The object of the British admiral, hitherto, had been to obtain the weather-gauge of the enemy, in order that he might not only compel him to fight, but to fight on terms and in a situation comparatively favourable to himself. Having succeeded in this object, an opportunity occurred on June 1st for bringing the French fleet to close and general action. Lord Howe accordingly threw out the signal for his ships to bear up together and come to close action, between seven and eight o'clock in the morning. The French fleet originally consisted of twenty-six sail of the line, and the British of the same force; but on the part of the former the Révolutionnaire had been towed into Rochefort; and on the part of the latter the Audacious had parted company after her engagement with the Révolutionnaire.
The battle immediately commenced and was carried on in a very courageous manner on both sides; but though the revolutionary spirit of the French officers and seamen incited them to fight with more obstinacy than they generally displayed in naval engagements, it could not give them discipline, skill and experience equal to that of the British, and they soon became sensible that the victory could not be with them. Several of the ships on both sides were dismasted, and the carnage was very great. In the French official account of the battle it was stated that the officers and crew of Le Vengeance, of seventy-four guns, displayed a true republican spirit; that after the lower decks were under water and destruction inevitable, they continued to fire the upper tier; and that at the moment the ship went to the bottom the air resounded with the cry of "Vive la république, vive la liberté et la France."
Giffard in his "Deeds of Naval Daring" gives several anecdotes of incidents which occurred during this famous day. He says, "On the morning of June 1st Rear-admiral Neuilly, pointing out to Captain Troubridge, at that time a prisoner on board the Sans Pareil, our fleet sailing parallel to them, said, 'Your people are not disposed to fight; they won't venture down.' Troubridge, who had seen the signal flying for breakfast on board the ships of the British fleet, was at the time partaking of the same meal, and, dropping the loaf he held, he placed his hand on the French officer's shoulder, saying, 'Not fight! stop till they have had their breakfasts. I know John Bull well, and when his belly is full, you will get it. Depend on it, they will pay you a visit in half an hour.' In a few minutes after the British fleet bore up to engage. During the action Troubridge was sent below, where for some time he leaned against the fore-mast. Suddenly he felt the vibration of the mast as it was struck by a shot, and heard it fall over the side, when, grasping the astounded Frenchman appointed to guard him with both hands, he began to caper about with all the gestures of a maniac. Lord Howe, in the Queen Charlotte, wished to be placed alongside the Montagne, the French admiral's ship, and gave his orders to his master accordingly. As they approached the French line it appeared so compact and close that a doubt was expressed whether they could get through; while closing with the Montagne, the master, who held the helm, called out that they would be on board the next ship. 'What's that to you, sir?' said Lord Howe. Bowen, the master, as bold a man as his admiral, replied coolly in an undertone, 'If you don't care, I am sure I don't. I'll go near enough to singe some of our whiskers.' The Queen Charlotte dashed through the line, brushed the ensign of the French admiral's (Villaret Joyeuse) flag ship on one side, grazing on the other the Jacobin's mizen shrouds with her jibboom, an exploit which has never been equalled, although approached by Collingwood at Trafalgar. The cannonade was tremendous and our gunnery most effective. The broadside poured into the stern of the Montagne as the Queen Charlotte passed made a hole, said the sailors, large enough to row the admiral's barge through it. Howe's masts were shot away as the Montagne ceased firing; this gave her the opportunity to make off to leeward. The Queen, Defence, Marlborough, Royal George, and Brunswick were the only ships which, like Howe's, pushed through the enemy's line on that memorable and eventful day. The Queen, in which Lord Gardner's flag was flying, was dreadfully cut up; her Captain, Hutt, died of his wounds, and has a monument in St. Paul's. Gardner learned during the engagement that a near relative, to whom he was attached, was killed. He went on giving his orders in an unaltered tone; but as the wind for a moment cleared off the smoke, marks of tears were on his face; they were easily traced, for it was besmeared with smoke and powder. The Defence, Captain Gambier, got into the midst of the French ships, lost her main and mizen masts and behaved in the most gallant manner. Captain Berkeley of the Marlborough was carried off deck wounded, and the second lieutenant, Seymour, afterwards Sir Michael, lost an arm. The ship was reduced to a wreck, but was fought to the last by Lieutenant Monckton. While the bowsprit of the Impétueux was over the Marlborough's quarters, a sailor, leaping over, said he would pay them a visit. He was called to take a sword. 'I'll find one there,' he said, and actually came back with two of the enemy's cutlasses in his hands. The Brunswick had a figure-head of the duke, with a laced cocked-hat on; the hat was shot off. The crew thinking that a prince of that house should not be uncovered in the face of an enemy, sent a request to their captain to supply the loss. He ordered his servant to give them his cocked-hat. The carpenter nailed it on, and there it remained until the battle was over. These incidents, amidst a terrific fire, paint our sailors as they were and as they are. Harvey, the captain of the Brunswick, died of his wounds."
In less than an hour after the engagement had become close and general the French admiral, who had been engaged by Lord Howe's ship, the Queen Charlotte, made all sail and crowded off, followed by nearly all the ships in his van that were in a condition to carry sail; ten or twelve of those that were dismasted, or much crippled, were left behind. Had the British fleet not been very much disabled all these must have been captured; but in consequence of their state several of them escaped; two or three, even under a sprit sail singly or a smaller sail, hoisted on the stump of the foremast, were able to get away. Six, however, were secured and captured—viz., La Juste of eighty guns; La Sans Pareille of eighty guns; L'Amérique of seventy-four guns; L'Achille of seventy-four guns; L'Impétueux of seventy-four guns; and the Northumberland of seventy-four guns; these added to Le Vengeur and Le Jacobin, which were also sunk, made the whole loss of the French amount to eight ships of the line. The return of those killed on board of the English fleet was two hundred and seventy-two, and of wounded seven hundred and eighty-seven. The loss of the French is not accurately known, but it is believed to have been much greater than that of the English. On board of La Montagne the captain was killed and nearly three hundred men were either killed or wounded. In the ships that were taken six hundred and ninety men were killed and five hundred and eighty wounded; besides, it is supposed that three hundred and twenty perished in Le Vengeur.
Though this victory was a great triumph to the English and a severe blow to the arms of the Republic, the French can hardly be said to have failed in the object of their expedition; for while Lord Howe was engaged in chasing and fighting the French fleet, the provision convoy, which the French fleet came out to protect, managed to escape him, and one hundred and sixty sail of vessels, valued at five millions sterling, and conveying an immense quantity of provisions and naval stores, arrived from America safe in port a few days after the engagement.
On the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday immediately following the publication of the "Extraordinary Gazette" which announced Lord Howe's victory there were illuminations in all parts of the metropolis; a subscription was almost immediately raised at Lloyd's Coffee House for the widows and children of the seamen who fell in the engagement, and the proprietors of Drury Lane Theatre gave a clear benefit, which produced upwards of one thousand three hundred pounds, in aid of the subscription.
In order to show all due honour to the fleet which had achieved such a victory, on Thursday, June 26th, George III. and Queen Charlotte and three of the princesses arrived at Portsmouth; the three younger princesses having come down the day before. The royal party then proceeding in barges in the usual procession, and receiving the customary honours, visited Lord Howe's ship at Spithead. Here His Majesty held a naval levée, and presented Lord Howe with a diamond-hilted sword, the value of which was three thousand guineas, and a gold chain, to which a medal was afterwards suspended, to be worn round the neck. After these ceremonies were gone through the royal party dined with Lord Howe on board his ship. His lordship was also raised to the rank of an earl for his glorious services in the battle.