. "My mind is on the rack without a moment's rest since the departure of the fleet," wrote the commanding general on the 25th, "considering the character of M. de Suffren, and the infinite superiority on the part of the French now that we are left to ourselves."



The battle of June 20th, 1783, off Cuddalore, was the last of the maritime war of 1778. It was fought, actually, exactly five months after the preliminaries of peace had been signed on January 20th, 1783. Although the relative force of the two fleets remained unchanged, it was a French victory, both tactically and strategically: tactically, because the inferior fleet held its ground, and remained in possession of the field; strategically, because it decided the object immediately at stake, the fate of Cuddalore, and with it, momentarily at least, the issue of the campaign. It was, however, the triumph of one commander-in-chief over another; of the greater man over the lesser. Hughes's reasons for quitting the field involve the admission of his opponent's greater skill. "Short of water,"—with eighteen ships to fifteen, able therefore to spare ships by detachments for watering, that should not have happened; "injury to spars,"—that resulted from the action; "1,121 men short,"—Suffren had embarked just that number—1,200—because Hughes let him communicate with the port without fighting. Notwithstanding the much better seamanship of the British subordinates, and their dogged tenacity, Suffren here, as throughout the campaign, demonstrated again the old experience that generalship is the supreme factor in war. With inferior resources, though not at first with inferior numbers, by a steady offensive, and by the attendant anxiety about Trincomalee impressed upon the British admiral, he reduced him to a fruitless defensive. By the seizure of that place as a base he planted himself firmly upon the scene of action. Able thus to remain, while the British had to retire to Bombay, he sustained the Sultan of Mysore in his embarrassing hostility to the British; and in the end he saved Cuddalore by readiness and dexterity despite the now superior numbers of the British fleet. He was a great sea-captain, Hughes was not; and with poorer instruments, both in men and ships, the former overcame the latter.

On the 29th of June a British frigate, the Medea, bearing a flag of truce, reached Cuddalore. She brought well-authenticated intelligence of the conclusion of peace; and hostilities ceased by common consent.

[Footnote 136: Now Mauritius.]

[Footnote 137: On the Malabar—western—coast.]

[Footnote 139: See ante, p. 163.]

[Footnote 140: I infer, from the accounts, that the Monmouth was well east of the Hero, that the French had passed her first, and that the Heros was now on her port beam; but this point is not certain.]

[Footnote 141: Expressions in Johnstone's Report.]

[Footnote 142: Charnock, however, says that in 1762, immediately after receiving his post-commission, he commanded in succession the Hind, 20, and the Wager, 20. Moreover, before his appointment to the expedition of 1781, he had been Commodore on the Lisbon Station. But he had spent comparatively little time at sea as a captain.—W.L.C.]

[Footnote 143: See ante, pp. 79, 80.]

[Footnote 144: One being the captured British Hannibal, 50, which was commissioned by Captain Morard de Galles, retaining the English form of the name, Hannibal, to distinguish her from the Annibal, 74, already in the squadron.]

[Footnote 145: In the plan, Positions II and III, the second position is indicated by ships with broken outlines. These show the two lines of battle in the engagement until the wind shifted to south-south-east. The results of the shift constituted a third position, consecutive with the second, and is indicated by ships in full outline.]

[Footnote 146: Previously the British East Indiaman, Elizabeth.]

[Footnote 147: Forty-five degrees.]



GLOSSARY

OF NAUTICAL AND NAVAL TERMS USED IN THE TEXT

(This glossary is intended to cover only the technical expressions actually used in the book itself.)

ABACK. A sail is aback when the wind blows on the forward part tending to move the vessel astern.

ABAFT. Behind, towards the stern.

ABEAM. } ABREAST. } See "Bearing."

AFT. See "Bearing."

AHEAD. See "Bearing."

ASTERN. See "Bearing."

BEAM. The width of a vessel, so used because of the cross timbers, called beams.

BEAR, to. To be in a specified direction from a vessel.

BEAR, to. To change the direction of a vessel's movement.

To bear down, to move towards; to bear up, or away, to move away, from the wind or from an enemy.

BEARING. The direction of an object from a vessel; either by compass, or with reference to the vessel itself. Thus, the lighthouse bears north; the enemy bears abeam, or two points off the port bow.

BEARING, Line of. The compass bearing on which the vessels of a fleet are ranged, whatever their bearings from one another.

BEARINGS, with reference to the vessel.

Abeam. } Abreast. } Perpendicular to the vessel's length.

Aft. } Directly behind. Astern. }

Ahead. Directly before; forward.

Abaft the beam, starboard or port, weather or lee. To the rear of abeam, to the right or left, to windward or to leeward.

Before (or forward of) the beam (as above). Ahead of abeam, etc.

Broad. A large angle of bearing, used ordinarily of the bow. "Broad off the bow" approaches "before the beam."

On the bow, starboard or port, weather or lee. To one side of ahead, to right or left, to windward or to leeward.

On the quarter, starboard or port, weather or lee. To one side of astern; to right or left, to windward or to leeward.

BEARINGS, by compass. The full circle of the compass, 360 degrees, is divided into thirty-two points, each point being subdivided into fourths. From north to east, eight points, are thus named: North; north by east; north-northeast; northeast by north; northeast; northeast by east; east-northeast; east by north; East.

From East to South, from South to West, and from West to North, a like naming is used.

BEAT, to. To gain ground to windward, by successive changes of direction, called tacks.

BOOM. See "Spars."

BOW, or head. The forward part of a vessel, which is foremost when in motion ahead.

On the Bow. See "Bearing." To head "bows-on": to move directly towards.

BOW AND QUARTER LINE. See pp. 84, 200.

BOWSPRIT. See "Spars."

BRACES. Ropes by which the yards are turned, so that the wind may strike the sails in the manner desired.

BRING-TO. To bring a vessel's head as near as possible to the direction from which the wind blows; usually with a view to heaving-to, that is, stopping. See heave-to and luff.

BROADSIDE. The whole number of guns carried on one side of a vessel; starboard or port broadside, weather or lee broadside.

CABLE. The heavy rope which was attached to the anchor, and held the ship to it. Cables are now chains, but in the period of this book were always hemp. To veer cable, to let more out, to let the ship go farther from the anchor. To slip the cable, to let it all go overboard, releasing the vessel. Cable's length: 120 fathoms.

CHASE, General. A chase by a fleet, in which, in order to more rapid advance, the places of the vessels in their usual order are not to be observed.

CLOSE-HAULED. See "Course."

COLUMN. See "Line Ahead."

COME UP. A ship comes up, when her bow comes more nearly to the direction of the wind. Used generally when the movement proceeds from some other cause than the movement of the helm. See "Luff."

CONVOY. A body of unarmed or weakly armed vessels, in company with ships of war.

CONVOY, to. To accompany a number of unarmed vessels, for their protection.

COURSE. The direction of a vessel's movement, with regard to the compass or to the wind.

Compass course. The point of the compass towards which the vessel heads.

Wind courses:

Close-hauled. As nearly in the direction from which the wind blows as is compatible with keeping the sails full; for square-rigged vessels six points. (See "Bearings by Compass.") For a north wind, the close-hauled courses are east-northeast and west-northwest.

Free. Not close-hauled.

Large. Very free.

Off the wind. Free.

On (or by) the wind. Close-hauled.

COURSES. The lowest sails on the fore and main masts.

CRUISE, to. To cover a certain, portion of sea by movement back and forth over it.

CRUISER. A general term for armed ships, but applied more specifically to those not "of the line," which therefore are more free and wider in their movements.

CURRENT.

Lee Current. One the movement of which is away from the wind.

Weather Current. One which sets towards the wind.

EBB, ebb-tide. See "Tide."

FAIR, wind. A wind which allows a vessel to head her desired compass course.

FALL OFF. A vessel falls off, when, without the action of the helm, her head moves away from the wind. See "Come up."

FILL. } Sails are said to fill, or to be full, when the wind FULL. } strikes the rear side, tending to move the vessel ahead.

FLOOD, flood tide. See "Tide."

FORE AND AFT. In classification of vessels, indicates those whose sails, when set, stretch from forward aft; more nearly lengthwise than across. Opposite to square-rigged.

FOREMAST, fore-topmast, etc. See "Spars."

FORESAIL, fore-topsail, etc. See "Sails."

FOUL, to. To entangle, to collide. A foul anchor, when the cable gets round the anchor.

FOUL, wind. A wind which prevents the vessel heading the desired compass course, compelling her to beat.

FREE, wind. A wind which allows the vessel to head the course desired. The amount to spare from the close-hauled course is sometimes designated. E.g., the wind four points free; the wind would allow the vessel to come four points nearer the wind than her course requires.

FRIGATE. See "Vessel."

GAGE, weather and lee. A vessel, or fleet, is said to have the weather gage, when it is to windward of its opponent. Lee is opposite to weather.

HAUL, to. To haul (to) the wind is to change the course to that nearest the direction whence the wind comes.

To haul down the colors: to strike, to surrender.

HEAVE DOWN. To incline a vessel on one side, by purchases at the lower mastheads.

HEAVE-TO. (HOVE-TO.) To bring-to, (which see), and then to lay some sails aback, in order to keep the ship without movement ahead or astern.

HEEL, to. To incline a vessel on one side by shifting the weights on board, such as guns. "On the heel": to be thus inclined.

HELM. The tiller, or bar, which like a handle turns the rudder, and thus changes the course of the vessel.

Port the helm. To put the tiller to port, which turns the vessel's head to the right; to starboard the helm is the reverse.

Helm down. Tiller to leeward, vessel's head to windward; helm up, the reverse. See "Rudder."

HULL. The body of a vessel, as distinguished from the spars, or engines.

HULL, to. (HULLED.) A cannon ball striking the hull of a vessel is said to hull her.

JIB. See "Sails."

JIB-BOOM. See "Spars."

KEEP, to. To keep off, or away, is to change course away from the wind or from an enemy. See "To bear up."

LARGE. See "Course."

LEE. The direction toward which the wind blows. "Under the lee of," protected from wind and sea by land, or by a vessel, interposed.

Lee Tide. See "Tide."

LEECH. The vertical side of a square sail. The upper and lower sides, horizontal, are called head and foot.

LEEWARD (pronounced looard). Direction of movement, or of bearing, opposite to the wind.

LIE-TO, to. To bring the vessels head on, or near, the wind, and remain nearly stopped. Usually in heavy weather, but not always.

LINE ABREAST. See p. 122.

LINE AHEAD. See p. 85.

LINE OF BATTLE. In the line of battle the vessels are ranged on the same straight line, steering the same course, one behind the others, so that all the broadsides are clear to bear upon an enemy. The line preferred is one of the close-hauled lines, because on them the movement of a vessel in the line is more easily regulated by backing, or shaking, some of the sails.

LINE OF BEARING. See "Bearing, line of."

LINE, Ship of the. A vessel fitted by its force for the line of battle. Opposite generically to "cruiser." The modern term is "battleship."

LUFF, to. The movement of changing the course to nearer the direction whence the wind comes, by using the helm.

MAIN. } MIZZEN.} See "Spars" and "Sails."

MAST. See "Spars." "To the mast." A sail is said to be so when aback.

MONSOON. A trade wind, in the China and Indian seas, which blows uniformly from the northeast in winter, and from southwest in summer.

NEAP. See "Tide."

OFF—the wind. See "Course."

ON—the wind. See "Course."

PENNANT. A flag, indicating either the rank of the senior officer on board, or a signal applicable to a particular vessel.

POINT. See "Bearings, by Compass."

PORT. To the left hand, or on the left side, of a vessel, looking from aft forward. Opposite to Starboard.

PORT, to. Applied to steering. To move the tiller, or helm, to the left, which moves the rudder to the right and causes the vessel to change course towards the right hand.

QUARTER. Either side of the after part of a vessel;—as starboard quarter, port quarter; weather quarter, lee quarter. Quarter deck: one side of the after upper deck, reserved for the officer exercising command, and for ceremonial purposes.

QUARTERS. A crew is at quarters when at the stations for battle.

RAKE, to. To fire the broadside from ahead or astern of an antagonist, so that the shot may sweep the length of the vessel, which at the period of this book was about four times the width.

RANDOM SHOT. The extreme range to which a gun could send its shot, giving very uncertain results.

REEF, to. To reduce the surface of a sail.

RUDDER. A solid framework, pivoted at the stern of a vessel, which being turned to one side deflects her course. See "Helm" and "Wheel."

SAILS. Sails are of two kinds: square, and fore and aft. Square sails spread more across the vessel, in the direction of her width. Fore and aft sails more in the direction of the length. Square sails are better for a free wind; and also for large vessels, because they can be more readily subdivided. Fore and aft sails trim nearer to the wind, and so are convenient for coasters, which generally are smaller.

Vessels carrying square sails are called square-rigged. They have always two masts, usually three; each carrying three or four sails, one above the other. These are named from the mast on which they are carried (see "Spars"); e.g., main sail, fore topsail, mizzen topgallant-sail; and also from their positions on the same mast. Thus, from lowest up, main sail, main topsail, main topgallantsail; and main royal, if there be a fourth. The fore and main sails are called also courses.

The topsails were the chief battle sails, because the largest, except the courses, and more manageable than the courses.

All square-rigged vessels carry fore and aft sails, three cornered, stretched between the bowsprit and jib-booms, and the fore topmast. These sails are called jibs.

Fore and aft vessels also carry jibs; but on each upright mast they have one great sail, the size of which makes it less easily handled in an emergency, therefore less fit for fighting. Above the big sail they have a small, light, three-cornered topsail, but this is merely a fair weather sail, useless in battle.

Vessels of war were almost all square-rigged, with three masts.

SAILS, STUDDING. Light square sails, for moderate weather, extended beyond the other square sails, to increase the normal spread of canvas. Set only with a free wind, and never in battle.

SCANTLING. The size, and consequent weight and strength, of the timbers of a vessel's hull.

SCHOONER. See "Vessel."

SHAKE, to. So to place a sail that the wind blows along it, neither filling nor backing. The sail is thus neutralized without taking in.

SHARP-UP. A yard is sharp-up, when turned by the braces as far as the rigging of the mast will allow. A close-hauled course requires the yards to be sharp-up, in order that the sails may be full.

SHIP. See "Vessel."

SLIP. See "Cable."

SLOOP. See "Vessel."

SPARS. A spar is a long piece of timber, cylindrical, tapering, in masts, towards one end, and in yards towards both. Spars serve for spreading the several sails of a vessel.

The names of spars vary with their use and position. Chiefly, for ships of war, they divide into masts, yards, and booms.

A mast is an upright, and is in three connected pieces: the lower mast, the topmast, and the top-gallant-mast. Most ships of war had three such masts: fore, near the bow; main, near the centre; mizzen, near the stern.

The bowsprit is also a mast; not upright, but projecting straight ahead from the bow, approaching horizontal, but inclining upwards. Like the masts, it has three divisions: the lower, or bowsprit proper, the jib-boom, and the flying-jib-boom.

Across the masts, horizontal, are the yards, four in number, lower, topsail, topgallant, and royal. Yards are further designated by the name of the mast to which each belongs; e.g., foreyard, main topsail yard, mizzen topgallant yard, main royal yard.

The bowsprit formerly had one yard, called the spritsail yard. This has disappeared. Otherwise it serves to spread the three-cornered sails called jibs. These sails were useful for turning a vessel, because their projection before the centre gave them great leverage.

Fore and aft vessels had no yards. See "Sails."

SPRING. See p. 65, note.

SQUARE-RIGGED. See "Sails" and "Spars."

STAND, to. Used, nautically, to express movement and direction, e.g., "to stand toward the enemy," "to stand out of harbor," "to stand down," "to stand south." The underlying idea seems to be that of sustained, decided movement.

STARBOARD. TO the right hand, or on the right side, of a vessel, looking from aft forward. Opposite to Port.

STEER, to. To control the course by the use of the helm and rudder.

STERN. The extreme rear, or after, part of a vessel.

STRATEGY. That department of the Art of War which decides the distribution and movements of armies, or of fleets, with reference to the objects of a campaign as a whole.

STRIKE, to. Applied to the flag. To haul down the flag in token of surrender.

TACK. A vessel is on the starboard tack, or port tack, according as the wind comes from the starboard or port hand. See p. 84, note.

TACK, to. When a vessel is close-hauled, with the wind on one side, to tack is to turn round towards the wind, in order to be again close-hauled, with the wind on the other side.

To wear is to attain the same object by turning away from the wind. Wearing is surer than tacking, but loses ground to leeward.

To tack, or wear, in succession, the leading vessel tacks, and those which follow tack, each, as it arrives at the same point; the order thus remaining the same. To tack, or wear together, all tack at the same moment, which reverses the order.

TACTICS. That department of the Art of War which decides the disposition and movements of an army, or of a fleet, on a particular field of battle, in presence of an enemy.

TIDAL CURRENTS.

Ebb tide, the outflow of the water due to the tides.

Flood tide, the inflow of the water due to the tides.

Lee tide, the set of the current to leeward.

Weather tide, the set of the current to windward.

TIDE. The rise and fall of the water of the oceans under the influence of the moon. Used customarily, but inaccurately, to express the currents produced by the changes of level.

High tide, or high water, the two highest levels of the day.

Low tide, or low water, the two lowest.

Neap tide: the least rise and fall during the lunar month.

Spring tide: the greatest rise and fall during the same, being soon after full and change of moon.

TRADE, the. A term applied to a body of merchant vessels, to or from a particular destination.

TRADE WIND. A wind which blows uniformly from the same general direction throughout a fixed period. In the West Indies, from the northeast the year round. See also "Monsoon."

VEER. See "Cable."

VESSEL. A general term for all constructions intended to float upon and move through the water. Specific definitions applicable to this book:

Ship, a square-rigged vessel with three masts.

Brig, a square-rigged vessel with two masts.

Schooner, a fore and aft rigged vessel with two or more masts.

Sloop, a fore and aft rigged vessel with one mast. See pp. 9, 15, 17.

VESSELS OF WAR. Ship of the Line. A ship with three or more tiers of guns, of which two are on covered decks; that is, have a deck above them. See "Line of Battle Ship."

Frigate. A ship with one tier of guns on a covered deck.

Sloop of War. A ship, the guns of which are not covered, being on the upper (spar) deck.

Sloops of war were sometimes brigs, but then were usually so styled.

WAKE. The track left by a vessel's passage through the water. "In the wake of": directly astern of.

WAY. Movement through the water. "To get underway": to pass from stand-still to movement.

WEAR, to. See under "Tack."

WEATHER. Relative position to windward of another object. Opposite to Lee. Weather side, lee side, of a vessel; weather fleet, lee fleet; weather gage, lee gage (see "Gage"); weather shore, lee shore.

WEATHER, to. To pass to windward of a vessel, or of any other object.

WEATHERLY. The quality of a vessel which favors her getting, or keeping, to windward.

WEIGH, to. To raise the anchor from the bottom. Used alone; e.g., "the fleet weighed."

WHEEL. So called from its form. The mechanical appliance, a wheel, with several handles for turning it, by which power is increased, and also transmitted from the steersman on deck to the tiller below, in order to steer the vessel.

WIND AND WATER, between. That part of a vessel's side which comes out of water when she inclines to a strong side wind, but otherwise is under water.

WINDWARD. Direction from which the wind blows.

YARD. See "Spars."



INDEX

Algeciras, in Gibraltar Bay, station of Franco-Spanish Fleet supporting the Siege of Gibraltar, 121, 230, 231.

Arbuthnot, Marriott, British Admiral, commands North American Station, 1779, 113, 148; anger at Rodney's intrusion on his command, 150; supports the attack on Charleston, 1780, 151; station in Gardiner's Bay, 151, 170; action with French squadron under des Touches, 1781, 171; regains command of Chesapeake Bay, 174; superseded, 1781, 176.

Arethusa, British frigate. Encounter with French frigate Belle Poule marks beginning of War of 1778 with France, 62, 82.

Armed Neutrality, The, of 1780, 3, 158.

Arnold, Benedict, American General. Effects following his action on Lake Champlain in 1776, 3, 4, 7, 25; with, Ethan Allen, seizes Ticonderoga and Crown Point, 1775, 8; captures or destroys all hostile shipping on Lake Champlain, 9; traverses Maine forests, and joins Montgomery before Quebec, 10; maintains blockade of Quebec till arrival of a British squadron, 10; retreats to Crown Point, and destitution of his troops, 11; schemes for maintaining command of Lake Champlain, 12; his force, and its character, 14, 15, 17; compelled by shore batteries to abandon lower Narrows of the Lake, 15; selects Valcour Island as position for defence, 15; decision to risk destruction of force rather than retire, 18, 19; sound strategic and tactical ideas, 20; Battle of Valcour Island, 21; successful withdrawal after defeat, 23; overtaken and flotilla destroyed, 25; effect of his resistance in delaying British advance, 25; conduct, courage, and heroism throughout, 27; his subsequent treason, 18, 27, 152; commands British detachment in Virginia, 153, 169, 170, 174.

Asiatic Immigration, Danger involved in, 4.

Barbados, West India Island, headquarters of British Leeward Islands Station, 99; advantage of Santa Lucia over, 104, 144, 207; notably for crippled ships, 144; devastated by hurricane, 1780, 159.

Bartington, Samuel, British Admiral, commands Leeward Islands Station, 99; capture of Santa Lucia by, 100-102; successfully resists d'Estaing's effort to recapture, 103, 104; superseded in chief command by Byron, 105; share in Byron's action with d'Estaing, 107, 109; goes home wounded, 112; refuses command-in-chief of the Channel Fleet, 1780, 157; serves in it under Howe, 227; captures a French convoy for East Indies, 227.

Basse Terre, St. Kitts, Operations around, 1782, 196-205; character of anchorage at, 199.

Battle, Order of, defined, 93 (note), 200 (note).

Battles, Naval, Valcour Island, October 11, 1776, 19-23. Charleston Harbor, June 28, 1776, 33. D'Estaing and Howe, August 10 and 11, 1778, 73-75. Ushant, July 27, 1778, 84-91. Barrington and d'Estaing, Santa Lucia, December 15, 1778, 102-104. Byron and d'Estaing, Grenada, July 6, 1779, 105-112. De Langara and Rodney, Cape St. Vincent, January 16, 1780, 123. De Guichen and Rodney, off Martinique, April 17, 1780, 131-135. De Guichen and Rodney, May 15, 1780, 143, 144. De Guichen and Rodney, May 19, 1780, 144. Cornwallis and La Motte-Picquet, off Haiti, March 20, 1780, 153. Cornwallis and de Ternay, June 20, 1780, 155-157. De Grasse and Hood, off Martinique, April 29, 1781, 163-167. Arbuthnot and des Touches, off Cape Henry, March 16, 1781, 171-173. De Grasse and Graves, off Cape Henry, September 5, 1781, 179-183. The Doggers Bank, August 5, 1781, 189-193. De Grasse and Hood, St. Kitts, January 25 and 26, 1782, 199-204. De Grasse and Rodney, near Dominica, April 9 and 12, 1782, 207-221. Howe with Franco-Spanish Fleet near Gibraltar, October 20, 1782, 231, 232. Johnstone and Suffren, Porto Praya, Cape Verde Islands, April 16, 1781, 236-238. Hughes and Suffren, Coromandel Coast, February 17, 1781, 240-242. Hughes and Suffren, off Ceylon, April 12, 1782, 242-244. Hughes and Suffren, off Nega-patam, July 6, 1782, 244-246. Hughes and Suffren, off Trincomalee, September 3, 1782, 247-251. Hughes and Suffren, off Cuddalore, June 20, 1783, 253. N.B. Naval Battles end here.

Belle Poule, French Frigate. Encounter with British Arethusa marks beginning of War of 1778 with Great Britain, 61, 82.

Blane, Sir Gilbert, Physician to British Fleet under Rodney, quoted, 124, 219, 220, 221.

Burgoyne, Sir John, British General, 3, 6, 14, 23, 27, 28, 50-53, 55; decisive effect of American control of Lake Champlain, in 1776, upon his expedition, in 1777, 3, 9, 13, 14, 25; his surrender at Saratoga, 53; it determines France to intervene, 6, 58.

Byng, John, British Admiral, influence of his execution, in 1756, upon the minds of naval officers, 93, 139, 146.

Byron, John, British Admiral, ordered to North American Station, 1778, 59; delayed by heavy weather, and puts into Halifax, 62; Howe superseded by, 80; goes to West Indies, 105; action with D'Estaing off Grenada, 105-111; comments upon course of, 110-112; returns to England, 112.

Canada, Strength of, against attack from southward, 7; its advantage in this respect over New York, 8; comprehension of these facts by Americans of 1775, from the old French Wars, 8; attempt to utilize, by British, frustrated by Arnold's promptitude, 9; invasion of, under Montgomery, ordered by American Congress, 1775, 9; failure of the attempt, decided by British Navy, 10-12; British advance from, under Carleton, 1776, 15-26; Burgoyne's advance from, 1777, 51-53.

Cap Francois (now Cap Haitien), French naval station on north side of Haiti, 147-149, 153, 154, 168, 176, 178, 206, 223, 225.

Carkett, Robert, British Naval Captain, misunderstanding of Rodney's orders by, causes failure of British attack of April 17, 1780, 133; Rodney's censure of, 137-139.

