On Thursday 2 May 1793, the 64-gun battleship, HMS Agamemnon was on a routine patrol off Cape Barfleur. She was under the command of Captain Horatio Nelson, at 34 already a seasoned naval commander. At noon, he sighted a small French squadron at anchor. At first, the French displayed an inclination to attack him but then, realising they had encountered a superior force, changed their minds and ran for shelter among the nearby shoals. In a report to his Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Lord Hood, Nelson described what happened next:

This is classic Nelson. His instinctive decision is to attack at once, despite the fact that he is already sailing in dangerous waters, and he only gives up the chase when the danger becomes too extreme. He longs not just to defeat his opponents but to ‘destroy’ them. He displays superb seamanship, handling his battleship like a frigate – indeed, at one point tacking almost in the wake of one of the lighter, more manoeuvrable ships. Finally, as well as being so clearly a man of action, he also has a way with words: his description is so vivid that the incident comes alive on the page.

This is not the only version of the story. Nelson also sent an account of the action to Admiral Sir Peter Parker, the Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth.