Although Willaumez managed to escape into the South Atlantic, Leissègues was less successful and was discovered and destroyed at the Battle of San Domingo in February 1806 by a combined force under Duckworth and Rear-Admiral Alexander Cochrane.

Willaumez achieved minor success in his operations in the South Atlantic and Caribbean, but was caught in a summer hurricane on his return journey and his ships were scattered along the Eastern Seaboard of North America.

At the ensuing Battle of Cape Finisterre, Calder captured two Spanish ships but failed to inflict a decisive blow on Villeneuve's squadron, which later sailed to Cadiz, Spain's principal Atlantic seaport.

Although Nelson was killed at the height of the battle, his squadron inflicted a devastating defeat on the combined fleet, capturing or destroying 17 French or Spanish ships, including Villeneuve's flagship.

[4] In total, the campaign cost Napoleon 13 French and 12 Spanish ships, eliminating any possibility of even regional superiority at sea and therefore preventing the planned invasion of Britain, which had already been indefinitely postponed.

He also underestimated Napoleon, who had observed that Villeneuve's brief stay in the Caribbean had acted as a major threat to British trade, delaying convoys and causing panic among the West Indian merchants.

[7] The French naval authorities were also inspired by the effect of a raiding squadron under Contre-Admiral Zacharie Allemand, which had escaped from Rochefort on 17 July 1805, caused significant disruption to British trade in the Atlantic and remained at sea off the North African coast.

His squadron carried over 1,000 French soldiers to augment the garrison on Santo Domingo under General Jean-Louis Ferrand, and was then required to spend two months blockading Jamaica before cruising along the American Eastern Seaboard to Newfoundland, returning to France when food supplies ran low.

[10] The other squadron was given to Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez in Foudroyant, with orders to cruise the shipping lanes of the South Atlantic before sailing to the Leeward Islands, communicating with the French colonies of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Cayenne and blockading Barbados.

With the convoy dispersed, Willaumez gathered his scattered forces and despatched the frigate Volontaire to the Spanish island of Tenerife with the prizes, before turning the remainder of his squadron southwards for his designated cruising grounds.

Allemand's squadron was on its return journey to France when he encountered the convoy, consisting of six merchant ships sailing from Britain to Gorée under the escort of the brig HMS Lark under Commander Frederick Langford.

[15] Langford gave orders for his convoy to scatter as the French approached, Lark turning northwards in search of Rear-Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth and the Cadiz squadron, reaching it on 26 November.

Continuing south to the Cape Verde Islands, Duckworth reluctantly conceded that the French squadron had escaped and he retired northwards until he encountered Brisbane's reduced convoy on 23 December.

[22] Recognising his error in withdrawing the blockade, Barham immediately ordered two squadrons to prepare for sea: one under Vice-Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren gathered at Spithead, including the second rate HMS London and six other ships of the line.

Strachan was to pass Saint Helena and cruise the West African coast to the Cape of Good Hope, guarding the vital trade route in the Eastern Atlantic that connected Britain with India.

[24] In fact, Leissègues had arrived in the Caribbean on 20 January, his passage delayed since departing from Brisbane's convoy in December and his ships damaged and dispersed by a series of winter storms off the Azores.

Disembarking the troops at Santo Domingo, the French admiral made repairs to his ships, awaited the arrival of the missing Alexandre and Brave, and took on supplies over the next two weeks in preparation for raiding operations in the West Indies.

Before the Danish ship had left port, a number of French officers had been concerned that the schooner might reveal details of their presence to the British and had demanded that Leissègues seize and burn the vessel, but the admiral had refused.

[26] As the chase began Richard Goodwin Keats, Captain of the Superb silently suspended a portrait of Nelson from the mizzen stay before addressing the men in a manner intended to encourage enthusiasm in the coming battle.

[27] A few minutes later the battle began, the band playing "God Save the King" and 'Nelson of the Nile' as Superb closed with Leissègues' leading ship followed by Cochrane in Northumberland and Spencer.

[36][37] After outrunning Duckworth on 26 December, Willaumez sailed for the South Atlantic, intending to pass into the Indian Ocean and cruise off the Cape of Good Hope in anticipation of the arrival of the British China Fleet.

[40] Willaumez had planned to resupply his squadron at the Cape itself before searching for the China Fleet, but the crew of a merchant ship captured in the South Atlantic informed him that the Dutch governors had surrendered on 10 January 1806 to an expeditionary force under General Sir David Baird and Commodore Popham after five days of fighting.

The British governor on Montserrat sent urgent messages to Nevis and St. Kitts, where the authorities hastily evacuated a 65-ship convoy anchored at Sandy Point under the meagre protection of the 28-gun frigate HMS Carysfort.

On 4 July Willaumez rejoined the squadron from Montserrat with news that the annual Jamaica convoy, a large collection of merchant ships that sailed each year from the Caribbean to Britain during the summer, was anchored off Tortola.

[59] The destruction of Impétueux on United States territory prompted complaints from the French consul at Norfolk, Virginia and from the captains of Éole and Patriote, which had sheltered in Annapolis following the storm.

Closely pursued, the reliable officers placed under Bonaparte abandoned the intended destination of Lorient and instead used their expert local knowledge to direct Vétéran to the tiny port of Concarneau, the first time a ship of the line had ever successfully anchored in the harbour.

[66] As well as the squadrons under Warren and Strachan, the British authorities had deployed additional forces in response to the French operations, in particular with the intention of intercepting and capturing Willaumez during his return journey to France.

To this end, Rear-Admiral Louis was given a squadron to patrol in the English Channel and Admiral William Cornwallis maintained a powerful force off Brest, which was so successful in cutting off the seaport that L'Hermite's Régulus was the only ship of the line to enter or leave the port during 1806.

One of Keats' ships, HMS Mars under Captain Robert Dudley Oliver was able to intercept La Meillerie's squadron on his return journey and capture the frigate Rhin on 17 July.

[64] Most succeeded in slipping through the British blockade independently, including Régulus, which arrived at Brest on 5 October, but one ship was less successful: on 27 September 1806 the frigate Président became the final French casualty of the campaign when it was trapped in the Bay of Biscay by Louis' squadron.