Chapter XII (3)

[186] Troude: Batailles Navales. It was seen from Suffren's ship that the "Sévère's" flag was down; but it was supposed that the ensign halliards had been shot away. The next day Hughes sent the captain of the "Sultan" to demand the delivery to him of the ship which had struck. The demand, of course, could not be complied with. "The 'Sultan,'" Troude says, "which had hove-to to take possession of the 'Sévère,' was the victim of this action; she received during some time, without replying, the whole fire of the French ship."

[187] Annual Register, 1782.

[188] Cunat: Vie de Suffren.

[189] The curves in (B) represent the movements of the ships _after_ the shift of wind, which practically ended the battle. The ships themselves show the order in fighting.

[190] The enemy formed a semicircle around us and raked us ahead and astern, as the ship came up and fell off, with the helm to leeward.--_Journal de Bord du Bailli de Suffren._

[191] See page 435. He added: "It is frightful to have had four times in our power to destroy the English squadron, and that it still exists."

[192] There was not a single ship of Suffren's which had more than three-fourths of her regular complement of men. It must be added that soldiers and sepoys made up half of these reduced crews.--_Chevalier_, p. 463.

[193] You will have learned my promotion to commodore and rear-admiral. Now, I tell you in the sincerity of my heart and for your own ear alone, that what I have done since then is worth infinitely more than what I had done before. You know the capture and battle of Trincomalee; but the end of the campaign, and that which took place between the month of March and the end of June, is far above anything that has been done in the navy since I entered it. The result has been very advantageous to the State, for the squadron was endangered and the army lost.--_Private Letter of Suffren, Sept. 13, 1783; quoted in the "Journal de Bord du Bailli de Suffren."_