Benbow a Favorite of William III; Queen Anne Declares War Against France; Benbow Sent to the West Indies; He Falls in with a French Fleet; A Vigorous Attack Commenced; Disobedience of his Captains; He is Badly Wounded and Dies; The Captains Court-martialed; Detailed Account of the Capture and Destruction of the French and Spanish Fleets. I-166 XII. BYNG AND LA GALISSONIÈRE. A. D. 1756. Sketch of Admiral Byng; War between England and France; Capture of Minorca by the Latter; Byng sent to the Relief of the Island; La Galissonière in Command of the French; Failure to Engage the Latter’s Fleet, as Directed, by Byng; The English Driven Back to Gibraltar; Byng Superseded Without a Hearing; Tried by Court-martial and Sentenced to Death; The Sentence Considered Unjustly Severe by Pitt; Wrangling among the Officers of the Admiralty; Final Execution of the Sentence; Voltaire’s Sarcasm. I-174 XIII. SIR EDWARD HAWKE AND CONFLANS. A. D. 1759. Sketch of Hawke; Succeeds the Ill-fated Admiral Byng; In Command of a Blockading Squadron at Brest; Meets the French Fleet Under Admiral Conflans Near Belleisle; The Latter Inferior in Strength and Numbers; A Gale Arises During the Fight and Many Injured French Vessels Wrecked; The Latter Fleet Almost Entirely Disabled and Destroyed; Honors to Hawke. I-183 XIV. DE GRASSE AND RODNEY. A. D. 1782. Sketch of De Grasse; Earliest Exploits; Aids Washington in the Reduction of Yorktown; Recognition by Congress; Subsequent Events; Encounters an English Fleet, Under Rodney; De Grasse Loses Five Line-of Battle Ships; Exultation in England; De Grasse a Prisoner; Assists in Bringing About a Treaty of Peace Between the United States and England; Career of Rodney; Receives the Title of Baron and a Pension. I-187 LORD HOWE AND THE FRENCH FLEET. JUNE 1, A. D. 1794. The First of a Series of Memorable Engagements; Traits of Lord Howe; Anecdotes; Watching the French Fleet; The Latter Put to Sea; Skirmishing, May 28; A Great Battle, June 1; The French Open Fire First; Concentrated and Deadly Firing on Both Sides; The French Lose Six Line-of-Battle Ships; Howe’s Orders Not Obeyed by Some of the Captains; Some French Ships that Had Struck Escape in the Darkness; Anecdotes Concerning the Battle. I-197 BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT. A. D. 1797.