In Fig. 8, it will be perceived, that A, the centre of the British, having afterwards gained the breeze, joined the van about noon. The rear, which had been becalmed at C, at length got into line as D; and a cannonade continued for an hour and three quarters. F, the position of the enemy, who during all the time kept at such a distance as showed that they meant to disable,—a species of tactics which our opponents the French have too often showed for their own honour a determined disposition to persist in,—as soon as they saw the junction of the whole British fleet. hauled off to windward, tacking from the van, as indicated by the course H H. At G will be perceived the ene my's fleet of transports, stretching away to wind ward of the Saints. The enemy did not at first appear to have suffered much; but soon after, one of them seemed to he crippled; and afterwards two of them were found to have received so much hurt, they were obliged to bear away for Guadaloupe to refit, and hence were not in the action of the 12th.
Fig. 9, denotes the British fleet on the morning of the 11th, having in view two disabled ships at G., under the island of Saints, and which were chased into Basse Terre, Guadaloupe. Soon after, two others were discovered far to windward, and disabled at II, near the north end of Dominica. A general chase was then ordered, four of the ene my's ships being at this time visible at I, from the Formidable's mast head, Lord Rodney's ship. On the Agamemnon and others, at B, coming near the ships at II, the French admiral, Count de Grasse, though far to windward, bore down as at F, to pro tect his two disabled ships. The Agamemnon and her consorts advanced in the pursuit; but upon the signal for all cruisers to return, they took up their proper positions in the line.
We now come to the splendid and eventful clay of the 12th. At two in the morning, the British fleet being at A, Plate DXX, Fig. I, after having run to the southward from B, their position the evening be fore, having taken advantage of the wind as at IV, which generally hauls to the northward in the \Vest Indies in the evening. At the last mentioned hour, having tacked to the northward, the French were discovered broad under their lee-bow, in some confusion at F. One of their ships was directly to leeward at G, with her bow-sprit gone, and her fore-mast across her fore-castle, towed.by a frigate, the wind being E.S.E., as at Z.
At C, is represented the Monarch and Valiant going clown from the rear to engage the disabled ship with her consort, which compelled Count de Grasse to edge clown as at II, to their protection. The van or the British, about four or five o'clock, was at D, leading on the starboard tack; and the admiral, judging Count de Grasse might now have got so far to leeward, by the last mentioned move ment, that it could not be possible for him to avoid an action, the Valiant and Monarch, the ships in chase, were ordered into their stations.
The French, aware of their situation, formed on a larboard tack; and the wind afterwards coming about from E.S.E. to nearly east, as at I', they con ceived hopes of gaining their usual fighting dis tance, more especially as their van at this time began to point to windward of the British.
The lines A and F, in Fig. 2, denote respectively the positions of the British and French fleets, at half-past seven in the morning, the Marlborough, the leading ship of the British van, having fetched the fifth* ship of the enemy's line. In this situ ation she was fired on, and the signals for close ac tion and to close the line, were thrown out.
The consequence of the preceding manoeuvre was a disposition resembling Fig. 3, wherein the van of the British fleet ranged slowly and closely along the enemy's line, each ship giving and receiving a heavy fire. The enemy's fleet at F, it will be per ceived, had gained the wind, and were ranging in an opposite direction to our own. The British ad miral's ship, the Formidable, having reached the enemy's fourth ship from their van, began a close action within half musket shot, continuing it close along the enemy's line, under an easy sail, till an opening appeared at the third ship astern of the French admiral, which afforded the opportunity of cutting their line in twain, completely separating the van from the rear, and forcing the headmost ship of their rear division, then coming up to lee ward, as at G, thus affording a complete and tri umphant proof of the accuracy of the principles that Clerk had so ably advanced. This is repre sented in Fig. 4, in which A is the Formidable, the British Admiral's ship; F the Ville de Paris, bear ing the flag of the Count de Grasse; B the van of the British still ranging along the remaining part of the enemy's rear; C the rear of the British line following up after the admiral; H the last ship of the French van stretching past the rear of the British line.
In Fig. 5, the Formidable, Namur and Duke are shown at A, B, C, after having cut the line, and keeping up a powerful raking fire on the ships of the rear division of the enemy before forced to lee ward, and which are now making the best of their situation by going off before the wind at G. F re presents the van of the enemy, stretched past the rear of the British line, and preparing to break into two divisions. II denotes the middle division making to the west.