Carleton, Sir Guy, Governor and Commander-in-Chief, in Canada, 1775-6, 9; besieged and blockaded in Quebec by Americans, 10-12; relieved by British Navy, 11; takes the offensive, 17; delayed decisively by Arnold's preparations on Lake Champlain, 13, 18; battle of Valcour Island, 20-23; successfully eluded by Arnold, 23; honored by Government for the campaign, 26.

Carolinas, North and South, supposed British sympathies in, 31, exaggerated, 175; expedition against Charleston, and battle of Charleston Harbor, 1776, 31-38; operations against, and against Georgia, renewed, 1779, 113-115, and 1780, 151-153; disastrous consequences to British operations, 114, 152, 174-176.

Champlain, Lake, Decisive effect of naval operations upon, 3, 4, 7, 13, 14, 25, 26; strategic importance of, 7; naval campaign upon, 1775-1776, chapter i; remains in naval control of British throughout the war, 28.

Charleston, South Carolina, attack upon by British squadron, 1776, 32-37; siege and capture of, by the British, 1780, 114, 151.

Chesapeake Bay, naval command of, by French, 1781, accomplishes independence of United States, 4, 114, 184; Sir William Howe moves by way of, against Philadelphia, 1777, 52; operations in and near, 1781, 169-174, 177-185; British control of, in 1781, prior to arrival of de Grasse, 174; de Grasse reaches, 1781, 178.

Clinton, Sir Henry, British General, commands land force employed in Carolinas, 1776, 31, 32; in seizure of Narragansett Bay, 48; left in command at New York by Howe, 1777, 52; advance up the Hudson River, 1777, 55; relieves Howe as Commander-in-Chief in North America, 56, 63; evacuates Philadelphia, and retreats upon New York, 1778, 63; narrowness of his escape, 63, 64; evacuates Narragansett Bay, 1779, 115; operations of, in South Carolina, and capture of Charleston, 151; leaves Cornwallis in command in Carolina, and returns to New York, 152; sends detachments to Virginia, for diversion in favor of Cornwallis, 1781, 153, 169; serious difference of opinion between, and Cornwallis, 115, 175; orders of, to Cornwallis, which result in position at Yorktown, 1781, 175.

Commerce, effects upon, through inadequate naval preparation, 59-61, 117, 126, 158; table of losses of British, 61 (note).

Convoys, effect of, upon naval action, strategic or tactical, 105, 106, 109, 122, 126, 130, 148, 155-157, 158, 166, 176, 188, 189, 193, 199, 206-209, 227-229, 229-231, 235, 236-238, 240, 246.

Cornwallis, Charles, Earl, British General, accompanies expedition against Charleston, 1776, 31; hurried to Trenton, after Washington's victory there, 49; professional quarrel with Sir H. Clinton, 115, 175; at siege and capture of Charleston, 152; left in command of southern department, 1780, 152; defeats Gates at Camden, 1780, 152; pushes on to North Carolina, 152; embarrassments there, 152; enters Virginia, and joins Arnold at Petersburg, 1781, 153, 174; ordered by Clinton to occupy a defensive position which should cover anchorage for a fleet, 175; evacuates Portsmouth, and takes position at Yorktown, 175; French cruisers bar his retreat towards the Carolinas, and occupy York River, 179; enclosed by French fleet and French and American armies, 184; compelled to surrender, 185.

Cornwallis, Sir William (brother of Lord), British naval captain, share in action between Byron and d'Estaing, 1779, 108-110, 153; in command of a squadron, action with La Motte-Picquet, 1780, 153; action with de Ternay's squadron, 155-157; characteristics, and nickname of, 157; distinguished part in Hood's action with de Grasse, 1782, 201; share in Rodney's victory, 217; quoted, 156, 198, 200, 203, 211.

Crown Point, military post on Lake Champlain, 8; seized by Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen, 1775, 8; General Montgomery embarks at, to invade Canada, 1775, 9; Arnold retreats to, in 1776, after reverses in Canada, 12; part in campaign of 1776, 24; recovered by British, 25; reoccupied by Americans after Burgoyne's surrender, 28.

Cuddalore, British post in India, on Coromandel Coast, besieged by Hyder Ali and Suffren, 242; taken by Hyder Ali, 244; British attempt to retake, 252; relieved by Suffren, 252-254.

Darby, George, British Admiral, commands Channel Fleet, 1780, 157; relief of Gibraltar by, 1781, 186-188; blocked in Torbay by Franco-Spanish fleet, 1781, 188-189.

Delaware, Naval Operations in the, 1777, 52-55; in 1778, 59, 62-64.

De Barras, French Commodore, commands squadron in Newport, 1781, 174; opinion concerning des Touches' conduct, 174; junction with de Grasse in Chesapeake Bay, 1781, 184.

De Bouille, French General, governor of Martinique, 1780, concerts with de Guichen an attack on British West Indies, 130; project against Barbados, 1782, 197; capture of St. Kitts, 197-205.

De Cordova, Spanish Admiral, commands in allied fleet under d'Orvilliers, 1779, 118, 119; in chief command, at Cadiz, 125; in Channel, 1781, 188; in 1782, 228; at Algeciras, during Howe's relief of Gibraltar, 230-232.

D'Estaing, Comte, French Admiral, in chief command, in 1778, of first French fleet sent to America, 59; biographical summary of, 59 (note); Government instructions to, 59; slowness of movements of, 62-64; failure to attack Howe at Sandy Hook, 66-68; professional inefficiency of, 67, 79, 111, 112; proceeds to Newport, R.I., 69, and enters the harbor, 70; joins Americans in siege of the town, 70; abandons it on Howe's appearance and puts to sea, 73; manoeuvres against Howe, 73-75; fleet scattered by gale, 75; refuses to renew siege of Newport, and goes to Boston, 77, 78; outgeneralled throughout by Howe, 78; goes to West Indies, 1779, 100; fails to recover Santa Lucia, 102-104; captures Grenada, 105; action with Byron, 106-112; fails in attempt to retake Savannah, 115; returns to Europe with ships of his original command, 115; sent to Cadiz, in 1780, to bring back to Brest French contingent of Allied Fleet, 158.

