44] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
force to France. Conformably to 
the plans of the French and Spanish 
ministers, the most considerable part 
of the Spanish navy was to have 
éffected a junction with the French 
fleet at Brest; and, after being 
joined by a numerous squadron of 
Dutch ships of war, they were to 
have put forth all together to sea, 
to the amount of more than se- 
venty sail of the line; a strength 
which, they entertained sanguine 
hope, would prove more than suf- 
ficent to support effectually the ex- 
ecution of their designs against the 
British dominions. 
In the list ef the Spanish fleet, 
intended for Brest, were six of one 
hundred and twelve guns, and one of 
a hundred and thirty-six, esteemed 
the largest vessel in Europe ; of the 
other ships composing this formida- 
able armament, two were of cighty- 
four, and eighteen of seventy-four 
guns: but they were manned by an 
imconsiderable proportion of sea- 
men. The Spanish ministry had 
Tmagined, that this deficiency might 
be remedicd by the substitution of 
a number of expert: artillery-men ; 
but even of these there was not a 
sufficiency procured to encounter 
the skill and activity of the British 
seamen. 
The officer pitched upon for the 
‘command of the squadron, desti- 
ned to act against this great force, 
was admiral Jervis, whose naval 
abilities had been conspicuously dis- 
played on many preceding occasions, 
and who was accompanied by other 
officers of such distinguished merit, 
that no doubt was entertained, by 
the public, that, notwithstanding the 
vast superiority of strength and num- 
bers, on the part of the Spaniards, 
they 
tle’to the British officers and sea- 
would’not prove equal in bat=, 
men. The squadron, under the 
command ofadmiral Jervis, amount- 
ed to no more than fifteen ships of 
the line, and some frigates. He 
was cruizing off Cape St. Vincent,: 
on the coast of Portugal, when he 
received intelligence of the Spanish 
fleet’s approach, and he prepared 
immediately for battle. On the 
fourteenth of February, at the dawn 
of day, it was discovered, amounting 
to twenty-seven sail of the line. By 
carrying a press of sail, he closed in 
with the enemy’s fleet before it had 
time to connect, and form into a 
regular order of battle. Such a 
moment, to speak his own words, 
was not to be lost : confiding in the 
skill, valour, and discipline, of his 
officers and men, and conscious of 
the necessity of acting with ur- 
common resolution on this critical 
occasion, he formed a line, with 
the utmost celerity, in order to pass 
through the enemy’s fleet, and hav- 
ing completely effected his design, 
he thereby separated one-third of it 
from the main body, and by a vigor- 
ous cannonade compelled it to re- 
main to leeward, and prevented its 
rejunction with the centre till the 
evening. After having thus broken 
through the enemy’s line, and, by 
this daring and fortunate measure, 
diminished his force from twenty- 
seven ships to eighteen, it was per- 
ceived that the Spanish admiral, in 
order to recover his superiority, 
was endeavouring to rejoin the ships 
separated from him, by wearing 
round the rear of the British lines ; 
but commodore Nelson, who was 
in the rear-most ship, directly wore 
and prevented his intention, by 
standing towards him. He had 
now to’encounter the Spanish ad- 
miral of one hundred and thirty-six 
guns, aided by two others, each of 
them 
