arrison. The French king had sent a considerable
reinforcement to the East Indies, under the command of general Lally,
an officer of Irish extraction, together with such a number of ships as
rendered the squadron of M. d'Apche superior to that of admiral Pococke,
who had succeeded admiral Watson, lately deceased, in the command of
the English squadron stationed on the coast of Coromandel, which, in the
beginning of this year, was reinforced from England with several
ships, under the direction of commodore Stevens. Immediately after this
junction, which was effected in the road of Madras on the twenty-fourth
day of March, admiral Pococke, who had already signalized himself by
his courage, vigilance, and conduct, sailed to windward, with a view to
intercept the French squadron, of which he had received intelligence.
In two days he descried in the road of fort St. David the enemy's fleet,
consisting of nine ships, which immediately stood out to sea, and formed
the line of battle a-head. The admiral took the same precaution, and
bearing down upon M. d'Apche, the engagement began about three in the
afternoon. The French commodore, having sustained a warm action for
about two hours, bore away with his whole fleet, and being joined by two
ships, formed a line of battle again to leeward. Admiral Pococke's own
ship, and some others, being greatly damaged in their masts and rigging,
two of his captains having misbehaved in the action, and night coming
on, he did not think it advisable to pursue them with all the sail he
could carry; but, nevertheless, he followed them at a proper distance,
standing to the south-west, in order to maintain the weather-gage,
in case he should be able to renew the action in the morning. In this
expectation, however, he was disappointed; the enemy showed no lights,
nor made any signals that could be observed; and in the morning not the
least vestige of them appeared. Mr. Pococke, on the supposition that
they had weathered him in the night, endeavoured to work up after them
to windward; but finding he lost ground considerably, he dropped
anchor about three leagues to the northward of Madras, and received
intelligence from the chief of that settlement, that one of the largest
French ships, having been disabled in the engagement, was run ashore to
the southward of Alem-parve, where their whole squadron lay at anchor.
Such was the issue of the first action between the English and French
squadrons in the Eas