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Lettres de marins ayant participé à la bataille des Cardinaux :Le Chapelain, un capitaine et l'Amiral HawkeThe Battle of Quiberon Bay Chaplain, RNQuiberon Bay, 25 November 1759 The firing now became very alert on both sides, and there was no distinguishing any longer English colours from French. M. du Verger, the French rear admiral, in the Formidable bore a very fierce cannonade from the Resolution; but upon the Royal George's coming up, they hauled down their flag, and struck to Sir Edward Hawke,... The Royal George continued advancing, and Sir Edward gave orders to his Master to carry him close alongside of M. Conflans in the Soleil Royal. The French admiral seemed to have the same ambition on his part, and it was a glorious sight to behold the blue and white flags, both at the maintop mast-head, bearing down to each other. The Royal George passed the Torbay, which was closely engaged with the Thésée of 74 guns, and soon after sent that unfortunate ship to the bottom. On the other side was the Magnanime, who kept an incessant fire on one of the largest of the French ships and in the end obliged her to strike. She afterwards ran ashore and was burnt. The two commanders-in-chief were now very near, and M. Conflans gave the English admiral his broadside; the Royal George re turned the uncivil salutation; but after two or three exchanges of this kind, the Marshal of France declined the combat and steered off. The French Vice-Admiral likewise gave Sir Edward his broadside, and soon followed the example of his superior. Another and another acted the same part; the fifth ship escaped not so well. Sir Edward poured his whole fire into her at once, and repeating the same, down she went along side of him. The Royal George's people gave a cheer, but it was a faint one; the honest sailors were touched at the miserable state of so many hundreds of poor creatures. The blue flag was now encountered with seven ships at the same time, and appeared to be in the very centre of the French rear. Every observer pitied the Royal George, to see her singly engaged against so many of the enemy... her situation would have been lamentable if the enemy had preserved any degree of composure, or fired with any sort of direction; but their confusion was so great, that of many hundreds of shot, I do not believe that more than 30 or 40 struck the ship. Sir Charles Hardy, in the Union, with the Mars, Hero, and several other ships, were crowding to the Admiral's assistance, when the retreat of the French, covered by the obscurity of the evening, put an end to the engagement. Happy circumstance for the enemy, as an hour's daylight more would have brought on their total ruin! The battle was fought so near the coast of Brittany, that ten thousand persons on the shore were sad witnesses of the white flag's disgrace.... The glory of the British flag has been nobly supported, while that of the enemy is vanished into empty air.
Burrows, Montagu. Life of Lord Hawke (1883), p. 394.
The Battle of Quiberon Bay Admiral Sir Edward Hawke
The Royal George, off Penris Point, 24 November 1759 In my letter of the 17th by express, I desired you would acquaint their Lordships with my having received intelligence of eighteen sail of the line, and three frigates of the Brest squadron being discovered about twenty-four leagues to the north-west of Belleisle, steering to the eastward. All the prisoners, however, agree that on the day we chased them, their squadron consisted, according to the accompanying list, of four ships of eighty, six of seventy-four, three of seventy, eight of sixty-four, one frigate of thirty-six, one of thirty-four, and one of sixteen guns, with a small vessel to look out. They sailed from Brest the 14th instant, the same day I sailed from Torbay. Concluding that their first rendezvous would be Quiberon, the instant I received the intelligence I directed my course thither with a pressed sail. At first the wind blowing hard at S. b. E. and S. drove us considerably to the westward. But on the 18th and 19th, though variable, it proved more favourable. In the meantime having been joined by the Maidstone and Coventry frigates, I directed their commanders to keep ahead of the squadron, one on the starboard, and the other on the larboard bow. At half-past eight o'clock on the morning of the 20th, Belleisle, by our reckoning, bearing E. b. N. 1/4 N. about thirteen leagues, the Maidstone made the signal for seeing a fleet. I immediately spread abroad the signal for the line abreast, in order to draw all the ships of the squadron up with me. I had before sent the Magnanime ahead to make the land. At three-quarters past nine she made the signal for seeing an enemy. Observing, on my discovering them, that they made off, I threw out the signal for the seven ships nearest them to chase, and draw into a line of battle ahead of me, and endeavour to stop them till the rest of the squadron should come up, who were also to form as they chased, that no time might be lost in the pursuit.... Monsieur Conflans kept going off under such sail as all his squadron could carry, and at the same time keep together; while we crowded after him with every sail our ships could bear. At half-past two p.m. the fire beginning ahead, I made the signal for engaging. We were then to the south-ward of Belleisle, and the French Admiral headmost, soon after led round the Cardinals, while his rear was in action. About four o'clock the Formidable struck, and a little after, the Thésée and Superbe were sunk. About five, the Heros struck, and came to an anchor, but it blowing hard, no boat could be sent to board her. Night was now come, and being on a part of the coast, among islands and shoals, of which we were totally ignorant, without a pilot, as was the greatest part of the squadron, and blowing hard on a lee shore, I made the signal to anchor, and come-to in fifteen-fathom water.... In the night we heard many guns of distress fired, but, blowing hard, want of knowledge of the coast, and whether they were fired by a friend or an enemy, prevented all means of relief.... As soon as it was broad daylight, in the morning of the 21st, I discovered seven or eight of the enemy's line-of-battle ships at anchor between Point Penris and the river Vilaine, on which I made the signal to weigh in order to work up and attack them. But it blowed so hard from the N.W. that instead of daring to cast the squadron loose, I was obliged to strike topgallant masts. Most of the ships appeared to be aground at low water.... In attacking a flying enemy, it was impossible in the space of a short winter's day that all our ships should be able to get into action, or all those of the enemy brought to it. The commanders and companies of such as did come up with the rear of the French on the 20th behaved with the greatest intrepidity, and gave the strongest proofs of a true British spirit. In the same manner I am satisfied would those have acquitted themselves whose bad-going ships, or the distance they were at in the morning, prevented from getting up. Our loss by the enemy is not considerable. For in the ships which are now with me, I find only one lieutenant and fifty seamen and marines killed, and about two hundred and twenty wounded. When I consider the season of the year, the hard gales on the day of action, a flying enemy, the shortness of the day, and the coast they were on, I can boldly affirm that all that could possibly be done has been done. As to the loss we have sustained, let it be placed to the account of the necessity I was under of runing all risks to break this strong force of the enemy. Had we had but two hours more daylight, the whole had been totally destroyed or taken; for we were almost up with their van when night overtook us.... Moorhouse. Letters of English Seamen. (1910), pp. 119
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