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It may also be said that he could hardly have fared worse by attacking than he did by allowing the enemy to become the assailant; and certainly not worse than he would have fared had Suffren's captains been as good as his own. After the action, towards sunset, both squadrons anchored in fifteen fathoms of water, irregular soundings, three of the French ships taking the bottom on coral patches.
As the Roman legions often redeemed the blunders of their generals, so did English captains and seamen often save that which had been lost by the errors of their admirals, errors which neither captain nor seamen recognized, nor would probably have admitted. Nowhere were these solid qualities so clearly shown as in Suffren's battles, because nowhere else were such demands made upon them.
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.
The influence of naval power, of an armed fleet, upon the war on the American continent has also been indicated in the opinions of Washington and Sir Henry Clinton; while the situation in the East Indies, regarded as a field by itself, has been so largely discussed under the head of Suffren's campaign, that it needs here only to repeat that everything there depended upon control of the sea by a superior naval force.
Inferior when the action began, its inferiority was yet more decisive by the subtraction of two ships, and Suffren's freedom to move was increased. But how far was this concentration intended by Suffren? For this we must go to the pages of two French writers, who base their narratives upon his own despatches on record in the French Marine Office.
On the 8th of April Suffren's squadron was seen to the northeast, also standing to the southward. Hughes kept on, through that and the two following days, with light northerly winds. On the 11th he made the coast of Ceylon, fifty miles north of Trincomalee, and bore away for the port. On the morning of the 12th the French squadron in the northeast was seen crowding sail in pursuit.
Our barracks and storehouses, and the whole village of Peekskill, were sacked and burnt, and the country pillaged. On the west side, at the mouth of the Clove, near Suffren's, was Colonel Burr, commanding Malcolm's regiment, about three hundred and fifty men.
The wind continuing light, but with frequent squalls, from north-northeast, the French, running before it, kept the puffs longer and neared the English rapidly, Suffren's intention to attack the rear being aided by Hughes's course. Whether by his own fault or not, he was now in the worst possible position, waiting for an attack by a superior force at its pleasure.
Our barracks and storehouses, and the whole village of Peekskill, were sacked and burnt, and the country pillaged. On the west side, at the mouth of the Clove, near Suffren's, was Colonel Burr, commanding Malcolm's regiment, about three hundred and fifty men.
Under these circumstances, the enemy brought eight of their best ships to the attack of five of ours, as the van of our line, consisting of the 'Monmouth, 'Eagle, 'Burford, and 'Worcester, could not be brought into action without tacking on the enemy," for which there was not enough wind. Here we will leave them, and give Suffren's account of how he took up his position.
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