When the War of the French Revolution broke out England had no base within the Mediterranean. The necessity for such a base was very much increased when Napoleon got possession of Malta. Lord St. Vincent had taken the command of the Mediterranean station in December 1795; on February 14, 1797, he fought the great battle which gave him his title, and afterwards kept up the blockade of Cadiz. He knew that Napoleon was meditating the Egyptian expedition, and detached Nelson with thirteen sail of the line to watch and, if possible, to intercept the enemy. At the same time he sent home an urgent appeal for reinforcements, and Sir Roger Curtis was sent to him with eight sail of the line. Lord St. Vincent came to the conclusion that the possession of a base within the Mediterranean for the English fleet was of such importance that it was necessary to occupy Minorca once more. He was not a man to let the grass grow under his feet. He had no sooner come to this conclusion than he proceeded to act upon it. He organised a squadron of six ships, to be led by Commodore Duckworth: _Leviathan_ (74), Commodore Duckworth. _Centaur_ (74), Captain John Markham. _Argo_ (44), Captain J. Bowen. _Aurora_ (28), Captain Caulfield. _Cormorant_ (20), Captain Lord Mark Kerr. _Peterel_ (16), Captain Charles Long. The squadron convoyed several transports with troops under the command of General the Hon. Charles Stuart, a younger son of the Earl of Bute, the Prime Minister. After a tedious passage, owing to contrary winds, the squadron brought to within five miles of the port of Fornelle, on the north coast of Minorca, on November 7, 1798. Fornelle is a very large and spacious harbour, but it contains many shoals and much foul ground. On the west side of the entrance there is an old fort, consisting of four bastions connected by curtains. On the other side there is an _atalaya_ or signal station. After a reconnaissance, it was decided that Fornelle was not a desirable place for landing the troops. It was decided to send the smaller ships and transports to Addaya Creek, while the two line-of-battle ships stood off and on outside. Addaya forms a large harbour on the north-east coast of the island, with a valley surrounded by lofty bare hills, which shelter it from the bleak north-westerly winds. The valley produces every kind of vegetable in abundance, while the vineyards and fruit gardens yield grapes, oranges, and pomegranates in profusion. One of the very few springs in the island sends down a stream, whence irrigating channels were conducted to every part of the valley. This is one of the most delightful spots in Minorca; but the harbour is full of rocks, and is only safe for small vessels. Here General Stuart landed his troops and immediately occupied the surrounding heights, the Spaniards retreating to Ciudadela and Port Mahon. There was no fighting, and the whole island surrendered to General Stuart, including the castle of San Felipe, on November 15.