 By 13 January most of the survivors of the fleet had limped back to France in a state of disrepair. One ship of the line that remained at sea, the 74-gun Droits de l 'Homme, was commanded by Commodore Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse and carried over 1,300 men, 700 – 800 of them soldiers including General Jean Humbert. Detached from the main body of the fleet during the retreat from Bantry Bay, Lacrosse made his way to the mouth of the Shannon alone. Recognising that the weather was still too violent for a landing to be made, Lacrosse acknowledged the failure of the operation and ordered the ship to return to France, capturing the British privateer Cumberland en route.
