During the previous month, Cléopâtre and another frigate, Sémillante, had been successfully raiding British merchant shipping in the English Channel and Eastern Atlantic from their base at Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.

This had led to the collapse of the professional officer corps and the elimination of the rank of trained seamen-gunners on the grounds of elitism, resulting in a dearth of experience both in seamanship and naval combat.

[3] To counter their disadvantages, the French Navy operated several well-armed frigates from their Channel and Atlantic ports to intercept and disrupt the movement of British trade.

Two of the most successful vessels in the early months of the war were the frigates Cléopâtre and Sémillante under Captains Jean Mullon and Gaillard respectively and based at Cherbourg-en-Cotentin on the Cotentin Peninsula.

[6] At 01:00 on 27 May, 375 nautical miles (694 km) north west of Cape Finisterre, lookouts on Venus sighted a ship and closed with the strange vessel, which was soon determined to be Sémillante.

[15] This gave Pellew the opportunity to engage the enemy even more closely and by 07:00 the French wheel had been destroyed, four successive helmsmen killed and the mizzenmast snapped off 12 feet (3.7 m) above the deck.

[1] The British captain had initially been concerned that the collision was a deliberate manoeuvre from Mullon and had readied his men in case the French should launch a boarding attack on his frigate.

However, as soon as it became clear that the movement was involuntary and that the French were unwilling to press an attack, Pellew reversed his orders and had the men he had assembled to repel boarders climb on board Cléopâtre instead.

Although the attackers initially encountered fierce resistance, hand-to-hand combat lasted just ten minutes before the leaderless French sailors broke and ran.

Seeing that his ship was in the hands of the enemy, Mullon reached into his pocket for a sheet containing the French coastal codes and tore the paper to shreds with his teeth before dying.

[21] Shortly after their return to Britain both Pellew brothers were subsequently introduced to King George by Lord Chatham and were rewarded, Edward with a knighthood and Israel with promotion to post captain.

[25] More than five decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants from Nymphe still living in 1847.

Both served with distinction: Sir Edward captured several more frigates and destroyed the French ship of the line Droits de l'Homme at the action of 13 January 1797, ending the war as commander in chief in the Mediterranean.

[28] Historian William James has noted that while Nymphe was slightly heavier both in tonnage and weight of shot, the French ship carried 80 more personnel who had been serving as a unified crew for significantly longer than those aboard the British frigate;[20] among Pellew's men were 80 Cornish tin miners pressed into service only a few weeks earlier.

[20] Pellew was so impressed by his opponent that he attended his funeral in Portsmouth on 23 June and later sent a considerable amount of money to Mullon's widow in honour of her husband's bravery.