England in the seven years' war; . oth in its units and in its commander, seemedtainted with the old Rochefort sickness, its performancewas in every way the antithesis of that unhappy is true the first attack of Keppel and Hodgson proved,as has been said, a failure, but it was just this failurethat marked how great a change had been wrought inthe spirit of the services since Pitt first took the war inhand. Owing to adverse weather it was not till April 6 ththat they were off Belleisle, but six frigates had alreadybeen thrown forward to cut off its communication withthe mainland. Work
England in the seven years' war; . oth in its units and in its commander, seemedtainted with the old Rochefort sickness, its performancewas in every way the antithesis of that unhappy is true the first attack of Keppel and Hodgson proved,as has been said, a failure, but it was just this failurethat marked how great a change had been wrought inthe spirit of the services since Pitt first took the war inhand. Owing to adverse weather it was not till April 6 ththat they were off Belleisle, but six frigates had alreadybeen thrown forward to cut off its communication withthe mainland. Working in during the night, the fleetrounded the south end of the island at daybreak, keepingclose inshore so that a reconnaissance could be made as itpassed. The inspection was not encouraging. Every I76I A JOINT RECONNAISSANCE 161 accessible point was well entrenched and guarded bybatteries. Still, at an inlet midway upon the south-eastern shore, known as Locmaria Bay, both Keppel andHodgson thought they saw a chance. They were for. attempting it on the spot, but the wind was southerly,almost dead on the landing-place, and it put an attackout of the question. They had to pass on, and at noonthe whole fleet anchored in the road opposite Palais, thechief town and fortress of the island, which lay on the VOL. II. L 162 BELLEISLE 1761 north-eastern shore facing the mainland. Not to wastetime while the flat-boats were being prepared for thetroops, the two chiefs at once proceeded together in acutter to reconnoitre the extreme north end, where stoodthe little fishing port of Sauzon. But here, as every-where, they found the garrison alert and formidablyentrenched. The coast, wrote the general, is themost inaccessible I ever saw, the whole island is a forti-fication. To both of them the task looked almostdesperate, but no longer was that a reason, as at Roche-fort, for not trying. The enemy, wrote Hodgson, have been at work upon it ever since Sir Edward Hawkeappeared here in the winter,
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