The Glorious First of June

First published in 1961, this is a fascinating account of the battle between the fleets of the England’s Lord Howe and France’s Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse during the French Revolutionary Wars.

Known as the Glorious First of June (also known in France as the Bataille du 13 prairial an 2 or Combat de Prairial), the action on 1 June 1794 was the culmination of a campaign that had criss-crossed the Bay of Biscay over the previous month in which both sides had captured numerous merchant ships and minor warships and had engaged in two partial, but inconclusive, fleet actions. The British Channel Fleet under Admiral Lord Howe attempted to prevent the passage of a vital French grain convoy from the United States, which was protected by the French Atlantic Fleet, commanded by Rear-Admiral Villaret-Joyeuse. The two forces clashed in the Atlantic Ocean, some 400 nautical miles (700 km) west of the French island of Ushant on 1 June 1794.