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Updated: June 18, 2025
The middle watch got their sleep like the first. After that the hammocks were piped up, and every preparation made for battle. Two of our ships, the Bellerophon and Brunswick, which were always looked upon as fast sailers, had, somehow or other, got out of trim, and during the night had to cut away their anchors and launches, and to start a portion of their water and provisions.
The ships commanded by Vincente Sodre, Pedro Raphael, and Diego Perez, being prime sailers, closed up first with the enemy, and immediately attacked two of the largest ships of the Moors. Sodre fought with one of these alone, and Raphael and Perez assailed the other. Almost on the first onset, great numbers of the enemies were so dismayed that they leapt into the sea to escape by swimming.
His copper-bottomed ships came up with and captured six of the enemy, five of which were English prizes. The sixth carried three hundred troops with military stores. Hughes had scored a point. Suffren of course followed in a general chase, and by three P.M. four of his best sailers were two or three miles from the sternmost English ships.
Aboord the Ayd being Admirall were the number of 100 men of all sorts, whereof 30 or moe were Gentlemen and Souldiers, the rest sufficient and tall Sailers. Aboord the Gabriel being Viceadmirall, were in all 18 persons, whereof sixe were Souldiers, the rest Mariners. Aboord the Michael were 16 persons, whereof fiue were Souldiers, the rest Mariners.
A favourable wind from the north-east carried the fleet rapidly across the Bay of Biscay, and it proceeded on its way, keeping well out of sight of the coast of Portugal. The three fastest sailers of the fleet were sent on ahead as soon as they rounded Cape St. Vincent, with orders to capture all small vessels which might carry to Cadiz the tidings of the approach of the fleet.
At eleven, our line being well formed, Suffren made signal to keep away to west-southwest, by a movement all together. Our ships did not keep their bearing upon the prescribed line, and the van, composed of the best sailers, came first within range of the enemy. Suffren, who wished for a decisive action, kept his course, receiving without reply the shots directed upon his ship by the enemy.
The French ships, larger, deeper, and with better lines than their opponents, were naturally better sailers, and it may be inferred that even coppering had not entirely overcome this original disadvantage of the British.
For a whole hour the frigate kept up this pace, without gaining six feet. It was humiliating for one of the swiftest sailers in the American navy. A stubborn anger seized the crew; the sailors abused the monster, who, as before, disdained to answer them; the captain no longer contented himself with twisting his beard he gnawed it. The engineer was called again. "You have turned full steam on?"
With one ship destroyed, and the other converted into a storeship, his movements would, he thought, be much less hampered; "but knowing the affection of his company, how loath they were to leave either of their ships, being both so good sailers and so well furnished; he purposed in himself some policy to make them most willing to effect what he intended."
There were many of them very slow sailers, merchant vessels hired for the purpose, some of them brigs of a hundred and fifty to two hundred tons, which must have afforded very miserable accommodation to the unfortunate emigrants. The troops were under the command of a royalist officer, the Comte de Puisaye, who had as his lieutenants the Comtes d'Hervilly and de Sombreuil.
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