Freshly repaired, the French had sailed on a mission to intimidate the neutral city of Genoa and possibly invade British-held Corsica.

Despite Hood's orders however only half the fleet was lost, many ships surviving in a damaged state; the French began an extensive programme of repairs.

[6] In San Fiorenzo Bay, the British fleet had an eventful winter; Hood was recalled to Britain, leaving his deputy Vice-Admiral William Hotham in command,[7] and there was a mutiny aboard the 98-gun HMS Windsor Castle.

[10] Delayed by contrary winds, Berwick, with an improvised sail rig, was only able to follow Hotham on 7 March, steering north out of San Fiorenzo Bay.

[12] Martin's mission has never been adequately determined: The report of the Committee of Public Safety to the National Convention states that the fleet was at sea to secure shipping lines in the Mediterranean, although a possible amphibious landing in Corsica is mentioned in Letourneur's correspondence and indicated by the numbers of troopships assembling in Toulon.

[13] Regardless of their purpose, the French fleet, delayed by the same winds which had held back Littlejohn, arrived off Northern Corsica in the early morning of 8 March.

[10] Just as the frigate started to fall back however a bar shot from Alceste skimmed Berwick's deck and struck Littlejohn in the head, instantly decapitating him.

[11] The surviving officers, seeing their captain fall and the rest of the French pursuit squadron closing on their crippled ship, held a brief council where the decision was taken to surrender rather than be destroyed.

[11] The crew were removed from Berwick and shared amongst the other ships of the pursuit squadron, forbidden to take any baggage with them except the clothes they wore; British historian William James says that they were "shamefully treated".

[14] James and later historian William Laird Clowes both blame Hotham for the loss of the ship through his impatience in sailing for Leghorn and abandoning an obviously vulnerable and disabled member of his fleet.

They were joined on 12 March by the ship of the line Mercure, damaged in a storm, while the rest of Martin's fleet sailed across the Gulf of Genoa.

[18] Lejoille was rewarded with command of Berwick, but his wounds were too serious for an immediate return to service and he was initially hospitalised on the flagship Sans-Culottes, and later convalesced in Genoa for eight months, during which time he was promoted to commodore.