The British, knowing Thurot’s whereabouts, soon come…

February 1760 CE

The British, knowing Thurot’s whereabouts, soon come to action.

The port of Liverpool, which had improved its defenses when news of Thurot's likely intentions emerged the previous autumn, calls in reinforcements, and more Royal Navy ships are dispatched from Portsmouth and Plymouth.

In January, two extra Royal Navy frigates, HMS Pallas under Captain Clements and HMS Brilliant under Captain Logie, had already been ordered to join the defensive force in the Irish Sea, and were at the port of Kinsale.

The alarm reaches them on February 24, and they had set out within hours, in company with HMS Æolus (Captain John Elliott, who commands the squadron).

They had passed Dublin on the morning of February 26, but bad weather had prevented them from entering Belfast Lough that evening.

Thurot took advantage of this and escaped.

On the night of 27–28 February the Royal Navy squadron, having perhaps heard local claims that the next target of the raiders is to be Whitehaven in Cumberland, heads southeast to round the Mull of Galloway in southern Scotland.

Here they catch sight of the three French frigates, anchored at the entrance of Luce Bay.

To avoid being trapped in the bay, Thurot's squadron sets sail for the south-east, towards the Isle of Man.

Elliot in Æolus, the leader of the British squadron, catches up with the Maréchal de Belle-Isle around sunrise and battle begins, within sight of the Mull of Galloway and Jurby Head on Isle of Man.

After the first broadsides, Thurot tries to grapple Æolus so he can use his troops to board.

All he achieves, however, is the loss of his bowsprit and many men on deck from British small-arms fire.

Æolus fires a second broadside and, neatly, falls back so that the other two Royal Navy vessels can also fire at the Belle-Isle.

Æolus resumes the fight; Captain Thurot with great bravery having lost one of his arms rejects the proposal of some of his officers to surrender.

When told that water is fast rising through a hole pierced by a ball from the Æolus, he says Never mind it, go on, but then falls by a grape shot through his chest.

Lieutenant Forbes of the Æolus, perceiving the Bell-Isle's deck to have been adequately thinned of men, as most remaining are below in great confusion, jumps into her with about twenty-five sailors and marines and strikes the colors with his own hand.

Meanwhile, Pallas and Brilliant go to deal with the remaining French vessels, one of which, Terpsichore under Captain Dessauaudais, attempts to escape but is easily caught by Pallas, overhauled and captured.

Brilliant now overhaula and captures the thirty-six gun Blonde under Captain La Kayce, which has four hundred men.

At some point, Thurot's corpse is thrown overboard with many others, but is retrieved and brought ashore by the British.

With this last capture, Elliot has gained a complete victory.

As well as the loss of three frigates the French casualties are high; three hundred all told, many of them soldiers with another thousand captured.

The French prisoners are so numerous that Elliot has to use a snow in Whitehaven to carry them to Carrickfergus.

British casualties are trifling by contrast: Aeolus has four killed, fifteen wounded; Pallas one killed, five wounded and Brilliant with eleven wounded.

Elliot has thirty French officers, who he takes to Plymouth.

The other French prisoners are brought to Ramsey, then to Belfast, where they will arrive on March 2.

On May 10, they will be freed and transported to France.

The three victorious British captains will be unanimously voted the thanks of the Irish House of Commons and the Blonde and Terpsichore will be purchased into the Royal Navy.

Thurot is buried with full honors in the churchyard of Kirkmaiden, at the expense of the local lord, Sir William Maxwell, who also serves as chief mourner.

The artist, Richard Wright, had witnessed the battle and produces paintings showing the action and the aftermath, which will both be made into engravings.

Ballads will be written about the battle, and a biography of Thurot by the Reverend John Francis Durand will be in the shops by June, in two editions priced at 1s or 6½d.

Despite the author's claims to have known Thurot for years, the work consista mostly of old news stories and outright fabrications.