Atlantic Campaign of May 1794 - Background

Background

In the winter of 1793, war and internal disorder had combined with poor weather to leave France facing starvation following the collapse of the harvest. France's ongoing conflict with her neighbours precluded overland imports; the only nation willing and able to sell grain to the National Convention was the United States. Importing food from the Americas was a highly risky venture, as the British Royal Navy—at war with France since early 1793—patrolled much of the Atlantic passage. To provide effective protection for the vessels involved, a plan was agreed between France and the United States to collect the supplies over a period of months and transport them in a single convoy. A gathering point was arranged at Hampton Roads in the Chesapeake Bay.

A squadron commanded by Admiral Pierre Vanstabel was dispatched to Hampton Roads to provide escort. Vanstabel would bring the convoy to the Bay of Biscay, where a second squadron under Joseph-Marie Nielly would reinforce him for the rest of the journey. Together, these officers mustered six ships of the line and numerous smaller craft. The main French battlefleet of 25 ships under Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse would cruise the Bay of Biscay in order to challenge the British Channel Fleet if it attempted to intercept the supplies. The convoy's passage was expected to take approximately two months, and it included 117 merchant ships carrying enough food to feed France for a year.

Lord Howe, admiral of the British Channel Fleet, was aware of the convoy's nature and destination long before it left the Chesapeake, and made preparations to block its passage. Sending several small squadrons to protect British commerce crossing the Bay of Biscay, Howe detailed Admiral George Montagu with six battleships to search for the convoy in the south of the Bay while Howe took the main body of the fleet, 26 ships of the line, to patrol near Brest.