Battle of Cap - Français The Battle of Cap - Français was a naval engagement during the Seven Years ' War fought between French and British forces outside the harbour of Cap - Français , Saint - Domingue ( present - day Cap - Haïtien , Haiti ) on 21 October 1757 . The British force , consisting of three ships of the line under Commodore Arthur Forrest had been sent to cruise off Saint - Domingue in the hope of intercepting a French merchant convoy bound for France , but found that the convoy ' s escort , under Guy François de Coetnempren , comte de Kersaint , had been heavily reinforced . The French came out to drive the British away , whereupon the British ships attacked them . Fighting against a substantially superior force , the British inflicted considerable damage on their opponents , but were in turn badly damaged , and after several hours the French broke away and returned to port . The British squadron also returned to port to carry out repairs , and the French convoy left the following month . Though the battle was tactically indecisive , the British officers involved became popular heroes for their daring in fighting against heavy odds . The young nephew of one of the officers present , who was in time to also embark on a naval career , was Horatio Nelson . Nelson considered the date of the battle a good omen , when 48 years to the day later , he faced a French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar . Prelude . The British forces consisted of a detached squadron of three ships of the line under Commodore Arthur Forrest , that had been sent from Jamaica by Rear - Admiral Thomas Cotes to intercept a homeward - bound French convoy . The British squadron was made up of two 60 - gun ships ; , flying Forrest ' s broad pennant , and , under Captain Maurice Suckling . With them was the 64 - gun HMS " Edinburgh " , under Captain William Langdon . The squadron arrived off Cap - Français in the morning of 21 October , expecting to find the convoy . The French convoy ' s escort , under Guy François de Coetnempren , comte de Kersaint had recently been reinforced , and by the time of the British arrival , consisted of four ships of the line and three large frigates . Possessing the superior force , Kersaint promptly put to sea as the British arrived , intent on catching the smaller force . Kersaint flew his flag aboard the 70 - gun " Intrépide " , and was accompanied by the 70 - gun " Sceptre " under Captain Clavel , the 64 - gun " Opiniatre " under Captain Mollieu , the 50 - gun " Greenwich " under Captain Foucault , the 44 - gun frigate " Outarde " and the 32 - gun frigates " Sauvage " and " Licorne " . Battle . Finding the French escort to be substantially larger than anticipated , and that it was manoeuvring to intercept them , Forrest called his captains together for a conference aboard his ship . The three captains met on the quarterdeck of " Augusta " , whereupon Forrest stated ' Well , gentlemen , you see that they have come out to engage us . ' Suckling replied ' I think it would be a pity to disappoint them ' , to which Langdon agreed . Forrest then closed the discussion by saying ' very well , go onboard your ships again ' , which Langdon and Suckling proceeded to do , the conference having lasted just half a minute . The British then formed up in line ahead , and notwithstanding the heavy French superiority , steered for them . Suckling in " Dreadnought " formed the van , with Forrest in " Augusta " in the centre , and Langdon in " Edinburgh " in the rear . The fighting began at 3 . 20 pm , and lasted for two and a half hours , until Kersaint signalled one of his frigates to tow his damaged flagship , " Intrépide " , out of the line . In doing so the French line fell into confusion , with " Intrépide " , " Superbe " and " Greenwich " falling aboard each other , and were heavily cannonaded by " Augusta " and " Edinburgh " until they were able to untangle themselves . The other French ships gradually broke away from the action and moved off . The British were in no condition to follow , having suffered casualties of 23 killed and 89 wounded , with the ships having had their masts and rigging cut to pieces . " Dreadnought " had lost her main and mizzen topmasts , and unable to chase the French , the British squadron retired to Jamaica to carry out repairs . Kersaint , who had been wounded in the battle , returned to Cap - Français to carry out repairs , and then sailed for France with the convoy in November . The French casualties in the action were estimated at between 500 and 600 killed and wounded , with " Opiniatre " having been dismasted , while " Greenwich " had been left in a very leaky condition . Killed and wounded on the British ships amounted to the first lieutenant and eight men killed , and twenty - nine wounded on " Augusta " , nine killed and thirty wounded on " Dreadnought " , and five killed and thirty wounded on " Edinburgh " . Aftermath . The battle had been indecisive , with Kersaint able to conduct his convoy to France unmolested , once his ships had been repaired . Nonetheless the British captains were praised for their courage and tenacity in engaging a superior force . Naval historian John Knox Laughton declared ' . . . the credit of the action rested with Forrest and his companions , who had not hesitated to attack a very superior force , and had fought it without disadvantage . ' Kersaint suffered a greater misfortune just off the French coast as he approached his destination , when he became caught in a storm , which caused " Opiniatre " , " Greenwich " and " Outarde " to run aground and be wrecked . The loss of the " Greenwich " on 1 January 1758 marked the end of a brief career for the French . " Greenwich " had been a former British ship , which had been captured by a French squadron under Commodore Joseph de Bauffremont on 18 March 1757 , while sailing off Saint - Domingue under Captain Robert Roddam . Roddam had been chased for two days until being run down and captured by the 74 - gun " Diadème " , and the 64 - gun " Éveillé " . The memory of the battle , and the perception of British heroism persisted during the 18th century . Maurice Suckling ' s nephew , Horatio Nelson knew of his uncle ' s exploits , and 48 years later to the day , on the morning of 21 October 1805 , was heard to remark by ' s surgeon , William Beatty , ' that " the 21st of October was the happiest day in the year among his family " ; but did not assign the reason of this . His Lordship had previously entertained a strong presentiment that this would prove the auspicious day , and had several times said to Captain Hardy and Doctor Scott . . . " The 21st of October will be our day . " ' 21 October was the date of Nelson ' s victory , and death , at the Battle of Trafalgar .