De Grasse, Comte, French Admiral, exercises the decisive effect in obtaining American Independence, 4; sails to take chief command in America, 1781, 162; action with Hood off Martinique, 163-165; Chevalier's comment on conduct of, 166; abortive attempt against Santa Lucia, 167; capture of Tobago by, 168; goes to Cap Francois, 168, 176, and there prepares for expedition against Cornwallis, 178; on this occasion shows energy and foresight unusual to him, 178; anchors in Chesapeake Bay, 178; action with Graves, 179-184; regains Chesapeake, 184; returns to West Indies after Cornwallis's surrender, 185; expedition against St. Kitts, 1782, 197-205; outgeneralled by Hood, 201, 204, 205; St. Kitts surrenders to, 205; Hood escapes from, 205; returns to Martinique, 206; expedition against Jamaica, plan of, 206; puts to sea, 207; transactions from April 8 to April 12, 207-212; defeated in great battle of April 12, 213-221, and captured with flagship, 221; professional character of, illustrated, 166, 178, 184, 198, 205, 207, 209, 214, 215, 216.

De Guichen, Comte de, succeeds d'Estaing in North American command, 1780, 115, 130; biographical summary of, 115 (note); project of against Barbados, 130; frustrated by Rodney, 130; action of April 17, with Rodney, 130-135; orders of French Government to, 141; consequent conduct of, 141-145; actions with Rodney, May 15, 142, and May 19, 144; broken down by responsibility, 145; under orders, accompanies Spanish squadron to Cap Francois, 147; there refuses to cooeperate with Americans, 147; returns to Europe, 148; commands French contingent to Allied Fleet under de Cordova, 1781, 188; advises attack upon British Fleet in Tor Bay, 189; loses great part of West India military convoy entrusted to his charge, 196.

De Langara, Spanish Admiral, squadron under command of, defeated, and himself captured by Rodney, 122, 123; inefficiency of, 125.

D'Orves, Comte, French Admiral, commands in East Indies, 1781, 235, 236; joined by Suffren, 239; sails for Coromandel Coast, 240; dies, and succeeded by Suffren, 240.

D'Orvilliers, Comte, French Admiral, commander-in-chief of Brest Fleet, 1778, 82; puts to sea, 82; Government instructions to, 83; encounter with British Fleet under Keppel, 83; manoeuvres of, and action of July 27, 83-91; comment upon, 92, 97; summer cruise of, 1779, 116-120; hampered by instructions, 119; returns to Brest unsuccessful, 120.

De Suffren, Bailli, French Captain and Admiral, with d'Estaing in Narragansett Bay, 1778, 69; in the action with Byron off Grenada, 111; his comment upon d'Estaing's conduct, 111; biographical summary of, 111 (note); sails for East Indies, 1781, 163, 236; effect upon operations of, in India, by capture of a French convoy in Bay of Biscay, 228; attacks British squadron in Porto Praya, 236-238; saves Cape of Good Hope, 238; arrives Ile de France, 239; succeeds to chief command in East Indies, 240; five battles with British squadron, 240, 242, 244, 247, 253; captures Trincomalee, 1782, 247; relieves Cuddalore, 252-254; estimate of, 254, 255.

De Ternay, French Commodore, commands squadron with convoy, from Brest for Newport, R.I., 155; action with British squadron under Cornwallis, 1780, 155-157; comment, favorable and unfavorable, 156; death of, 1781, and succeeded by des Touches, 170.

Des Touches, French Commodore, succeeds de Ternay in command at Newport, 1781, 170; sails to enter Chesapeake Bay, to check British operations in Virginia, 170; pursued by Arbuthnot, 171; action between the two squadrons, 171-173; gains tactical advantage, but leaves the field to the British, 174; justified by de Barras, who arrives and supersedes him, 174.

De Vaudreuil, Marquis, French Admiral, second to de Grasse in 1782, 209; commands-in-chief partial attack on Hood's division, 209; quoted, 214; succeeds to chief command upon de Grasse's surrender, 222; condition of his command after the battle, 223; pursued by Rodney, but reaches Cap Francois, 225.

Doggers Bank, Battle of the, 1781, 189-194.

Dominica, British West India Island, captured by French, 1778, 99; battle of, 208, 209, 210, 213, 215.

Douglas, Sir Charles, British naval captain, commands squadron which relieves Quebec, 1776, 10; quoted, 11, 14, 17, 18, 22, 25, 26; energetic preparations by, to regain control of Lake Champlain, 15-17; force created by, 17; made a baronet for his services at this time, 26; captain of the fleet to Rodney, 1782, 222; opinion as to Rodney's conduct cited, 222.

Farragut, at Mobile, cited in illustration, 66 (note).

Fighting Instructions, Additional, point in, bearing upon the failure of Rodney's plan of attack, April 17, 1780, 133, 138, 139 (and note).

"Fleet in Being," 73, 174; how regarded, apparently, by D'Orvilliers in 1779, 119.

France, intervention of France in the American quarrel determined by Burgoyne's defeat, and leads to Spanish intervention, 3, 58, 116; vacillating naval instructions of Government of, 83, 118, 119, 141, 154; divergence of views between Spain and, 120, 121, 147, 158, 186, 188, 189.

France, Ile de (now Mauritius), French naval station in Indian Ocean, 126, 234, 236, 239.

Gardiner's Bay, east end of Long Island, station of British fleet under Arbuthnot, watching French at Newport, 151, 170.

Gates, Horatio, American General, defeated by Cornwallis at Camden, 152.

George, Lake, a link in consecutive water communications from New York to Canada, 7, 51.

Gibraltar, d'Estaing ordered to commence hostilities when forty leagues west of, 59; capture of, a leading object with Spanish Government, 120; this desire affects the major operations of Allies throughout the war, 121, 186; blockade of, by land and sea, 121; Rodney's relief of, 1780, 121-126, 157; Darby's relief of, 1781, 186, 188; Howe's relief of, 1782, 229-233.

Glossary, of technical terms used in this book, 257.

Grant, James, British General, share of in capture of Santa Lucia, 102-104.

Graves, Sir Thomas, British Admiral, brings reinforcement of vessels to New York, 151; relieves Arbuthnot in command of North American Station, 1781, 176; difficulties of, owing to interception of communications, 177; joined by Hood off New York, 177; sails for the relief of Cornwallis, 178; action of, with French fleet under de Grasse, 179-184; conduct of, criticized by Hood, 181, 182, 184; returns to New York, 184; relieves Sir Peter Parker in Jamaica command, 185.

