Battle of Lagos The naval Battle of Lagos between Britain and France took place over two days , on 18 and 19 August 1759 , during the Seven Years ' War off the coasts of Spain and Portugal , and is named after Lagos , Portugal . For the British , it was part of the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 . Background . The ministers of King Louis XV of France drew up plans to invade Britain in 1759 , during the Seven Years ' War . An army had been collected at Vannes , in the south - east of Brittany , and transports had been brought together in the landlocked waters of the Morbihan which are connected with Quiberon Bay . The scheme of the French ministers was to combine twenty - one ships of the line lying at Brest under the command of de Conflans , with twelve which were to be brought round from Toulon by de la Clue . The army was then to be carried to some point on the coast of England or Scotland by the united squadrons . The task of blockading de la Clue at Toulon was given to Admiral Edward Boscawen , who had with him fourteen sail of the line . Boscawen reached his station on 16 May 1759 . At the beginning of July want of stores and water , together with the injury inflicted on some of his vessels by a French battery , compelled him to go to Gibraltar to provision and refit . He reached the port on 4 August . On 5 August de la Clue left Toulon , and on 17 August passed the straits of Gibraltar , where he was sighted by the look - out ships of Boscawen . Battle . The British fleet hurried out to sea , and pursued in two divisions , separated by a distance of some miles owing to the haste with which they left port . During the night of 17 / 18 August five of de la Clue ' s ships lost sight of his flagship , and steered for Cadiz . The other seven , which had been delayed for a time in the hope of rejoining their consorts , were overtaken by Boscawen and attacked in the afternoon of 18 August . One , the 74 - gun " Centaure " , was captured after a very gallant resistance , in which the British flagship was severely damaged . Boscawen transferred to . During the night of 18 / 19 August , two of the French ships ( " Souverain " and " Guerrier " ) altered course to the west , and escaped . The remaining four fled to the north , and into Portuguese waters near Lagos , where " Océan " , de la Clue ' s flagship , and " Redoutable " were driven ashore and destroyed , while " Téméraire " and " Modeste " were captured . Aftermath . De la Clue was seriously wounded , and carried ashore in Portugal . The five ships in Cadiz were blockaded by Boscawen ' s second - in - command , Admiral Broderick . Although the defeat of the French squadron ruined an integral part of their scheme to invade the British Isles , the French decided to persevere with their attack . The scheme was finally put to rest in November after the French naval defeat at the Battle of Quiberon Bay . After refitting , several of Boscawen ' s victorious Mediterranean ships were sent to join Admiral Hawke ' s fleet off Ushant , and five were with Hawke when he destroyed the Brest fleet at the Battle of Quiberon Bay . A young slave named Olaudah Equiano , who would eventually become a prominent abolitionist in England , participated in the engagement on the English side . He included an account of the battle in his autobiography , " The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano " . Order of battle . Ships involved : Britain . 90 ( flag ) < br > " Prince " 90 < br > " Newark " 80 < br > " Warspite " 74 < br > " Culloden " 74 < br > " Conqueror " 70 < br > " Swiftsure " 70 < br > " Edgar " 64 < br > " St Albans " 64 < br > " Intrepid " 60 < br > " America " 60 < br > " Princess Louisa " 60 < br > " Jersey " 60 < br > " Guernsey " 50 < br > " Portland " 50 < br > There were also 14 other smaller British ships present - the 40 - gun and , the 36 - gun and , the 32 - gun , five 24 - gun Sixth Rates , , , and , two 16 - gun sloops and and two 8 - gun fireships and . France . " Océan " 80 ( flag ) - Aground and burnt August 19 < br > " Téméraire " 74 - Captured August 19 < br > " Modeste " 64 - Captured August 19 < br > " Redoutable " 74 - Aground and burnt August 19 < br > " Souverain " 74 - escaped < br > " Guerrier " 74 - escaped < br > " Centaure " 74 - Captured August 18