Battle of the Saintes: Encyclopedia II - Battle of the Saintes - Aftermath

Battle of the Saintes - Aftermath

The battle ended French and Spanish hopes of capturing Jamaica from the British. Rodney was created a peer with £2000 a year settled on the title in perpetuity for this victory.

The battle has caused controversy ever since, for three reasons.

Firstly, Rodney’s failure to follow up the victory by a pursuit was much criticised. Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood said that the 20 French ships would have been captured had the commander-in-chief chased. On the 17th Hood was sent in pursuit of the enemy. He promptly captured two of the line in the Mona Passage.

Secondly, the battle is famous for the tactic of "breaking the line", in which the British ships passed though a gap in the French line, engaging the enemy from leeward and throwing them into disorder. But there is considerable controversy about whether the tactic was intentional or not.

Thirdly, on the French side, de Grasse blamed his subordinates, De Vaudreuil and De Bougainville, for his defeat.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Aftermath", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki