British Admiral George Brydges Rodney, who had…

August 1781 CE

British Admiral George Brydges Rodney, who had been tracking de Grasse around the West Indies, had been alerted to the latter's departure, but was uncertain of the French admiral's destination.

Believing that de Grasse would return a portion of his fleet to Europe, Rodney detaches Rear Admiral Sir Samuel Hood with fourteen ships of the line and orders to find de Grasse's destination in North America.

Rodney, who is ill, sails for Europe with the rest of his fleet in order to recover, refit his fleet, and to avoid the Atlantic hurricane season.

Sailing more directly than de Grasse, Hood's fleet arrives off the entrance to the Chesapeake on August 25.

Finding no French ships there, he then sails  for New York.

Meanwhile, his colleague and commander of the New York fleet, Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves, has spent several weeks trying to intercept a convoy organized by John Laurens to bring much-needed supplies and hard currency from France to Boston.

When Hood arrives at New York, he finds that Graves is in port (having failed to intercept the convoy), but has only five ships of the line that are ready for battle.

Locations
Chesapeake Bay United States View →

People
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis View → Donatien-Marie-Joseph de Vimeur, vicomte de Rochambeau View → François-Joseph Paul de Grasse View → George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney View → George Washington View → Henry Clinton View → Nathanael Greene View → Samuel Hood View → Thomas Graves View →

Groups
France, (Bourbon) Kingdom of View → Saint Domingue, French Colony of View → British people View → Britain, Kingdom of Great View → Patriots (American Revolution) View → Loyalists (American Revolution) View → Americans View → United States of America (US, USA) (Philadelphia PA) View →

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American Revolution View → American Revolutionary War, or American War of Independence View → American Revolutionary War, Southern theater of the View →

Subjects
Conflict View → Mayhem View → Government View →

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Topic: Louisbourg, Siege of (1758)
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