d, and unsure in North America when most
certain among the islands. He proposed to utilize this alternation of
seasons, by shifting a mobile reinforcement suddenly and secretly from
one end to the other of the long front of operations. This is a common
enough expedient in military art, but had rarely received the convincing
formulation which he gave it; while that such a conception was a novelty
to the average naval mind of the day, may be inferred from the startled
wrath of the admiral in North America at Rodney's unexpected intrusion
upon his bailiwick.

Sandwich, however, had entertained the project, and in October, 1779,
just as Rodney's appointment issued, a vessel sailed from England with
letters to Admiral Arbuthnot in New York, directing him to send several
ships-of-the-line to the West Indies for the winter campaign. The vessel
lost a mast, kept off to Nassau in the Bahamas, and after arrival there
her captain, while spending some months in repairs, did not think to
send on the despatches. Arbuthnot, therefore, received them only on
March 16, 1780; too late, doubtless, to collect and equip a force in
time to reach Rodney before the affair of April 17th.

At the end of July, 1780, the conditions in the West Indies were that
the allied French and Spanish fleets had gone to leeward from
Martinique; to Havana, and to Cap Francois, in Hayti. At the latter port
was assembling a large trade convoy--three hundred ships, according to
Rodney's information. He reasoned that this must go to Europe, but would
not require the full strength of the French fleet; therefore,
transferring his own insight to the enemy's mind, he convinced himself
that a part of their vessels would seek Narragansett Bay, to reinforce
the seven ships-of-the-line that had reached there on July 12th, under
De Ternay, of whose arrival Rodney now knew. Great possibilities might
be open to such a combination, skilfully handled against the inferior
numbers of Arbuthnot. "As it plainly appeared to me that His Majesty's
territory, fleet, and army, in America were in imminent danger of being
overpowered by the superior force of the public enemy, I deemed it a
duty incumbent upon me to forego any emoluments that might have accrued
by the enterprise intended by General Vaughan and myself during the
hurricane months, and without a moment's hesitation flew with all
despatch possible to prevent the enemy's making any impression upon the
continent before my arriv