|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June, 1794. An Anglo-French naval battle fought some 400 miles out in the Atlantic from the Breton peninsula, which shelters the French naval base of Brest. Though the opposing fleets were of similar strength, the French under Villaret de Joyeuse were rather more concentrated than Lord Howe's better-found and manned ships: Howe's strategy was to watch Brest from Torbay, giving cover to Britain's Atlantic traffic, and to her West Indies possessions. The battle's immediate cause was Villaret de Joyeuse's evasion of Howe in order to cover a 117-strong convoy bound for Brest from America with 67,000 barrels of wheat flour for the critically under-provided French capital. Hence the French fleet putting to sea had been a political imperative. By a brilliant chase in foggy conditions, Howe intercepted the French, taking six ships prize and sinking another. As against 1,500 French killed there were only 300 British, with no ships lost. But the convoy from America reached Brest unscathed on 15 June. Though in some circles seen as a partial and overdue success for Howe, popularly his action was deemed a triumph over French republicanism.
David Denis Aldridge |
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Glorious First of June." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Glorious First of June." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-GloriousFirstofJune.html JOHN CANNON. "Glorious First of June." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-GloriousFirstofJune.html |
|
Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June, 1794. An Anglo‐French naval battle fought some 400 miles out in the Atlantic from the Breton peninsula, which shelters the French naval base of Brest. Lord Howe's strategy was to watch Brest from Torbay. The battle's immediate cause was Villaret de Joyeuse's evasion of Howe in order to cover a 117–strong convoy bound for Brest from America with 67,000 barrels of wheat flour for the critically under‐provided French capital. By a brilliant chase in foggy conditions, Howe intercepted the French, taking six ships prize and sinking another. But the convoy from America reached Brest unscathed on 15 June.
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Glorious First of June." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Glorious First of June." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-GloriousFirstofJune.html JOHN CANNON. "Glorious First of June." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-GloriousFirstofJune.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
