long the whole line, during which
Howe himself at the earliest opportunity passed through the enemy's
line and engaged on the other side, though as a whole the fleet
neglected to follow either his signal or his example.

In the next great action, that of St. Vincent, the circumstances were
not suitable for the new manoeuvre, seeing that the Spaniards had not
formed line. Jervis had surprised the enemy in disorder on a hazy
morning after a change of wind, and this was precisely the 'not very
probable case' which Clerk of Eldin had instanced as justifying a
perpendicular attack. Whether or not Jervis had Clerk's instance in
his mind, he certainly did deliver a perpendicular attack. The signal
with which he opened, according to the signification as given in the
flagship's log, was 'The admiral intends to pass through the enemy's
line.'[11] There is nothing to show whether this meant Howe's
manoeuvre or Rodney's, for we do not know whether at this time the
instruction existed which enabled the two movements to be
distinguished by a pennant over.

What followed however was that the fleet passed between the two
separated Spanish squadrons in line ahead as Clerk advised. The next
thing to do, according to Clerk, was for the British fleet to wear or
tack together, but instead of doing so Jervis signalled to tack in
succession, and then repeated the signal to pass through the enemy's
line although it was still unformed. It was at this moment that Nelson
made his famous independent movement that saved the situation, and
what he did was in effect as though Jervis had made the signal to tack
together as Clerk enjoined. Thereupon Jervis, with the intention
apparently of annulling his last order to pass through the line, made
the signal, which seems to have been the only one which the captains
of those days believed in--viz. to take suitable stations for mutual
support and engage the enemy on arriving up with them in
succession. In practice it was little more than a frank relapse to the
methods of the early Commonwealth, and it was this signal and not that
for breaking the line which made the action general.

Again, at the battle of Camperdown, Duncan, while trying to form
single line from two columns of sailing, began with the signal for
each ship to steer independently for her opponent. This was
followed--the fleet having failed to form line parallel to the enemy,
and being still in two disordered columns--by signals for the lee