L'Hermite's expedition

During the return journey to France in August 1806, the squadron was caught in a major hurricane and one frigate was severely damaged, limping to a port in the United States for repairs.

Closely pursuing the Allied fleet was an equivalent British Royal Navy force under Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson, which reached the Caribbean on 11 June and found that Villeneuve had already begun the return journey to Europe.

[1] One such squadron was a force under Contre-Admiral Zacharie Allemand, consisting of five ships of the line, two frigates and two corvettes, which sailed from Brest for operations in the North Atlantic on 12 July.

[4] L'Hermite was ordered to sail to West Africa, attacking merchant vessels and slave ships that operated among the numerous British trading posts along the coastline.

If the post could be successfully captured, it could be turned into a naval base for use by French commerce raiders and would force the British to deploy a full squadron from the Channel Fleet in response, at a time when every ship of the line was needed for the Trafalgar campaign.

Although the news had not yet reached Brittany, Villeneuve's fleet had already been annihilated at the Battle of Trafalgar ten days earlier and L'Hermite's role as a diversion to the main campaign was no longer required.

After several months refitting and taking on stores there, l'Hermite's squadron crossed the Caribbean Sea in July 1806, unknowingly passing through the same area that Willaumez was operating in but encountering only a handful of small merchant ships before entering the Atlantic in early August.

Concerned by the frigate's weakness, l'Hermite ordered her to separate and sail for a harbour in the neutral United States, arriving at Hampton Roads on 1 September.

[8] L'Hermite's three other ships all survived the hurricane relatively intact and were able to continue their journey to Europe unimpeded, the British squadrons in the area also dispersed by the summer storms.

[12] In late September the squadron broke up, Régulus sailing for Brest and arriving on 5 October, the only French ship of the line to enter or leave the port all year.

Immediately giving chase, Louis found that his ships of the line were not fast enough to catch the French frigate, which began to outdistance the main body of the squadron.