sufficient to reduce the principal port and fortress, Port
Mahon; upon which the whole island must fall. Their communications with
France depended upon the French fleet cruising in the neighborhood.
Serious injury inflicted upon it would therefore go far to relieve the
invested garrison.

[Illustration: Plan of Byng's Action off Minorca, May 20, 1756]

[Transcriber's Note: This illustration shows on a map the positions of
the fleets and their ships at various times in the action. Critical
positions on the map are marked with codes such as "B1" and "F2",
which will be referred to below in the text. This illustration is
available in the HTML version of the e-book.]

Under these circumstances the British fleet sighted Minorca on the 19th
of May, 1756, and was attempting to exchange information with the
besieged, when the French fleet was seen in the southeast. Byng stood
towards it, abandoning for the time the effort to communicate. That
night both fleets manoeuvred for advantage of position with regard to
the wind. The next day, between 9 and 10 A.M., they came again in view
of each other, and at 11 were about six miles apart, the French still to
the southeast, with a breeze at south-southwest to southwest. The
British once more advanced towards them, close hauled on the starboard
tack, heading southeasterly, the enemy standing on the opposite tack,
heading westerly, both carrying sail to secure the weather gage (B1,
F1). It appeared at first that the French would pass ahead of the
British, retaining the windward position; but towards noon the wind
changed, enabling the latter to lie up a point or two higher (B2). This
also forced the bows of the several French vessels off their course, and
put them out of a regular line of battle; that is, they could no longer
sail in each other's wake (F2). Being thus disordered, they reformed on
the same tack, heading northwest, with the wind very little forward of
the beam. This not only took time, but lost ground to leeward, because
the quickest way to re-establish the order was for the mass of the fleet
to take their new positions from the leewardmost vessel. When formed
(F3), as they could not now prevent the British line from passing
ahead, they hove-to with their main-topsails aback,--stopped,--awaiting
the attack, which was thenceforth inevitable and close at hand.

In consequence of what has been stated, the British line (B2-B3)--more
properly, column--was passing ahead o