s able to follow at once. On the 13th he spoke a vessel
which had seen the enemy and gave him their course. Favoured by a
strong north-west wind, and his ships being coppered, he outstripped
the French, only three of which had coppered bottoms. At 6 A.M. of
March 16th a British frigate reported that the enemy were astern--to
the north-east--about a league distant, a thick haze preventing the
squadron from seeing them even at that distance (A, A). Cape Henry,
the southern point of the entrance to the Chesapeake, then bore
southwest by west, distant forty miles. The wind as stated by
Arbuthnot was west; by the French, south-west.

The British admiral at once went about, steering in the direction
reported, and the opposing squadrons soon sighted one another. The
French finding the British between them and their port, hauled to the
wind, which between 8 and 9 shifted to north by west, putting them
to windward. Some preliminary manoeuvres then followed, both parties
seeking the weather-gage. The weather remained thick and squally,
often intercepting the view; and the wind continued to shift until
towards noon, when it settled at north-east. The better sailing, or
the better seamanship, of the British had enabled them to gain so
far upon their opponents that at 1 P.M. they were lying nearly up in
their wake, on the port tack, overhauling them; both squadrons in line
of battle, heading east-south-east, the French bearing from their
pursuers east by south,--one point on the weather bow (B, B). The
wind was rising with squalls, so that the ships lay over well to their
canvas, and the sea was getting big.

As the enemy now was threatening his rear, and had the speed to
overtake, des Touches felt it necessary to resort to the usual parry
to such a thrust, by wearing his squadron and passing on the other
tack. This could be done either together, reversing the order of the
ships, or in succession, preserving the natural order; depending much
upon the distance of the enemy. Having room enough, des Touches
chose the latter, but, as fighting was inevitable, he decided also to
utilise the manoeuvre by surrendering the weather-gage, and passing to
leeward. The advantage of this course was that, with the existing sea
and wind, and the inclination of the ships, the party that had the
opponent on his weather side could open the lower-deck ports and use
those guns. There was thus a great increase of battery power, for the
lower guns were t