od at once, rightly or wrongly, avoidably or
unavoidably, reversed Nelson's plans, urged with his last breath.
"Anchor! Hardy, do you anchor!" said the dying chief. "Anchor!" said
Collingwood. "It is the last thing I should have thought of."

FOOTNOTES:

[113] Troude: Batailles Navales.

[114] Mahon: History of England.

[115] Lapeyrouse-Bonfils, vol. iii. p. 5.

[116] Troude, vol. ii. pp. 3-5. For other quotations from French
authors to the same effect, see _ante_, pages 77, 80, 81.

[117] Mahon: History of England; Gentleman's Magazine, 1777, p. 553.

[118] Keppel's Defence.

[119] "A candid view of our affairs, which I am going to exhibit, will
make you a judge of the difficulties under which we labor. Almost all
our supplies of flour and no inconsiderable part of our meat are drawn
from the States westward of Hudson's River. This renders a secure
communication across that river indispensably necessary, both to the
support of your squadron and the army. The enemy, being masters of
that navigation, would interrupt this essential intercourse between
the States. They have been sensible of these advantages.... If they
could by any demonstration in another part draw our attention and
strength from this important point, and by anticipating our return
possess themselves of it, the consequences would be fatal. Our
dispositions must therefore have equal regard to co-operating with you
[at Boston] in a defensive plan, and securing the North River, which
the remoteness of the two objects from each other renders peculiarly
difficult."--WASHINGTON to D'ESTAING, Sept. 11, 1778.

[120] Annual Register, 1778, p. 201.

[121] In this plate the plan followed in every other instance, of
showing only the characteristic phases of a battle, in succession, but
disconnected, has been abandoned, and the attempt is to indicate
_continuously_ the series of manoeuvres and the tracks by which the
fleets at last came into contact (from A to C). As the _battle_
consisted merely in the passage by each other of two fleets, moving in
opposite parallel directions, an encounter always indecisive and
futile, the previous manoeuvres constitute the chief interest in an
affair whose historical importance is due to other than tactical
reasons.

[122] The line drawn through the centre of the English fleet at A
shows the close-hauled line (south-southeast) on which, by strict
tactical requirement, the English ships should have borne from each
ot