In 1795, Brunswick, under Captain Lord Charles Fitzgerald, was attached to William Cornwallis's squadron in the Channel.
On the morning of 8 June, Cornwallis' force comprising five ships-of-the-line, two frigates and a small brig-sloop, was cruising southwards along the Breton coast and past the Penmarck Rocks, when at 10:30, HMS Triumph signalled the presence of six sails to the north-east.
Cornwallis turned his squadron to investigate and discovered the ships were part of a large merchant convoy, escorted by three ships-of-the-line and six or seven frigates under the overall command of Contre-Amiral Jean Gaspard Vence.
At first, the convoy sailed towards Cornwallis's squadron, believing it to be French.
When the mistake was realised, at 12:00, Vence ordered his ships towards Belle Île, where they could shelter beneath the gun batteries.
Cornwallis sent his fastest ships ahead, to engage the trailing ships of the convoy and try to force an action but, despite taking eight prizes, they were not able to do so.

Prevented from pressing their attack by the shoal waters and batteries, the British anchored in the Palais Road, close to the island, where they remained until the following evening.
On 9 June, they sailed into the Bay of Biscay and around Ushant headland, reaching the Scilly Isles on 11 June.
The eight brigs taken off Belle Ile and two American vessels captured after, were at that point, sent into Spithead under escort off the 18-gun HMS Kingfisher.
The remaining ships turned back towards Belle Île, in the hope that by then, Vence's squadron would be in open water.

On 15 June, Vence's squadron was sailing off the island of Groix, when it encountered a French fleet under Villaret de Joyeuse, which had sailed from Brest on 12 June and comprised nine ships-of-the-line, nine frigates (including two ships of the line razeed into 50-gun frigates) and four corvettes.
The two forces joined and turned north.
On 16 June, the French fleet was off Penmarck Point when, at 10:30, Cornwallis's squadron was spotted to the north-west.
Cornwallis was anticipating Vence's merchant convoy which had arrived at its destination some days previous, and did not immediately understand the danger his squadron was in.
HMS Phaeton, having been sent ahead to investigate, added to the confusion when she signalled to Cornwallis that the French fleet contained 30 vessels, but did not return.
This caused Cornwallis to take the signal to mean that the French ships, while more numerous, were inferior in strength.

At 11:00, seeing that Cornwallis was still advancing, Phaeton signalled the exact composition of Villaret's fleet.
The British squadron, now realising the danger, turned away to the south-west, with Brunswick leading the line and the French in pursuit.
Having followed the British out into the Atlantic, at 14:00, Villaret's fleet divided with one part sailing north to cut Cornwallis off, while the other maintained its course to the south.
By 18:00 the northern squadron had overhauled the British who found themselves directly between the two French divisions, no more than 9 nautical miles (17 km) from each.

The chase continued into the night with Brunswick and HMS Bellerophon struggling to keep station.
In an effort to increase their speed, the two ships jettisoned their anchors, boats and much of their provisions.
Bellerophon was sailing so slowly that her captain, James Cranstoun, ordered four carronades and a large amount of roundshot to be thrown over the side.
At 09:00, Zélé, the leading French ship in the windward squadron was close enough to open to fire on the British rearguard ship, HMS Mars.
The action was soon joined by the 40-gun frigate Virginie which came up on Mars' port quarter.
Concerned that Bellerophon, which was close by, might lose a sail, a loss she could not sustain, Cornwallis ordered Triumph and Royal Sovereign to drop back and allow Bellerophon to join Brunswick at the front.
This reorganisation of the line slowed the entire squadron and put all the ships in range of the French vanguard.
The British cut holes in the
In 1795, Brunswick, under Captain Lord Charles Fitzgerald, was attached to William Cornwallis's squadron in the Channel. On the morning of 8 June, Cornwallis' force comprising five ships-of-the-line, two frigates and a small brig-sloop, was cruising southwards along the Breton coast and past the Penmarck Rocks, when at 10:30, HMS Triumph signalled the presence of six sails to the north-east. Cornwallis turned his squadron to investigate and discovered the ships were part of a large merchant convoy, escorted by three ships-of-the-line and six or seven frigates under the overall command of Contre-Amiral Jean Gaspard Vence. At first, the convoy sailed towards Cornwallis's squadron, believing it to be French. When the mistake was realised, at 12:00, Vence ordered his ships towards Belle Île, where they could shelter beneath the gun batteries. Cornwallis sent his fastest ships ahead, to engage the trailing ships of the convoy and try to force an action but, despite taking eight prizes, they were not able to do so. 
Prevented from pressing their attack by the shoal waters and batteries, the British anchored in the Palais Road, close to the island, where they remained until the following evening. On 9 June, they sailed into the Bay of Biscay and around Ushant headland, reaching the Scilly Isles on 11 June. The eight brigs taken off Belle Ile and two American vessels captured after, were at that point, sent into Spithead under escort off the 18-gun HMS Kingfisher. The remaining ships turned back towards Belle Île, in the hope that by then, Vence's squadron would be in open water.
On 15 June, Vence's squadron was sailing off the island of Groix, when it encountered a French fleet under Villaret de Joyeuse, which had sailed from Brest on 12 June and comprised nine ships-of-the-line, nine frigates (including two ships of the line razeed into 50-gun frigates) and four corvettes. The two forces joined and turned north. On 16 June, the French fleet was off Penmarck Point when, at 10:30, Cornwallis's squadron was spotted to the north-west. Cornwallis was anticipating Vence's merchant convoy which had arrived at its destination some days previous, and did not immediately understand the danger his squadron was in. HMS Phaeton, having been sent ahead to investigate, added to the confusion when she signalled to Cornwallis that the French fleet contained 30 vessels, but did not return. This caused Cornwallis to take the signal to mean that the French ships, while more numerous, were inferior in strength.
At 11:00, seeing that Cornwallis was still advancing, Phaeton signalled the exact composition of Villaret's fleet. The British squadron, now realising the danger, turned away to the south-west, with Brunswick leading the line and the French in pursuit. Having followed the British out into the Atlantic, at 14:00, Villaret's fleet divided with one part sailing north to cut Cornwallis off, while the other maintained its course to the south. By 18:00 the northern squadron had overhauled the British who found themselves directly between the two French divisions, no more than 9 nautical miles (17 km) from each.
The chase continued into the night with Brunswick and HMS Bellerophon struggling to keep station. In an effort to increase their speed, the two ships jettisoned their anchors, boats and much of their provisions. Bellerophon was sailing so slowly that her captain, James Cranstoun, ordered four carronades and a large amount of roundshot to be thrown over the side. At 09:00, Zélé, the leading French ship in the windward squadron was close enough to open to fire on the British rearguard ship, HMS Mars. The action was soon joined by the 40-gun frigate Virginie which came up on Mars' port quarter. Concerned that Bellerophon, which was close by, might lose a sail, a loss she could not sustain, Cornwallis ordered Triumph and Royal Sovereign to drop back and allow Bellerophon to join Brunswick at the front. This reorganisation of the line slowed the entire squadron and put all the ships in range of the French vanguard. The British cut holes in the 
HMS Brunswick (1790)