d to head in for the entrance. At
2 P.M. the French van, standing out, three miles distant by estimate,
bore south from the _London_, Graves's flagship, and was therefore
abreast of the centre of the British line. As the British van came
near the Middle Ground, at 2.13 P.M., the ships wore together. This
put them on the same tack as the French, Hood's division, which had
been leading, being now the rear in the reversed order. The fleet then
brought-to,--stopped,--in order to allow the centre of the enemy to
come abreast of the centre of the British (aa, aa.) The two lines
now were nearly parallel, but the British, being five ships fewer,
naturally did not extend so far as the rear of the French, which in
fact was not yet clear of the Cape. At 2.30 Graves made the signal
for the van ship (the _Shrewsbury_), to lead more to starboard
(l)--towards the enemy. As each ship in succession would take her
course to follow the leader, the effect of this was to put the British
on a line inclined to that of the enemy, the van nearest, and as the
signal was renewed three quarters of an hour later,--at 3.17,--this
angle became still more marked (bb).[98] This was the original and
enduring cause of a lamentable failure by which seven of the rear
ships, in an inferior force undertaking to attack, never came into
battle at all. At 3.34 the van was ordered again to keep still more
toward the enemy.

[Illustration]

At 3.46 the signal was made for ships to close to one cable, followed
almost immediately by that to bear down and engage the enemy,--the
signal for the line still flying. Graves's flagship, the _London_, 98
(f), which was hove-to, filled and bore down. Under the conditions,
the van ships of course got first under fire, and the action gradually
extended from them to the twelfth in the order, two ships astern of
the _London_. According to the log of the latter, at 4.11 the signal
for the line ahead was hauled down, that it might not interfere with
that for close action, but at 4.22 it was rehoisted, "the ships not
being sufficiently extended." The meaning of this expression may be
inferred from Beatson's account:--

"The _London_, by taking the lead, had advanced farther
towards the enemy than some of the ships stationed immediately
ahead of her in the line of battle; and upon luffing up (f')
to bring her broadside to bear, they having done the same
thing, her second ahead (m) was brought nearly upon her