9 killed, 47 wounded.  Several casualties from chance shots occurred on board the convoy, bringing up the total to 36 killed and 130 wounded.  The French admit 105 killed and 204 wounded, all but 19 being in the Heros and Annibal.  Although precipitated by Suffren, the affair clearly was as great a surprise to his squadron as to the British.  Therefore, the latter, being already at anchor and more numerous as engaged, had a distinct advantage; to which also contributed musketry fire from the transports.  Nevertheless, the result cannot be deemed creditable to the French captains or gunnery.

Suffren remained in the neighbourhood of the Cape for two months.  Then, having seen the colony secure, independent of his squadron, he departed for the Ile de France, arriving there October 25th.  On the 17th of December the whole French force, under the command of d’Orves, sailed for the Coromandel coast.  On the way the British 50-gun ship Hannibal, Captain Alexander Christie, was taken.  On the 9th of February, 1782, Comte d’Orves died, and Suffren found himself at the head of twelve ships of the line:  three 74’s, seven 64’s and two 50’s.[144] On the 15th Hughes’s fleet was sighted, under the guns of Madras.  It numbered nine of the line:  two 74’s, one 68, five 64’s, and one 50.  Suffren stood south towards Pondicherry, which had passed into the power of Hyder Ali.  After nightfall Hughes got under way, and also steered south.  He feared for Trincomalee, in Ceylon, recently a Dutch port, which the British had captured on the 5th of January.  It was a valuable naval position, as yet most imperfectly defended.

[Illustration]

At daylight the British saw the French squadron twelve miles east (A, A) and its transports nine miles south-west (c).  Hughes chased the latter and took six.  Suffren pursued, but could not overtake before sunset, and both fleets steered south-east during the night.  Next morning there were light north-north-east airs, and the French were six miles north-east of the British (B, B).  The latter formed line on the port tack (a), heading to seaward; Hughes hoping that thus the usual sea-breeze would find him to windward.  The breeze, however, did not make as expected; and, as the north-east puffs were bringing the enemy down, he kept off before the wind (b) to gain time for his ships to close their intervals, which were too great.  At 4 P.M. the near approach of the French compelled him to form line again, (C), on the port tack, heading easterly.  The rear ship, Exeter, 64 (e), was left separated, out of due support from those ahead.  Suffren, leading one section of his fleet in person, passed to windward of the British line, from the rear, as far as Hughes’s flagship, which was fifth from the van.  There he stopped, and kept at half cannon-shot, to prevent the four ships in the British van from tacking to relieve their consorts.  It was his intention that the second half of his fleet