enemy. As a defeat would have been fatal to
the troops on shore, Howe wisely forbore to respond to their wishes
of attacking the enemy, and at length, on the 22nd of July d'Estaign
weighed anchor, and instead of entering Sandy Hook, stood out to sea,
and then shaped his course northward to attempt the reduction of Rhode
Island. In his passage to America, the French admiral had been pursued
by Vice-Admiral Byron whose fleet unfortunately had been dispersed and
shattered by storms. The wreck of two or three of these ships joined
Lord Howe a few days after d'Estaing had left his anchorage, and when
these had been put in sailing and fighting trim, Lord Howe sailed in
quest of the French admiral. General Sullivan had been ordered to pass
over from the continent with 10,000 men to attack the British lines at
Newport, in which 6000 troops were intrenched, while d'Estaing with the
French fleet assailed them on the other side. When near the coast, also,
the French admiral was joined by Lafayette with 2000 American troops,
and he entered the Sound and prepared to land near Newport. Four
English frigates were lying at anchor there, and as the defence of these
frigates was impracticable, the crews set fire to them and joined the
troops on the island. The French admiral was on the point of landing
when Howe hove in sight, he having been hitherto deterged from so doing
by a quarrel with General Sullivan as to which of them should hold
the supreme command. The appearance of Howe altered the operations
of d'Estaing. Being superior in force he resolved to sail out of the
harbour and meet the English. Both commanders prepared for battle; but
while they were each exerting all their skill to gain the advantages
of a position a furious storm arose, which dispersed the hostile fleets
over the face of the ocean. Both fleets were greatly damaged, but Howe's
fleet suffered least. Subsequently one of his ships fell in with the
Languedoc, d'Estaign's flag-ship, and another with the Tonnant, both of
superior size, and would have captured them had they not been rescued
by other portions of the scattered fleet, Another isolated battle
afterwards occurred between two ships, in which the French lost seventy
killed and wounded, while the English lost only one man killed and had
fifteen wounded. No captures, however, were made on either side, and
while Howe returned to New York for the purpose of refitting his ships,
d'Estaing came to anchor near Rhode Is