Great Britain, feeble hold of, upon Canada, 1775, 10; shown by rewards for saving the colony, 26; inadequate provision of force by, 1774-1776, 29, 30, 59, 62, 79, 82, 99, 112, 116, 117, 120, 127, 148, 189, 193, 226; improper dispersion of effort by, 30, 31, 48, 52, 56, 62, 63, 72, 113-115, 151-153, 175; distrust of Government of, among naval officers, 79, 81, 93, 95, 97, 99, 135, 146, 157, 158, 193; alarm in, produced by Allied fleets in Channel, 1779, 117; declares war against Holland, 1780, 158.

Grenada, British West India Island, captured by French, 105; naval battle off, 105-112.

Haiti, French West India Island, 147, 148, 168 (see "Cap Francois"); squadron action off north coast of, 153-155.

Hardy, Sir Charles, British Admiral, commands Channel Fleet, 117, 119.

Holland, brought into War of American Independence by concurring in Armed Neutrality of Baltic Powers, 1780, 3, 158, 236; colonial possessions of, 3, 158, 160-162, 236, 240, 246; St. Eustatius, St. Martin, and Saba, West India Islands of, taken by Rodney, 160-162; battle of Doggers Bank, 189-193; fleet of, held in check by Howe, 1782, 228; Cape of Good Hope menaced by British, saved by Suffren, 236-238; Trincomalee, in Ceylon, taken by British, 240, recaptured by Suffren, 247.

Hood, Sir Samuel (afterwards Lord), British Admiral, arrives in West Indies, 1781, with reinforcements for Rodney, 160; sent to cruise off Martinique, to intercept de Grasse, 162; action between, and de Grasse, 163-167; exceptional ability of, 166, 184; French tribute to, 167; sent by Rodney with fourteen ships-of-the-line to reinforce North American station, 176; under command of Admiral Graves, sails for Chesapeake, 177; part of, in action between Graves and de Grasse, 180-183; criticisms of, upon Graves's conduct, 181, 182, 184; returns to West Indies, 185; in chief command there for two months, 196-205; brilliant operations of, at St. Kitts, 197-205; superseded by Rodney's return, 205; part of, in action of April 9, 1782, 208-210; in battle of April 12, 212-221; de Grasse's flagship strikes to, 221; censures passed by, upon Rodney's course after the battle, 220, 222, 224, 225; detached in pursuit, captures a small French squadron, 224; returns to England after the peace, 226.

Hotham, William, British naval Captain, in operations against New York, 1776, 42; convoys reinforcement of troops to West Indies, 100; left in West Indies in temporary command, by Rodney, 148.

Howe, Richard, Earl, British Admiral, appointed to command North American Station, 1776, 30; invested also with powers as peace commissioner, 39; arrives at New York, 39; failure of peace negotiations, 39; operations at and about New York, 39, 42-47; tribute of, to force under his command, 47; accompanies army expedition to Chesapeake Bay, 52; operations in the Delaware, 53-55, and coastwise, 56; purpose of d'Estaing to intercept, in Delaware, 59; serious exposure of, through inadequate force, 62, 66; "extricates himself by rapid movements, 62-64; preparations to defend entrance to New York, 65-68; inferiority of force to d'Estaing, 66; follows French Fleet to Narragansett Bay, 70, and by his presence there induces d'Estaing to abandon siege of Newport, and put to sea, 73; manoeuvres of, with inferior force, 73-75; fleet of, scattered by gale, 75; returns to New York, 76, and again follows French Fleet to Boston, 77; admirable qualities of, as illustrated in this campaign, 78; futile contemporary criticism of, 79; relinquishes command, and returns to England, 1778, 81; not employed again, until change of Ministry, 1782, 81, 227; appointed to command Channel Fleet, 1782, and primary operations there, 227-229; successful evasion of very superior Franco-Spanish Fleet, 229; skilful conduct of relief of Gibraltar by, 1782, 229-231; engagement with Allied Fleet, 232; special qualities of, again illustrated, 232; French eulogy of, 232, and of force under his command, 233.

Howe, Sir William (brother of Earl), British General, failure of to support Burgoyne, 1777, 28, 51, 52; evacuates Boston, 1776, and retires to Halifax, 29, 30; extent of regions under his command-in-chief, 30; appointed peace commissioner, jointly with Lord Howe, 39; goes from Halifax to New York, 39; fruitless peace negotiations, 39; reduction of New York by, 42-45; subsequent operations of, to Battle of Trenton, 45-49; constitutional sluggishness of, 45, 47; occupies Narragansett Bay, 48; injudicious extension of front of operations, 48; small results after New York, 49; rewarded with the Order of the Bath, 49; takes the greater part of his force to Chesapeake Bay, 52; effect of this upon Burgoyne's operations, 52, 53, 55; occupies Philadelphia, 53; this success worse than fruitless, 56; relieved in command by Clinton, and returns to England, 56, 63.

Hudson River, a link in the chain of water communications from Canada to New York, 7, 30, 45; mentioned, 28, 41, 44, 45, 46, 49, 50, 51, 53; alternative name, North River, 41; Washington retreats across, into New Jersey, 45; British advance up valley of, 1777, 55.

Hughes, Sir Edward, British Admiral, commander-in-chief in East Indies, 1779, 235; enterprise of, 235; engagements with French Fleet under Suffren, 240, 242, 244, 247, 253; loses Trincomalee, 247, and compelled thereby to leave Coromandel coast for Bombay, 251; reinforced by Bickerton, 251; contrasted with Suffren, as a general officer, 254.

Hughes, Sir Richard, succeeds to West India command at peace of 1783, 226; subsequent controversy with Nelson, 226.

Hyder, Ali, Sultan of Mysore, at war with British, 1779, 235; French Admiral d'Orves refuses cooeperation with, 235; Suffren acts with, 240, 242; captures Cuddalore, 1782, 244; death of, 1782, 252; succeeded by Tippoo Saib, 252.

Inflexible, British cruiser built by Sir Charles Douglas on Lake Champlain, 1776, 16; in herself sufficient to control the lake, 17.

Jamaica, British West India Island, 38, 110, 149, 153, 159, 176, 177, 185, 224, 226; conquest of, intended by France and Spain, 1782, 206; attempt leads to defeat of de Grasse by Rodney, 208, 209; Rodney repairs to, after his victory, 225.

Japan, significance of contrast of population of, to square mile, with that of the United States, 5.

Johnstone, George, British Commodore, commands squadron despatched to take Cape of Good Hope from Dutch, 236; attacked by Suffren in Porto Praya Bay, 237; arrives at Cape too late, Suffren having strengthened it, 238; returns to England, 238; professional capacity of, 239; attacks made by, upon professional conduct of Howe and Keppel, 239. (See also p. 80.)

