Sir Joshua Rowley, 1st Baronet - Battle of Quiberon Bay

Battle of Quiberon Bay

By late October 1759 Rowley had been exchanged by the French for their own prisoners who were held by the British (a common practise of the time) and was once more in command of the Montagu. He was again assigned to Admiral Hawke’s squadron and was with the fleet with Hawke off Brest and in the Battle of Quiberon Bay. The French had designs to invade Scotland and had been ordered to break through the blockading British ships and collect transports for the invasion. On 20 November, 23 ships of Hawke’s squadron that had been sheltering from the seasonal gales in Torbay caught up with and attacked 21 Ships of the Line under Admiral Conflans in Quiberon bay. The bay itself is infamous due to its clustered and hidden shoals and variable wind and weather. The battle was fought directly through the dangerous shoals and the British lost two ships wrecked on the shoals and the French lost six with another successfully captured. The battle has been described by several later historians as the "Trafalgar" of the Seven Years' War. The risks of taking such a large fleet into the dangerous shoals of the bay with the Atlantic gales beating down upon them separated Hawke from many of his contemporaries and showed not only his daring genius but the confidence that he inspired in his subordinates. The French were equally impressed at the daring and audacity of the British Naval commanders and it took a great many years for them to recover.