His sword was in its sheath;

His fingers held the pen,
When Kempenfeldt went down,
With twice four hundred men.

Weigh the vessel up,

Önce dreaded by our foes! And mingle with our cup

The tear that England owes.

Her timbers yet are sound,
And she may float again

Full charged with England's thunder,
And plough the distant main.

But Kempenfeldt is gone,

His victories are o'er;

And he and his eight hundred

Shall plough the wave no more.

WILLIAM COWPER

THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE

1794

Ar daybreak on the 1st of June, latitude 47° 48′ north, longitude 18° 30' west, the wind a moderate breeze from south by west, and the sea tolerably smooth, the French fleet, which, as wisely conjectured by Lord Howe, had carried a press of sail all night, was descried about six miles off, on the starboard or lee bow of the British fleet, and still steering in a line of battle upon the larboard tack.

At 5 a.m. the ships of the British fleet, by signal, bore up together and steered north-west, and at 6.15 a.m. north. At about 7.10 a.m. the fleet again hauled to the wind on the larboard tack. The French fleet was now plainly seen to consist of twenty-six line-of-battle ships, six frigates and corvettes; and the whole, except one or two, appeared complete in their masts and rigging.

At 7.16 a.m. Lord Howe signalled that he should attack the centre of the enemy, and at 7.35 a.m. that he should pass through the enemy's line, and engage to leeward. The two fleets being now about four miles apart, and the crews of the British ships, after the fatigue of sitting up three nights, needing some refreshment, Lord Howe hove to, and gave the men their breakfasts. This over, the British fleet, at 8.12 a.m., filled and bore down on the enemy. In a few minutes a signal was thrown out for each ship to steer for and independently engage the ship opposed to her in the enemy's line. In order that

the French three-deckers might be suitably opposed, several changes were made in the British line.

At 9.24 a.m. 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 through the line astern of her proper opponent, and engaging her to leeward. After having hauled down the preparative flag from the signal to engage, Lord Howe emphatically shut his signal book, as if he considered that, for the present at least, it would no more be wanted. Not many minutes afterwards, however, he had to reopen it, to call upon the Gibraltar, Culloden (who had backed both fore and main topsails) and Brunswick, to make more sail, and soon had the mortification to observe the Russell, and, above all, his vanship, the Caesar, with their maintopsails aback, although neither was within gunshot of the enemy.

Lord Howe's attention was presently called to a more interesting subject. At 9.30 a.m. the Queen Charlotte, with the signal for close action at her masthead, steering a slanting course direct for the larboard quarter of the Montague, and being distant from her about a random shot, was cannonaded by the third ship in the French Admiral's rear, the Vengeur, a portion of whose fire was necessarily interrupted by the Brunswick, the latter having obeyed the signal to make more sail, and became, in consequence, farther advanced towards the enemy. Instead of returning the Vengeur's fire, the Queen Charlotte, desirous to be the first through the enemy's line, set topgallant sails and let fall her foresail. This presently carried her past the Vengeur and abreast of the next ship, the Achille, who now opened her

broadside. At 9.52 a.m. the Queen Charlotte returned this fire; but, meaning it only as a mark to his principal object, a decisive attack upon the Montague, Lord Howe gave orders that only the guns upon the third and quarterdecks should be fired. The officers stationed at the first and second decks, however, hearing the firing over their heads, supposed that they were at liberty to begin, and opened accordingly; but the seamen reloaded their guns with so much celerity, that no delay occurred in manning those on the opposite side ready for the crash they were intended to make in the stern of the Montague. Just as the Queen Charlotte, having arrived abreast, and within about two ships' length of the larboard quarter of the Montague, had put her helm up to pass astern of the latter, the Jacobin was seen stretching ahead under the Montague's lee, as if afraid to encounter the broadside which the Charlotte, in her passage through the line, would discharge into her bows. Passing close under the stern of the Montague, so close that the fly of the French ensign, as it waved at the flagstaff, brushed the main and mizen shrouds of the Queen Charlotte, the latter poured into the French three-decker a tremendous broadside. By this time the Jacobin had got nearly abreast of the Montague to leeward, the very position which the Queen Charlotte herself had intended to occupy. Scarcely, however, had Lord Howe expressed his regret at the circumstance than Mr. Bowen, the master, observing by the motion of her rudder that the Jacobin was in the act of bearing up, ordered the helm of the Queen Charlotte to be put hard a-starboard, and so little room had the British three-decker to spare in luffing up, that her jibboom grazed the larboard mizen shrouds of the Jacobin.

Directing her larboard guns at the starboard quarter of the Montague, the Queen Charlotte discharged her opposite ones into the stern and larboard quarter of the