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NAVAL HISTORY of GREAT BRITAIN - Vol I |
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| 147 |
that the French three-deckers (into one of which, the Republicain, M. Nielly, had shifted his flag and other heavy ships might be suitably opposed. With this view, the Royal-Sovereign exchanged places with the Marlborough, the Barfleur with the Invincible, and the Royal-George with the Montagu ; and, as soon as the several ships had got to their new stations, the British fleet was formed in line abreast, thus: Cæsar (van-ship), Bellerophon, Leviathan, Russel, Royal-Sovereign, Marlborough, Defence, Impregnable, Tremendous, Barfleur, Invincible, Culloden, Gibraltar, Queen-Charlotte, Brunswick, Valiant, Orion, Queen, Ramillies, Alfred, Montagu, Royal-George, Majestic, Glory, Thunderer.* The frigates and smaller vessels were, as usual, stationed in the rear: it may suffice to mention that the Pegasus was repeater of signals to the Queen-Charlotte; the Niger, to the Royal-Sovereign, and the Aquilon, to the Royal George.
The French fleet was drawn up in a close head-and-stern line, bearing about east and west ; and, as far as can be collected from the French accounts, the following is the order in which the ships were placed, beginning at the van, or west end of the line: Trajan, Eole, America, Téméraire, Terrible, Impétueux, Mucius, Tourville, Gasparin, Convention, Trente-un-Mai,. Tyrannicide, Juste, Montagne, Jacobin, Achille, Vengeur, Patriote, Northumberland, Entreprenant, Jemmappes, Neptune, Pelletier, Républicain, Sans-Pareil, Scipion. † Of the French frigates we are not able to state more, than that the Tamise (late British Thames), Captain Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermite, was the repeater of the Montagne. Both the English and the French ships were carrying single-reefed topsails : of the latter, some were lying to, and others backing and filling, to preserve their stations ; and the former were steering about north-west, with a fresh breeze at south by west, and, from the reduced sail they were under, were going at the rate of very little more than five knots an hour.
At 9 h. 24 m. a.m. (Queen-Charlotte's time) the French van opened a distant fire upon the British van, particularly upon the Defence, who was rather ahead of her line ; which line, only a quarter of an hour before, had been as perfect as it could well be formed, and had inspired the veteran chief with the most sanguine hopes of success in his plan, that of each ship cutting
* A contemporary, uninformed apparently of the changes that had taken place about an hour before the commencement of the battle, places the ships in line as they had previously been formed. See Brenton's Naval history, vol. i., p. 292.
† No two English accounts agree as to the disposition, or even the names, of the ships in the French line ; but they all concur in so stationing the ships whose names are correctly given, that those dismasted, according to Jean-Bon Saint-André's report, did not lose a spar, and vice versa. The line, as here given, reconciles those important differences, and, upon the whole, is as correct, we believe, as can any where be obtained.
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