As the Roman fleet sailed along the south coast of Sicily, it was met at Ecnomus by an even larger Carthaginian fleet, under the command of Hamilcar and Hanno.
The Punic generals had been sent to scatter or destroy the Roman fleet before it reached Africa.
CHAPTER LII
THE BATTLE OF ECNOMUS
The Romans no sooner saw the Carthaginian fleet than they knew that it would be necessary to fight before they could sail on their way.
As the enemy’s ships were drawn out in a long weak line, the Consuls determined to charge through its centre.
No sooner had the Romans begun the attack, than Hamilcar ordered his ships to row away, as though they had been put to flight.
As the Carthaginian had foreseen, two divisions of the Roman fleet followed, one of them having Regulus on board.
On sped the Punic ships, eager to separate the Roman divisions from the rest of the fleet. When the enemy was some distance off, Hamilcar ordered his ships to turn, to attack the vessels that had followed them.
But at close quarters, as the Carthaginians should have known, the Romans were more than a match for their foe.