Pride & Providence
A History of the American Empire
Hurricane
(Part III)
…a large armada of British warships and transports was gathering to challenge the American dominance of the waters surrounding England and Ireland. On May 7th, a recon force of the British Armada ran head first into the full strength of the American fleet, consisting of twenty four ships. The ships were quickly dispatched of in a brief two day encounter of cat and mouse, with the Americans succeeding in the end of destroying seven of seven British vessels.
Unbeknownst to the British Admiralty, the remainder of the fleet sailed to its doom. British plans had been captured the previous day; British officers with all their honor were rather willingly to sacrifice their nation to spare their own life. On May 13th, the remainder of the British fleet, totaling sixteen ships had encountered the American navy just north of the French town of Brest; where the Americans were being resupplied by France – which was now at peace with the British.
What followed was a disaster for the British Navy and Empire. Sixteen British ships, loaded with thousands of troops destined for the New World were relentlessly decimated. After the first day, the British had lost two vessels compared to America’s one vessel; and the British set sail from the coast, fleeing towards home. Providence was against the British, as the American fleet followed and made up lost ground. After a two days chase, the American Navy trapped the British fleet near Cherbourg, France.
By the end of May, the British fleet, which had consisted of twenty three vessels originally, had zero vessels to confront the American navy. Of the twenty four vessels at the start of the battles, the American Navy had a presence of twenty two vessels. The navy would set sail for the friendly ports across the pond. The grasp that Britain so proudly claimed to own over the seas had been greatly shattered.
