liant officer, certainly failed to support his
chief properly when there was an obvious thing to do. Perhaps if
the personal relations between the two had been more cordial Hood
would have taken the initiative. But in those days the initiative
of a subordinate was not encouraged, and Hood chose to stand on
his dignity.

Although the war was practically settled by the fall of Yorktown,
it required another year or so to die out. In this final year a
famous naval battle was fought which went far toward establishing
British predominance in the West Indies, and which revealed something
radically different in naval tactics from the practice of the time.

In the spring of 1782, Rodney was back in command of the West Indian
station, succeeding Hood, who continued to serve as commander of a
division. The British base was Gros Islet Bay in Santa Lucia. De
Grasse was at Fort Royal, Martinique, waiting to transport troops
to Santo Domingo, where other troops and ships were collected. There,
joining with a force of Spaniards from Cuba, he was to conduct a
campaign against Jamaica. It was Rodney's business to break up this
plan. During a period of preparation on both sides, reenforcements
joined the rival fleets, that of the British amounting to enough to
give Rodney a marked superiority in numbers. Moreover his ships
were heavier, as he had five 3-deckers to the French one, and about
200 more guns. The superiority of speed, as well, lay with Rodney
because more of his ships had copper sheathing. A still further
advantage lay in the fact that he was not burdened with the problem
of protecting convoys and transports as was de Grasse. Thus, in the
event of conflict, the advantages lay heavily with the British.

On the morning of April 8, the English sentry frigate off Fort
Royal noted that the French were coming out, and hastened with
the news to Rodney at Santa Lucia. The latter put to sea at once.
He judged rightly that de Grasse would steer for Santo Domingo, in
order to get rid of his transports at their destination as soon
as possible, and on the morning of the 9th he sighted the French
off the west coast of the island of Dominica. On the approach of
the English fleet, de Grasse signaled his transports to run to
the northwest, while he took his fleet on a course for the channel
between the islands of Dominica and Guadeloupe. As the British would
be sure to pursue the fleet, this move would enable the convoy to
escape.

The c