Jones, John Paul, American naval captain, serves as a volunteer in French Fleet, 1782, 212.

Kempenfelt, Richard, British Admiral, captures in Bay of Biscay great part of French convoy going to West Indies, 1781, 195, 196; commands a division in Channel Fleet under Howe, 1782, 227, 228; lost in sinking of the Royal George, 229.

Keppel, Augustus, British Admiral, refuses to serve against Americans, 81; commander-in-chief of Channel Fleet, 1778, 61, 82; encounter with French Brest Fleet, 83-91; comments on the conduct of, 92, 97; controversy with Palliser, third in command under, 95; returns to port with fleet, 96; court martial upon, 93; and cited from, 87, 88, 95; resigns command, 97; becomes first Lord of the Admiralty, 97, 225; quoted, 107 (note).

La Motte Picquet, French Commodore, 115; action with a British division off Martinique, 1779, 128; encounter with squadron under Cornwallis, 1780, 153-155; captures great part of a British convoy returning from West Indies, 1781, 188; quoted, 229 (note).

Leeward Islands Station, extent of, 99; under command of Barrington when war begins, 1778, 99; Byron succeeds to command, 1779, 105; held temporarily by Hyde Parker, 1779, 113; Rodney takes command, 1780, 121, 128; Hood in temporary charge of, 1782, 177, 185, 196-205; Rodney relieved by Pigot, 225.

Les Saintes, small West India Islands, between Dominica and Guadeloupe, scene of Rodney's battle with de Grasse, 209, 211, 213.

Manners, Lord Robert, British naval captain (killed in the battle of April 12, 1782), encomiums of, upon Hood, quoted, 202, 205.

Martinique, French West India Island, 99, 104, 128, 130, 140, 141, 142, 144, 147, 149, 153, 167, 206, 207; principal French depot in West Indies, 100; action off, between de Grasse and Hood, 162-167.

Mathews, Thomas, British Admiral, Influence in British Navy of court martial upon, in 1744, 93, 139.

Minorca, Mediterranean Island in British possession, Byng's action off, 1756, 93, 94; recovery of, a primary object with Spain, 120; supplied by Rodney, 1780, 125, 126; by Darby, 1781, 187; attack upon by France and Spain, 1781, 188; capitulates, 1782, 189.

Mobile, Farragut's attack in entering, cited in illustration, 66 (note).

Monroe Doctrine, in last analysis is the formulation, in terms, of a purpose to prevent the propagation to the American continents of wars arising elsewhere, 4; recognition of same danger in unchecked Asiatic immigration, 4; necessity of adequate force in order to maintain, 29.

Montgomery, Richard, American General, sent by the Congress to conduct invasion of Canada, 9; killed in assault on Quebec, 10.

Moultrie, Fort, Description of, 33.

Moultrie, William, American officer, commands Fort Moultrie when attacked by British squadron, 32-36.

Narragansett Bay, occupation of by British, 1777, 47; value of, 47, 56; Rodney's opinion of, 48, 115; description of, 69; military and naval situation in, 1778, 72, 73; abandonment of, by British, 1779, because of improper dispersion of their army, 113, 114, 115; occupied by French squadron and troops, 1780, 149, 150, 155-157; Rodney neglects to attack, 150; French division in, watched by British from Gardiner's Bay, 151, 170; but starts, 1781, for Chesapeake Bay, 170; returns to, unsuccessful, 173; sails again from, 177, and joins main fleet in the Chesapeake, 184.

Navy, and Navies, Washington's remark that to them belonged "the casting vote" in the War of American Independence, 4, 147; exercised on two decisive occasions, by Arnold on Lake Champlain, 1776, and by de Grasse at Yorktown, 1781, 4, 7, 9, 168, 176, 178, 179, 184; decisive influence also in American War of Secession, 4; present and future dependence upon, of Monroe Doctrine and of question of Asiatic Immigration, 4, 5; military explanation for this "casting vote," 5; Pacific question essentially one of, 5; military reasons for general dominant effect of, in War of Independence, 6, 114; British, saves Canada for Great Britain, 12; specific effect, on ultimate result of the general war, exerted by American, on Lake Champlain, 1776, 12, 13, 14, 25; inadequacy of British, to demands upon it, 29, 30, 59, 62, 79, 82, 99, 116, 117, 120, 127, 148, 189, 193, 226; British, in operations at New York, 1776, 40, 44, 47; in Burgoyne's advance, 1777, 51; misuse of British, to divide the land forces, 51, 52, 114, 115, 152; subsidiary operations of British, 56, in the Carolinas, 151, in Virginia, 170; under Howe, though inadequate, saves Army under Clinton, 63, 64, and also New York, 64-68, and subsequently Narragansett Bay with army division at Newport, 72, 77; tone of French, as indicated by Government instructions, and action of officers, 83, 89, 91, 92, 166, 235; effect of seasonal conditions upon operations of, in Europe and in America, 98, 100, 113, 115, 147, 149, 159; in East Indies, 251; inefficiency of Spanish, 116, 125, 147, 189, 231, 232.

Nelson, mentioned or quoted, 38, 39, 109, 126, 132, 140, 155, 160, 202, 225, 226, 243.

New Jersey, Washington crosses from New York into, 45; operations in, 1776, 46-49; impracticable to British, in 1777, and consequent effect upon Howe's course, 51, 52, 56; retreat of British from Philadelphia through, 1778, 63, 64.

Newport, Rhode Island, taken possession of by British, 47; importance of, 48; siege of, by Americans and French, 70, 73, 77; abandoned by British, 115; occupied by French, 150, 155, 170, 173, 174, 179. See Narragansett Bay.

New York, water communications between St. Lawrence and, 7, 8; British occupy harbor of, 1776, 38; operations around, 1776, 39-46; harbor, approaches, and fortifications about, 40-42; Washington abandons, 45, 46; British occupy, 45; British forces in, unable to cooeperate with those in Philadelphia, 56, 63; Lord Howe's preparations to defend, 64-67; d'Estaing's failure to attack, 67, 68; Rodney goes from West Indies to, 150, 152, 159.

Order, of Battle, 93 (and note), 137-140, 191; comparison between Keppel's, off Ushant, and Byron's, off Grenada, 112; Graves', off Cape Henry, 179-183, criticized by Hood, 181, 182; Hood's at anchor off St. Kitts, 202, 203.