ch had
pressed him as far as Beachy Head and there he gave battle, taking care
so to fight as to risk as little as possible. He was beaten, as he
expected to be, and the Dutch, who had been the most hotly engaged, were
very severely handled by the French. But though his losses were
considerable, for he had to destroy some of his ships to prevent their
falling into the hands of the enemy, he saved his fleet from the
destruction which must have befallen it had he fought otherwise than he
did. As the day advanced and the battle raged, the wind dropped and the
tide began to ebb. Torrington, taking advantage of this, anchored his
fleet, while the French drifted away to the westward. When the tide
again began to flow he again took advantage of it and retreated to the
eastward. The French made some show of pursuit, but Torrington made good
his retreat into the Thames, where, the buoys having been taken up, the
French could not follow him. Finally, the French withdrew from the
Channel, having accomplished nothing beyond an insignificant raid on
Teignmouth. Torrington was tried by Court Martial and acquitted, though
he was never again employed afloat. But the fact remains that, as
Admiral Bridge says, "most seamen were at the time, have been since, and
still are in agreement with Torrington." As to his conduct of the
battle, which has so unjustly involved him in lasting discredit with the
historians, though not with the seamen, he said in his defence before
the Court Martial: "I may be bold to say that I have had time and cause
enough to think of it, and that, upon my word, were the battle to be
fought over again, I do not know how to mend it, under the same
circumstances." Again, as to his general conduct of the campaign, he
said: "It is true that the French made no great advantage of their
victory though they put us to a great charge in keeping up the militia;
but had I fought otherwise, our fleet had been totally lost, and the
whole kingdom had lain open to an invasion. What, then, would have
become of us in the absence of his Majesty and most of the land forces?
As it was, most men were in fear that the French would invade; but I was
always of another opinion; for I always said that, _whilst we had a
fleet in being_, they would not dare to make an attempt."

This is the first appearance of the phrase "a fleet in being" in the
terminology of naval warfare. Its reappearance in our own day and its
frequent employment in naval d